Amed Rosario
Aside from the stretch where he was dealing with illness and some slight injury issues, Jacob deGrom hasn’t been too far off from his Cy Young season. When he’s going this good, the Mets just need to get him a lead to get the win. Tonight, the Mets needed to do it twice.
The Mets and deGrom fell behind in the third as Matt Carpenter beat the shift for a two out RBI single. We saw deGrom frustrated in the dugout, and we are all reminded how the Mets are among the worst in shifting their infield.
The Cardinals lead was very short lived as Michael Conforto hit a two run homer off Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty. Not only did that homer give the Mets the lead, but it’s a reminder Conforto should be an All Star.
Make that 17 consecutive home games with a home run! #LGM
Vote Conforto ? https://t.co/iAfhjEVKG2 pic.twitter.com/biBo79vdaF
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 14, 2019
Surprisingly, that lead didn’t hold up because Paul DeJong hit a game tying homer in the sixth past a leaping Carlos Gomez. Between DeJong and Yadier Molina, the Cardinals have too many Mets killers. That should come as no surprise as that’s the way it’s always been between these two teams.
Once again, the Mets answered the Bell with a two run rally right after a Cardinals run.
Pete Alonso got the rally started with a ground rule double, and he’d score off a Dominic Smith RBI single. That hit gave the Mets the lead, and the team would continue to rally.
The Mets immediately loaded the bases causing the Cardinals to pull Flaherty and bring in Giovanny Gallegos. Amed Rosario got a hold off of one and drove it to deep center only to be absolutely robbed of an extra base got by Harrison Bader.
The ball was hit more than deep enough to score Smith from third. On the play, Bader made a horrific throw, and there was no one covering third. Todd Frazier, who was halfway and slow to get back took off for third. Carpenter was able to get the errant ball to Kolten Wong who barely beat Frazier to third for the third out.
You understand Frazier going there, but you have to be safe there because it killed what could have been a bigger rally. It would haunt the Mets.
deGrom came out for the seventh and put up another zero. He finished the game with seven innings allowing just two earned on six hits and no walks with eight strikeouts. In sum, it was a deGrom start.
Before the ninth started, the umpires called for the tarps. Mickey Callaway with some animated players behind him, like Alonso with his glove under his jersey coaxed the umpires to reverse course. The tarps came off the field, and instead, the grounds crew went back to work.
It was deemed a rain delay as a warmed o Diaz was left wandering around the dugout while the grounds crew tried to clean and dry up a pretty soggy infield. Whatever the case, it was a nine minute rain delay.
Diaz walked the Marcell Ozuna to leadoff the inning, and he just couldn’t get that last out. With two outs, Wong knocked in Ozuna. Presumably due to the field conditions, Wong couldn’t get to second even with the ball in the corner. Bader then ripped a ball to the left field corner.
Carlos Gomez made a poor relay throw to Rosario. With the wet weather, Rosario couldn’t pick it allowing Wong to score. It was frustrating because if Gomez makes even a decent throw Wong would’ve been out ending the game.
Instead, after Bader slipped and fell and was thrown out trying to get back to second, the Cardinals tied the score 4-4, and this time, the umpires called a real delay with the tarps out before the bottom of the ninth.
Between the field conditions and weather reports, the game is suspended until tomorrow. That means the Mets will have to wait another 24 hours (perhaps longer) until the Mets can get back to .500.
Game Notes: Before his at-bat in the fourth, Wilson Ramos‘ wife held a sign in the stands to inform him she’s pregnant with their third child. He struck out looking. deGrom became the eighth Mets pitcher to strike out 1,100 batters. Mets have now homered in 17 straight home games.
The Mets and Yankees had their first doubleheader since 2008, which was also their first doubleheader in one ballpark since the inception of the Subway Series. The Mets walked out of Yankee Stadium with a split, and they are still one game under .500. How that happened was quite eventful:
1. The Subway Series needs to stop. The Mets get four games against the Yankees while the teams they are fighting against for the division or Wild Card don’t have the same four tough games locked into their schedule all year. I don’t care how much fun it is, it is putting the Mets at a competitive disadvantage.
2. We can and should talk about payroll disparity and ownership commitment when it comes to why the Mets are the Mets and the Yankees are the Yankees. However, it’s more than that. The Yankees got Luke Voit and IFA money for essentially nothing while the Mets traded three prospects for J.D. Davis.
3. Speaking of Davis, it’s inexcusable hes’ one of three players who started both ends of the doubleheader in the field. Really, the team needs to stop trying to make this ill-advise trade work and instead focus on making decisions to help this team win games.
4. The Mets defense was terrible in the first game. Amed Rosario missed first. Todd Frazier threw one away. J.D. Davis couldn’t get to anything because he was sitting in the front row of the bleachers to make up for his lack of range. Overall, this is a terrible defensive club with a National League worst -51 DRS.
