Francisco Lindor

Mets Offense Returns With Conforto

Apparently, the answer to what ails the New York Mets offense is Michael Conforto was on the IL. Because tonight, when he returned, the Mets offense was clicking.

In the first, after Francisco Lindor drew a one out walk, Michael Conforto hit a double off Kyle Wright. Lindor scored on a wild pitch, and then Conforto scored on a Dominic Smith fielder’s choice.

Suddenly, it was a 2-0 first inning lead for a Mets team who had been shut out in consecutive games. Believe it or not, the Mets weren’t done scoring.

In the second, Luis Guillorme hit a one out double, and he’d score on a Jeff McNeil RBI single. McNeil then scored when Lindor hit his ninth homer of the year:

That was a 5-0 lead. It was exactly when you wanted to have it as Tylor Megill was making his Major League debut. Despite the limited time in Double and Triple-A, Megill looked quite good.

His mid 90s velocity was hitting 97. While there was some control concerns, his first walks didn’t happen until the fifth. Overall, Megill looked like a pitcher who belonged, and this stage wasn’t too much for him.

He pitched four scoreless before running trouble into the fifth. He walked Ehire Adrianza to lead-off the inning, and one out later, Ender Inciarte homered to pull the Braves to within 5-2. When Megill walked the next batter, Josh Tomlin, his night was over.

Megill departed to a standing ovation and an umpire check for foreign substances. Even though Miguel Castro got the Mets out of the inning, Megill didn’t qualify for the win as he pitched just 4.1 innings.

The win would go to Corey Oswalt who came on in relief and gave the Mets some needed length out of the bullpen pitching 2.1 innings.

The Braves jumped on Oswalt with an Austin Riley double and Adrianza RBI single. However, he’d settle in, and he’d even register a pick-off.

The Mets added an insurance run in the seventh, and once again Conforto was at the forefront. He’d hit a lead-off single and score off a James McCann RBI single.

With runners on first and second with one out, the Mets were well poised to blow it open there. However, Kevin Pillar hit into an inning ending double play, and for some reason, didn’t bother running it out.

With the Mets having a 6-3 lead and not much available out of the pen, they looked to push Oswalt another inning. After retiring Almonte, he surrendered a double to Riley and a walk to Adrianza.

At that point, Luis Rojas went to Edwin Diaz for the five out save. Diaz case out firing and got the Mets out of that jam.

It was a long bottom of the eighth starting with a Luis Guillorme walk. Singles by McNeil and Lindor gave the Mets a 7-3 lead. Despite the long inning, Diaz came back out for the ninth, and he pitched a scoreless inning for his 16th save of the season.

But, overall, this win was about the reawakened Mets offense. Pillar was the only starter without a hit, and we’d see five Mets with multi-hit games. That includes McNeil’s three hit game.

The Mets had to earn this split, and they got it. They’re now going to get a much needed day off putting them well poised to go on a nice run heading into the All-Star Break.

Game Notes: Tomas Nido was placed on the IL. Yennsy Diaz and Sean Reid-Foley were optioned to Triple-A. Joey Lucchesi and Robert Gsellman we’re transferred to the 60 day IL.

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Marcus Stro-No, Not Another Injury

The New York Mets entered the game with Jonathan Villar and Tomas Nido unavailable. Brandon Drury was sent down to Syracuse, and Patrick Mazeika was recalled. However, Syracuse was shut down for the day due to COVID.

The Mets had a doubleheader yesterday, and they have a planned bullpen day tomorrow. The absolute last thing this team needed was another injury. That goes double for a starter.

Well, Marcus Stroman had to leave the game with a left hip problem while facing the lead-off batter in the second inning.

This meant Yennsy Diaz, who pitched 2.1 innings three days ago, was needed to give the Mets multiple innings. Put another way, they needed him to come up huge.

Well, that’s the way his outing started. After loading the bases with no outs, and a mound visit from Francisco Lindor, Diaz would strike out the next three batters to escape the jam. That’s made all the more impressive by his striking out Ronald Acuña to end the inning.

There was no such luck for Diaz in the third. After he allowed a hit to Ozzie Albies, he walked Abraham Almonte. He then got a ground ball from Austin Riley, but it would not go for a double play.

