Mets Quieted By The Bat Of Felix Hernandez

You heard me right. The Mets were quieted by the bat of Felix Hernandez in their return to Shea from a West Coast trip. Hernandez became the first American League pitcher since 1971 to hit a grand slam when he connected off of Mets Starter Johan Santana. With two outs in the second inning, Hernandez took Santana's first pitch and drove an opposite-field home run over the right-center fence to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.

However, euphoria turned into depression for Hernandez, as he sprained his left ankle while trying to cover home plate on a wild pitch that slipped past Catcher Jeff Clement, and scored Carlos Beltran to cut the deficit to 5-1. (Seattle also scored on a Jose Lopez single to left that scored Willie Bloomquist) Hernandez left the game one out short of qualifying for a win and had to be helped to the dugout by team trainers.

After a Carlos Beltran single to center that scored Luis Castillo, and made the score 5-2, the Mets got the tying run up in the ninth inning with one out in the person of Carlos Delgado. However, he struck out, as did Damion Easley to end the ballgame.

So much for the home stand getting off to a great start.