Mickey Callaway
Somehow, the Mets were able to pull off a minor miracle by not just pulling out a victory but somehow also pulling to withing three games of the Cubs and Brewers for the second Wild Card with 10 games remaining in the season:
1. Mickey Callaway not pinch hitting any one of Luis Guillorme, Joe Panik, J.D. Davis, or Wilson Ramos for Rene Rivera with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth was easily the worst decision of his tenure as the Mets manager. There is zero plausible explanation for it, and if the Mets lost that game, he would have merited the Willie Randolph treatment. It was that bad.
2. As it turned out, Ramos and Davis did get their chance to pinch hit, and they delivered by setting up runners at the corners for Brandon Nimmo to deliver the game tying base-hit. It was easily the biggest hit of Nimmo’s career, and it was another indication just how special a player he is.
3. After Jeff McNeil had a great at-bat to draw a walk, you could see Joe Harvey wanted no part of Pete Alonso walking him on four pitches. With Alonso hitting his 49th homer earlier in the game tying Mark McGwire‘s first base rookie home run record, you could understand why. In any event, it gave the Mets a 5-4 lead in a game the Mets won 7-4.
4. Seth Lugo delivering an RBI single in that ninth inning was the most passive aggressive way to show the Mets he should be in the starting rotation. How could you not help but love the guy?
5. No, Syndergaard was not good yesterday, but to pass judgment on one start in Coors Field is absurd. After all, are we going to say Max Scherzer isn’t any good and the Nationals need to trade him because he has a 5.88 career ERA at Coors.
6. On the topic of Scherzer, his getting roughed up by the Cardinals only strengthens Jacob deGrom‘s Cy Young case.
7. There is far too much evidence in the pitcher heat maps and the framing abilities of the Mets three catchers where we know Rivera and Tomas Nido make a real difference behind the plate. One start in the most difficult place to pitch in all of baseball doesn’t undo that.
8. On the topic of baseless narratives, the Mets didn’t cave to Syndergaard. It was a day game after a night game. The Mets would’ve sat Mike Piazza or Gary Carter.
9. We finally got a glimpse of how good a pitcher Marcus Stroman is. His seven shutout innings showed not just the reason why the Mets added him at the trade deadline, but it also showed just how much of a big game pitcher he is. His next two starts should be something special.
10. Steven Matz finally had that meltdown inning he had avoided all second half. That six run inning cost the Mets a chance of winning that game. Overall, we should not read too much into it as it is Coors Field, and he has been just that good of late.
11. In July and August, when the Mets saved their season going from 10 games under to the thick of the Wild Card race, Michael Conforto was their best player (1.6 fWAR highest among Mets position players). In September, he has completely fallen apart hitting .150/.239/.283. The team desperately needs him to get back on track.
12. When Todd Frazier was hit on the hand, it appeared his Mets career was effectively over. Fortunately, he has been able to play after a few days off, and he has contributed going 2-for-6 with an RBI and two walks in addition to his good defense over the last two games.
13. To the shock of everyone, Jeurys Familia came into the game yesterday, and with runners on second and third, he struck out Ryan McMahon to keep the game at 4-2 allowing the Mets to make that comeback.
14. If the Mets are going to pull this off, they are going to need relievers like Familia to step up because the team cannot only rely on Lugo and Justin Wilson. On that front, the Mets bullpen did acquit itself well in this series allowing just five runs over 11.1 innings (3.97 ERA).
15. The Mets designated Eric Hanhold, a promising young reliever, for assignment, and he was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles. Instead of keeping him, the Mets replaced him on the 40 man roster with Donnie Hart, who has yet to pitch in September, and they kept Chris Mazza, who has a 6.43 ERA and has pitched just once this month. That’s an example of just how incompetent Brodie Van Wagenen is.
16. Jed Lowrie finally got on base drawing a walk making him 0-3 with a walk this year.
17. Perhaps the Mets player who came up biggest in this series was Amed Rosario. He was 2-for-4 in the first two games, and he hit the key homer on Tuesday giving the Mets life. Overall, this was just the latest example on how he is figuring things out, and he is going to be a big part of the Mets going forward.
18. Say what you will about the Rockies, but that team can play defense. In fact, between their being great defensively, and the Mets not being good defensively, the Rockies almost pulled out this series. That would have been a disaster.