With the shift, Jeff McNeil opted to field the ground ball on the shortstop side of second instead of letting Lindor field it.

McNeil initially tried to out race Almonte to second, but he couldn’t. Instead, he got Riley out at first. What might’ve been an inning ending double play was just one out. On the very next pitch, Dansby Swanson hit a three run homer.

That’s all the runs the Braves needed. That’s because of a mixture of Charlie Morton being great and the Mets offense being dreadful. After all, the Mets have been shut out in consecutive games and in three of their last seven.

With the injuries, the Mets resorted to having David Peterson and Jerad Eickhoff pinch hit. You may want to attribute that to the offensive problems, but Eickhoff had the Mets only hit off Morton. After that fifth inning single, the Mets didn’t get another hit until James McCann doubled with two outs in the ninth.

Really, about the only bright spot was the bullpen. Over eight innings, they allowed just the three runs. The big hero was Aaron Loup who came up big by pitching three scoreless.

Still, this was a 3-0 loss where the Mets lost another pitcher and could only muster two hits. They’ve missed a chance to really deliver a blow to the Braves chances of winning the division, and according to what happens tomorrow, they may be giving the Braves new life.

Game Notes: Michael Conforto was going to be activated off the IL, but the Mets opted to wait another day.

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Mets Ran Away From Win

It was Jerad Eickhoff facing off against Ian Anderson, so naturally, this was a pitcher’s duel. That’s nothing to say against Anderson, who has been very good in his brief career. Rather, it’s noteworthy when Eickhoff hasn’t pitched in the majors in two years.

We saw that immediately when the Atlanta Braves loaded the bases in the first with one out. Eickhoff responded by striking out Austin Riley and getting Dansby Swanson to ground out to him.

While not flawless, it was a good start for Eickhoff. He’d pitch four scoreless innings allowing three hits and three walks while striking out three. Understandably, Luis Rojas and the Mets didn’t have him face the order a third time.

Instead, Miguel Castro started the fifth. He’d leave one over the middle of the plate for Ronald Acuña Jr., and Acuña hit a solo homer to deep center to give the Braves the 1-0 lead.

That’s all the Braves needed entering the seventh because of the Mets poor base running. It was almost indescribably bad.

In the second, Pete Alonso was running on the 3-2 pitch, and he thought he could beat Acuña’s arm. He couldn’t as Acuña’s throw was perfect and nailed Alonso at third.

With the Mets offense sputtering, they didn’t get another rally going until the sixth. That started with a Jonathan Villar one out double against Anderson. Of course, because this is the Mets, Villar came out of the game with an injury.

Jose Peraza pinch ran for Villar and for reasons that defy logic he took off for third on a Francisco Lindor grounder to his right. After Swanson easily nailed Peraza, Lindor would make matters worse. With Jeff McNeil up, Lindor broke for second. Anderson threw over leading to Lindor getting caught stealing easily.

In the seventh, the Mets got a one out rally started against Braves closer Will Smith. Alonso and Dominic Smith hit back-to-back singles, and this time, Alonso didn’t test Acuña.

Then, Luis Rojas made a monumentally dumb move. The slow footed Alonso was the tying run, and yet, somehow, Rojas opts to pinch run Albert Almora for Smith. There’s no good explanation why you don’t look to do all you can do to try to ensure you get the tying run.

After James McCann was plunked the bases were loaded, and Kevin Pillar was up. Pillar ripped a liner, but it was right at Riley. Riley snagged it, and he was initially ruled to beat Alonso back to the bag for a game ending double play.

As it turned out, it was a blown call overturned on replay. That’s fortunate as Rojas’ mistake didn’t cost him and the Mets there.

Whatever the case, it didn’t matter as Brandon Drury popped out to end the inning. With that, the Mets ran themselves out of innings and the game. That’s the biggest reason for this split doubleheader.

Game Notes: Joey Lucchesi has a torn UCL. Jeurys Familia was placed on the IL with a hip impingement. Robert Gsellman is on the IL with a lat injury. Stephen Tarpley was the 27th man for the doubleheader. Yennsy Diaz was recalled. Mason Williams was designated for assignment.

