Curtis Granderson
Logan Verrett did his job tonight with his quality start. Verrett allowed five hits, three earned, and three walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings.
The Cardinals scored all three runs in the third beginning with Verrett issuing a lead off walk to the opposing pitcher Adam Wainwright. Lead off walks are bad, but lead off walks to the opposing pitcher are worse. Wainwright would come along to score on a Matt Holliday two RBI double. By the way, remember when the Mets thought Jason Bay was a better option in free agency? Holliday would come around to score on a Matt Adams double.
For a while, it seemed as if the Mets were going to lose this game 3-1 as they were leaving everyone on base:
The exact amount of runners the Mets have left on base tonight. pic.twitter.com/PABb6JIbSN
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 28, 2016
From the first until the seventh, the Mets were 1-11 with the usual culprits failing to deliver. The only hit was a first inning RBI single off the bat of Neil Walker scoring James Loney. It really seemed that the Mets would need a miracle to score another run.
The miracle happened in the bottom of the seventh. Alejandro De Aza would hit a pinch hit single, and Travis d’Arnaud, who led off the inning with a single, would go from first to third. Naturally, as there were runners in scoring position, Curtis Granderson and Asdrubal Cabrera would strike out. Cabrera struck out looking on a pitch inside that might’ve been a ball, but it was too close to take.
At this point, the Mets had runners at the corners with Yoenis Cespedes at the plate. If something was going to happen, you knew it would be with Cespedes at the plate. First, it was a wild pitch getting past Yadier Molina allowing d’Arnaud to score and allow De Aza to get to second. For what it’s worth, three years ago, Molina stops that ball. He really is a shell of hseof behind the plate.
The Mets were down 3-2 and still needed Cespedes to deliver. He would work out a 3-2 count, and he would foul off three straight pitch. Then on the ninth pitch:
Gary Cohen: Cespedes hasn't hit a home run in 3 weeks. Wainwright hasn't given up a home run in 2 months. The pitch pic.twitter.com/NgSr4CvDcF
— In Mets We Trust (@InMetsWeTrust) July 28, 2016
Just like that it was 4-3. There was extra satisfaction that Cespedes gif the big hit. There was even more with Wainwright having the meltdown. From there, Addison Reed locked down the eighth putting the Mets and Verrett to win the game.
Then it finally happened Jeurys Familia blew a save. He had saved 36 straight to start the year and 52 straight dating back to last year. He would issue a one out walk to Jedd Gyorko, who after yesterday, is becoming a Mets killer. He would score from first off a Molina RBI double to deep center past defensive replacement Juan Lagares.
Familia was so close to getting out of it. There were two outs after a Jeremy Hazelbaker fielder’s choice led to Familia nailing Molina at third. Mike Matheny would pinch run Kolten Wong. Wong stole second ahead of d’Arnaud’s throw. He would score on an Aledyms Diaz bloop double. 5-4 Cardinals.
In this game, you saw the big difference between these two teams. The Mets cannot hit with runners in scoring position, and as such, they need homers and wild pitches to score runs. The Cardinals are the best team in baseball with runners in scoring position. They were 3-9 with runners in scoring position, and they scored four of their five runs with two outs.
It’s the slimmest of margins between these teams, and the Cardinals ability to hit with runners in scoring position that put them ahead tonight and ahead of the Mets by a half game now in the Wild Card standings.
Game Notes: The Mets just had six straight games against the Marlins and Cardinals, who are two of their main competitors in the Wild Card race. The Mets went 3-3 in that stretch. Jose Reyes missed tonight’s game with an intercostal strain. He’s expecting to miss the next few games. Walker woke up a bit at the plate going 3-3 with a walk and an RBI.
You knew it was going to be a strange day when Keith Hernandez showed up during the first end of the doubleheader wearing an Underdog shirt:
We would then see Noah Syndergaard give up an unearned run in the second when Syndergaard made an errant throw allowing Yadier Molina to score. The Cardinals scored a run that inning without a ball leaving the infield. Perhaps stranger than that was seeking Jedd Gyorko hit a two run bomb to left the following inning to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. For the day, Syndergaard would pitch six innings allowing three runs, two earned, and three walks with eight strikeouts.