19. The Mets owe a debt of gratitude to the Padres and Reds for pulling out those wins last night. It is still an uphill climb, but three back in 10 games is possible.
20. The Mets still being alive this late in the season is a miracle. They may still have to run the table, and they have the schedule to do it. However, that still may not be enough. That makes this all just a fascinating end to this season. We should all continue to enjoy the ride.
This was shaping up to be one of those games that not only gets everyone fired. It was also a game which would lead to fans looking to tar and feather everyone. It was going to be that maddening a loss.
Noah Syndergaard struggled in his first start ever at Coors Field, and he made matters worse not holding on base runners. For reasons beyond explanation, Mickey Callaway allowed Rene Rivera to bat with bases loaded and two outs in the sixth with the Mets down 3-2.
The Mets offense had been shut down by Jeff Hoffman, a pitcher with a career 6.21 ERA and a 7.03 ERA this year. This was part of the them of how the bad Rockies pitching inexplicably shut down the Mets offense in a hitter’s paradise.
As the Mets entered the ninth down 4-3, you wondered if Callaway would get the same treatment Willie Randolph once did. Well, it’s not happening because the Mets had a rally to save their season and perhaps more than that.
After getting the Rockies out of an eighth inning jam, Bud Black opted to stick with Jairo Diaz to close out the game.
Wilson Ramos, who wasn’t used as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, led off the inning with a pinch hit walk before getting lifted for Juan Lagares. J.D. Davis, another player who wasn’t used in the sixth, had a pinch hit single putting runners at the corners with no outs. That was the situation for Brandon Nimmo, who delivered the biggest hit of the year:
Imagine thinking @You_Found_Nimmo wouldn't come through. pic.twitter.com/WTyQcI0FQf
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 18, 2019
Jeff McNeil then had a great at-bat. He battled from down 0-2 to draw a walk in a nine pitch at-bat. That would be it for Diaz as the Rockies brought Joe Harvey to get them out of this jam.
Problem is Harvey wanted no part of Pete Alonso, who had hit his 49th homer of the year earlier in the game. Harvey walked Alonso on four pitches, none of which we particularly close giving the Mets a 5-4 lead.
The Rockies caught a bit of a break with Robinson Cano hitting into a 6-4-3 double play, but it should be noted a run scored on the play increasing the Mets lead to 6-4.
At that point, it appeared the inning should be over. After all, Seth Lugo was due up, and with the state of the Mets bullpen, there was a less than zero chance he was coming out of the game. Well, as it turned out, there was no need to pinch hit for him:
Like we've always said about Seth Lugo.
Pure hitter. pic.twitter.com/OqmbBIEtaZ
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 18, 2019
The Mets were once on the verge of complete collapse with multiple heads about to roll. Instead, they’d win this game 7-4 in the most improbable fashion. Even better, with the Brewers losing, they gained a game on them in the Wild Card standings.
Game Notes: Alonso’s homer tied Mark McGwire for the most homers by a rookie first baseman, and it set the new Mets team season record. Lugo became the first Mets reliever to have a win and an RBI hit in a game since Nelson Figueroa.
Right now, the Mets need great performances from their players game-in and game-out to pull off the near impossible. Tonight, they got it from Marcus Stroman.
Stroman didn’t just look like the pitcher who the Mets sought at the trade deadline, or the pitcher who was having a great year in Toronto. This was the pitcher who was the MVP of the World Baseball Classic.
Even with him pitching in Coors Field, to say this start for Stroman was unexpected is unfair. Aside from his showing he can pitch like this in Toronto, he’s been gradually improving with each start. So far in his Mets career, this was his best start.
Thorough the first five innings, he allowed just two hits and one walk. At that point in time, the question is whether the Mets bats which had been asleep since the fourth inning last night would awaken in time to give Stroman and the Mets a win. They would in the sixth.
After a Todd Frazier leadoff single against Rockies starter Tim Melville, Amed Rosario would hit his 13th homer of the year, which not only have the Mets a 2-0 lead, but it would also start the home run brigade.
.@Amed_Rosario must have read our mentions. He gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/Mg7pzR11Qj
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 18, 2019
After Rosario homered, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso would also homer in the inning giving the Mets a 4-0 lead.
