It was the 17th consecutive start Niese has allowed two walks or less and has pitched six innings or more.
Since August 18, a span of 19 games, Mets starting pitching has pitched to a 2.78 ERA ' the team is 9-10 over that span and have scored three runs or less in 14 of those 19 games.
In the first half, the Mets hit .269 with runners in scoring position ' the Mets have hit .205 with runners in scoring position since the second half and are 19-33 over that span.
Michael Baron, MetsBlog.com
The starting pitching has been fantastic. They struggled badly after the All-Star Break (thanks in large measure to Johan Santana and Chris Young being ineffective). But they've righted the ship lately and have given this team something to feel good about heading into the winter, especially with Zack Wheeler getting closer to the big leagues and Dillon Gee coming back from injury. They have much more pitching depth than they had at this time last year and many more options as a result ' the excess they have is a good problem for a change.The offense is another story, however. This team just doesn't hit. With the starters pitching to an ERA of 2.78 over their last 19 games, the Mets should have a hell of a lot more wins over that span. But they have holes at four positions at best, and not small ones either. The other issue is that there's no immediate answer for these holes within the organization, and, based on Sandy Alderson's comments over the last few weeks, it doesn't appear likely there is a financial window to fix a lot of these problems this winter.