Of course, all of the Mets offense would come off a Rene Rivera two run homer in the fourth. After that hilarity would ensue.
There was Curtis Granderson of all people throwing out a runner at the plate (with the really throw from Kelly Johnson). It’s bizarre that the Cardinals sent Matt Adams, who just might be slower than James Loney. It’s even stranger when you consider that earlier in the game the human windmill Tim Teufel held Jose Reyes at third when he could’ve scored off a Yoenis Cespedes two out double.
Speaking of Cespedes, he had quite the juggling act in the outfield in the sixth:
Then there were the curious decisions like Terry Collins keeping Wilmer Flores on the bench while sending James Loney and Johnson up to bat in the eighth against Cardinals lefty Kevin Siegrist. They weren’t able to muster a rally.
The Mets would start a rally in the ninth with a Granderson leadoff single off new Cardinals closer Seung-hwan Oh. That rally would end when Granderson tagged up on Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham after a deep Cespedes fly out:
Stop it, Pham. https://t.co/QUYrvtDqs6 pic.twitter.com/3sl2LVk3MG
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) July 26, 2016
After a Loney fly out, the Mets lost 3-2. The second game of the doubleheader would be much calmer, but it would still nevertheless be strange.
For starters, the spark plug of the Mets offense in the game was Alejandro De Aza. De Aza would go 1-1 with a double, a walk with two runs. Even more bizarre is that he would be driven in both times by Asdrubal Cabrera.
In the third, Cabrera followed a De Aza double with a double of his own striking an 0 for his last 697,597,475,491 streak (actually, it was 0-32). In the fifth, Cabrera would hit a sac fly to score De Aza from third.
The other run would score when Loney hit into a fourth inning double play scoring Flores. Flores was on third because he hit a leadoff double, and he moved to third when Randal Grichuk flat out dropped a ball in right field off the bat of Neil Walker. Considering how he’s been playing lately, it’s just about the only way Walker can reach base. He would go 0-2 with a walk on the night.
These three runs were enough for Bartolo Colon who was terrific tonight after pitching to a 7.36 ERA and allowing batters to hit .338/.386/.662 against him over his last three starts. Naturally, on this night, Colon only allowed one earned on three hits with no walks and eighth strikeouts. Of course, he would out pitch Syndergaard tonight in the Mets 3-1 win.
Finally, in the sixth inning, things began to calm down. Collins made a curious decision to allow Colon to bat in the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs. Collins eschewed the chance to blow the game open.
Then in the eighth and ninth, Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia shut down the Cardinals to preserve the win.
After all that craziness, the Mets and Cardinals split the doubleheader. The end result was nothing changed between them in the Wild Card standings. The Mets stayed a half game up on the Cardinals with the runner game tomorrow.
Game Notes: Josh Smoker was called up to be the 26th man in the second game of the doubleheader. He would not make an appearance.
On a typical Sunday, I’ll catch the first few innings on the car radio. Not today. We got out of the house earlier than usual to ensure we’d be home in time for my son and I to watch not only the Mets game, but also Mike Piazza‘s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Everywhere we went, Mets were talking about how excited they were for both an important game against the Marlins, but also to see Piazza join Tom Seaver as the only Mets players in the Hall of Fame. My son got caught up in the excitement as well singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “Meet the Mets.” However, he was most excited when he got his lemonade. Check that, he took my peach jalapeño sticking me with the Strawberry one.
It’s a big Mets day, I’ll call it my Darryl Strawberry one.
Naturally, we started with the Mets game as Piazza wasn’t at the podium. By the way, God bless whoever created picture-in-picture. The Mets game got off to a great start with Michael Conforto showing that he just might be able to play well in center field:
Then, in the third, Jose Reyes would hit a two out RBI triple scoring Conforto, who was actually in scoring position. The Mets had a 1-0 lead, and soon it would be time to tune in to watch Piazza officially become a Hall of Famer:
His speech was perfect.