5. With respect to the poor defense, Juan Lagares is a -2 DRS in center, which seems unfathomable. However, if you look at the new stat called jump, Lagares is not getting the same read on the ball as he did over the previous two years. Who knows why that is, but until he figures it out, he’s borderline unplayable at this point.
6. Zack Wheeler needs to be better than this. Yes, the defense behind him was atrocious, but he wasn’t much better. It was not the defense who served up the homers to Gio Urshela or Luke Voit. Overall, his peripherals show he’s better than this, and he has shown himself to be a second half pitcher. You just wish he would get to being the second half Wheeler sooner rather than later.
7. Yankee Stadium is a real joke where pop flies to the infield in other parks go out. That said, Pete Alonso‘s homer in the second game of the doubleheader would have left Yosemite.
8. Alonso is becoming way too much of an all or nothing guy. Since May 1, he’s hitting .224/.300/.560 with 13 of his 30 hits being homers. He has also struck out 26 percent of the time while walking six percent of the time. As the season progresses, he looks more and more like this type of a hitter than he does the guy who set the world ablaze in April.
9. Alonso’s being in the top five in All Star voting is fun. We should celebrate that. However, it’s bizarre Mets fans are only rushing to help him when Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil have been so good all year.
10. As noted previously, McNeil is hitting like Ichiro Suzuki. This shouldn’t be sustainable, but yet, it has been. Hat tip to Jerry Beach, a man whose taste in television shows is as excellent as his taste in managers is poor, for saying McNeil is like Wade Boggs after Gare tried to say McNeil wasn’t Boggs.
11. As much as I adore Gary, Keith, and Ron, they need to stop talking about the advanced stats, especially since they clearly don’t fully understand it, and they are mostly doing it to disparage them. Case in point was Gare saying how the shift only affects ground balls.
12. Jeurys Familia has been looking much more like Familia. He now has three consecutive completely dominating innings/appearances. We are getting closer and closer to trusting him in pressure situations again. And the Mets should if everything is ironed out as this looks more like a mechanical issue than a mental one.
13. The Mets bullpen has too many bottom feeders in it. At most, you can have one of Wilmer Font, Drew Gagnon, Tim Peterson, or Hector Santiago. You cannot have four of them. That’s how you start burning out productive arms in the pen and putting games way out of reach.
14. Yesterday, Brandon Nimmo, Robinson Cano, and Justin Wilson played in a rehab game in Syracuse. The team needs all three of them back as soon as possible to help this team go on a run, but the team cannot bring them back until each one of these players is fully healthy and ready to contribute.
15. Somehow, someway, Jason Vargas escaped the third allowing just three runs, and he got out of the fourth unscathed. When all was said and done, he had a quality start and a win. That’s a big credit to him.
16. Right now, Vargas is on one of the better stretches in his career. He pitched well against two good offensive teams, and he flat out dominated a terrible Giants team. The .286 BABIP and 83.3 LOB% would indicate this is not at all sustainable. That said, Vargas is getting results, so you might as well ride this out as far as this takes you.
17. Wilson Ramos seems to be doing with the extra days off here and there. Starting in May, he played less frequently, and he started to become much more productive. When Tomas Nido hits like he did in the first game of the doubleheader, the plan to get the over 30 and injury prone Ramos more rest becomes a more viable solution.
18. Speaking of back-up catchers, good for Travis d’Arnaud for turning things around with the Rays. In addition to catching, he’s also working out at other spots in the diamond. This is what the Mets should have done with him. Instead, they rushed him up way too soon, and they then DFA’d him in a complete overreaction.
19. There was a real fear this team was going to repeat it’s horrendous June of last year. So far, the Mets are 4-4 this month meaning they are just one short of the total win total from June 2018. While things could be better, things could also be a lot worse.
20. Mickey Callaway said about the team how he believes once this team gets back to .500 they are going to take off. With Nimmo, Cano, and Wilson in Syracuse and as Syndergaard puts it, the Mets are a second half team, it’s hard not to believe him.
The Mets went from a very bad loss on Friday to winning a series against the Rockies, a team ahead of them in the Wild Card standings. All in all, it was a good weekend with a lot of great things happening:
1. Noah Syndergaard is not getting enough credit for reinventing himself on the fly. He’s lost his slider due to the new ball, and he’s adapted by throwing more four seamers and his curveball, two pitches he needed to develop further. He’s really turned a corner and maybe he’s on the brink of a stretch like he had in 2016.
2. It does seem every Mets pitcher likes pitching to Tomas Nido. It should come as no surprise as he is a first rate defensive catcher and pitch framer.
3. That said, we cannot have Nido being the personal catcher to Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. That is especially the case when Wilson Ramos has been the Mets best hitter for over the past three weeks, and he has improved his rapport with the pitching staff. Fact is, Ramos has to play.
