Jon Niese cruises through San Diego Padres lineup in New York Mets win

Starting pitcher Jon Niese allowed only one run through six innings and striking out one in the Mets victory last night against the Padres.

Niese has struck out 14 batters and just walked two in 12 innings since returning from the disabled list with shoulder problems. I guess there won’t be any long term problems after all. The Padres lineup really isn’t the best test for any pitcher right now, so he will have a difficult assignment in his next start on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves.

LaTroy Hawkins picked up his fourth save in a scoreless ninth against San Diego last night. Hawkins bounced back after his blown save and groin injury he sustained on Wednesday against the Dodgers. He has allowed just one run in just two of his 15 outings since the All-Star break.

Ike Davis and Marlon Byrd went back to back off Ian Kennedy in the third inning. The home run gave Davis his first RBI since July 31st. While he hasn’t been driving in runs, his batting average and on base percentage currently stand at .319 and .500, outstanding numbers since the All-Star break.

Ian Kennedy gave up five runs over four 2/3 innings last night in a loss against the Mets.

Pitching at home didn’t prevent Kennedy from giving up three home runs in the game. Last night, he just didn’t have his typical command as he matched his season high with four walks in the game.

Will Venable and Yonder Alonso provided the two runs for the Padres. Venable’s RBI came in the bottom of the third inning with a home run (16th) to right field. Alonso hit a hit an RBI single to center field which drove in Chase Headley which cut the Mets lead to just three and become the final runs scored in this game as the Mets pick up the win 5-2.