Jerry Blevins
Well, Jacob deGrom went out there tonight and reminded everyone why he should be considered the Mets ace.With the bullpen on fumes and the team coming off two embarrassing losses to the Padres, deGrom went out there and played the part of the stopper.
deGrom became not only the first Mets starter to record an out in the eighth, he became the first Mets starter to throw a pitch in the ninth. He was in that position because he completely dominated the Pirates.
To put it in perspective, deGrom was 2-4 at the plate. He only had four fewer hits than he allowed. In his 8.1 innings, deGrom allowed just those six hits while walking one and striking out 10. If not for a mistake to Gregory Polanco in the fourth, it might’ve been a shutout.
On a night like this, deGrom didn’t need much help from his team. Still, the Mets gave him a ton of run support led by native son Neil Walker.
.@NeilWalker18 knows a thing or two about hitting home runs in Pittsburgh. #LGM pic.twitter.com/MfaC10P4d3
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 27, 2017
Walker was 3-5 with three runs, two homers, and four RBI. His RBI accounted for half the Mets offense on the night.
The first run the Mets scored came in the second with Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson hitting a pair of doubles off Pirates starter Chad Kuhl.
After Walker hit his first homer in the third, the Mets rallied again in the fourth. Jose Reyes tripled and scored on a Jay Bruce sacrifice fly. Walker followed this with his second homer of the game. He would be heard from again.
In the sixth, there were runners on first and second and two out due to Michael Conforto and Bruce earning walks off Pirates reliever Johnny Barbarto. Walker blooped a ball just past the out stretched hands of Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer to make it 6-1.
Duda followed with a bases clearing double to make it 8-1. With the double, Duda continued a hot stretch over the past few games where he’s hitting .500 with an OBP above that.
Almost as hot is Granderson. Over the last two weeks, he’s hitting .291/.395/.581. He added to those totals going 1-4 with a double, walk, and an RBI. Both Duda and Granderson need these hot streaks with Yoenis Cespedes playing his first rehab game today.
But tonight, that was about deGrom and Walker. Both players stepped up big when the Mets needed it the most.
Game Notes: Jerry Blevins warmed up in the eighth but did not appear in the game. Fernando Salas recorded the last two outs.
Either the Mets can no longer afford the black mail or the front office cannot admit they were wrong. Other than those two scenarios it is hard to fathom why Rafael Montero is still with the major league team.
In 12 appearances, Montero is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA and a 2.520 WHIP. He has entered four games this season with the scored tied, and he has allowed the opposition to take the lead in three of those game. He has allowed a run in seven of his five appearances. He has allowed two plus runs in four of those appearances.
The more you break it down, the worse things are for Montero. He is walking 7.6 batters per nine innings, and he’s allowing 15.1 hits per nine. Batters are hitting .378/.478/.500 off of him. Basically speaking, when Montero actually does throw a strike, he’s not fooling anyone. Montero makes every hitter look like Mike Trout.
It’s no wonder Terry Collins doesn’t trust him. That creates another problem. When the Mets are ahead in games by big margins, Collins does not go to Montero. Instead, he will try to patchwork his bullpen to bring them to the finish line with the lead. This is a major reason why the bullpen has been overworked. Jerry Blevins is on pace for 98 appearances. Addison Reed and Fernando Salas are on pace for 87 appearances. It may also have been a reason why Hansel Robles went from a 1.42 ERA to a 6.23 ERA and a demotion to the minors. Robles was replaced on the roster by Josh Smoker, who had also suffered under a heavy workload and was previously demoted to the minors.
With respect to Smoker and Robles, they have more than earned their respective demotions. They needed to go down to Triple-A not just to get themselves straight, but for someone to ease off their workload. Their respective demotions beg the question as to why Montero is still up with this team. He’s pitching worse than either Robles or Smoker did. His mere presence on the roster has led to the overuse of more valuable relievers. When he does actually get into games, he leaves the Mets in a worse position than he found them.
Montero is really hurting this team, and yet this organization continues to stick by him. It is unfathomable. Sooner or later, someone needs to press this organization and find out why Montero is still a Met.
