Joey's Small Bites: Everything's Bigger In Texas, Like Mets' Comebacks

So last night I was settling in with some cupcakes and the remote control (and my sister Iggy), hoping to see the Mets try to continue their winning streak against the Houston Astros. The Astros, who own of the worst record in the National League, had somehow taken two out of three games from the Mets in April at Citi Field, something that this Mets fan had not forgotten. Dillon Gee was starting for New York against Bud Norris, and I was expecting the Mets to do well against Norris. Well, they didn't. But that doesn't mean the end result wasn't good.

For the first six innings, the Mets' bats were silent against Norris, as the Astros' starter faced two batters above the minimum. But Gee was matching Norris pitch for pitch, and the score was only 1-0 in favor of the Astros as they came to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

Then I had an "Oh, $#!+" moment. No, I didn't do anything wrong. I just had to go to the bathroom. (Those cupcakes were doing the loop-de-loop in my tummy.) Of course, once I returned from the loo, the Astros had taken it to Gee, scoring three runs off the rookie. That's when I had another "Oh, $#!+" moment, but this was directed more at the Mets. It could have been a lot worse (the game, not my bowel movements), but Pat Misch induced an inning-ending double play to keep the score at 4-0.

In the seventh inning, Norris continued to roll, striking out David K. Wright and Carlos Beltran to start the frame. As I watching this, all I could think of was that we were allowing a guy named Bud to toy with us. I mean, when I think of Bud, this is what I think of...

Bud Harrelson and his "bud" Pete Rose, Bud (a.k.a. Kenny) from the Cosby Show, Bud from the Budweiser ads.

This was Bud Norris, who had won all of 17 games in his three-year career and "boasted" a career 4.55 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, numbers that were eerily similar to what Victor Zambrano posted during his three-year stint with the Mets (10 wins, 4.42 ERA, 1.49 WHIP). In other words, WE SHOULD BE HITTING THIS GUY!!!

Well, they must have noticed that I was using caps because with one swing of the bat, the Mets were no longer bound by Bud, as Jason Bay hit his eighth career home run as a Met, cutting the Mets' deficit to 4-1. That set things in motion for what was to follow.

Pat Misch pitched a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the seventh. Then the Mets' bats woke up from their lumber slumber in the top of the eighth, as Fernando Martinez hit a two-run homer into the second deck in right field to make it a one-run game. Jose Reyes followed F-Mart's blast by getting Norris to walk him. That was enough for Astros' manager Brad Mills, as he closed his tab, having his fill of Bud for the night. In came Jeff Fulchino, a 31-year-old with only 160 innings pitched in the majors. That should say it all.

David K. Wright legally changed his middle initial to H.R., taking Fulchino deep into the Crawford seats, completing the Mets' comeback and giving them a 5-4 lead. The Mets then scored an insurance run in the ninth inning and K-Rod held on to the lead to record his 11th consecutive save.

The Mets had rallied from a four-run seventh inning deficit to defeat the Astros 6-4, causing my sister to celebrate with her special Mets pom poms.

With the victory, the Mets improved to 10-9 on the road this season, which is Amazin' considering that for the past two seasons, the road was where winning streaks went to die. (The Mets were 61-101 away from Citi Field over the past two seasons.)

Later this afternoon, the Mets will try to extend their winning streak to four when R.A. Dickey takes the mound against J.A. Happ in an all-initial affair. Should the Mets win, they will have taken their fourth series on the road, matching last season's total before Memorial Day.

They say everything's bigger in Texas. I can see why. Last night, the Mets proved that comebacks are bigger in Texas. Hopefully, by this evening, the Mets' winning streak can also get bigger. I'll eat to that!