It's Raining Hits, And...Uh...Rain, As Mets Pound Tigers 14-6

Last night the Mets pounded out 16 hits against the Tigers, including Justin Verlander, and outlasted the rain in a 14-6 win (box score/wrap).

There was a lot of offense to report from last night.  The top 4 hitters in the Mets line up all had at least 3 hits each and an RBI.  In fact, the only starting position player without a hit or RBI or run scored was Rod Barajas, who has quietly slipped back down to a .246 batting average for the year. 

Here are some specifics on the offense explosion the Mets experience last night: Reyes went 3-6 with an RBI and 3 runs scored, Wright went 3-3 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored, Davis went 3-6 with 3 RBI and 1 run scored.  But the biggest bat last night was Angel Pagan who went 4-6 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored, and was only a homer away from the cycle.  And Reyes, Francoeur and Bay all swiped bases as well.

Niese pitched well for the first 3 innings, but then the rain came and washed away his good start.  Jerry decided to leave Niese out there after nearly an hour rain delay and it was pretty obvious that affected Niese.  But after Niese gave up 6 runs in 4 and 2/3 innings the bullpen only allowed one hit for the rest of the game, which is nice to see, especially considering the concern over the bullpen not having Mejia anymore.  At least tonight, that wasn't an issue...

But what might become an issue is Beltran making rehab starts beginning Thursday as reported by Metsblog, here.  I mean, Pagan is playing well, obviously.  Francoeur is also playing pretty well himself, so between the two of them Bay and Beltran the Mets will have quite a glut in the outfield.  This will be worth monitoring...especially considering the timing of Beltran's return and the way it may match up with the trade deadline...

Anywho...the Mets take on the Tigers in the second game of this three game set tonight with Dickey facing off against Jeremy Bonderman...

Let's Go Mets.