He touched on everything you would want him to touch upon. He spoke glowingly about his boyhood idol Mike Schmidt and how Johnny Bench was the standard bearer at the position. He thanked everyone on the Dodgers including Tommy LaSorda, Eric Karros, and Tom Candiotti. He talks about how great it was growing up as a Dodger before talking poignantly about what it meant to him to be a Met.
He talked about how John Franco welcomed him into his home and gave him his #31. He talked about his on and off the field relationship with Al Leiter. He spoke about how clutch Edgardo Alfonzo was making it easier for him to do what he did, which was hit big homers including the post 9/11 home run.
But like the most of the speech, Piazza deflected the attention away from himself. Instead, he talked about the real heroes were those that gave their lives on 9/11. Much like the moment he hit that home run, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – Cooperstown, yours, and mine.
His acknowledgment of Mets fans was also touching. It’s something that’s not always seen in Hall of Fame speeches. It was touching to hear he loved us as we loved him.
All while this was happening, Steven Matz was back in form, and he was mowing down the Marlins. I barely noticed him pitching six innings allowing four runs, none earned, and two walks with six strikeouts. By the time, I was fully re-engaged in the game I mostly ignored in the picture-in-picture, Hansel Robles was on the mound.
Robles did what he has done for most of the year and shut down the opposition. He seems to have been given the seventh inning job, and he has it locked down.
In the top of the eighth, the Mets finally got some insurance. Yoenis Cespedes singled home Alejandro De Aza, who had reached base on a wild pitch by Kyle Barraclough after striking out. Seriously, how else would De Aza reach base? James Loney singled home Curtis Granderson. The Mets seemed poised for more after a Kelly Johnson walk. However, Asdrubal Cabrera hit into a force out with Cespedes out at home (initially ruled safe, but it was overturned on replay) making him 0-32 in his last 32 at bats with runners in scoring position. Juan Lagares then lined out to end the rally.
Lagares had come on for defense in place of Conforto in the seventh. Conforto has played well before the seventh showing he could be a viable option going forward. He also had a nice day at the plate going 2-2 with a run scored.
After eight, it was 3-0 Mets which was a lot more support than Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia needed. Reed and Familia shut the door giving the Mets a 3-0 win putting them a half-game behind the Marlins. It was Familia’s 34th straight save this year and 51 straight dating back to last year.
It put the end to what was a great day to be a Mets fan.
Fun fact: Giancarlo Stanton absolutely crushes Jacob deGrom:
How do you hit the scoreboard in that park? It’s bigger than Yosemite. That ball travelled 441 feet, and it gave the Marlins a 3-2 lead.
Stanton would follow with an RBI single in the fourth expanding the lead to 4-2. On the year, Stanton is 5-5 with three homers against deGrom this year.
It was part of a night that saw deGrom get chased early from the game. In his prior starts, his velocity seemed to be increasing, but in the fourth inning it dropped to the 90-91 MPH range. After he departed in the fourth, Seth Lugo would walk Marcell Ozuna and Derek Dietrich back-to-back thereby walking in a run which was charged to deGrom. deGrom’s final line would be 3.2 innings, 10 hits, five earned, one walk, and five strike outs. This outing would raise deGrom’s ERA from 2.38 to 2.76.
For his part, Lugo would finally allow his first earned run in the majors when Prado hit a fifth inning RBI single scoring Adeiny Hechavarria.
It should be noted Lugo was double-switched into the game along with Alejandro De Aza as Terry Collins seems to be the only person remaining who has faith in De Aza. De Aza took over for Juan Lagares, who started the game despite the Marlins starting the right-hander Jose Fernandez. Lagares was presumably starting as Yoenis Cespedes is still dealing with the quad, and the Mets didn’t want to see Curtis Granderson in center again.