4. That said, Nido should play a little more. In the first month plus of the season Ramos played in 28 of 29 possible games, and he started in 22 of 29 games. The Mets played 28 games in May, he played 24 games and started 19. Apparently, easing off the throttle off the 31 year old catcher with an injury history has benefits.
5. Speaking of easing off the throttle, Robert Gsellman was dominant in his one inning on Friday, and then he didn’t pitch in the subsequent two days. Getting him more rest could make him more effective like he was earlier in the year. That’s the hope at least.
6. For those who were clamoring for Drew Gagnon in pressure situations, you got to see why Mickey Callaway was hesitant to put him in those spots as he allowed homers to David Dahl and Daniel Murphy. In three of his last five appearances, hes’ allowed runs with two of them being three run blowups.
7. That’s the thing with pitchers like Gagnon. They’re effective in a role like long reliever, but pressure situations are a different animal. From what we’ve seen, Gagnon definitely has a spot in a Major League bullpen just not in the seventh or eighth inning. That’s alright. There’s nothing wrong with having pitchers who can pitch effectively in certain roles.
8. Jeurys Familia has been great in his last two appearances retiring the side both times. If he’s turning the corner, the Mets bullpen is now more than just Edwin Diaz and Seth Lugo.
9. Todd Frazier is not this good, but he was also not as bad as he was to start the season. That’s the inherent problem with judging players over hot and cold streaks and especially over week-to-week production. Overall, what we have seen from Frazier is he’s a very good defensive third baseman who can draw walks and has pop in his bat. At least, that is what he is when he’s healthy. He’s healthy now, and he’s finally helping the Mets much in the same fashion Sandy Alderson thought he would.
10. The Mets need Frazier all the more because Jed Lowrie is apparently as real as the Tooth Fairy.
11. Speaking of moves which blew up unexpectedly, Robinson Cano has been less productive than Jay Bruce or Anthony Swarzak, both of whom have been traded in the division and are now working to beat the Mets.
12. With Juan Lagares having a -3 DRS in center and seeing Carlos Gomez play in center, the Mets should give a real consideration to seeing Jeff McNeil in center. As we see he has above average speed, good instincts, and an ability to quickly learn new positions. This would allow Brandon Nimmo to go to left field, which is a more natural fit whenever he comes off the IL.
13. Of course, if Dominic Smith continues to hit and play a passable left field, you could move McNeil to second. Of course, when Cano is healthy that raises a whole other list of issues. However, that falls under the category of good problems to have, which is a really nice change of pace around here.
14. Amed Rosario is an extremely talented player. We keep seeing glimpses of it, but we also see frustrating stretches. Part of this is the coaching staff with the Mets being one of the worst shifting teams there are, which has a negative impact on Rosario’s defensive numbers. There’s also the fact he’s still working to figure things out. Hopefully, sooner or later, something finally clicks.
15. Speaking of something clicking, Mets need to hope Pete Alonso is finally clicking again. While he’s hitting just .223/.298/.559 since May 1, Alonso is hitting .281/.349/.649 0ver his past 15 games. One thing to track here is Alonso is much better against left-handed pitching.
16. Bob Klapisch’s article in Bleacher Report on the Wilpons on their handling of their attempts to void Yoenis Cespedes‘ contract as well as all the other areas where the Wilpons are petty, over-matched, cheap, and whatever other adjective you want to use, is exactly the type or articles which need to be written instead of the paint-by-number fire Mickey Callaway articles which are being written.
17. Prior to this series against the Rockies, the Mets had exactly one series win against a team with a winning record. That series was the April 22 – 24 series at home against the Phillies where they blitzed them over the first two games before the Phillies destroyed Jason Vargas in the final game of that series. Things went sour for the Mets after that.
18. Mets haven’t been good for a while now, and it does seem like things are turning a corner. Fortunately, the Wild Card and division are still well within reach.
19. The Subway Series always seem to be a seminal moment in the Mets season. They appear headed in the right direction and the Yankees not so this next series could prove to be a springboard for the Mets.
20. What happened to David Ortiz was horrific, and instead of rushing to judgment like Dallas Braden, we should be just offering our prayers for Ortiz for a speedy recovery.
Want to know what type of year it has been for the Mets? Pete Alonso was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple, and on the play, he was awarded home:
A yes doubter. pic.twitter.com/RK1H1w8hEU
— Roger Cormier (@yayroger) June 9, 2019
That’s right nothing makes sense when it comes to the Mets this year. That said, you have to keep your eyes on them because you never know what’s going to happen next.
Carlos Gomez is hitting .182, and he’s one for his last 16. Naturally, he hits a two run homer off Jon Gray.