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Jacob deGrom Was Great And Healthy

For the faint of heart, Jacob deGrom took the mound against the Atlanta Braves. Despite everyone signing off on his starting, and deGrom saying he was good to go, people were nervous.

As it turns out, it was the Atlanta Braves who should’ve been nervous as deGrom was deGrom. As is usual, he had the look of a perfect game. Speaking of look, deGrom was the first pitcher checked for sticky substances as per MLB protocols.

The Braves didn’t get a base runner until the third when deGrom seemed to lose focus and walk the opposing pitcher, Kyle Muller. The Braves wouldn’t get a hit until the fifth. Part of the reason was deGrom’s pitching, and as it turns out, his defense.

Things did get a little dicey there. deGrom walked Guillermo Heredia on four pitches. Two pitches later, Kevan Smith hit a fly ball to deep left center. There was a miscommunication of sorts between Dominic Smith and Albert Almora Jr. leading to the ball to drop.

Fortunately for the Mets, it went over the wall for an automatic double. If not, chances are Heredia scores there. Pablo Sandoval popped out to end the inning and the Braves only chance against deGrom.

At that time, the Mets lead 1-0 due to the legs of Jonathan Villar.

After leading off the bottom of the first with a walk, he went to second when Francisco Lindor tried to push a bunt through the shift. It was ruled a sacrifice. After Villar advanced on a Smith fly out, he scored on a Muller wild pitch.

It was that way until the bottom of the fifth. Unfortunately, the rally was started when Braves reliever Shane Greene plunked Tomas Nido. It looked to come off his wrist, and it knocked Nido out of the game.

We’d see deGrom come out of the game next, but that was for a pinch hitter. Jeff McNeil was activated off the IL, and he hit a single off the first pitch he saw. After a Villar single, the bases were loaded with two outs.

Greene fell behind Lindor 3-0, and Lindor jumped on the pitch but he flew out to shallow right. With the Braves bringing in the left-handed Sean Newcomb to face Smith. The move backfired as Smith hit a bases clearing double to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.

After the inning, Smith took over at first with the Mets double switching Pete Alonso out of the game. It appeared to be a move to get Seth Lugo to finish the final two innings.

That plan went by the wayside in what was a screwy inning. Initially, it seemed Lugo hit Ronald Acuña Jr. with a 1-2 pitch. After Acuña was awarded first, the Mets asked for replay.

Not only did the pitch not hit Acuña, but it hit the knob of his bat. With James McCann securing the foul tip, it went from the lead-off hitter reaching to a strikeout. The replay and subsequent discussion took time which Gary Cohen later suggested threw Lugo off a bit.

Freddie Freeman walked, and then Ozzie Albies hit a two run homer to pull the Braves to within 4-2. Lugo rebounded from there, and Edwin Diaz mowed down the Braves in order for his 15th save of the season.

All-in-all, this was a great first game of the doubleheader. deGrom was great, healthy, and he set more records. The Mets got a big hit with insurance runs. Ultimately, they got the 4-2 win.

Game Notes: deGrom has 12 straight starts allowing one run or fewer. He also has 30 consecutive shut out innings.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Blow Opportunity To Bury Nationals

The New York Mets had an opportunity to effectively end the Washington Nationals season. Instead, they lost three of four:

1. The Mets have been bad on the road. They’re actually 94 season loss pace (.421 winning percentage) on the road. That needs to change.

2. David Peterson took another step back, but as is par for the course, he’ll stay in the rotation due to injuries.

3. Joey Lucchesi had another strong start, but now, he’s down with elbow inflammation. With this stretch of games and the Mets pitching depth, this could be a devastating injury.

4. The whole bench mob thing has been fun, but the Mets showed how much they need their top guys back. Jeff McNeil coming back now couldn’t have come at a better time.

5. For as obsessed as the Washington Nationals social media team is with Francisco Lindor, he certainly shut them up with a huge game.

6. Luis Guillorme may not be hitting the ball, but he’s finding a way on base. It’ll be interesting to see what that means going forward with McNeil returning and Jonathan Villar slumping.

