Due to the rain, the Mets played it safe and started Rafael Montero over Jacob deGrom. While it is smart to protect the best pitcher in your team so you can win games down the road, putting Montero into any game severely hampers your chances of winning that game.
That was evident when Montero needed 45 pitches to get through the inning. Of note, the Mets wanted to limit him to 75 pitches due to his throwing 3.1 innings on Sunday. Montero needed 45 pitches because he was usual terrible self.
In the first, he allowed three walks including one with the bases loaded. He allowed three singles with two of those being infield singles. Despite the mayhem, the Mets were only down 2-0 after the first. Believe it or not, that would be all the runs the Padres needed despite them starting Dimelson Lamet, who was making his first career start.
The only run the Mets would score would be on a second inning Lucas Duda home run. After that, the Mets would squander opportunity after opportunity.
After the Duda homer, the Mets stranded Curtis Granderson on second after his two out double.
In the third, Matt Reynolds, who earned a lead-off walk pinch hitting for Montero. The Padres would execute a perfect relay and get the tag down just before Reynolds touched home as he tried to score from first on a Jose Reyes double. The Mets then stranded Reyes on second.
Hunter Renfroe handed the Mets a gift in the fifth. He couldn’t get to a Travis d’Arnaud shallow pop up, and then his throw pulled Chase d’Arnaud off the bag. Then for some reason, Terry Collins opted to go with the butcher boy with Paul Sewald instead of a straight sacrifice bunt attempt. Sewald struck out. Michael Conforto, who had a golden sombrero, struck out as well. Reyes popped out to end the rally.
Jay Bruce and Neil Walker led off the sixth with back-to-back singles off Padres left-handed reliever Jose Torres. Duda then grounded into the 3-6-3 double play. The Mets were still alive in the inning putting runners at the corners after a Wilmer Flores walked against Kevin Quackenbush. With Granderson coming up to the plate, the Padres brought in Ryan Buchter, and Collins countered with T.J. Rivera. Rivera flew out to end the inning.
There were runners and first and second and two out in the seventh, but Bruce was unable to cash in grounding out to short.
The shame of this is this was an extremely winnable game. Even as bad as Montero was, the Mets were still in position to win. Montero’s final line was three innings, five hits, three runs, three earned, three walks, and four strikeouts.
The score remained at 3-1 because Sewald was brilliant. Sewald was stretched to three innings and 41 pitches due in part to Montero’s ineffectiveness. Sewald once again answered the call pitching three scoreless allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four. It should be noted Collins deemed him unavailable yesterday.
Josh Edgin was nearly as good as Sewald pitching two shut out innings himself. Overall, while the bullpen has struggled, they did their job tonight.
Finally, in the eighth, the Meys offense broke through. Walker hit a lead-off double off Padres reliever Brandon Maurer, and he would score on a Duda seeing eye RBI single. Still, that rally would fizzle as Asdrubal Cabrera would ground into an inning ending double play.
The Padres added a run off the struggling Addison Reed in the ninth making it 4-2. That run would loom large.
Juan Lagares walked off Padres closer Brad Hand tostart the ninth inning rally, and he would go to third on a Conforto single. Reyes hit a high chopper which was enough to score Lagares and prevent the double play. Still, it was the second out of the inning. Bruce then fouled out to end the game.
The foul out put a capper on a frustrating night at the plate going 1-10 with RISP. It does not matter who the Mets did and did not start in this three game series. The Padres are terrible. The Mets should have swept them or at least taken two of three. Instead, they blew a five run lead last night and couldn’t hit with RISP tonight.
The entire Mets organization needs to do some soul searching after this series.
Game Notes: Cabrera was activated from the Disabled List but did not start. Kevin Plawecki was sent down to make room for him on the roster.
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.
Due to the ineffectiveness and injury to Tommy Milone, the Mets put Robert Gsellman back in the rotation.
Gsellman went out there and gave the Mets what is technically considered a quality start, which is three earned over six innings. Things might’ve gone better for him, but Yangervis Solarte got to him twice knocking in all three runs against Gsellman.