When Michael Conforto stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first, he set the tone for the game:
Way to get the party started. @mconforto8 leads off the game with a home run. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/zayCAJqGXU
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 23, 2017
In what was another huge game for Conforto, he ignited the Mets offense. In that first inning, the Mets knocked out Padres starter Jhoulys Chacin with two outs in the first.
After Conforto’s keynote address, the Mets loaded the bases with no outs. Curtis Granderson knocked in the second run with a sacrifice fly. Wilmer Flores, who can suddenly hit righties, hit an RBI single. Flores and Neil Walker would score on a bases clearing two RBI Lucas Duda double.
Conforto came back up the second time that inning, there were runners on second and third with two outs. Conforto ripped a two RBI single making it 7-0 Mets. At that point, the game was essentially over.
It was another huge game for Conforto. He added another homer in the fourth. Overall, he was 3-4 with a HBP, two runs, two homers, and four RBI.
It was enough run support for Matt Harvey, although it did look shaky for a while there.
Harvey didn’t have his pinpoint control. In fact, he’s been missing it for a while now. Tonight, it lead to him issuing four walks. There was just one 1-2-3 inning. It also led to Harvey’s pitch count escalating. He needed 103 pitches to get through five.
Still, Harvey bore down when he needed. The Padres did get him for two in the second but no more. For the first time in six starts, he didn’t allow a homer. In fact, it was just the second time this season Harvey didn’t allow a homer.
With the Mets offense exploding, and Harvey showing some grit, Harvey would earn the win. His final line was five innings, three hits, two runs, two earned, four walks, and six strikeouts.
From there, there was some interesting moments with the Mets bullpen. Josh Smoker, who was just recalled from Vegas, was greeted with. On the first pitch he threw Ryan Schimpf hit a monster home run.
Paul Sewald got into some trouble in the seventh leading Terry Collins to get Jerry Blevins up despite the Mets having a 8-3 lead at the time.
Don’t worry, Blevins got into the game. Apparently, it was because no eighth 9-3 lead in baseball is safe. Because a right-handed batter was coming up with two outs in the eighth, Collins then had to go to Fernando Salas with two outs.
Aside from Collins’ continued abuse of his bullpen, the only real issue from the game was Jay Bruce. Bruce was forced to leave the game early in the sixth with back issues.
Overall, the Mets looked every bit of a good team pounding a poor team. Conforto continued his brilliance, and Duda started to turn things around. It was a good 9-3 win. Mets need more of these to get back to .500 and back in the NL East race.
Game Notes: The seven first inning runs were the most scored in the first inning by the Mets in 13 years. Hansel Robles was demoted before the game.
When tonight being the night Terry Collins became the Mets all-time leader in games managed, you knew tonight couldn’t be easy no matter how far ahead the Mets got.
As it turns out, the Mets jumped out to a big lead despite falling to completely cash-in on their opportunities.
In the first, the Mets loaded the bases with no out. The only run the team would score would be on a Neil Walker RBI ground out. Walker got the RBI because Angels first baseman (and former Mets prospect) Jefrey Marte dropped the throw on what should’ve been a double play.
In the third, the Mets had second and third with no outs after Jose Reyes stole second. Michael Conforto would score on a Jay Bruce sacrifice fly. Reyes tagged up and went to third on the play. He’d be stranded there despite reaching third with less than two outs.
The Mets loaded the bases again in the bottom of the fifth against Angels starter Alex Meyer leading to a pitching change. Walker greeted Jose Alvarez with a two RBI bloop single. Instead of putting the game completely away, the Mets wouldn’t plate another run in the inning carrying a 4-0 lead into the sixth.
It did look like it was going to be enough as Zack Wheeler was cruising. He had pitched five scoreless allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out five.
He then fall apart in the fifth allowing issuing back-to-back walks to start the inning. He then yielded a single to Andrelton Simmons to load the bases, and he plunked Marte to make it a 4-1 game.
