James Loney
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.
When David Wright went down with what is seemingly season ending neck surgery, the Mets were left scrambling to find their long term solution at third base. Once Wilmer Flores came off of his own stint on the disabled list, he seemed to stake a claim to the position by playing the best baseball he has played in his young career. In his first 33 games since coming off the disabled list, he hit .294/.345/.461 with five doubles, four homers, and 17 RBI. He seemed to be fulfilling his promise as a versatile infielder with pop in his bat.
Ultimately, the Mets weren’t convinced. The team decided to Jose Reyes to play third base for a myriad of reasons including but not limited to the speed dimension to a team who had trouble hitting home runs unless they hit a home run. With that, Flores was back to being a bench option.
Yes, Flores would start the next three games upon Reyes’ arrival. He would start at second base in place of Neil Walker against the lefty Wei-Yin Chen, and he was in the starting lineup the following day to give James Loney the day off against the lefty Justin Nicolino. Flores would be double-switched into a few games, but he wouldn’t make another start until about a week later when the Mets faced the Nationals and Gio Gonzalez. Essentially, Flores has turned into a platoon player who seemingly will start in place of Loney at first base when there is a lefty on the mound. Terry Collins’ treatment of Flores is a far cry from the man who proclaimed about a year ago, “If you want to stay in the lineup, you’ve got to start hitting.” (ESPN).
Since he came off the disabled list, Flores has hit. He’s hit while the players around him haven’t. Neil Walker has been mired in a two plus month slump hitting .234/.310/.346 since May 1st. Reyes is hitting .222/.275/.556 in the nine games he has played since supplanting Flores in the lineup. Over their careers, Walker and Reyes have been better players than Flores. Furthermore, with Walker’s April and Reyes’ speed, you can argue they are much more important to the success of the Mets.
Still, they’re not hitting, and it’s one of many factors that’s hampering the team. From May 29th through July 4th, when Flores was the regular third baseman, the Mets averaged 4.3 runs per game. In the nine games since, the Mets are scoring 3.7 runs per game. In that stretch, the Mets went 4-5 including the team losing three of four to the Nationals. It’s a small sample size, but it’s an important one to keep in mind when Collins removed a productive hitter like Flores from the lineup.
The Mets are in the middle of a dogfight for one of two Wild Card slots, and they trail the Nationals by six games in the division with less than half a season to play. In order to make the postseason, the Mets need to put their best lineup out there each and every day. Right now, that should include Flores whether he’s playing in place of Reyes who’s still working his way back to form or Walker who’s struggling mightily.
Until such time as Reyes gets up to speed or Walker figured things out, Flores needs to play everyday.
Tonight, the Mets seemed more intent on manufacturing runs than putting together big innings. It’s a time when the Mets needed Benjamin Martin as their manager instead of Terry Collins:
The first Mets run of the game was the result of Juan Lagares hitting a double, starter Logan Verrett bunting him over, and Jose Reyes scoring him on a sacrifice fly. In the following inning, Curtis Granderson hit a double, moved to third on a Neil Walker ground out, and scored on a Travis d’Arnaud sacrifice fly. The Mets tried to repeat the task in the seventh, but it proved to be one time too many.
With runners on first and second with no outs, Collins ordered Juan Lagares to lay down a sac bunt with runners on first and second with no outs. Lagares’ successful bunt moved d’Arnaud to third. Kelly Johnson hit a shallow fly ball to left which wouldn’t have scored Usain Bolt. Still it’s very curious that Collins would go all-in on pushing in the one run and not use Alejandro De Aza to pinch run for d’Arnaud in that spot. It was inconsistent in what Collins was trying to accomplish. In the blink of an eye, the Mets went from two on with no outs to two on with two outs.
Cabrera would be robbed of a hit by a sliding Cody Asche. As a result, the Phillies kept the score at 2-2, and Cabrera moved to 0 for his last 25 with RISP.
Conversely, Phillies manager, Pete Mackanin didn’t seek to play small ball in the bottom of the seventh. The game winning rally started with a Cabrera throwing error allowing the speedy Peter Bourjos to get on base. He moved into scoring position after Jerry Blevins walked Asche. Hansel Robles came in and got one right into Maikel Franco‘s kitchen. Franco was able to fight it off for an RBI single.
The Phillies would score another run in the eighth when Erik Goeddel threw a wild pitch allowing Ruiz to score from third. It would increase the Phillies lead to 4-2 ruining a decent start by Verrett and knocking the Mets to seven back of the Nationals.