A mile high and two miles gone. ❄️? pic.twitter.com/i6JJG42SIF
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 18, 2019
That was plenty for Stroman. He’d shut down the Rockies in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, he and Wilson Ramos combined for a strike ’em out (Raimel Tapia) – throw ’em out (Charlie Blackmon) double play.
With that Stroman threw seven scoreless allowing no runs on four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. This is the deepest he’s gone in a game with the Mets. In fact, it’s the best he’s looked in Mets uniform.
With the way the Mets bullpen has been all year, you can argue the 4-0 lead wasn’t sufficient. If you’d argue that, the top of the fifth provided some peace of mind.
Joe Panik led off the inning with a pinch hit single off Rockies reliever Wes Parsons, and he’d be on second after a Nimmo walk. Alonso, who is clearly busting out of his slump, blooped an RBI double to right.
As noted, Panik scored. However, that’s all they’d get as Daniel Murphy hustled back, and he’d nail Alonso trying to stretch the single to a double.
In the eighth, it was Justin Wilson, who is just one of two relievers in whom Mickey Callaway has any faith. Even with his allowing a double to Pat Valaika, he shut the door.
The Mets added another insurance run in the ninth on a Frazier RBI single scoring Ramos giving the Mets a 6-0 lead. That lead would be enough for Callaway to go with Luis Avilan and not Seth Lugo in preserving this lead.
The Rockies scored one in a on Blackmon solo homer in the ninth, but the Mets would still win 6-1 keeping them afloat.
The Cubs lost to the Reds, and the Brewers beat the Padres. This means the Mets move to 4.0 back. It’s something, and that something is hope.
Game Notes:Frazier played for the first time since getting hit on the hand.
If you want to pinpoint the point where the Mets Wild Card hopes might’ve finally ended it was Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela breaking an 0-for-44 streak to hit a two out two RBI single to tie the game at 4-4. Right then and there, you had your sign this was not to be for the Mets for the night or for the 2019 season.
That is a Senzational swing ?#PitchersWhoRake pic.twitter.com/4HVPFihoKB
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 17, 2019
If you had any remaining doubt, Trevor Story would follow with a three run homer to put the Rockies up 7-4. It would be the fourth win in a row for the Rockies, and it would be the second straight loss for the Mets and their third loss in four games.
This was the exact sort of meltdown Steven Matz has avoided throughout the second half. While this hasn’t been the Matz of the second half, this is the Matz of Coors Field. In his career at Coors, he has allowed batters to hit .328/.397/.607, and he is now 0-2 with a 9.20 ERA and 1.773 WHIP there.
Matz struggling in Coors makes his a starting pitcher. Even with the humidor, mixing the new ball with the thin air is a recipe for disaster for any starting pitcher.
What is troubling is the Mets couldn’t overcome what was just a three run deficit. Before the bottom of the fourth, they were winning 4-1 having scored in three of the four innings. They had homers from Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, and Pete Alonso seemed to snap out of his cold streak.
The pivotal moment came in the sixth. An Amed Rosario infield single set up runners at the corners with one out. With Wilson Ramos out due to fatigue, Tomas Nido was due up. Mickey Callaway would send up Luis Guillorme instead of Ramos or as a pinch hitter. After he struck out, Callaway sent Joe Panik to the plate instead of Ramos, and he would ground out to end the inning.
Even if Ramos was fatigued to the point he couldn’t catch in the game, especially with the thin air, you can’t understand his not pinch hitting when the Mets needed a big hit there with his being the one guy on the bench with real power. Of course, that assumes Todd Frazier can’t go after getting hit on the hand.
In the end with the Mets 9-4 loss, they have now fallen to five games back of the Cubs, and they are four games behind the Brewers. Their postseason odds are 2.4 percent. Even if they go 10-2 from here on out, they need the Cubs and Brewers to essentially play .500 ball. As you can see with the odds being the way they are, the Mets chances aren’t impossible, just really improbable . . . just like the odds of Senzatela getting an RBI single
The New York Mets faced off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a series the Mets and their fans had hoped would be an NLDS preview. Judging what we saw in this series, if this was a preview, Major League Baseball would’ve been thrilled, but it seems like this won’t be the series they’ll get:
1. Not only did the Dodgers beat the Mets, they beat the best the Mets could throw at them. This is the biggest sign the Mets were just not good enough to claim the Wild Card or have a real shot at the World Series.
2. Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, and Jeff McNeil combined to go 0-for-25 with two walks and five strikeouts. If they’re going to do that against any opponent, the Mets have little to no chance of winning no matter how good their starting pitching is.
3. For the most part, the starting pitching was really good too. Jacob deGrom further cemented his being the Cy Young front runner going toe-to-toe with Hyun-Jin Ryu. After that game, deGrom was the only starter in the National League in the top five in innings, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, FIP, ERA+, bWAR, and fWAR. If that’s not a Cy Young Award winner, we don’t know what is.
4. Back in 2015, when Zack Wheeler was on the precipice of being traded with Wilmer Flores for Carlos Gomez, Wheeler called Alderson to ask to not be traded, so he could pitch for this Mets team in a pennant race and hopefully win a World Series. He got his chance, and he took full advantage of the opportunity pitching great against the Dodgers limiting them to one run over seven.
5. In that game, Wheeler got a number of big outs. After allowing a leadoff double to Joc Pederson in the sixth, he struck out the next three. After allowing a single to Gavin Lux putting runners at first and second with one out in the seventh, he struck out the next two.
6. Wheeler showed more emotion he ever has in a Mets uniform, and the way he is closing out the season, it is a reminder the Mets are going to have to do better than the qualifying offer for him. They are going to need to lock him up if they want to legitimately have an opportunity to win in 2020.
7. The criticism of Mickey Callaway for lifting Wheeler was inane. He saw Wheeler was tired, and Wheeler admitted as such. He was turning over the game to Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo, who have been great all year. This is the exact opportunity you want, and they didn’t deliver.
8. There’s no need to criticize Wilson or Lugo. They’ve been great all year. Just lament what could have been and tip your cap to them for being what they’ve been to this team.
9. You can’t help but think that a year or two ago Juan Lagares robs that Enrique Hernandez double in the ninth, and if that was the case, Lugo gets out of that ninth unscathed.
10. The only Mets starter who did not pitch well was Noah Syndergaard. Of course, the Mets thought it more important to send a message to him by having Wilson Ramos catch him than to set him and the team up for success by having Tomas Nido or Rene Rivera catch him.
11. For all the talk of the desperate need for Ramos’ bat in the lineup, he was 1-for-10 with a walk and three strikeouts in the series, and he is hitting .211/.268/.368 over the past two weeks. That should’ve been a further indication he should have sat when Syndergaard started, but you know, messages trump winning.
12. That next message came during Sunday Night Baseball. All season long, Jessica Mendoza has refrained from offering insight into what the Mets are thinking about anything or any one player. However, during the broadcast, she took the time to smear Syndergaard and pretend like the whole issue was blown out of proportion.
13. Saying Syndergaard needed the training wheels taken off was both a stupid thing to say and an unwarranted insult. Syndergaard is the last Mets pitcher with a World Series win. He has proven to be the only pitcher in Major League Baseball who has matched zeros with Madison Bumgarner in the postseason. But sure, he needs his training wheels taken off like Greg Maddux did in his career, or A.J. Burnett did as he helped pitch the Yankees to the 2009 World Series.
14. It’s interesting how Mendoza offered insight on Syndergaard, but there was no discussion on the Mets thinking on Wheeler, who was an impending free agent, when she was discussing the starters available in free agency. That makes the shot all the more unwarranted.
15. If not for Rajai Davis, the Mets likely get swept as the Mets starters did not do anything at the plate against the excellent Dodgers starting pitching. Seeing him deliver, it makes you question why the Mets wasted so much time on Aaron Altherr, Keon Broxton, Gomez, and whatever flew through the 40 man roster this year.
16. Actually, there was one Mets starter who delivered – Brandon Nimmo. His RBI triple was a huge hit. The same goes for J.D. Davis‘ homer off Clayton Kershaw. Other than that, the Mets starters did little to nothing.
17. When you break it all down, this was a series where the Mets showed they could stand toe-to-toe with the Dodgers, but they also showed they are not good enough to beat the Dodgers right now. Sure, it’s possible in the NLDS the Mets could still pull it out like they did in 2015, but it’s an uphill climb to get to that point.
18. The Mets are really behind the eight ball being four back with 13 games left in their season. The good news there is the Mets next 10 games come against the Reds, Rockies, and Marlins. That means a 10-0 stretch is not out of the question, and if they do that, it can make the final weekend all the more interesting.