Fernando Salas would come on in a huge spot, and for the first time since the beginning of the season, Salas came up huge. He yielded no more than an RBI ground out there for preserving the Mets lead. Due to Salas’ work, Wheeler was still in line for a win.
With Robert Gsellman pitching two scoreless, looking like the guy we all thought could be a Rookie of the Year candidate, and the Mets tacking on runs, the game appeared to be in the bag.
It became time to test out the lower end relievers after a big eighth. Lucas Duda got things started with a two out double. Rene Rivera was intentionally walked. Wilmer Flores hit an RBI double scoring Duda. On the play, Rivera got caught on a rundown. With Simmons dropping the ball, Rivera was able to stay alive.
He then scored on a Reyes RBI single. It was a huge night for Reyes in that not only did go 3-4, but he also recorded his 2,000th career hit.
The Mets entered the ninth with a 7-2 lead, which was the perfect spot to bring in Neil Ramirez and his 8.71 ERA. After tonight, it appears there’s no real spot for Rivera
He loaded the bases in the ninth without recording a win. The Mets would need to bring on Addison Reed for his sixth save of the season. It wasn’t easy with him allowing all the inherited runners from Ramirez to score. One of those runs scored on a sac fly when Trout just missed one.
In any event, Reed closed the door, and Collins has coaching more games than anyone else. The Mets have also shaved 2.5 games off the standings over this recent hot stretch.
Game Notes: The Mets played some good defense today. Conforto had a leaping catch and nails someone at the plate. Also T.J. Rivera made a diving stop at third and throw out the runner first.
It seems like a Mets starter hasn’t recorded an out in the seventh inning since Noah Syndergaard pitched seven innings in the Wild Card Game. It hasn’t been quite that long. It was actually that long. It was “just” 18 games.
It seemed tonight that streak just did not want to die. With a 1-1 count to Andrelton Simmons, Jacob deGrom had a finger issue. He continued pitching, and he allowed a double. This led to Terry Collins coming out of the dugout with Ray Ramirez to check on deGrom, who stayed in the game.
He then walked C.J. Cron and hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. As Dan Warthen visited the mound, Rob Darling was saying the Mets needed to pull him. Instead, the Mets stuck with deGrom. It was the right decision.
deGrom fought back by striking out Danny Espinosa. Then, a Mets pitcher finally got some help from a Mets shortstop as Jose Reyes made a nifty catch.
Here's that Jose Reyes run-saving juggle to help Jacob deGrom escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. #Mets pic.twitter.com/AxdHW0E2Nj
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 20, 2017
Entering tonight, Mets shortstops have posted a -9 DRS, the worst in the majors. It was about time they helped their starters. A Cameron Maybin fly out, and deGrom escaped a bases loaded no put jam.
It was the perfect cap to what was a terrific night by the man all fans overlook when naming an ace. This was a big start when the Mets needed it most. He pitched seven scoreless innings allowing just four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. He would be the first Mets starter to get to three wins.
As good as deGrom was going, former Marlin Ricky Nolasco was nearly as good. Still, the Mets got to him just enough times.
In the first, it was a big two out RBI ground rule double by the suddenly resurgent Curtis Granderson scoring Michael Conforto.
Neil Walker started the next rally with a lead-off single to start the sixth. He smartly moved up when Wilmer Flores flew out to the warning track for the second out. Forgetting that Rene Rivera has suddenly become Gary Carter, the Angels intentionally walked Lucas Duda to face him. Rivera made them pay hitting an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
The Mets capped off their scoring when Conforto hit an opposite field solo homer in the seventh to extend the lead to 3-0. This gave the Mets bullpen a comfortable lead to protect and just six outs to get.
With two left-handed batters bracketing Mike Trout, Jerry Blevins started the eighth. This was Blevins’ 25th appearance making him the first Mets pitcher to made 25 appearances in the Mets first 40 games of the season.
Blevins did his job recording two strikeouts around a Trout single. Collins then went to Paul Sewald for his first ever hold opportunity in the majors. He locked it down striking out Cron to end the inning.