After the top of the sixth, Gsellman had thrown just 84 pitches. There would be no seventh inning though because Gsellman was due to lead off the inning. That and the fact Gsellman hasn’t started in a while.
Still, it should not have mattered. The Mets were up 5-3 against the team with arguable the worst offense in the National League.
Well, the Mets look like the worst bullpen in the National League, and Terry Collins used all the quality arms last night. Well push came to shove, and Fernando Salas was the one who got hit.
Salas loaded the bases with two outs following a pinch hit single by Chase d’Arnaud with back-to-back walks to Matt Szczur and Solarte. At that point, Collins decided to make the worst possible move he could’ve made. He went with Neil Ramirez and his 10.32 ERA to pitch to Wil Myers:
Mets had a 5-1 lead. Now tied at 5 in the 7th after Wil Myers' two-run single. Missed a grand slam by thismuch: pic.twitter.com/uiQHeKeu71
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) May 25, 2017
Thanks in part to a little luck and some Timo Perez-esque base running, the Padres only tied the score. Fortunately, Josh Edgin got the Mets out of the jam.
Unfortunately, Collins went to Josh Smoker to pitch the eighth. For the second straight night he was greeted with a long home run. This one was hit by Hunter Renfroe.
Renfroe would return the favor to the Mets in the bottom of the eighth. He flat out dropped a Juan Lagares fly ball. To his credit, Lagares hustled on the play and got to second base. The Mets would strand him there.
That was about all that the Mets offense had done wrong on the night. Michael Conforto continued to rake going 2-3 with a run, RBI, and two walks. Wilmer Flores hit a bases clearing double in the third. He scored on a Curtis Granderson single. Overall, every Mets starter except Rene Rivera reached base at least once.
The Mets offense would get one last chance against Brad Hand who came on to save the Padres 6-5 lead.
Neil Walker got the rally started with a lead-off single. Lucas Duda had a tough at-bat drawing a well earned walk, his third of the game. He came off for Matt Reynolds. The bases were then loaded as Flores hit a seeing eye single just past the shortstop.
Granderson and Rivera then struck out putting the game in Lagares’ hands. Renfroe wouldn’t drop this flyball leading to yet another brutal loss created by a bullpen meltdown. At least we know Collins won’t learn from this game either.
Game Notes: Jay Bruce sat with a back injury.
With the impending return of Yoenis Cespedes, the debate will begin to emerge over which Mets outfielder needs to go to the bench. Thankfully, that will not be Michael Conforto, not even against left-handed pitching. Instead, the discussion is between a pair of left-handed hitting right fielders who are in the last year of their contract.
If this decision was made in May, it would have been clear-cut. You play Jay Bruce. He was the best hitter on the team. However, he has stumbled in May. In the month of May, he has been eerily reminiscent of the player who struggles upon coming to the Mets hitting just .191/.282/.426 with four homers and 14 RBI. If Terry Collins is paying attention to this slump, this may just open the door for Curtis Granderson to play over Bruce.
While Granderson is typically a slow starter, he had a nightmare April leading many to question if he’s done at 36 years old. It’s May now, and Granderson is hitting much better. Now, when you hit .128/.174/.221 in April, that bar is absurdly low. And certainly, you can argue his hitting .232/.328/.518 with three homers and nine RBI does not merit a starting job. Still, there is an argument for Granderson over Bruce.
Even with his subpar May numbers, Granderson is having a better May. Whereas Bruce usually gets off to hot starts and cools off, Granderson starts out slow and improves as the season progress. Granderson is hot right now hitting .296/.387/.630 with two homers and four RBI over his last nine games. Between the two, Granderson is the much better right fielder. He also gives the Mets the option of playing him in center while Conforto plays in right.
No matter who Collins or the Mets front office decides to bench, it is going to be a tough decision that is going to lead to much double guessing. It may also be an issue with the team because these are two All Star right fielders who are playing for a contract. Sitting on the bench is going to damage their free agent value. There may be a work around benching either player.