A month ago, Todd Frazier looked completely washed up and on the precipice of being designated for assignment, possibly a forced retirement. He’s been the Mets best player since hitting homers and robbing Nolan Arenado of a base hits.
We are constantly told Steven Matz is mentally weak. He battled a tough Rockies lineup and just flat out horrendous work from the Home Plate Umpire Mike Winters to go six strong to put himself in line for the win.
That included his taking the rare step of going a fourth time through the lineup and throwing 120 pitches. That’s really rarified territory for him, and the purportedly mentally weak Matz allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out 10. The reason for that is partially due to his having his curve working:
Got 'em looking. ? pic.twitter.com/5l7HcHCyCb
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 8, 2019
Going back to the home plate umpire, he was REALLY terrible. Just ask Amed Rosario:
If Amed Rosario has some thoughts after the game, this is going to be why (strike 3) pic.twitter.com/SIJxknfTWZ
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) June 9, 2019
Push finally came to shove, and we saw yet another completely unexpected thing. Mickey Callaway was ejected. He argued the awful strike zone and was tossed. Again, this is completely uncharacteristic of him.
Another unexpected development was Daniel Murphy going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on the night. With him not killing the Mets for once, the Mets had a chance to win.
Ultimately, they did win 5-3 partially because of the one expected thing that did happen. Seth Lugo pitched two scoreless, and Edwin Diaz pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.
Just that like that, for one day, things look good for the Mets. Let’s see if they can get more positive unexpected things to happen in the ensuing days, weeks, and months, to keep it going.
Game Notes: With his 21st homer, Alonso is just five behind Darryl Strawberry‘s rookie record. He’s two behind Christian Yelich for the MLB lead.
The Mets have won just rubber game all year, and it does seem like these mid-week day game typically ends terribly for the Mets. Even with the Mets starting the game with back-to-back homers from Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith off Giants starter Shaun Anderson, you could understand any unease from the fans. Then it seemed to be happening all over again.
After going through the lineup without allowing a hit, Mike Yastrzemski opened the fourth with a leadoff single, and he would come home on a Brandon Belt two run homer tying the game. The Mets would then fall behind when Wheeler allowed a Pablo Sandoval homer in the sixth. To put the bad luck into perspective, Wheeler allowed just three hits to the Giants all afternoon, and all three of those runs scored on two homers. Worse yet, the team was down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Mets got something brewing that inning with a Juan Lagares lead-off walk. The Giants then went to their bullpen, which has been pretty good all year, and brought in Reyes Moronta. He allowed a single to Tomas Nido. Then Mickey Callaway would make some curious decisions which stymied the rally.
Instead of allowing Wheeler to stay in and lay down the sacrifice bunt, he pinch hit Carlos Gomez to do that. That decision is all the more curious when you consider Robinson Cano was sitting with a leg injury, and the team did not start Jeff McNeil a day after a night game in order to not overtax him after returning from two injuries. But, he would effectively waste Gomez to do what Wheeler could have done just as well.
Callaway would pinch hit McNeil for Rosario, and he would drop a bloop single just beyond the reach of Brandon Crawford to tie the score and get Wheeler off the hook. Bruce Bochy then went to Tony Watson to pitch to Smith. Now, Smith has been decent against left-handed pitching this year, and he was 2-for-3 with a homer on the day. However, this was the Mets shot, and Callaway went to J.D. Davis. Unfortunately, he hit into the inning ending double play.
Sure, the Giants are terrible, but considering how the Mets bullpen has been of late, the last thing this team wants was a battle of the bullpens in a game which could be going extra innings.
Fortunately, the Mets had their full bullpen available, which meant Seth Lugo and a scoreless eighth. The Mets would then make him the pitcher of record.
Pete Alonso led off the inning with a single against Mark Melancon. Fortunately, Belt could not handle Michael Conforto‘s ensuing liner. This meant instead of a double play, Conforto, the much better runner, was on first. He wasn’t there long as he would steal his fourth base of the year. This put a runner in scoring position for Todd Frazier, who would knock in Conforto and himself:
CLUTCH! A no-doubter from @FlavaFraz21. ? pic.twitter.com/BW6uYyOWOr
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2019
The ball was carrying all day. The Giants certainly took advantage, and it was good to see Frazier do it as well. It was even better to see the homer not killing the rally.
After the homer, Adeiny Hechavarria singled, and Lagares doubled. After a Nido ground out, Wilson Ramos would pinch hit and walk to load the bases. This set the stage for McNeil who would deliver with another RBI single. This time two runs scored making it 7-3 Mets. This single allowed the Mets to sit down Edwin Diaz to save him for another day and put in Jeurys Familia. For seemingly the first time since the 2015 NLCS, Familia had a quick 1-2-3 inning to lock down the game.