Addison Reed came on to close out the game recording his fifth save of the year. It was the type of 3-0 win you expected to see all year. This was the first of its kind this year. With that said, if the Mets starters step up like deGrom did today, we could be seeing more of these again.
Game Notes: T.J. Rivera snapped an 0-10 streak with a eighth inning pinch hit single. deGrom entered the game with the highest batting average in the Mets lineup. The win snapped the Mets seven game losing streak.
Fact is, the Mets season is on the brink. They need to upgrade anywhere they can in order to help get the Mets season back on track. For many, that starts with calling up Amed Rosario. In response, many have offered excuses as to why the Mets shouldn’t call-up Rosario. In reality, they are flimsy excuses. Let’s go through them one-by-one:
EXCUSE #1: The Pitching Is the Problem and Rosario Doesn’t Pitch
Yes, the Mets and their MLB worst ERA is a big problem, and no, Rosario doesn’t pitch. However, the Mets right now are playing Jose Reyes and his .189/.269/.310 batting line at shortstop. Assuming the pitching doesn’t get any better, the Mets are going to have to out-slug teams to win games. Reyes is not going to help that.
Also, the Mets defense at short has been terrible. They rank dead last with a -9 DRS. Better defense at an important defensive position like shortstop will only serve to help a pitching staff. Take Robert Gsellman for example. He has a 58% ground ball rate, and he is allowing a .368 BABIP. With a better shortstop, especially one like Rosario who projects to be a very good defender, that BABIP can go down. That is the result of Rosario being able to get to more balls and the rest of the infield being better positioned as a result. That could result in a lower BABIP, which means base hits becomes outs. Rallies thereby end sooner or don’t begin in the first place. Gsellman can then go deeper into games and take pressure off the bullpen.
EXCUSE #2 You Don’t Want Rosario Up On a Short-Term Basis
Who says is has to be on a short-term basis? Even assuming Asdrubal Cabrera is ready to come back at the end of his 10 day disabled list stint, why couldn’t Rosario stay in the major leagues? You have the option to move Rosario to third base if you so choose. You also have the option of moving Cabrera and his poor range to third base. If Rosario comes up, and he’s shown he can play well defensively and hit well, he has shown he belongs to play at the major league level. If that is the case, keep him up.
EXCUSE #3 He Doesn’t Have Enough Triple-A At-Bats
There is no precise formula detailing how many at-bats are needed in Triple-A. Miguel Cabrera never played in Triple-A before his call-up, and he is well on his way to the Hall of Fame. Matt Reynolds has 1,145 at-bats in Triple-A, and he is still not ready to consistently hit major league pitching. There is no tried and true formula to follow. Rosario has shown he can hit in Triple-A. You either believe in him, or you don’t.
Excuse #4 You Don’t Want Him to Struggle and Be Sent Down
Why? Keith Hernandez struggled as a 21 year old, and he was sent down. After that, Hernandez won an MVP, 11 Gold Gloves, and two World Series titles. After jumping on the scene in 2015, Michael Conforto had a nightmare of a 2016. So far this year, he is hitting .327/.413/.654 with nine homers and 24 RBI. Overall, if you are going to be great at the major league level like many believe Rosario will be, one set-back is not going to prevent you from fulfilling your potential.
EXCUSE #5 You Don’t Want to Bring Him Up into a Losing Situation
The corollary of this is you don’t want to bring up a prospect expecting him to be a savior. In 1983, the Mets were nine games under .500 when Darryl Strawberry was called-up to the majors. In 2003, the Mets were seven games under .500 when Reyes was called-up. In 2004, the Mets were one game under .500 when David Wright was called-up to the majors.
Each of these players were immensely talented, and they have each had successful careers. Being called-up into a losing situation or being asked to be a savior didn’t prevent them from being terrific players.
EXCUSE #6 He’s Had Too Many Errors This Year
Reyes and Cabrera have combined to post a -9 DRS, which again, is the worst in the majors. Looking at how the team was built top to bottom, defense has been not incentivized. Now all of a sudden, the Mets are going to care about defense when it comes to a player with plus range for the position? Further, if he’s struggling, get him away from the terrible infield at Cashman Field, and get him some major league coaching. You’re likely going to see a better defender out there.