It’s possible the Mets could bench Lucas Duda and play Bruce at first base. The justification for this is Duda has struggled since returning from the Disabled List. In his nine games back, Duda has hit just .154/.354/.231 with no homers or RBI. The OBP is where you want it to be, but Duda just looks lost when it comes to the rest of his game. This could be part of the normal peaks and valleys a player has during the season, or it could be part of the lingering effects of Duda’s elbow injury.
This creates its own problem as well. While there were some positive signs, Bruce looked raw at first base in the six games he played there. While there may not be a cause and effect, it should be noted Bruce’s season took a definitive turn when he played first base. Before playing first base, he was hitting .309/.387/.673 with six homers and 14 RBI in 14 games. In the 26 games since, he is hitting .216/.302/.431 with five homers and 16 RBI. There’s also the matter of Duda being an impending free agent himself. Certainly, he does not want to have any diminution of his free agent value by moving to the bench.
Right now, the Mets have a decision to make on which left-handed 30 home run impending free agent needs to go to the bench. There is no good answer to this conundrum. It’s a decision that is going to have far reaching implications on how the Mets ability to get back into the National League East race. There is still time for each player to distinguish themselves and take the decision out of the Mets’ hands similar to how Conforto has.
This is the type of question that makes or breaks seasons. Whenever the Mets have to make this decision, they need to make the right one.
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.
We saw it again. When Travis d’Arnaud is healthy, he has the talent to be an All-Star. However, yet again, he is injured, and his injury has once again created an opportunity for another player. In the past, Kevin Plawecki wasted those opportunities. This year, it is Rene Rivera, and he has taken full advantage of the opportunity.
Since d’Arnaud went back on the Disabled List, Rivera is hitting .357/.400/.452 with a double, homer, and 11 RBI. Right now, Rivera is exactly what the Mets thought they would be getting from a healthy d’Arnaud. Because of that Terry Collins has basically said d’Ranud is not getting his starting job back when he returns from the Disabled List. Specifically, Collins said, “When Travis gets back, we’ll have to make some decisions, but obviously Rene Rivera has earned a spot, has earned a job catching, and we’re going to play him as much as possible.” (Mike Puma, New York Post).
If Collins follows through with that plan, it is going to be problematic. It is Collins confusing a hot streak at the plate from a veteran to a player transforming themselves. There are two things that are true here: (1) It is hard to trust in d’Arnaud because of his injury history; and (2) Rivera is playing some of the best baseball in his career. To say anything different is to read too much into everything.
In fact, this isn’t the first time we have seen this from Rivera. In July 2016, Rivera hit .323/.400/.581 with two doubles, two homers, and seven RBI. With that hot streak and another injury prone season from d’Arnaud, Rivera would be the starter the rest of the way. In the ensuing 34 games, Rivera would hit .216/.278/.295 with one double, two homers, and nine RBI.
We shouldn’t be surprised by this. Rivera is not a good hitter. In his career, he is a .219/.269/.338 hitter who has just one season with double digit homers. He has been slightly better in his one plus season with the Mets hitting .247/.304/.361 with eight homers and 40 RBI in 89 games played. Even is you were to argue Rivera is a better hitter with the Mets, he is still not a good enough hitter to play everyday.
The obvious argument is Rivera should be starting because he is a strong defensive catcher that gets the most out of his staff. Unfortunately, the data does not support this notion.
In April, with d’Arnaud catching 16 out of the 24 games, the Mets pitching staff had a 4.53 ERA and were walking 3.5 batters per nine innings and striking out 9.5 batters per nine innings. In May, the Mets pitching has fallen apart. In the month, the Mets pitchers have a 6.02 ERA while walking 4.4 batters per nine and striking out just 8.3 batters per nine.