After Monday’s loss, the Mets were facing some adversity with Callaway once again the media looking to give him the pink slip. Once again, the team responded and won games for both them and their manager. While you would have wanted more, the Mets took the series against the Giants, and they have righted the ship. The key here is what they do next.
Game Notes: Conforto is a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. The four stolen bases are already a career high. McNeil has 40 multi-hit games in his 112 games played.
You can understand blowing games against the Dodgers. They are both a really good and a relentless team. It really becomes an issue when you do it against mediocre teams like the Diamondbacks:
1. The most bizarre criticism of Mickey Callaway was his lifting Pete Alonso for a pinch runner in the eighth inning of a game where the Mets had a four run lead. By lifting him for Juan Lagares, you’re getting more speed on the basepaths, and you are helping bolster both the infield and the outfield defense. It was 100% the right decision.
2. The criticism over his use of Jeurys Familia and Robert Gsellman was understandable, but let’s not pretend there was another real option. Drew Gagnon was bad in his last two pressure situations. Tyler Bashlor had three consecutive blown saves, and he wound up being the losing pitcher in the game. Really, other than those two and with it being too early to utilize a fatigued Edwin Diaz, there really wasn’t a better choice.
3. On Familia, there appears to be two problems. The first is he’s walking too many. The second is the defense behind him. He has a career worst .344 BABIP (.312 career) and a 66.2% LOB (75.4%) career. Essentially, the Mets are combining a ground ball pitcher with a bad infield defense. Not a good mix.
4. We should again note that as of today Craig Kimbrel no longer has draft pick compensation attached to him. We should also note he is now only going to get a prorated portion of the salary he wanted. If you’re all-in, there’s absolutely no excuse for the Mets to not sign him today.
5. The Mets have a National League worst -48 DRS with Amed Rosario (-13), J.D. Davis (-9), Wilson Ramos (-7), and Robinson Cano (-4). That’s -26 DRS from your infield.
6. Davis had a hot start, but he’s regressed to the mean, and he’s now one of the problems with the team. His defense is unplayable across the diamond, and he has been hitting .248/.313/.385. Since May 1st, Davis is hitting .208/.238/.351. As a point of reference, Eric Campbell hit .221/.312/.311 in his career with the Mets.
7. Seeing Arizona is a reminder how much the Mets miss Wilmer Flores. Aside from the things he did well as a player, he would have been great for this clubhouse. Flores went through this in 2015 and 2016. He also knows what it’s like to go from struggling to fan favorite. His attitude, rapport with his teammates, and his ability to play is needed on this team.
8. Looking at the team Brodie Van Wagenen assembled, the players he brought in have combined for a -0.7 WAR. The best position player he has brought aboard was Adeiny Hechavarria. Not to unfairly dump on Hechavarria, who is playing the best baseball of his career, but no General Manager in the history of baseball should ever be in a position to say the most productive position player he added to the roster was Adeiny Hechavarria.
9. The Mets are winning behind the talented players left behind by Sandy Alderson. One of those players has been Dominic Smith, who the team didn’t even want to give a chance to win the first base position in Spring Training.
10. Smith has really proven himself. He’s in the best shape of his life, and he’s a better player having had better treatment of his sleep apnea. He’s been great in the clubhouse, and he finally got his chance. It’s an extremely small sample size, but he’s hitting .359/.519/.609 with a 1 DRS when he’s a left fielder.
11. The Mets are playing Smith and Davis in left field because the team went into the season with just two starting everyday outfielders. This has also led them to flipping coins over whether Carlos Gomez (79 wRC+, 0 DRS), Aaron Altherr (-40 wRC+, 0 DRS), and Lagares (40 wRC+, -1 DRS).
12. It should also be noted the Mets had a chance to give Keon Broxton more playing time to see if they could salvage him. Instead, they cut him so they could call up Gomez. Since being traded to the Orioles, Broxton is hitting .250/.300/.500 (0.2 WAR). That’s a clear upgrade over the mess they have now.
13. Between Broxton and Davis, that’s just five prospects and Bobby Wahl thrown away from nothing.
14. That is a good reminder when Adam Jones hit that game tying three run homer off of Gsellman. It’s important to remember here Jones signed for just $3 million. THREE MILLION!
15. Steven Matz needed to be better than what he was on Sunday. The team needed a lift, and he gave up two runs before he even recorded an out. He gave up five runs total. Yes, the offense and defense didn’t show up either, but the Mets needed more from him. To be fair, he at least gave them length to help the pen, and unlike most of the lineup, he actually had a hit.
16. This team sure looks a lot different when Seth Lugo is available. His ability to pitch well and give the team length certainly masks a lot of problems with the bullpen.
17. It is great to see the Jacob deGrom of last year return. Maybe it’s Tomas Nido, and maybe it’s just getting back into a groove, but he’s looked like the guy he was last year. Since May 1st, he’s allowed two earned or fewer in six of his seven starts. Even with the inexplicable clunker in Miami, he has a 2.68 ERA, 1.008 WHIP, and a 4.6 K/BB over this stretch.