EXCUSE #7 Calling Him Up Sends a Signal the Team is Panicking
Shouldn’t the Mets be panicking at this point? The team has the worst ERA in baseball. Their ace and closer are likely gone for the season. They are already nine games behind the Nationals. By all means, the Mets should be panicking. Even if they aren’t panicking, they should be concerned. The best way to address this would be to address the concerns the team has. One of those concerns is the offensive and defensive production they get from shortstop. Rosario can alleviate those concerns.
EXCUSE #8 He’s Not Ready to Hit Major League Pitching
On this front, you have to defer to the front office. Despite Rosario’s terrific Triple-A numbers, we don’t really have a breakdown on his ability to hit a fastball or breaking pitches. They can justifiably be seeing something we don’t see. Still, the team is willing to go with Reyes, his poor defense, and his .189 batting average at the position. Even if Rosario were to put up similar offensive numbers to Reyes, he’s going to do that with much better defense. As a result, the Mets would be a better team with him on the field. Furthermore, it should be noted that if he needs to make some improvements at the plate, he would be better served by working with Kevin Long. \n
EXCUSE #9 What Do You Do With Him When Cabrera Returns?
Thumb issues like this are tricky. We saw Juan Lagares try to play through a torn ligament in his thumb until he was finally forced to have surgery to repair the tear. We still do not know if Cabrera needs surgery. We don’t know if this is a two week or two month injury.
Assume for a minute Cabrera will be back sooner rather than later, the Mets have an opportunity to give Rosario a brief look at shortstop. At the very least, it’s a reward for him being the time in to become an improved player. It presents an opportunity to see if Rosario is ready. When and if Cabrera comes back, the Mets can then judge if Rosario should stay up with the team or go back down to Triple-A. If he were to go back down, he will have a better idea of what he needs to work on in order to stick at the major league level.
EXCUSE #10 You Don’t Want to Have Rosario Become a Super Two Player
So what? Now the Mets aren’t all-in? Did that only apply to signing Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas? If you are all-in, be all-in regardless of Super Two deadlines.
Overall, that’s the point. If you are truly all-in, you do everything you can do to improve your team. You do everything you can do to win games. Every day the Mets keep Rosario in Vegas is another day this team is not all-in. Rather, the team is letting everyone know they would rather lose with what they have this year.
For the past seven games, the Mets have found new and interesting ways to lose. Today, it was a tried and true method for this team. Not getting hits with RISP and some truly bizarre managerial decisions from Terry Collins.
Like most of the games on this road trip, things started well for the Mets. Michael Conforto, who Collins has spent the better part of two years telling us can’t hit lefties, hit a two run homer off Patrick Corbin to give the Mets a 2-0 first inning lead.
From that point forward, the Mets would go 1-6 with RISP.
Matt Harvey would give up that lead. In the first, he allowed a lead-off triple to Rey Fuentes. Fuentes then scored on a Chris Owings ground-out. In the third, Harvey allowed an opposite field two run homer off the bat of Jake Lamb.
It was all part of a maddening start by Harvey. He did not have one 1-2-3 inning. He walked four batters including the opposing pitcher. He allowed his 11th homer of the season. He needed 95 pitches to get through 5.1 innings.
And yet, there were positive signs. He didn’t allow a hit with RISP. He had big strikeouts of Paul Goldschmidt and Yasmany Tomas. He left the game in line for the win.
The Mets had a 4-3 lead when Harvey departed. The additional two runs came in the fourth. Juan Lagares hit a long home run to tie the score at three. Matt Reynolds followed with a walk, and he would score on a Jose Reyes RBI double. As we know, the Mets wouldn’t win this one.
For some reason, Collins went to Robert Gsellman and his 7.07 ERA to pitch the seventh. This is the same Gsellman the Mets have just removed from the rotation for the next couple of weeks. Depending on the ETA of Steven Matz and/or Seth Lugo, Gsellman may not start another game this year. Despite this, Collins felt Gsellman was the right man to protect a one run lead to help the Mets break a six game losing streak.
