The second game in the double header was a much different story because of the amazing outing by rookie Jon Niese. Niese was making his second career start after a terrible first start. It has been said a lot, but he was very nervous his first start and that could be seen by the way he was pitching. This was a very different Niese. This was a Niese that did something that only a handful of Mets pitchers have done this year:
Allow No Runs Through Eight Innings
Then the Bullpen did something they only did once this weekend:
Allow No Runs in Relief
Anyway back to Niese. he showed toughness in his pitch count. 116 pitches in your second big league start in this day and age is a huge deal. His K to BB ratio was awesome (7:2) and he allowed only 6 hits over that time. He also managed to get a hit. He was the real story in this game. Lets hope that this continues with Niese. He might not get many more starts this year (if he continues to ace, then he will), but this will be an interesting story line for next year's spring training because he will be 22 possibly going for a role in the starting rotation.
It would be a crime not to mention the success of the power in the lineup as well. Wright, Reyes, Beltran all went deep to score the runs for the ball game. Its not the most efficient way to get it done, but it is a way, a fun way to watch as well. Wright's power would pour into the next game as well.