18. The hysteria about the personal catcher for deGrom is muchado about nothing. If deGrom pitches well to Nido, let him pitch to Nido. We should also note his pitching to Nido also affords Wilson Ramos a little extra rest. That seems to be working for him with him hitting .293/.376/.500 since May 1.
19. Zack Wheeler could’ve been better on Friday, but he did give the Mets a chance to win that game, and he gave them length to help save that bullpen.
20. After playing 20 consecutive games and going 9-11 over the stretch, the Mets are in need of today’s day off. Seeing Mets fans completely overreact to Callaway’s every look and smile, the fans can use the day off as well.
A day after an inexplicable loss, Amed Rosario and Wilson Ramos were really the only position player to show up.
Rosario snapped an 0-for-14 streak with a first inning single. He was 3-for-4 on the day.
Wilson Ramos came up with the Mets down 3-0 in the second, and he hit a homer. On the day, he was 2-for-4 with the homer.
Aside from Rosario and Ramos, the Mets were 1-for-24 against 30 year old rookie start Merril Kelly. Kelly entered the game with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.508 WHIP. Batters hit .284/.347/.475 off of him.
Against the Mets, he pitched 7.2 innings allowing just one earned on six hits while striking out 10.
The only Mets player to get a hit other than Rosario and Ramos? Steven Matz.
Matz might’ve had a hit, but he wasn’t good on the mound. He surrendered homers to Ketel Marte and Eduardo Escobar before he recorded an out putting the Mets down 3-0. He did settle down and put up some zeroes, but he didn’t have it today.
Matz had two outs in the fifth, and the Diamondbacks rally started with an Escobar single. It was the first of four consecutive singles which plated two more runs.
Matz did pitch a scoreless sixth, but that’s still five earned over six. With the Mets apparently sending the bats back to Queens before the game, the 5-1 lead might has well been 500-1.
Looking at the game, the Mets didn’t pitch, field, or hit in what was a 7-1 loss. On the bright side, the Wilpons favorite team completed their sweep of the Phillies meaning the Mets actually gained ground in the division.
Game Notes: Dominic Smith was scratched from the starting lineup with a hyperextended finger.
The Mets seemed to have righted the ship as they headed out to Los Angeles on a tough road trip. In a four game series against the Dodgers, we learned just how good the Mets are against the top teams in the National League:
1. The one thing we saw in this series was just how better the Dodgers are. Sure, it is the talent on the field, but it is also ownership’s dedication to winning. We see that when the Dodgers hire Andrew Friedman away from the Rays and the Mets hire a former agent who has never run an organization. For example, we see the Mets trade three good prospects for J.D. Davis, who continues to regress. The Dodgers use their superior scouting and player development to identify players like Justin Turner and Max Muncy.
2. The Mets did have an opportunity to earn at least a split on two different occasions. The fact they didn’t speaks volumes to how the Dodgers are just a better and more resilient team.
3. It is easy to jump all over Edwin Diaz for blowing a save in a game the Mets absolutely had to have. Then again, he’s been overworked pitching in eight of the past 11 days not including the times he was dry humped. This blow-up was bound to happen. What’s eerie was his 0.1 IP, 4 ER performance was a year to the date since his last one.
4. You can certainly get on Mickey Callaway for his usage of Diaz. He has to be better in handling him to try to prevent these types of blow ups. Then again, what other options does he have? With Seth Lugo on the Injured List, he’s down to maybe one other reliable set-up man in Robert Gsellman. Fact is, the bullpen remains an arm or two short, and the front office seems uninterested in getting him the help he needs.
5. We can point to the draft coming on Monday as the point where the Mets could sign Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel without forfeiting a pick, but that would be idiotic. We all know that’s not the type of compensation preventing the Mets from signing either pitcher, especially with Van Wagenen being all too happy to purge all of those prospects.
6. Baseball is funny. Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard struggled against the Dodgers, but it was Jason Vargas who really pitched well against the Dodgers allowing just one earned over seven innings. Give credit to him not just for the big game but also for saving a depleted and exhausted bullpen.
7. With respect to Vargas, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Today is the last day of May, and he finally has a quality start. This was the first time all season he has consecutive games pitching at least five innings. In his previous four starts, he’s averaged 4.2 innings per start. If he can pitch at least five in his next start maybe then we can talk about his FINALLY being a viable fifth starter.
8. Steven Matz has been quite good this year, and he showed it in this series picking up the Mets only win in the series. In some ways, he has emerged as the Mets most reliable starter.
9. It’s a dangerous game to play, but if you eliminate his horrendous start against the Phillies and his short start in his first game off the Injured List, Matz is 4-1 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.191 WHIP.