Eventually, the game got out of hand. As a result, we got to see Antonio Bastardo pitch two innings only allowing a run (minor miracle). It got out of hand enough for Collins to put Michael Conforto in center in the bottom of the sixth. He would get only one chance catching an Ozuna pop out with aplomb.
Conforto getting an opportunity in center was about the only good thing that happened on the night. Jose Reyes continued his struggles against righties going 1-5. Asdrubal Cabrera channeled his inner Gregg Jefferies going 0-2 with runners in scoring position stretching his streak to 0-31 (Jefferies was 0-37). Neil Walker continued to be Neil Walker. All that combined, and you get a 7-2 loss.
Game Notes: The Mets two runs came off a Cespedes third inning RBI single followed by a James Loney sacrifice fly.
When the Mets brought back Jose Reyes, they were hoping his being back I his old haunts would bring out the best in him. It turns out the Mets theory was right, but the location was wrong. He just needed to go back to Marlins Park instead of Citi Field.
Right from the first at bat of the game, it was vintage Reyes. He led off with a double off Marlins starter Adam Conley. After stealing third, he would score on a Yoenis Cespedes sacrifice fly. Before Logan Verrett would throw a pitch, it was 1-0 Mets.
In the fourth, the Mets would rally with Travis d’Arnaud and Juan Lagares each getting a base hit. With two outs, it seemed like Conley was going to wriggle his way out of it until Reyes hit a chopper over the head of the third baseman Miguel Rojas scoring d’Arnaud to make it 2-0. With how well Verrett was pitching, it seemed like that would be enough.
Coming into tonight’s game, Verrett had only allowed one earned run against the Marlins in 13 innings. Heading into the sixth inning, that streak went to 18 innings. The streak ended there when Christian Yelich hit a game tying two run home run. He would be lifted for Hansel Robles, who would of course get out of the inning further unscathed. Verrett’s final line would be 5.1 innings, four hits, two earned, one walk, and three strikeouts.
Reyes would get back to work in the seventh with a leadoff single. He then went from first to third on a Curtis Granderson single. Reyes scored again on another Cespedes sacrifice fly. It gave the Mets a 3-2 lead, and it would give Robles his fifth win of the year after he pitched 1.2 scoreless innings.
James Loney provided some insurance runs with a two run ninth inning home run off Fernando Rodney to give the Mets a 5-2 lead. Loney had come on for defense for Wilmer Flores in the eighth. It turned out to be avoid move. With the Mets bullpen, that would be the final score.
Naturally, Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth, and Jeurys Familia would earn the save. It was his 34th straight save this season, and his 50th straight save dating back to last year. It was interesting as Cespedes lost one in the lights, and Familia walked Giancarlo Stanton to make it two on and no out. Familia struck out the next two before Martin Prado‘s RBI single making it 5-3. Adeiny Hechavarria would then ground out to end the game.
Overall, the story of the night was Reyes. On the night, he was 3-5 with two runs, a double, an RBI, and a stolen base. He was terrific in the field even atoning for a fourth inning throwing error by starting the 5-4-3 double play.
Game Notes: Even when Alejandro De Aza does something right, he falters. After drawing a walk, he was then thrown out trying to steal second. It should be noted at that time, Terry Collins had pretty much every left-handed batter at his disposal, and he still went with De Aza in a one run game.
Time and time again, we have all seen the Mets fail to get a base hit with a runner in scoring position. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Mets woeful .207 team batting average with runners in scoring position is the worst in all of Major League Baseball. It is 53 points lower than the .260 league average and 89 points lower than the St. Louis Cardinals .296 team batting average with runners in scoring position. It gets worse. The Mets have a .288 team OPB with runners in scoring position, which is again the worst in the Major Leagues. This is 49 points lower than the league average .337 OBP with runners in scoring position, and it is 90 points lower than the St. Louis Cardinals league leading .378 team OBP with runners in scoring position.
