Pedro in the BeanFest™

Pedro Martinez was part of the craziest Mets game so far this year, and it was only Game #3. Right from the first inning, I knew this was one of those crazy games. In the first, Pedro got the Nats sort of 1-2-3, with Guillen grounding into the inning-ending 3-6-3 double play. The Mets got two home in the first, and Beltran got his first RBI of the year. In the top of the second, Pedro started slow. The Nats scratched out two runs on a throwing error by Pedro Martinez. Ramon Ortiz, the pitcher, came up with the bases loaded and hit the worst ever dribbler. Pedro ran over, picked and threw, but went over Delgado's head, scoring two. The scoring was an RBI single and a throwing error, giving Ortiz his first ever RBI. In the fourth, Pedro came up with the bases loaded this time. And Pedro too, hit an RBI single. This plated Wright. Reyes followed with a 2-run single to right, and the Mets were up 5-2. In the top of the fifth, the Nats answered right back. After a Vidro walk, Pedro struck Guillen for the second time of the game, this time in the arm. More on that later... Nick Johnson followed, and, for the second straight game, he whaled a three-run homer, for, his second hit of the season. Now it was 5-5.

The Mets would answer right back, with Carlos Delgado hitting a line shot to right for his second in as many days. The Nats wouldn't get any closer. Up 6-5, Pedro would go six, throwing with absolutely no command in his first start in a regular season game with his new cleat. In the seventh, Lo Duca walked to lead it off. Carlos Beltran followed from the right side of the plate, getting his first hit of the year, being a homer. It was a two-run shot off the serial killer Joey Eischen. When Beltran got back to the dugout, the fans, who have booed him unmercifully for the first two games of the year, wanted a curtain call. Walking through the dugout, Beltran sat down, refusing to take the curtain call. Julio Franco, the mediator of the Mets, basically, talked to Carlos about the situation and whatever he said, he got him to take the curtain call. You can't boo the guy for the rest of the year now. Wright walks, Floyd doubles, and that put the Mets up 9-5. In the bottom of the eighth, Beltran hit a sac fly, scoring Jose Reyes to end the Mets scoring and put the score at 10-5.

Getting to the BeanFest™, it started in the second when Pedro hit Nick Johnson to lead off the inning. Pedro, who walked five in the contest, was very wild in the game. In the third, Pedro would hit Guillen for the first of second times in the game. The first was probably intentional, since Guillen hit the game winner in Wednesday's loss in extras. Guillen looked clearly pissed, and took his base without argue. In the bottom of the fourth, Ortiz threw two way inside to my favorite player, David Wright, and everyone knew why. Wright singled in the at-bat, making Ortiz look like a fool. In the top of the fifth, Pedro walked Vidro to lead off the inning. Then came Jose Guillen. Guillen was hit once again, and this time, he clearly wasn't happy. He kept the bat in his hand, pointing it straight at Pedro. Home plate umpire Ted Barrett, who is a pretty big guy, and Paul Lo Duca held Guillen back, restraining him from reaching Pedro Martinez. Pedro just stood there, as everything unfolded, playing it cool, Warnings were issued, but no one was ejected. Julio Franco, playing mediator for the first time, went over to Guillen, calming the situation, and keeping Guillen cool. When baseball came back to playing, the first pitch Pedro threw to Johnson was up and in, right under Johnson's right elbow. Johnson made Pedro pay for everything, hitting his second three-run shot in as many days. In the top of the seventh, Duaner Sanchez relieved Pedro Martinez of his duties, and did a good job. But Sanchez hit Johnson for the second time of the game. Sanchez was not ejected, which was OK by me, but why didn't Frank Robinson come out and argue the call? In the bottom of the eighth, Paul Lo Duca was hit, the first time a New York Met was hit the whole year. Felix Rodriguez, who bars a striking resemblance to Ezequiel Astascio of the Houston Astros, with his weird hair, was ejected by Rick Reed, the home plate umpire, who relieved Ted Barrett of his duties, for an injury in which he suffered from the ball that hit Jose Guillen the second time of the game. Weird. Robinson was ejected also, because a manager is ejected whenever a warning like this one was issued. I feel if Robinson argued Sanchez's plunk on Johnson, he could've had a beef.

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W- Pedro Martinez (1-0) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 6 K, 6.00 ERA.

L- Ramon Ortiz (0-1) 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 10.80 ERA.