7. Guess Kyle Schwarber got his revenge for the 2015 NLDS.

8. You can criticize Luis Rojas here and there, but bringing Edwin Diaz into a scoreless game in the ninth isn’t one of those times. It doesn’t matter who he’s relieving.

9. Take it for the little it’s worth, but Pete Alonso is a step behind where he was last year when everyone thought he had a disappointing season.

10. Sean Reid-Foley finally had a bad game. The key now is for it to be an isolated incident.

11. The other part of the Steven Matz trade, Yennsy Diaz looked very impressive. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets more of a look.

12. It doesn’t matter how good Reid-Foley and Diaz are looking, with the Mets starters dropping like flies, the Mets really needed Matz this year. Yes, that’s even with his hitting the IL himself.

13. If all the doctors say he’s good to go, and Jacob deGrom feels good, then let him pitch. We’ll all still be nervous, but that’s not a good reason to skip a start.

14. After Bob Brenly mocked Marcus Stroman‘s du-rag, not only didn’t the Arizona Diamondbacks opt to not discipline him, but they then went on to lose 17 straight.

15. Hopefully, Steve Cohen seeking out to talk with Stroman is just laying the ground stages for an extension. Stroman has been great, and he’s built for New York.

16. While the weekend was lost, something good came out of it when Cohen stated his willingness to blow past the luxury tax. That’s a very nice change of pace.

17. If this now classifies as a bad start for Taijuan Walker, he’s an even better signing than we all thought.

18. The Mets two main issues in this series were bullpen and offense. The bullpen will get rest soon, and offensive reinforcements are on the way. The Mets will be fine.

19. The Mets may regret not mercy killing the Nationals when they have starting pitching available. Seeing how stubborn they are, they moved closer to not selling.

20. The Mets have a four game set against the Atlanta Braves, and they lead them by five games in the division. They can’t afford a repeat of what happened in Washington.

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Mets Prove Power Rankings Pure Trash

Entering this week, MLB.com did their weekly Power Rankings. In those rankings, the San Diego Padres were ranked third, and the New York Mets were ranked 12th.

That was despite the Mets going to San Diego and splitting a four game series. That was despite the Mets pitchers leading the league in fWAR, second in ERA, and leading the majors in FIP.

This is a decimated team, and they’re getting big time pitching, good defense, and good managing from Luis Rojas. They’re in first place with the largest division lead in the NL.

Well, the Mets team that is somehow worse beat the Padres last night behind the best pitcher in baseball. Actually, at this point, we should probably just call Jacob deGrom the best baseball player, especially given how he has more RBI than earned runs allowed.

Today, Marcus Stroman allowed one earned over 6.1 innings while striking out eight. Francisco Lindor and Jonathan Villar homered.

Seth Lugo looks healthy, and once again, he looks like the best reliever in baseball. Behind him, Edwin Diaz once again slammed the door shut to earn the save.

With that the Mets took the first two of this three game set with the Padres. They’ve also won four of the six games between these teams, and they’ve already taken the season series. Not too bad for a team not close to being in the same league as the Padres.

MLB and whoever else can keep under estimating this Mets team all they want. The Mets are still going to win games and the division. They’re still going to have deGrom lead them into the postseason. As we know these Power Rankings are jokes, and the joke is on the rest of baseball.

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Jacob deGrom Provides Thrills And Chills

Jacob deGrom was the difference in this game for the New York Mets more ways than one. The only thing which could stop deGrom was himself.

For the first 4.1 innings, deGrom was simply unhittable, and were once again on the perfect game watch. That was until Wil Myers dribbled one against the shift for a hit.

Myers thought he could steal a base, but James McCann gunned him down. With that caught stealing, deGrom would face the minimum through six. Given how dominant he was even that seemed like a batter or two too many.

Of course, deGrom set all kinds of records. His 0.56 ERA though 10 starts is the lowest ever. He needed just 61.2 innings to reach 100 strikeouts which is the fewest innings to reach that mark. Oh, and by the way, he’s hitting .400 with an .840 OPS.

He went out there and beat the Padres every way imaginable. He allowed just the one hit over 6.0 innings walking none and striking out 10. He’d get the win because he actually got run support.

At first, it didn’t seem that would happen. Blake Snell, who was great his last game against the Mets, had a strong start to this game.

