Simply Put, Dodgers Are Just Better
There isn’t too much to over analyze with this loss. Unfortunately, the Mets lost because the Dodgers are just that much better.
No, it didn’t seem that way when Zack Wheeler was on the mound. He was legitimately great tonight. It was his fourth straight start allowing just one earned with him lasting 7.0 innings in three of those starts.
Wheeler struck out nine batters while walking just one. He got out of jams in the sixth and seventh unscathed, and he showed emotion like he never has. After those seven innings, the Mets were up 2-1 with Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo lined up to close it out.
If you’re the Mets, that’s exactly where you want to be. You want the lead to entrust to your two best relievers, the only two guys who have been legitimately very good all year.
Still, it was just a one run lead which is zero margin of error.
The Mets only had a one run lead because they only had one hit after Brandon Nimmo‘s second inning two run triple. In fact, after Nimmo’s triple, Walker Buehler and Pedro Baez would combine to retire 14 straight Mets.
The Mets threatened against Dustin May in the seventh, but ultimately, that rally went nowhere. As a result, Wilson and Lugo needed to be perfect. Sadly, they weren’t.
Wilson got himself into trouble walking the leadoff batter Jedd Gyorko. He then allowed a one out game tying double to Chris Taylor.
Wilson did step up after that. After intentionally walking Cody Bellinger, he struck out Corey Seager before Mickey Callaway brought in Seth Lugo, who retired Will Smith to get out of the jam.
Given the state of the Mets bullpen, there was no one available to bail Lugo out in the ninth.
Enrique Hernandez led off the inning with a double. On the play, Juan Lagares gave everything he had to get it going so far as to kick in part of the wall on the leap. He just missed it. You really can’t help but shake the feeling that last year Lagares catches it.
Lugo rebounded retiring two straight, and for a split second it looked like he may get the Mets into the bottom of the ninth tied. On his fourth fastball in the at-bat, Gyorko hit the 1-2 pitch for a go ahead base hit.
The Mets didn’t go down feebly. Robinson Cano drew a two out walk against Kenta Maeda, and Callaway would send Rajai Davis to pinch run. He’d also send up Joe Panik, who has excellent numbers against Maeda, to pinch hit.
Davis wouldn’t take off, and Panik would strike out to end the game. What we don’t know is if the Mets falling to four games behind the Cubs effectively eliminates them from the postseason.
What we do know is the Mets have 10 straight against bad Rockies, Reds, and Marlins teams. They also have the starting staff which came very close to taking down the Dodgers.
Overall, the Mets need some help and some luck. Probably a lot of luck. But that’s what happens when you build the very flawed roster the Mets have.
Crossing my fingers.
4 down, 13 to go. Trailing 2 teams.
Missed the game, but the pbp shows Wheeler K’ed 2 in the 7th, and had only thrown 97 pitches as of the end of that inning. Wheeler’s OPS is almost the same as Lagares’, and their OBPs, the critical figure from the leadoff positions when the Mets would come to bat, are indistinguishable. Was pulling Wheeler really the correct move? Particularly since the first batter he would face was the punchless Jedd Gyorko, who is significantly worse against a RHP.
It remains the case that as MLB increasingly seeks to impose a playoff system similar to the NBA’s, where the regular season is correspondingly increasingly meaningless, that we’re treated to the pretense that the Mets, headed for a lucky season about 2 wins better than .500, might somehow belong in the postseason. This is the ‘participation trophy’ MLB, seeking only to maximize revenues, with no interest in the integrity of the game or using the postseason as a showcase for the very best teams in baseball.
It’s also too bad that the guy you have to send up with the game on the line, 9th inning, 2 out, man on 1st, is Panik. Not a great time, either, for Pete Alonso to have a BAbip for the week of .000. You could tell his timing was thrown off by Jansen’s odd motion that then delivered a 95mph fastball.
Hard to score when the top of the lineup is 0-11 I believe. Alonso had such a great start to the week but the next six games were pretty awful. Conforto has had an uneven start to September. You would think the next six games on the road vs the Rockies and Cincy would get the offense going but the bullpen likely won’t hold up well and Matz on the road has not been pretty.
Wheeler was superb today throwing lots of sliders and changeups keeping the Dodgers off balance and when the Dodgers got on base he got huge strikeouts. Zack was at around 100 pitches but I would have let him start the eighth, but I didn’t have a big issue going to Wilson he has been good but you just can’t walk Gyorko.
Lugo continuing to pump in fastballs to Gyorko and not mixing in a curveball was strange and costly.
Panik not Frazier pinch hitting in the ninth was also strange.
All in all a disappointing game and a big blow to the playoff hopes . This feels like the end of the run.
I think Callaway went with Panik instead of Frazier because Panik’s number against Jansen are really good. However, Frazier has been hitting well lately, especially during the series against the Diamondbacks…but then again, those were the Diamondbacks and these are the Dodgers.
Frazier’s hand is busted up
Yet Callaway said he was available to pinch hit.
Even if he’s available, why do you want a guy with a busted hand who is bad against RHP this year over a guy with very good numbers against Maeda?
I’ve seen the Frazier commentary a lot, and I just don’t get it.
Frazier has not hit right-handed batters all year, and his hand is busted up. Panik has great numbers against Maeda.
I’m not sure why you’d even contemplate Frazier there.
Yup, and between walking Gyorko and Chris Taylor’s double was a balk and a wild pitch. Not good! Dodgers took advantage of the mistakes and that one run made the difference.
That’s what the great teams do.