10. Give Noah Syndergaard credit for gutting through six innings when he didn’t have anywhere near his best stuff. While he’s getting killed for it, that looks more like Syndergaard looking like a great pitcher. The great ones can get quality starts when they are throwing junk. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves on that front. He needs more consistency to get to that point.
11. Mets fans frustations at the starters seem to be misplaced. If you look at their FIP, Zack Wheeler has been the team’s best pitcher with a 3.25. While not what you expected, deGrom (3.56) and Syndergaard (3.62) have pitched better than their results are indicating. Unfortunately, this also indicates Matz is due for a regression. Honestly, you take that if those other three get going.
12. We can’t get too worked up about Hyun-Jin Ryu shutting down the Mets. He is currently pitching like deGrom did last year. It’s also noteworthy the Mets offense was humming prior to that scoring 6.7 runs per game in the series and 5.5 runs per game over their prior 11.
13. Todd Frazier has completely turned his season around. Over his last 16 games, he is hitting .327/.403/.491, and he continues to play a very good third base. That was a great tag he got down on Corey Seager after what was a terrific throw from Carlos Gomez (which came after a terrible play – details, details).
14. Amed Rosario also had a very good series. Even with yesterday’s 0-f0r-4, he was 6-for-16 in the series with two doubles, a triple, a homer, and two RBI.
15. It’s been an interesting year for Rosario. Just when you think he’s figured things out, he suddenly struggles. Even with all of that, he is showing marked improvement over the first two years of his career. If he were to find some consistency, he’s going to make the leap into stardom. Hopefully, that happens in the second half.
16. Adeiny Hechavarria has the same amount of homers and just three fewer RBI than Robinson Cano who has had 151 more plate appearances. This is both a statement about how Hechavarria has played well over his head and how bad Cano has been.
17. Diaz currently has mediocre stats (at least for the moment), and Cano has already looked like the $100 million albatross we knew he would eventually be. Jarred Kelenic has already been promoted to High-A, and Justin Dunn has a 2.25 ERA over his last three starts and has struck out 11.2 per nine this year. Mind you, this is just two months into the season. Wonder how this trade will look five years from now.
18. Between Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis, the Mets have two players who have no business playing left field. With Davis, they really have a guy who doesn’t have a position. Taking that into account, the Mets just need to play the better bat, and without any doubt, that is Smith.
19. Juan Lagares needed to be better than this. At a time when the Mets desperately needed him, he has completely faltered. Hes in the middle of an 0-for-13 stretch, and he is just one for his last 26. Worse yet, he’s at a -1 DRS. Yes, his 17.3 UZR/150 shows he is still the same fielder, but the Mets needed him to be more productive than this. Really, they needed him to be actually productive.
20. Give credit to Pete Alonso. Over a 41 game stretch entering this series, he was hitting .214/.305/.497. Put another way, it appeared the league had figured him out after a hot start. In the series against the Dodgers, he was 7-for-16 with two doubles, a triple, two homers, and five RBI. This is an indication he might be adjusting to what pitchers are doing to him. If so, that’s a sign he’s on his way to becoming a great player.
One of the truly fascinating and heart warming parts of the Mets season has been the friendship which has developed between Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith. What makes it so special is they are two young players vying for playing time at the same position. Seeing them so far this year, you wondered what could happen if they were in the lineup together.
With all the injuries to the Mets outfielders and Walker Buehler starting for the Dodgers, Smith would get the start in left and bat second. The decision would pay immediate dividends as Alonso followed a Smith one out single with a homer:
Thriving. ❄️? #LGM pic.twitter.com/8ZGFUN3Bsz
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 30, 2019
The duo would combine to do it again in the fifth inning with the two celebrating in the dugout.
Pete Alonso is a member of the #DomSmithStanSquad pic.twitter.com/KGd2chiErw
— Roger Cormier (@yayroger) May 30, 2019
Combined with an Adeiny Hechavarria second inning double scoring Todd Frazier, and the Mets had a 5-3 lead.
All the runs were in support of Noah Syndergaard who despite still struggling with his stuff had an admirable effort against the best offense in the National League.
It seemed as if the Dodgers had him on the ropes in the second and third as he was getting BABIPed a bit and giving up more solid contact than he usually does.
In the second, Corey Seager, Matt Beaty, and Alex Verdugo hit consecutive doubles to then tie the game at 2-2. On the Verdugo double, Smith did have trouble playing it in the gap, but it ultimately did not hurt the Mets.
In fact, the Dodgers would hit five doubles off Syndergaard. The fourth was a leadoff double by Max Muncy to start the third. He’d come home to score on a Justin Turner RBI single.
The fifth, well, that was a bit of hometown scoring. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Seager hit a ball to the center field wall. It was a ball Carlos Gomez absolutely should have had. Instead, he fumbled it.