At this point, what usually follows is a debate between traditional fans and fans that follow more of a stats based approach. Traditional fans believe hitting with runners in scoring position is a real skill set, and if a team is unable to hit with runners in scoring position, a team will be unable to score runs. Stat based fans will tell you hitting with runners in scoring position isn’t an actual skill, and like anything else, everything tends to regress to the mean. Regardless of your point-of-view, all fans tend to subscribe to the back of the baseball card concept wherein players tend to play to their seasonal averages on a year-in and year-out basis. With that common ground in mind, here are how the current Mets players have fared with runners in scoring position along with the amount of times they have come up this year with a runner in scoring position:
| Player | PA | 2016 | Career |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | 70 | .180 | .256 |
| Eric Campbell | 19 | .125 | .168 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 70 | .254 | .301 |
| Michael Conforto | 56 | .250 | .256 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | 24 | .182 | .224 |
| Alejandro De Aza | 23 | .050 | .294 |
| Lucas Duda | 34 | .185 | .235 |
| Wilmer Flores | 41 | .297 | .270 |
| Curtis Granderson | 73 | .274 | .242 |
| Kelly Johnson | 50 | .214 | .261 |
| Ty Kelly | 10 | .111 | .111 |
| Juan Lagares | 21 | .158 | .271 |
| James Loney | 37 | .281 | .302 |
| Brandon Nimmo | 11 | .200 | .200 |
| Kevin Plawecki | 30 | .240 | .274 |
| Jose Reyes | 8 | .167 | .285 |
| Matt Reynolds | 12 | .250 | .250 |
| Rene Rivera | 31 | .259 | .235 |
| Neil Walker | 75 | .254 | .276 |
| David Wright | 38 | .226 | .293 |
* Kelly Johnson’s stats includes his 2016 stats from his 49 games with the Braves this year
While much of the ills of the season has been pinned on Campbell, Kelly, and Reynolds, the three of them have combine for only 41 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. To that end, another scapegoat, De Aza, has not hit whatsoever with runners in scoring position. These four batters have combined for 63 plate appearances which is still less than the plate appearances the either Cabrera, Cespedes, Granderson, or Walker have had individually this year.
Of that group, Granderson is the only batter who is hitting well with runners in scoring position. In fact, he is the only one who is hitting higher than his career average with runners in scoring position. Considering the fact that Cabrera has not gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position since April, it should be no surprise that he is the biggest culprit of the group.
The one encouraging sign is that most of these Mets players are underachieving with runners in scoring position. If these players finish the rest of the year producing at the rate they have done throughout their careers, this Mets team will start to score many more runs.
That was just a good baseball game. It featured a pitcher’s duel between the Cubs ace Jake Arrieta and one of the Mets aces Noah Syndergaard.
The Cubs struck first in the third when Syndergaard threw a wild pitch, which probably should have been smothered by Rene Rivera who made a backhand stab at the ball, allowing Willson Contreras to score. The Cubs were primed to score again in the following inning. Arrieta led off with a double, and he tried to score on a Tommy La Stella single. However, he would be mowed down by the new right fielder Michael Conforto:
This missile by @mconforto8 in the 4th looms larger now! #ScooterStrength#Mets 1 CHC 1 | Mid 6 pic.twitter.com/pKDePLmpKE
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 20, 2016
As the replay would show, Rivera made a great tag.
Syndergaard gutted his way through 5.2 innings throwing 105 pitches. He allowed seven hits, one unearned run, and two walks. He would strike out eight batters including his 300th career strike out. Jerry Blevins took over and would combine with Hansel Robles (two innings), and Jeurys Familia (33rd save) to win a 2-1 game.
The loss was no fault of Arrieta, who was terrific. He pitched seven innings, one run, and one walk with eight strikeouts. For a while, it appeared like the Mets wouldn’t score that run, and that the Mets would lose 1-0. Then Jose Reyes did what he used to do best, what he was brought back to do. He hit his 100th triple as a Met and gave the Mets a chance to build a run off his speed.