19. Ultimately, no one in that Mets clubhouse deserves any blame. They gave the Mets everything they could give, and they’ve played their hearts out. Really, if you want to blame anyone, look at the front office who completely failed to build the type of roster that was needed to win this year.
20. Lets just enjoy the final stretch of the season and do post mortems later. This team still has a pulse, and they’ve earned our faith and belief in them. No one should speak of them being done until they are actually done.
Both Jacob deGrom and Hyun-Jin Ryu were great pitching seven scoreless. On the night, deGrom struck out eight compared to Ryu’s six. On the flip side, Ryu’s two hits allowed were one fewer than deGrom’s.
In all, this game did little to separate these two pitchers in the Cy Young voting, especially with both getting no decisions. With respect to deGrom, that should shock no one.
While the Cy Young is of importance, that’s not where the Mets concern now lies. No, it’s the Wild Card. The Mets entered tonight’s game three back, and the Pirates essentially no showed against the Cubs again making this a must win if there ever was one.
Knowing that, Mickey Callaway double switched J.D. Davis out of the game and brought in Brandon Nimmo and Seth Lugo in the hopes Lugo would go two innings. Even with Lugo striking out the side in the eighth, he wouldn’t.
The reason is the Mets put together a rally by taking advantage of the Dodgers plunking both Todd Frazier and Nimmo. The other thing the Mets took advantage of was the Dodgers bullpen as it was Joe Kelly who hit Frazier and Julio Urias who hit Nimmo.
With there being two outs and an opportunity to not just get out of the inning but also get Lugo out of the game, Urias pitched around Amed Rosario to force the Mets to go to a pinch hitter to get Lugo out of the game.
It should be noted here Michael Conforto did not start the game against the tough lefty. During this inning, Callaway had let Juan Lagares bat for himself against Kelly. While that decision might’ve seemed odd, it seemed like it was about to pay off for Callaway.
Except, he didn’t go to Conforto with the left-handed Urias on the mound. No, he went to Rajai Davis. While many first guessed this move, Davis, who was actually batting for the spot in the lineup held by the other right-handed hitting outfielder named Davis, made Callaway look smart:
?️?️?️ FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/FEU6Vugirp
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 15, 2019
That bases clearing double gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. After Justin Wilson pitched a perfect ninth, the Mets had a 3-0 win thereby staying alive in the Wild Card race.
Game Notes: Sam Haggerty scored the go-ahead run. He had pinch run for Frazier in the eighth.
The Mets have swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, and once again they are back in the thick of the Wild Card race after having played their way out of it. This has been one of the most mercurial seasons in team history setting forth what should be a fun emotional roller coaster ride over the final 16 games.
1. If you want to get off to a great start, there is no better way to accomplish that than starting with Jacob deGrom. He proved that by going seven innings of shut out ball. When you follow that up with Seth Lugo for two innings, there is no team in baseball that has a chance.
2. To put into perspective how incredible deGrom’s season was last year, he may be the leader in the clubhouse for the 2019 National League Cy Young award, and his ERA this year is a full run higher than it was last year.
3. In terms of this year’s Cy Young Award, tonight will be the second time over his last three starts where he faces off against another Cy Young leader. He pitched better than Max Scherzer the last time out, and this time he is facing off against Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has not been the same pitcher he was in the first half.
4. It is not just deGrom who is pitching great for the Mets lately. Zack Wheeler has three straight starts of 7.0 innings and just one earned. It might’ve taken a little more time than expected, but second half Wheeler finally arrived, and it could not have happened at a better time.
5. As good as deGrom and Wheeler are going, that is nothing compared to Steven Matz at Citi Field. This year, he is 7-1 with a 1.94 ERA at home. This is part of his pitching very well in the second half with a 2.52 ERA limiting opposing batters to a .227/.281/.364 batting line.
6. Then Marcus Stroman followed this trio with his best start in a Mets uniform. With him keeping the ball on the ground, you got a glimpse on just the pitcher the Mets thought they were going to get when they traded for him.
7. On Stroman, you see the impact a catcher can have on a pitcher. With the Blue Jays, Stroman had a 44.2 GB%, but when Wilson Ramos was catching him, it went down to 44.2 percent. Yesterday, the Diamondbacks only got the ball in the air 40.7 percent of the time.