However, he would make up for it by unleashing a great throw to third. As good as that throw was, Frazier’s tag was even better.
"YE YE YE," – @RealCarlosGomez pic.twitter.com/TeT63zsnmU
— MLB (@MLB) May 30, 2019
Frazier followed up that fine play with a double off Pedro Baez to start the sixth. After a Gomez bunt, Frazier scored on an Hechavarria RBI single. This was part of a very good game for Frazier. In addition to the defense, he was 2-for-4 with two runs and a double.
Through the struggles, Syndergaard threw a season high 116 pitches in a quality start. It may not have looked good, but he allowed just the three earned off seven hits. Mostly, he gave the Mets needed length to help preserve an already tired Mets bullpen the day before a Jason Vargas start.
After he was lifted, Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith would open the seventh with back-to-back homers off Julio Urias.
That was just rude. ? #LGM pic.twitter.com/lpKyRMKr4i
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 30, 2019
After the homers, the Mets offense continued to go to work with an Alonso single and Michael Conforto double setting up second and third with no outs. At the time, it was 8-3 Mets, and it looked like the Mets were going to blow it completely open.
They didn’t, and worse yet, the game would tighten a bit. In the seventh, Joc Pederson doubled off Robert Gsellman, and he’s score on a two out RBI single from Turner. In the eighth, Seager homered off Jeurys Familia to make it 8-5. Fortunately, Familia got out of the inning allowing no further runs and keeping the save chance alive for Edwin Diaz.
Because this is the Mets, it can’t be easy. Pederson and Muncy homered off Diaz to lead off the ninth to pull the Dodgers to within 8-7. Turner then doubled bringing Cody Bellinger up as the winning run. He’d just double to tie the game.
Things got much worse. Seager was intentionally walked. As if things weren’t bad enough, Beaty hit a soft roller up the middle which Rosario fielded, but he could not find the bag.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Juan Lagares came in to give the Mets a five man infield. It didn’t matter as Verdugo hit a sacrifice fly.
This was about as bad a loss as the Mets have had all year. They got a tough start from Syndergaard. They also got production from almost their entire lineup. They had their closer who they gave up the world to acquire on the mound with a chance to get back over .500. Instead, they blew it and looked like a terrible team in the ninth in the process.
Game Notes: As noted by MMO‘s Mathew Brownstein, Frazier has three straight multiple hit games.
The Mets offense got home runs from Amed Rosario, Adeiny Hechavarria, Pete Alonso, Aaron Altherr, and Wilson Ramos resulting in eight runs scored. In essence, even though the lineup has been decimated by injuries, they did their job against Gregory Soto and the Tigers pitching staff.
This should have been the Tigers tenth straight loss. It wasn’t because Noah Syndergaard and Drew Gagnon were bad.
The Tigers went up 2-0 in the first before Syndergaard recorded an out. Actually, that’s not technically correct as the second run scored on a Miguel Cabrera sacrifice fly.
That lead grew to 4-0 in the second when JaCoby Jones, a career .195/.297/.335 career hitter who looked like Al Kaline tonight, hit a two run homer.
For a second, it looked like Syndergaard calmed down, and the Mets would rally to give him a 5-4 lead. He’d lose that lead surrendering a solo homer to Cabrera in the fifth.
The Mets handed him back the lead after the inning, and he’d hand it right back in the sixth leading to his having to be bailed out by Tyler Bashlor.
On the one hand, with Syndergaard due up in the bottom of the inning, you understand Mickey Callaway sticking with him, especially on a night where Edwin Diaz was unavailable. However, this is the same Callaway who loves double switching.
Despite it all, the Mets went to the top of the seventh with a 7-6 lead. Unfortunately, Gagnon just didn’t have it tonight.
There was a brief instant when you thought he’d get out of it. After a John Hick‘s double, the Tigers had runners at second and third with one out. Todd Frazier made a nice play on a Josh Harrison grounder keeping the runner at third and getting the out at first.
There was no bailing out Gagnon when Jones hit an RBI double after that giving the Tigers an 8-7 lead. After a Brandon Dixon RBI single, it was 9-7 Tigers.
In the bottom of that inning, it looked like the Mets were primed to come back again, but a Frazier double play killed that rally.
Ramos homered in the eighth, and later in the inning, Dominic Smith came up with Hechavarria at second with two outs. He’d strike out against Joe Jimenez to end the inning.
With that, the Mets would lose this game 9-8. They lost the game to a team who lost nine straight and were 11 games under .500. They lost the opportunity to get back to .500.
Game Notes: In addition to Altherr, Hector Santiago made his Mets debut. He pitched scoreless ninth. Like Altherr did tonight, former Met Keon Broxton hit a homer in his first at-bat with his new team.