Gsellman would walk Goldschmidt, and he would score on a Tomas RBI double. Just like that, the score was tied.
The Mets would mount subsequent rallies to try to get another lead. In the eighth, there were runners on first and second with two outs, and Lagares grounded out. In the eleventh, the Mets had the same situation, and Reyes struck out. That would be the Mets last chance.
The real part of the Mets bullpen had done a good job. Josh Edgin got Harvey out of the sixth unscathed. Jerry Blevins (8)and Addison Reed (9 & 10) pitched perfect innings to get the Mets to the 11th. At that point, Collins did the complete opposite of what he should have done.
He brought in Rafael Montero. Not the red hot Paul Sewald. Not Fernando Salas who has been better of late. Not Neil Ramirez who the Mets signed to help the bullpen. No, he brought in Montero, and his rationale was absurd:
To recap: Mets were down to Montero, Sewald, Salas, Robles, Ramirez.
Salas-off, Robles-iffy, Ramirez-extended lay off; Sewald-closer.— Matt Ehalt (@MattEhalt) May 18, 2017
First batter Montero faced was Chris Herrmann. Herrmann is a career .207/.277/.338 hitter who entered the game hitting .160/.250/.280. He injured his hand in this game. Naturally, he did this:
"That ball is gone! Chris Herrmann walks it off!"#DbacksSweep pic.twitter.com/vATHD6f4mg
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 17, 2017
To recap, Collins brought in a guy with a 7.07 ERA to preserve a one run lead, and he used a guy with a 9.00 ERA to keep the game scoreless. At this point, you have to wonder if he’s trying to get fired.
Game Notes: Reyes tried to go to second on a play in the second on a throw to the cut-off man. The play wasn’t even close, and it killed what could have been a big rally.
The best way to summarize Zack Wheeler‘s start is he answered the bell. Despite throwing 89 pitches through five, he went out for the sixth. Even with him throwing 103 through sixth, he came out for the seventh.
In the sixth, it backfired a bit as Wheeler allowed a lead-off homer to Jake Lamb to tie the game at one. In the seventh, he gave up a lead-off single to the eighth place hitter Jeff Mathis. After that lead-off hit, Terry Collins lifted Wheeler.
Unfortunately, that meant Wheeler would not get the win despite a very good outing. He didn’t get the win because the Mets offense only registered one hit against the Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley.
The Mets did make that one hit off Godley count. In the second, Godley issued back-to-back one out walks to Jose Reyes and Curtis Granderson. Rene Rivera then got the Mets lone hit off Godley giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.
With the Mets not scoring more runs for Wheeler, he got a no decision despite striking out six and allowing just one run on seven hits and one walk.
He also didn’t get the win because Collins lifted him after one batter in the seventh. Wheeler started that inning despite his having an at-bat the prior half inning. In what was an obvious pinch hitting situation, Collins instead elected to play matchups.
Despite the lead-off hit to start the seventh, the Diamondbacks would not score a run. Jerry Blevins relieved Wheeler to face the left-handed hitting David Peralta. Peralta hit a shallow bloop to center that Granderson made a nice sliding play on.
Granderson couldn’t get to a bloop hit by the next batter Rey Fuentes. However, Granderson was able to nail Mathis who tried to go from first to third on the play. The one thing we learned on that play was just how slow Mathis is.
Collins then brought in Hansel Robles to pitch to Chris Owings. Look, anytime you can go through three pitchers when one would’ve sufficed, Collins is going to do it.
Mets dodged a huge bullet in the eighth when Paul Goldschmidt hit what appeared to be a go-ahead homer off Robles. Upon replay, it was ruled a double as Goldschmidt’s ball hit the yellow line. It should be noted for a manager hell-bent on playing matchups, Goldschmidt is now 5-6 off Robles.
The Mets good fortune was short-lived. After Lamb was intentionally walked, Yasmany Tomas hit a no-doubter to center giving the Diamondbacks a 4-1 lead. Later on in the inning, Mathis would hit a two run homer to make it 6-1. At that point, Robles would be lifted.