8. This is another reason why we should note Noah Syndergaard‘s objections over Ramos are fact based. Even if it’s not, there is clearly a psychological impact upon him. Really, if the Mets are interested in winning, they would pair Syndergaard up with Tomas Nido or Rene Rivera.
9. What was surprising was seeing Nido homer yesterday. That wasn’t as surprising as Juan Lagares having a two home run game. We had Gary Cohen’s voice cracking as evidence of that. It was a great moment for Lagares who has been a good Met likely playing his final games in a Mets uniform.
10. Homers were a theme in this series with the Mets setting a team record hitting five homers in two straight games. They also set team records for homers at home in a season (114) and homers in a series (13). What is really surprising about this stretch is while everyone went homer happy, Pete Alonso didn’t hit one over the final two games.
11. Alonso is struggling now in an 0-for-12 stretch with seven strikeouts. Things must be getting to him as he took time to go into the clubhouse and shave his mustache mid-game. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and it may get worse with the Dodgers coming into town with Ryu, Clayton Kershaw, and Walker Buehler.
12. Of course, it was not all bad news with Alonso. He had a two home run game to surge to the Major League home run lead. However, that was nothing compared to his getting first responder cleats for the entire team. That was an incredible move which not only shows character, but it also shows he gets it.
13. The fact Alonso was forced to go that route is because yet again Major League Baseball refused to permit the Mets to wear the first responder caps. They did it while touting Sammy Sosa running with the American flag, and Mike Piazza hitting that homer.
14. They also sell special 9/11 patched caps. That’s Major League Baseball for you. They won’t let players do the right thing because it would interfere with their ability to profit off of a tragedy were many Americans lost their lives, and they continue to do suffering from 9/11 related illnesses.
15. It was not only special to see all the Mets wearing them, but specifically the local Mets like Matz, Stroman, Todd Frazier, Rajai Davis, Joe Panik, and Brad Brach. On that note, Matz pitched six shutout innings, and Frazier would homer wearing those cleats.
16. Matz wearing them was reminiscent of John Franco wearing an FDNY cap in the Mets first game post 9/11. With respect to Matz, he has undertaken charitable work to help those first responders, and due to his efforts he has been a Roberto Clemente Award nominee for the second straight year.
17. On Frazier, he his red hot right now. He has hit three homers over two straight games, and he is playing his usual good defense at third. He is getting hot just at the right time because the Mets need their absolute best from everyone right now.
18. That is something which has made this Mets team really special. They are all giving what they could give. Robinson Cano is playing as much as his leg would allow, and based upon what we heard from Mickey Callaway, J.D. Davis is doing the same. Brandon Nimmo has returned from a potentially season ending injury to play great. Brach is dealing with a shoulder injury, and Justin Wilson has an elbow issue. Right now, everyone is giving this team what they can. That deserves the fans’ love and admiration.
19. We’re also seeing players doing all they can to come back. Dominic Smith is hitting off a tee and running. Robert Gsellman is throwing on the side. They are both doing this despite both having suffered what really was season ending injuries. Again, say what you will about this team, but this is a special group of players.
20. The 1999 Mets overcame a two game deficit over the final three games of the season to force a one game playoff. This team has 16 games. Anything is possible.
After not having his typical second half run, Zack Wheeler had turned it on of late allowing just one earned in each of his past two starts. He’d do the same tonight.
It initially didn’t seem like that was going to be the case tonight. In the first inning, he immediately got into trouble. Ketel Marte hit a leadoff single, stole second, and he cane home on an Eduardo Escobar RBI single putting the Mets down 1-0.
After that first inning, Marte continued to give him fits doubling and walking, but Wheeler would find his way around his getting on base without yielding another run.
What helped Wheeler was his ability to get the big strikeout. In fact, he’d strike out seven Diamondbacks in the game. It’s the highest amount of strikeouts he’d have in a game in over a month.
The other thing working for Wheeler was his getting two double plays. After all was said and done, he’d have a final line of 7.0 IP, 7 H, R, ER, 2 BB, and 7 K.
For him, it was a matter of who was going to provide the offense as Zac Gallen completely shut down Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso who combined to strike out six times in six at-bats. This made Gallen the first ever pitcher to strike out McNeil three times in a game. He’d fly out in the seventh to avoid his first golden sombrero.
With the Mets two big bats atop the lineup being completely shut down, the Mets needed someone to step up. That someone would be Todd Frazier.
