Votto Is Great, The Mets Are Bad

It’s a good thing the Mets had both Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera start this game.  If not for them, the Mets probably would have been shut out instead of the team losing 7-2.

Reyes got things started in the first with a double off Reds starter Robert Stephenson.  Naturally, Reyes was hitting lead-off because they need to see if he, rather than today’s clean-up hitter Brandon Nimmo, could be the lead-off hitter of the future.  Fellow prospect, and third place hitter in the line-up, Cabrera, would boost his chances of being on next year’s team with a sacrifice fly.

After the Mets fell behind 2-1, Reyes and Cabrera showed what this young team is capable of doing by hitting a pair of singles.  Reyes then scored when run producer Nimmo came to the plate and singled a ball off of the pitcher to tie the game at two.

From there, the Mets failed because they simply just didn’t have enough players who played with as much fire and passion as Reyes and Cabrera.  That was evident by the Mets going 1-11 with RISP and the team leaving eight men on base.  That would never happen with a lineup full of Reyeses and Cabreras.

The Reds initially took the lead on a Scooter Gennett two run homer in the second inning.  Gennett would later get to Jacob deGrom again in the fifth with an RBI double.

In the third, the Reds took the lead for good on an Amed Rosario miscue.  Billy Hamilton found himself on second after a lead-off single and a stolen base.  If we’re being honest, there’s just no way Travis d’Arnaud is ever going to throw out Hamilton.  Joey Votto then hit a grounder to Rosario.  Rather than take the sure out at first, which would have been the second out of the inning, Rosario rushed the play throwing off balance pegging Hamilton in the leg.  Hamilton then scurried home.

Certainly, Terry Collins can no longer justify playing Rosario at shortstop when he has both Reyes and Cabrera available to play there.  Nope, that error and a .240 batting average needs to be put on the bench so the Mets can win some games.

They weren’t going to win this one with the way deGrom struggled, or at least struggled for him.  The Mets ace would allow four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks.  While he would take the loss, deGrom would strike out five.  With those five strikeouts, he now has 206 on the season, which is a new career high.

After deGrom’s relative struggles, we saw the bullpen struggle as well.  Jeurys Familia allowed a homer to Votto.  While you hate seeing the Mets give up a crucial homer, it was alright in this instance as Votto hit the home run for a six year old boy undergoing chemotherapy:

It’s a reminder that even with the Mets doing incredibly stupid things, the strife we face across the country, and the flooding in Houston, there are still good things and good people in this world.  To that end, Votto saved the day in what was an otherwise typically lousy and wasted Mets performance.

Game Notes: Erik Goeddel‘s struggles continue with him allowing a two run homer to Stuart Turner in the eighth.

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