It should be noted Robles has had two rough appearances after he has been overworked like the rest of this Mets bullpen. In his first 18 appearances, Robles allowed three runs. He’s now allowed nine runs in his last two appearances. He’s apparently gassed. It’s not an excuse. It’s a fact.
Speaking of gassed, Collins went to the overused Josh Edgin who was greeted by Daniel Descalso with a home run. After that, Edgin finished the eighth in what could only be described as mop up duty.
That’s mop up duty for a reliever on pace to make over 80 appearances while Rafael Montero sat unused. If Montero isn’t being used in mop up duty, why is he on the team?
Wilmer Flores hit a two run pinch hit homer in the ninth to make the final score look more palatable. Still, whether it is 7-1 or 7-3, a loss is a loss.
The Mets have now lost five straight games and four straight on this road trip. All four of those games were winnable at some point. That point was up until a gassed bullpen was asked to get some outs. Something has to change and fast.
Game Notes: Asdrubal Cabrera missed the game with a thumb injury. The Mets are debating whether or not to put him on the DL.
Watching the game yesterday, we all got to see both Jerry Blevins and Addison Reed meltdown. Since both players were acquired by the Mets, both pitchers have been as dominant as you could expect. This was a day after Hansel Robles, who has arguably been the Mets best reliever this season, completely melted down. If you have been watching the Mets so far this season, you expected this to happen sooner or later.
With the loss of Noah Syndergaard and the rest of the starting pitching staff under-performing, Terry Collins has had to go to the bullpen far too frequently early this season. In fact, Jacob deGrom is the only starting pitcher who is averaging at least six innings this season. Essentially, the bullpen is needed for about 40% of the innings pitched in any game. The four extra inning games doesn’t help much either.
What also doesn’t help is how Collins has chosen to deploy his bullpen. Lately, we have seen Collins using multiple relievers to get through just one inning. What is bizarre about that approach is the score doesn’t matter. Collins is as prone to do this in a one run game as he is in a five run game. When you go to the well too often with the same guys time and again, you are going to tire your bullpen arms out. It’s now the middle of May, and the Mets are about one-fifth through their schedule. Here is the current pace for each of the Mets relievers:
No one has made more than 90 appearances in a season since Pedro Feliciano made 92 appearances for the 2010 Mets. The Mets currently have three relievers on pace to make 90 appearances. The last time there were multiple pitchers in baseball who made 90 appearances in a season was 1979. By the way, this is the only time it has happened in major league history. The last time there were five relievers who have made 80 plus appearances in all of baseball. On their own, the Mets are on pace to do that.
But it’s not just those relievers. Jeurys Familia was eligible to pitch in just 18 games between his suspension and subsequent surgery. Familia pitched in 11 of those games. At that usage rate, Familia was on a pace to appear in 99 games. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise as Familia has led the major leagues in appearances since the 2014 season.
Josh Smoker was demoted on May 9th due to his pitching to a 7.88 ERA and a 1.750 WHIP. When he was demoted, Smoker had appeared in 15 of the Mets 32 games. At the rate he was used, Smoker was on pace to appear in 76 games. That number usually leads most teams. That number was the sixth most on the Mets.
Since Paul Sewald has been recalled on May 1st, he is pitching on a pace to appear in 68 games this season. This makes him the reliever who has been pitching with a manageable workload. He is also one of the best relievers in the Mets bullpen right now.
Overall, this bullpen is being used at an unprecedented rate. As we saw in Milwaukee, this bullpen is starting to crack. That’s troubling when you consider the Mets have carried an extra reliever for much of the season. The blame for this goes on the starters for not going deep into games. It also goes on Collins for him not being judicious in how he deploys his bullpen arms. Whatever the case, what was once a strength for the Mets is now becoming a liability. Something has to change and fast.
Imagine believing you need to use multiple relievers every inning. Imagine using the same relievers. relievers day after day after day. Sooner or later it catches up to you. That moment was today for the Mets.