The Mets didn’t get a threat against him until the fourth. It started with a Jonathan Villar single. It’s not a stretch to say at that point in the game it seemed Villar was the only guy who was going to get a hit.

Villar was on second with one out after he stole second, and Francisco Lindor lined out. Snell completely lost the strike zone walking the bases loaded.

That’s when Dominic Smith has a terrible at-bat. Despite Snell losing the zone, he went to attack a tough slider out of the zone. He checked his swing leading to the inning ending 1-2-3 double play.

It was a really tough game for Smith. He was 0-for-4 with two GIDP. He’s slumping as he’s in a 1-for-13 funk.

This wasn’t the Mets last chance. Rather, it was them starting to get to Snell.

Kevin Pillar led off the fifth with a hustle double. His beating out Tommy Pham‘s throw proved serendipitous as Billy McKinney ripped a double down the first base line to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Jose Peraza drew a walk, and then Snell would balk to put runners on second and third. deGrom would deliver with a two RBI single giving the Mets a 3-0 lead.

For deGrom, that was more than enough support. However, deGrom would only go six because the flexor tendon in his elbow was bothering him leading him to take himself out of the game.

Perhaps it was deGrom out of the game. It could’ve also been Miguel Castro dealing with a neck issue which would knock him out of this game, but the Padres looked energized.

Jake Cronenworth hit a two run homer pulling the Padres within 3-2. After Castro walked Manny Machado, Luis Rojas pulled his ailing reliever for Seth Lugo.

To the surprise of no one, Lugo did the job retiring the next two to get out of the inning. What was a surprise was that was it for Lugo.

Aaron Loup started the eighth for the Mets. He’d exit the game with one on and two out. That’s when Rojas tabbed Edwin Diaz for the four out save. Jorge Mateo immediately stole second, but it was of little consequence as Pham flew out to end the inning.

Things got interesting in the ninth. Machado hit a two out single putting the tying run on base. Eric Hosmer pinch hit for Myers, and he put a scare into the crowd as he pulled a ball just foul. After that, Diaz got Hosmer to pop out to end the game.

The Mets are now a season high seven games over .500. However, it’s not too much celebrating as there’s reason for concern for deGrom and to a lesser extent Castro.

Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was activates off the IL, and Travis Blankenhorn was sent to Triple-A. The Mets claimed Nick Tropeano off waivers and sent him to Syracuse. Tommy Hunter was transferred to the 60 day IL.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Secure Winning Road Trip In Baltimore

The New York Mets traveled to Baltimore to play the Orioles to complete their nine game road trip. With the split, they finished 5-4:

1. Of course, Kevin Pillar and Mason Williams were the first Mets to go back-to-back. In some ways, that’s the perfect encapsulation of this season.

2. On the subject of homers, Pete Alonso hit three, and he’s heating up just before a temperature check series against the San Diego Padres.

3. Alonso has always been one to speak his mind, and he was right on point when he said the biggest issue is the way MLB changes the ball year-to-year.

4. It’s funny. The Mets really had no choice but to obtain Billy McKinney, but now they suddenly look like geniuses for it.

5. The story of how Kevin Pillar has been a big believer in McKinney, was exited about the acquisition, and picked up McKinney when he joined the team speaks volumes about why this team is performing so well.

6. It’s funny how quickly fans went from why would the Mets sign Pillar to Pillar becoming a fan favorite they fiercely defend has been hilarious. It’s also a sign about all the things Pillar does right on and off the field.

7. While the Mets offensive onslaught felt great, especially the day after the Mets were blown out, some of the joy was taken out of it because it happened against Matt Harvey.

8. At this moment, David Peterson is not an MLB caliber starting pitcher, and it’s unfair to him to keep putting him in a position to fail.

9. No, the Mets don’t have a real answer in Triple-A, and it is going to be tough to navigate this next stretch, but when Peterson has given you 3.0 innings over the last two starts, he’s not going to help you.

10. The Mets desperately need Robert Gsellman to be good. As we saw, when he isn’t, games get way out of hand.

11. The best way for the Mets to navigate things going forward is to get starts like they did from Taijuan Walker.

12. There’s something to be said for Walker and McKinney, two once highly regarded prospects who haven’t lived to expectations, starting to look like the players we thought they would become under Luis Rojas.