He would score off a Curtis Granderson sacrifice fly. The Mets tried to build another rally in the seventh. There were runners on first and second and Blevins was due up. For some reason, Terry Collins went to Alejandro De Aza instead of Kelly Johnson. Apparently, Collins was the only person who thought De Aza would come through in that spot. He didn’t.
In the ninth, there would be no De Aza or Arrieta standing in the Mets way. Neil Walker hit into a fielder’s choice after a James Loney leadoff single. Initially, it was ruled a double play, but replay would overturn the call. Walker was safe, and it wasn’t particularly close. Walker moved to second on an Asdrubal Cabrera single. After a Conforto strikeout, it appeared the Mets would fail to score a runner in scoring position again.
Instead, Rivera would hit a bloop single off Pedro Strop scoring Walker making it a 2-1 game. If that was the end of the game, it would have been a terrific game. However, it was what happened in the bottom of the ninth that made this a great game.
Familia walked Addison Russell and Miguel Montero to start the inning. Javier Baez then laid down a terrific bunt that he beat out. It was bases loaded with no outs. That’s a problem for mere mortal closers. It wasn’t an issue for Familia and his bowling ball sinker.
With the infield drawn-in, Matt Szczur to hit a ground ball to Loney, who threw out Russell at home. That brought up Kris Bryant to the plate, who could be the most dangerous hitter in the Cubs. Familia got him to ground into a game ending 5-4-3 double play.
It was a great instinctive move for new third baseman Reyes to go did the double play instead of the force out, and it was an incredible turn by Walker, who took a slightly offline throw with the runner bearing down on him to get the last out of the game at first.
This was easily the most exciting game of the year, and it was a great win.
We got you, Fam. https://t.co/szMZlgx62b pic.twitter.com/CvC0dLVsmg
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) July 20, 2016
Game Notes: Granderson started in center, and he was shaky out there. It is supposed to be temporary until Conforto is ready to take over. In his first full game back from AAA, Conforto was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Yoenis Cespedes really looked hobbled out there.
One thing that gets lost in the shuffle is that in Yoenis Cespedes‘ first game with the Mets is Terry Collins started him in left and put Curtis Granderson in center.
Heading into that game, Granderson was the more experienced center fielder having played 12 seasons in center field. Up until 2012, he was an average to very good center fielder who had averaged a 2.0 UZR and a 4 DRS in his first six full seasons as a major leaguer.
In 2011, he took a step back with a -5.1 UZR and a -2 DRS. Granderson would show he was no longer capable of being a center fielder the following year when he posted a -18.1 UZR and a -7 DRS. The Yankees moved him to right fielder where he has played so well that he was a National League Finalist for the Gold Glove. In reality, Granderson belongs in right considering his diminished range and weak arm.
For whatever reason, Cespedes became the main center fielder from his second game with the Mets through this year. The Mets turned to Cespedes who had averaged a -3.1 UZR and a -4 DRS in his three years of limited duty as a center fielder for the Oakland Athletics. Last year with the Mets, he posted a -3.2 UZR and a -4 DRS in roughly two months of duty.
The Mets dealt with Cespedes’ relatively poor play in center as he was mashing the ball. The Mets did it as a means to get his, Granderson’s, and Michael Conforto‘s bat in the lineup. It is the same reason why the Mets have accepted Cespedes playing a poor center field this year with his -10.1 UZR and -5 DRS. Strangely enough Cespedes is on pace to put up similar or worse numbers than those that forced Granderson out of center. In some ways, it is safe to say Cespedes isn’t a center fielder.
With Cespedes’ injured right quad he is now both literally and figuratively not a center fielder. The injury is hampering him at the plate and in the field, and as he stated, “I’d rather play left field because I feel more comfortable. And also it’s less work on my leg.” (ESPN.com). With that in mind, Cespedes wants to remain in left field, his Gold Glove position, for the rest of the year.