It spoiled what was a good day for Tommy Milone. Despite being released by the Brewers and his not having started a game since April 25th, he pitched well.
Milone pitched five innings allowing six hits, two runs, two earned, and two walks with five strikeouts. He exited the game in the sixth after allowing back-to-back singles to Buster Posey and Christian Arroyo.
Fernando Salas came on for Milone and allowed one of the inherited runners to score. That run scored when Justin Ruggiano followed a Nick Hundley single with a deep sacrifice fly. From there Salas slammed the door shut.
Gorkys Hernandez grounded to the third baseman Wilmer Flores. Instead of trying for the around the horn double play, Flores went home. Kevin Plawecki made a terrific play picking up Flores’ short-hopped throw to tag out Arroyo, who just stopped running on the play. Salas followed this out by striking out Mike Morse to end the rally.
With Salas ending the rally, Milone was in position to earn his first win in a Mets uniform – a win he didn’t get. Milone was in that position because he helped his own cause. In the fourth, Milone hit an RBI single off Matt Cain to expand the Mets lead to 3-1. The single scored Curtis Granderson, who had a pretty good game himself.
It started with an opposite field double in the first inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. He also reached on a Buster Posey error to get the aforementioned rally started.
The other run was courtesy of Jay Bruce:
Cain threw Bruce a middle-middle changeup and Bruce took it for a ride. It landed deep in the bullpen. pic.twitter.com/5TYgdVGfyr
— CitiFieldHR (@CitiFieldHR) May 10, 2017
After losing one to the rainout, Bruce finally got his 10th home run back. The third inning homer also snapped a 1-1 tie. The game was tied because Posey hit yet another homer off the Mets.
The Mets had a chance to put the game away in the sixth. With a perfect Juan Lagares bunt down the third base line, the bases were loaded against Giants reliever George Kontos with one out. Kontos then recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Asdrubal Cabrera (pinch hitting for Salas) and Jose Reyes to keep it at 3-2.
The Mets similarly fizzled in the seventh. Bruce and Neil Walker hit back-to-back one out singles. Granderson popped up, and Flores lined out to kill that rally.
The Mets bullpen tried to keep it at 3-2. Josh Edgin (one batter) and Hansel Robles combined to pitch a scoreless seventh. This continues Robles’ 14 inning scoreless streak.
Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins pitched a scoreless eighth. Blevins came on with two outs in the eighth because Brandon Belt was announced as a pinch hitter. Blevins probably came on because Terry Collins was probably having a panic attack thinking about the possibility Blevins may not pitch in a game. He also completely disregarded Reed’s numbers against left-handed batters.
Reed career .236/.296/.353 off LHB. In 2016, LHB hit .210/.264/.269. Good thing Terry got him out of there.
— Mets Daddy (@MetsDaddy2013) May 10, 2017
The Mets would rue the town blown opportunities to tack on runs as Jeurys Familia blew his first save of the season.
Ironically, it wasn’t Conor Gillaspie who got to him. In fact, Familia dispatched with him easily. In fact, it was Flores who got to Familia. After Joe Panik walked, Flores threw off line to second. Instead of an inning ending double play, there were runners on first and second. Hunter Pence singled past a diving Flores to tie the game at 3-3. Posey then walked, and Arroyo hit a bases clearing double to make it 6-3.
At that point, Rafael Montero came into the game. Note, he didn’t make his way into a 6-1 game, but today, he relieved Familia. Because he has a sick sense of humor, Montero recorded two quick outs to get out of the inning.
Flores redeemed himself a bit in the ninth. After the Mets put two on with two outs in the ninth, he came up. Flores hit one that deflected just off Ruggiano’s glove and the top of the wall. It made it 6-5, but it was too little too late. Kevin Plawecki grounded out to the catcher ending the game.
The winning streak is over, and the Mets fell to a game under .500.
Game Notes: Michael Conforto sat with a hamstring issue. With Bruce in right and Juan Lagares in center, Granderson played left. With Conforto sitting, Reyes returned to the lead-off spot.