In the bottom of the second, Frazier hit a go-ahead RBI double. On the play, the Diamondbacks had a perfectly executed relay, and upon replay it appeared they got Amed Rosario at the plate, but the initial safe call was upheld.
D-backs challenge call that Amed Rosario is safe at home plate in the 2nd; call stands, runner is safe. Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/xFgwow6Y3Q
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) September 11, 2019
What was interesting about that play was in the fourth, it appeared Brandon Nimmo avoided Alex Avila‘s tag when the Mets ran a contact play with Wheeler at the plate.
Mets challenge call that Brandon Nimmo is out at home plate in the 4th; call stands, runner is out. Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/ybUzkR5JRP
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) September 11, 2019
At least tonight, those two calls evened out for the Mets.
Nimmo being on third on that play was a point of contention for Keith Hernandez. On Frazier’s fourth inning RBI double, his second of the game, it appeared as if Josh Rojas might’ve been able to make a play.
Instead of going to second, he stopped just a little more than halfway. As a result, he couldn’t score on a ball which hit the top of the wall meaning Robinson Cano would score the only run on the play.
This meant a 3-1 instead of a 4-1 lead on a night when Seth Lugo was unavailable.
In the eighth, Brad Brach allowed a long opposite field homer to Escobar to make it just a 3-2 lead.
With two out and nobody on, Mickey Callaway wasn’t messing around by going to Justin Wilson for the four out save.
After a walk to Rojas, Adam Jones flew out to end the inning. While it was just two batters, Wilson had to work needing 10 pitches to get out Jones and 15 pitches total.
To put it in perspective, since coming off the IL, he only threw more than 20 pitches three times over 26 appearances. Perhaps that is why Edwin Diaz was warming as the inning began.
Wilson was asked to do something he hadn’t done since April 2. It wouldn’t be pretty. Really, it wasn’t pretty at all.
Nick Ahmed led off the ninth with a single, and he’d be on third after a fielder’s choice and a Kevin Cron pinch hit single past a diving Rosario. That’s when all heck broke loose.
Marte hit a ball to Alonso freezing Ahmed at third. With it sinking, Tim Locastro froze at first and Ahmed at third. While Alonso dove, he couldn’t complete the catch.
He immediately picked up the ball and stepped on first. Then, instead of getting Locastro, who was dead to rights, he tried to pick Ahmed off third. With Ahmed getting back safely, the Mets all-time leader in walk-off hits, Wilmer Flores, stepped up to the plate.
Despite Wilson clearly tiring and everyone running around with their heads cut off,Callaway stuck with Wilson. His faith was rewarded as he struck out Flores to end the game.
After the 3-2 win, the Mets are tied in the loss column with the Diamondbacks and a four behind in the loss column to the Cubs.
Game Notes: Callaway said Frazier started over J.D. Davis because Davis needs days off. It should be noted Davis hurt his leg about a month ago. In Brooklyn, Edgardo Alfonzo led the Brooklyn Cyclones to the NYPL Championship. It’s their first championship since they were awarded one in the wake of 9/11.
If you want to win a game, the best possible formula is Jacob deGrom and Seth Lugo. Tonight, that’s what the Mets had, and it led to a separately needed win against a Diamondbacks team ahead of the Mets in the Wild Card standings.
For his part, deGrom was great furthering cementing his Cy Young case. His final line was 7.0 innings, three hits, one run, one earned, one walk, and 11 strikeouts. That one? Well, that was courtesy of our old “Friend” Wilmer Flores.
But that wasn’t as damaging as a homer as a run against deGrom would normally be as deGrom actually received run support tonight. In fact, two of the three runs scored for him came off the bat of Pete Alonso who hit his 46th and 47th homers of the year.
Your major league HR leader.
4⃣6⃣ and counting… pic.twitter.com/qJWAPd1eSG
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 9, 2019
Is this guy good? Asking for a friend. pic.twitter.com/5r71hysahc
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 10, 2019
The other run came courtesy of an Amed Rosario RBI single in the fourth scoring Wilson Ramos. What made that interesting is Ramos had reached on a double against the shift. That shift was an unorthodox two outfielder shift. Presumably, this was implemented in response to Ramos’ ground ball rates, and yet, his hitting the ball up the middle was an automatic double.