13. This is getting way to ahead of ourselves, but McKinney just has this vibe right now where he’s just going to have a really big moment this postseason.

14. McKinney and Ty Kelly are doppelgängers.

15. It was hard to take Ron Darling seriously yesterday when he didn’t have Jacob deGrom atop his pitcher power rankings. In fact, it’s hard to take MLB Network seriously as Darling wasn’t the only one.

16. The baseball card shtick in blowouts works, and Darling and Gary Cohen trading an Andres Gimenez card for a Francisco Lindor was pretty clever.

17. It’s actually amusing the Mets had a game where Alonso and Dominic Smith were both in the lineup and neither played first base.

18. The replay system has become a complete and utter joke. They can’t even manage to get clearly blown calls overturned.

19. Nobody is talking about him, but Cedric Mullens is a phenomenal baseball player who put on a show against the Mets. The All-Star Game is at its best when it gives a player like him a stage to introduce himself to the world, and it’ll be great to see that next month.

20. MLB can keep the Mets down in the power rankings all they want. This is still a first place team.

Game Recaps

Mets Loss Was for the Birds

Mets Deep Six Orioles

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Mets Deep Six Orioles

The New York Mets got beaten up last night, but tonight, they returned the favor in a 14-1 win. The only downside was the bulk of the damage came against Matt Harvey, who the Mets pushed closer to getting DFA’d.

Pete Alonso opened the scoring with a two run homer in the first. The Mets then put five up against Harvey in the third highlighted by a Kevin Pillar three run homer.

Harvey wouldn’t pitch past the third, and Taijuan Walker was dominant. Walker pitched 7.0 innings allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out nine.

As for the Mets, they just keep on hitting. The best way to show how dominant they were is to just show the batting stats from the game:

  1. Jonathan Villar 2-5, 2 R, 2 2B
  2. Francisco Lindor 1-3, R, BB
  3. Pete Alonso 3-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI
  4. Dominic Smith 0-5
  5. James McCann 2-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, RBI
  6. Billy McKinney 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI
  7. Kevin Pillar 3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI
  8. Mason Williams 2-4, R, HR, RBI
  9. Jose Peraza 0-4

Overall, the Mets hit six homers. That included Pillar and Williams going back-to-back in the eighth. Believe it or not, that was the first time it’s happened this year.

The Mets end their road trip and season series with the Orioles. They are now primed to go home and send another statement to the San Diego Padres.

Game Notes: Mets were 5-4 on the nine game road trip.

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Mets Loss Was For The Birds

The New York Mets couldn’t have gotten off to a better start against the Baltimore Orioles. Before David Peterson took the mound, the Mets had a 2-0 lead off a Pete Alonso two run homer:

There were a number of problems from there. Up first was umpiring and replay. Again, the state of umpiring is poor, and the replay system needs to be scrapped.

Ryan Mountcastle hit what should’ve been an inning ending double play. Francisco Lindor‘s throw beat him. James McCann‘s foot was on the bag. Somehow, not only was Mountcastle called safe, but it was upheld on replay. Gary Cohen and Ron Darling justifiably blasted the whole thing:

https://twitter.com/snytv/status/1402408375112110084?s=21

Regardless of the horribly blown call, Peterson escaped the inning unscathed. That wouldn’t be the case in the second when the Orioles scored three or when he was knocked out in the third.

It’s the second straight start Peterson didn’t last three innings. He’s now the sixth time in his 11 starts he failed to go five. His ERA is now 6.32.

While Robert Gsellman stepped up the last time this happened to Peterson, he didn’t here. He allowed four over his 2.1 innings.

At that point, it was 8-2 entering the sixth, and it was all but over. Jacob Barnes and Drew Smith each allowed a run, and Alonso hit another homer in the ninth.

All told, this was a 10-3 loss where just about everything went wrong. That includes the replay. It’s probably just best to forget about it and move on to the next game.

Game Notes: Alonso was the DH with McCann back at first. The last Mets pitcher who failed to go three in consecutive starts was Steven Matz.

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