Elias With Previously Unheard Of Stats

There was a time Gerrit Cole against Matt Harvey would be an anticipated pitcher’s duel. Not tonight. Maybe not ever again. Instead, it was a facing off of sluggers. Lucas Duda for the Mets, and Elias Diaz for the Pirates?

Because Francisco Cervelli was sick, he was removed from the lineup, and Diaz was put into the starting lineup. Diaz had only played in nine games over three years, so naturally, he was 2-3 with a double, homer, and six RBI. He absolutely killed the Mets. 

Still, this was a ballgame at one point.  A slugfest, but a ballgame nevertheless. 

In the first, Harvey loaded the bases with no outs. He somehow wriggled out of it allowing just the one run. While he was unable to put anyone away, he reached back and was able to strike out both Josh Bell and Andrew McCutchen to get out of the inning. 

From there, it appeared Harvey had settled in a bit. For a while, it even looked like he’d get the victory in this game. 

This was mostly thanks to Duda who launched two huge homers. The first shot in the second inning nearly took down the Shea Bridge and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead:

Harvey then ran into trouble in the fourth. Once again, he would load the bases with no outs. This time, he wasn’t so lucky. Diaz would hit a pitch over the middle of the plate for a bases loaded triple. This snapped an 0-26 steak opponents had against Harvey with runners in scoring position. 

Despite these struggles, Harvey would be in position to win this game. 

After Harvey failed to get down his second sacrifice bunt of the night, Michael Conforto hit an opposite field homer to tie the score at 4-4. 

After a Jay Bruce walk, Gregory Polanco played a Neil Walker hit into an RBI triple. Walker then scored on a Duda home run that went way up the Pepsi Porch capping off a five run inning and giving the Mets a 7-4 lead. 

At this point, the Mets offense was rolling, and it appeared the game was in-hand. Harvey made quick work of the Pirates in the fifth, and he took the mound in the sixth. That’s where the game changed. 

Bell led off the inning with a home run, and McCutchen followed with a walk. Terry Collins then double switched Paul Sewald into the game. Coming into the game, Sewald was arguably the Mets best reliever with a 2.21 ERA. He’d leave the game with a 4.35 ERA. 

The Pirates just went to work on Sewald. Diaz hit a three run homer off of him. After getting tattooed left and right, he eventually reloaded the bases and walked in a run. Before Collins went it to get him, he faced eight batters get to g just one out. His final line in the loss was 0.1 innings, five hits, five runs, five earned, one walk, and one strikeout. 

Sewald was bailed out by Neil Ramirez, who was probably the Mets best pitcher of the night. He worked 2.2 innings allowing just a home run to Josh Harrison to make it 12-7. 

In addition to Diaz, Harrison killed the Mets. He was 3-4 with two runs, a double, homer, and two RBI. He also made a nice diving catch robbing Conforto of a single. 

Really, the key difference in this game was when the managers pulled their starters. Harvey went too long, and it led to the Pirates game winning rally. The Pirates pulled Cole, and he got the victory despite allowing seven runs in five innings. 

This was just the latest in inexplicably and inexcusable losses for this team. 

Game Recap: Curtis Granderson recorded his 1,600 hit with a second inning single. Travis d’Arnaud was 2-3 with a walk. He’s now 6-12 this year against the Pirates. Wilmer Flores has supplanted Jose Reyes as the starting third baseman. 

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