Now, there are a number of reasons why this happened. First of all, Noah Syndergaard has not thrown a pitch in the Month of May, and his replacement in the rotation was Tommy Milone. We have also Adam Wilk make a disasterous spot start due to Matt Harvey being suspended. That’s another thing. Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Robert Gsellman have all regressed in May.
| April | May | |||||
| ERA | WHIP | BB/9 | ERA | WHIP | BB/9 | |
| deGrom | 2.84 | 1.17 | 3.20 | 4.50 | 1.50 | 4.50 |
| Harvey | 4.25 | 1.15 | 3.00 | 8.04 | 2.11 | 6.90 |
| Gsellman | 6.23 | 1.71 | 3.70 | 7.41 | 1.77 | 2.60 |
Now, there is always a real danger in trying to draw too many conclusions from a small sample size even if that is what Collins is doing in naming Rivera a starter right now. However, there might be one big reason why these pitchers have struggled since d’Arnaud went on the Disabled List. It could just be because d’Arnaud is a better pitch framer than Rivera. In fact, between d’Arnaud, Plawecki, and Rivera, Rivera is the worst pitch framer on the roster.
Now, it might be difficult to accept d’Arnaud is better handling this Mets pitching staff than Rivera because that’s not the narrative. The narrative is Rivera is the defensive specialist. If you are looking for proof, look no further than his 36% caught stealing rate. Actually, people rarely do look further than that. While Rivera has his strong points as a catcher, he is not a great defensive catcher. His pitch framing holds him back. If he’s not getting that extra strike for his pitching staff on a per at-bat basis, it is hard to defend playing him everyday with his offensive ineptitude.
Overall, d’Arnaud is the better pitcher for this Mets pitching staff. His pitch framing skills help turn balls into strikes. This get his pitchers into advantageous counts. This shortens at-bats. It keeps runners off the bases. Ultimately, pitchers can now go deeper into games. Also, the pitchers can have leads when they leave the game with the help of d’Arnaud’s bat in the lineup. Looking at d’Arnaud’s bat and his pitch framing, there should be no doubt he should play everyday.
Originally, I was supposed to be watching this game with my brother, but with him being rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery on Friday, those plans were nixed. By the way, Happy Birthday to him. His gift was being discharged from the hospital. It is a good thing he was going through the discharge process because I’m not sure even his painkillers would have been sufficient to dull the pain of watching that game.
Before you could blink, it was 5-0. It would have been worse but Michael Conforto nailed Danny Espinosa at home plate. Believe it or not, it got worse from there. Mike Trout and Jefry Marte would hit back-to-back homers off Tommy Milone to make it 8-0. At that point, Milone was done for the day.
To put is succinctly, Milone was absolutely terrible. He threw 43 pitches with only 27 of them being strikes. When he did throw a strike, it was hit hard. Overall he pitched just 1.1 innings allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and two walks. As bad as that was, Rafael Montero came into the game.
Bringing in Montero was the right move because it’s already 8-0, and you don’t want to rip through an already tired bullpen. However, Montero is really just a white flag. When he comes into the game, it really means “Game Over.” It was a gorgeous day, and I have a three year old. I decided to go out and have a fun day away from the team. There was no sense watching anymore.
And really, it is getting to the point where you don’t want to watch the Mets on Sundays anymore. Since winning their first Sunday game of the season, the Mets have lost five straight Sunday games. Overall, they are getting out-scored 65-24 in Sunday games. The losses have been a mixture of disheartening losses and blowouts. They have made you feel worse about series losses, and they have overshadowed series victories. It makes me happy that the Mets no longer offer the Sunday Plan because I otherwise would have been at the game watching that mess again.
Sure, in turning the game off, I missed the Mets making a game of it with the Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce homers. I also missed the continued struggles of Hansel Robles. Instead, I got to ride on a train and drink soda from an animal sippy cup. I also got to see a sea lion up close.
With that, I at least had a fun Sunday, which is something I would not have had if I continued to watch that Mets game.
Just wanted to drop a note saying Happy Birthday to my younger brother.