Even with Cespedes being a poor center fielder, his inability to play center creates a dilemma for the Mets. Granderson has established he can no longer play center. Juan Lagares is back to his Gold Glove form, but he can’t hit righties. His one-time platoon partner, Alejandro De Aza, can’t hit anybody. In some ways, it’s incredible that the Mets have four outfielders with center field experience. In other ways, it’s astounding that none of them are a viable center field option for the rest of the reason.
With that in mind, Collins has stated he’s considering using Conforto in center despite Conforto not having worked out in center since college and him not having played the position since presumably Little League. Given the limitations of the other four options, this idea may not be as crazy as it once may have sounded.
Putting Conforto in center allows the Mets to keep him, Granderson, and Cespedes in the same lineup. Furthermore, Conforto has shown the tools to play an adequate center field. He has good range, takes good routes to balls, and has a strong and accurate arm. He’s a player who has shown himself to not only be a hard worker, but also open to coaching.
It’s important to keep in mind that Conforto was once the player who scouts believed couldn’t handle left field. When he was called up to the majors last year, he showed he was a very good left fielder. Given his natural instincts and athleticism, it’s not absurd to think he could handle the position even if it is just for the short term. Given the other options before the Mets, it is certainly worth a try especially since the Mets need his bat in the lineup. In all seriousness, it is not like he would be worse than what Granderson and Cespedes were there. So, to that end, Conforto may actually wind up an improvement.
Really, it’s not crazy to think this could work.
One thing that has become apparent with this Mets offense is they forgot there is an “S” in RISP because time and again runners find their way to second and third only to die. It was more of the same tonight.
The Mets were 0-7 with RISP. The team left seven runners on base in a game they lost 5-1. This includes, but is not limited to, the two runners left on base when Travis d’Arnaud hit into a 4-4-3 game ending double play. Coming into the night, he was hitting .190 with runners in scoring position.
This includes Neil Walker striking out in in a critical eighth inning spot where he came to the plate as the tying run. Coming into the game, he was hitting .258 with runners in scoring position. The fact that it is higher than his batting average tells you how his season has gone since April.
It includes Asdrubal Cabrera grounding into a double play killing a two on no out rally in the second with the score tied at zero. He’s now 0 for his last 28 with runners in scoring position.
The other Mets who failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position tonight were Juan Lagares (.167), Curtis Granderson (.150), Yoenis Cespedes (.259), and Jose Reyes. As usual, the Mets couldn’t score a run unless someone hit a homer. In fact, the only run the Mets scored on the night was a Wilmer Flores solo shot off Jon Lester in the seventh. Unfortunately, with the Mets not hitting with runners in scoring position, it was too little too late.
With the Mets struggles with runners in scoring position, the game was effectively over when Anthony Rizzo hit a three run third inning home run off Steven Matz. Matz’s final line would be five innings, eight hits, four earned, one walk, and five strikeouts. Again, he is not the same pitcher with the bone spurs as it is preventing him from incorporating his slider. Matz is now 0-7 in his last seven decisions.
Making things worse was a ball going through Cespedes’ wickets in the bottom of the eighth. Albert Amora hit a single to left that most likely would’ve scored Matt Szczur, who had previously hit a two out double off Erik Goeddel. Szczur could walk home easy after the ball went between Cespedes’ legs and continued all the way to the ivy. It should be noted, he had a good throw earlier in the game:
Yo.
Didn’t you see the cannon out there? https://t.co/CX7o1LF03W pic.twitter.com/3eQtONcAu3
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) July 19, 2016
Still, there were some positives to the game other than the Flores’ home run. Seth Lugo remains unscored upon in his young career after pitching another two scoreless innings. Michael Conforto made a pinch hitting appearance, and he had a well struck opposite field single.
Other than that, it was a lost night that leaves you scratching your head about the problems with runners in scoring position. You need to be concerned about Matz’s pitching. And while it is too early to be concerned, it should be noted the Mets fell to third place in the NL East to the Miami Marlins, who also have sole possession of the second Wild Card as of tonight.