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A happy Endy for Mets (COLIN STEPHENSON, 6/01/06, Star-Ledger)

The two starting pitchers delivered on the classic duel that had been advertised and expected.

On a cool night at Shea Stadium, in the rubber game of a three-game series between the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks, Brandon Webb and Pedro Martinez matched each other, zero for zero, for nearly two hours, thrilling the announced crowd of 37,735.

In fact, Webb and Martinez were too good. They didn't just stifle opposing hitters, they fouled up their swings so much that even after both starters left, after the seventh and eighth innings respectively, the game zipped on, scoreless, well into extra innings.

This is the kind of game the Mets win these days, even if Martinez does not.

The sort of game you may look back at in September and be especially grateful for winning, though Mets fans are more likely to look back at the decision not to start Aaron Heilman and to deal Jorge Julio with regret.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2006 8:10 AM