Hopefully, you are not on the disabled list as long as David Wright.
By now, many of you have probably already heard of P.J. Conlon, the Mets’ left-handed pitching prospect, who emigrated from Ireland. However, that only scratches the surface of who Conlon is.
Conlon is actually from Northern Ireland – Belfast to be exact – a city at the center of The Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict over whether Northern Ireland belonged to the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. Not an ideal place to raise a family, especially an Irish Catholic family like the Conlons.
Seeking to escape the danger that was so prevalent in their lives, the Conlons departed for America and settled in California. It was there that would all become citizens, and it was there they would seek to fulfill the American dream. And nothing is more American than baseball.
Like most American boys, Conlon played baseball, and he was good enough to play in high school. Despite being a standout high school starting pitcher, Conlon wasn’t drafted by any major league teams leading him to further purse his baseball dreams in college.
Conlon would go to the University of San Diego. His college roommate was current Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant. In Conlon’s Junior year, he was 6-4 with a 2.17 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and an 8.1 K/9.
He wasn’t overlooked after that. The Mets would make him their 13th round draft pick in the 2015 draft.
Right away, he showed the Mets he was special. In 17 relief appearances for the Brooklyn Cyclones, Conlon was 0-1 with a 0.00 ERA, 0.59 WHIP, and a 13.2 K/9. His stats suggested he could become a draft steal and yet Conlon, himself, didn’t have great stuff.
His fastball routinely sits in the mid to high 80s. However, Conlon is still able to make it work because he pairs it with a terrific change-up and a good curveball. In fact, Conlon’s change-up may very well be the best change-up in the entire Mets farm system. Conlon also hides the ball very well due to his delivery. As you can see, it is a lot of arms and legs:
Perhaps, the main thing Conlon does right is he knows how to attack hitters. He plays each one of his pitches off the other ones making his repertoire more effective. He pounds the strike zone, and he typically keeps the ball on the ground. He’s really an uncomfortable at-bat for a hitter.
Conlon built upon his 2015 success when he was moved from the bullpen to the rotation in 2016. In his time split between Columbia and St. Lucie, Conlon was dominant once again. In 23 starts and one relief appearance, Conlon was 12-2 with a 1.65 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and a 6.1 K/BB ratio. His 1.65 ERA was lowest among all full season qualified starters.
His performance brought with it a lot of awards and recognition. He was a South Atlantic League All-Star. He was named the MiLB.com Fans’ Choice for Best Starting Pitcher. He was named an MiLB Mets Organizational All-Star. He was MLB Pipeline’s Mets Pitching Prospect of the Year. Perhaps most importantly, the New York Mets named Conlon the Sterling Organizational Pitcher of the Year.
He was also MMN‘s Starting Pitcher of the Year. He currently ranks as MMN‘s 22nd best Mets prospect.
He’s a prospect that seems to be not too far from the major leagues.He was a non-roster invitee to Major League Spring Training with the Mets considering using him out of the bullpen as soon as Opening Day. Most likely, Conlon will begin the year in Binghamton waiting for the call to the majors whether it is this year or the next; whether it is for a spot start or to pitch out of the bullpen.
And when that day eventually comes, Conlon will be doing something truly special indeed. The day Conlon steps foot on the field, he will become just the 44th major leaguer born in Ireland. He will be the first Irish born major leaguer since Joe Cleary pitched one-third of an inning for the 1945 Washington Senators over 70 years ago.
“I’ve always wanted to prove not only to myself but to people growing up that this was something I could do,” Conlon recently told the Irish Times.
“I feel like I can get big league hitters out and I’m just in the process right now of polishing everything and being ready for that step.”
This isn’t supposed to happen to boys born in dangerous war torn cities. This isn’t supposed to happen to boys born in Ireland. This isn’t even supposed to happen to pitchers who don’t throw their fastballs in the 90s. And yet, Conlon continues to persevere and make the best out of who he is and what he has.
That, in a nutshell, is the American Dream.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Merized Online
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.