Going back to deGrom, what makes him so impressive is how he is dominant no matter what part of the game. He rips through the order the first, second, and third time through. The lineup turns over a fourth time just briefly. He gets the bad and good hitters. For example, he struck out Ketel Marte three times.
Another note here is deGrom controls all parts of the plate. He gets batters out north, east, south, and west. While we’ve seen his recent rise to dominance correlate to pitching up in the zone, he did it working the lower half tonight.
If a team thought they’d get a respite when he leaves a game, they’d be wrong as Lugo followed him to pitch the final two innings. The fresh Lugo was economical striking out four of the six batters he faced needing just 21 pitches to earn his fifth save of the year.
With the win, the Mets gained a game on both the Diamondbacks and Phillies. It’s still an uphill climb, but the Mets are still alive.
Game Notes: Alonso surpassed Darryl Strawberry and some other guy by reaching base safely for a 34th consecutive game.
On Friday night, the Mets led 4-2 heading into the ninth inning. Mickey Callaway then sent Edwin Diaz out there to earn the save. In the offseason and April, this would’ve seemed like a no-brainer. However, not hasn’t been the case all year. Everyone has lost faith in him.
After a Jean Segura one out single, J.T. Realmuto homered to tie the game. It was the 14th homer he allowed all year, which is just one fewer than he had allowed over the previous two seasons combined. It was the latest down point in a series of down points. In a bit of irony, he’d get the win because of the Mets two out rally culminating in a Pete Alonso walk-of win.
On Saturday, the Mets were tied 4-4 heading into the sixth inning. After Paul Sewald allowed a leadoff double to Rhys Hoskins. After a sacrifice bunt, Luis Avilan came in and had perhaps his worst outing of the season allowing an RBI single to Phil Gosselin before allowing a two run homer to Maikel Franco. Why Avilan was left in to face Franco is anyone’s guess.
With the Mets rallying back in the sixth to make this a 7-6 game, Callaway turned to Justin Wilson, his second best reliever, to start the inning. For the first time since he came off the IL, Wilson didn’t have it. When he didn’t have it with Scott Kingery hitting a two run homer off of him, Tyler Bashlor came in to relieve him.
For his part, Bashlor would walk Sean Rodriguez and allow a double to Franco. Then, for reasons which confounded everyone, Andrew Knapp and his career .219/.329/.322 batting line was intentionally walked to allow Bashlor to face Bryce Harper, who was pinch hitting for reliever Mike Morin.
Bashlor, and his MLB career 4.6 BB/9, which includes a 6.6 this year, was allowed to face Harper with the bases loaded. You could see the walk coming a mile away, and arguably, the walk, driving home the Phillies 10th run of the game, could be argued to be a much better outcome than what could’ve happened if Harper made contact.
With the season on the line, and in the highest leveraged situations the Mets faced all year, the bullpen gave up six runs over two innings. That was after Diaz blew the lead on Friday night. While the bullpen melted down in those two games, Mets fans watched on bewildered and horrified. Do you know who else was watching on?
Somehow, in the latest in a series of the Mets biggest series of the season, Lugo didn’t throw one pitch. Not one. If memory serves, he didn’t even soft tossing let alone warm up in any of those games. Potentially, the Mets chances at winning a Wild Card went by the wayside while the team’s best reliever watched it happen.
As horrible as we all feel, you could only imagine how Brad Brach felt. Remember, he was a member of that 2016 Orioles team who lost to the Blue Jays in 11 innings as Zack Britton, clearly the best reliever in the game that year, never entered the game. At some point, you have to wonder if he was having flashbacks.
With respect to Lugo, it should be remembered he threw two innings on Thursday. That was a day game after a night game, and in that night game, he threw an inning. That’s three innings over a 24 hour period. That’s a lot for a reliever with known UCL issues. It’s a lot for a reliever the Mets have been careful in trying to get him rest so as to not burn him out or injure him.
What we don’t know is whether he was unable to rebound after throwing those three innings. We also don’t know if Callaway was waiting for a late inning situation on Sunday which never presented itself. No matter what the case, the only thing we know is with the season on the line Lugo didn’t throw a pitch. If there is no injury issues, and there very well may be, that’s inexcusable.
The only thing more inexcusable than that is the fact that the Mets do not have another arm who could get a key out or pitch a scoreless frame in those three key innings.