One other annoying aspect of the game was seeing yet another team try to re-enact Game Five of the World Series. No matter how slow they are, everyone thinks they can re-create the Eric Hosmer play no matter how slow. Tonight, it was Carlos Ruiz‘s turn:
The throw by Loney, the tag by d'Arnaud. What a play. 2-2 #Mets, Phillies heading into 7th. pic.twitter.com/WUkSL7jv0a
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) July 17, 2016
Ruiz was running as Jerad Eickhoff worked a full count against Logan Verrett. Ruiz kept going as Eickhoff beat out Asdrubal Cabrera‘s throw. couldn’t get the ball to first in time to record the out. However, he wouldn’t score as James Loney alertly threw the ball home and d’Arnaud laid down an absolutely terrific tag. That play kept the game tied at 2-2. As we know, it proved to be all for naught.
Game Notes: Ryan Howard opened the scoring with a solo home run. Yoenis Cespedes sat out the game with his injured quad. Fittingly, De Aza made the last out of the game.
When the Mets signed Jose Reyes to predominantly play third base in David Wright‘s prolonged absence, many believed this would mean Wilmer Flores would find himself back on the bench. Today, Flores would have something to say about that.
In the second inning, Flores hit a bomb to left centerfield off Justin Nicolino to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Flores hit another one to left center to give the Mets a 4-1 lead.
There was some excitement when he came up with the bases loaded in the fifth, and he worked a 3-1 count. Unfortunately, he hit a hot shot right at Don Kelly, who started the 5-5-3 double play. However, this double play wouldn’t mar what was a 2-4 day with the two solo homers.
Between Flores’ two homers and Curtis Granderson‘s two RBI single in the fourth, Jacob deGrom had all the run support he needed in his last start before the All Star Break.
For most of the afternoon, deGrom spent his time in and out of trouble. He was twice aided by timely double plays that prevented a run from scoring. Overall, it was a very good start that saw deGrom throw 117 pitches over seven innings allowing six hits, two earned, and two walks with seven strikeouts. The two runs were courtesy of Giancarlo Stanton.
Stanton killed the Mets like he did this entire three game series. He tied a major league record by having homers in his last four at bats, which included his first two at bats today. In total, eight of his last ten hits at Citi Field have been homers. He’s got three of the four longest homers at Citi Field. By the way, Yoenis Cespedes has the other:
Via @ESPNStatsInfo: pic.twitter.com/P6yTUuwqEY
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) July 6, 2016
Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia made sure of that Stanton wouldn’t cause any more damage. Reed struck out the last batter in the eighth to ensure Stanton couldn’t tie the game with another homer. Familia struck him out leading off the ninth en route to his 30th consecutive save to start the season.
The Mets 4-2 win moved them to 2.5 games up on the Marlins in the East and the Wild Card. The Mets will now look to make similar headway against the Nationals this weekend.
Game Notes: Reyes started at shortstop because Asdrubal Cabrera was up late last night due to a family illness. Reyes was 2-4 with two doubles and a run. Flores was shifted from first to third, and James Loney got the start. The Marlins challenged a call in the fifth, but the double play ruling on the field was upheld.
The Mets were just swept by the Nationals. A week before they were swept by the lowly Braves. They had lost 11 of their last 17 games. The Mets were in a stretch where they had scored only nine runs over their past five games, and John Lackey had pitched 5.1 shutout innings against a lifeless Mets offense that was only able to muster up two hits. Then Yoenis Cespedes stepped up to the plate and did this:
From that point forward, the Mets have been a different team. The Mets made an improbable comeback in that game scoring three more runs in the seventh inning to win the game 4-3.
From there, the Mets would sweep a four game set from the Cubs much like they did in last year’s NLCS. They pummeled Jason Hammel like it was Game 4 of the NLCS. They beat reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta. They scored 14 runs in a game started by the $155 million dollar man Jon Lester. Overall, the Mets averaged eight runs per game against a Cubs team that leads the National League in team ERA at batting average against. It was an unexpected and impressive performance. The Mets offense transformed from a feckless one to one that could seemingly overcome any obstacle.
We saw that again on Sunday. Matt Harvey had a poor start lasting only 3.1 innings and putting the Mets in an early 6-0 hole against a Marlins team that just terrorizes the Mets. Normally, this would have been reason for the Mets fans to groan and start wondering if this Marlins teams is really better than the Mets. It would normally be cause to question whether the Mets offensive barrage of the Cubs was a fluke. It turns out it wasn’t a fluke.
The new Mets offense started chipping away. Travis d’Arnaud hit his first home run in the fourth. Curtis Granderson, back in his familiar leadoff spot for perhaps the last time, followed with a home run of his own in the fifth. Then a miracle truly happened. The Mets offense began scoring runs without hitting any more home runs. In the sixth, d’Arnaud had a bases loaded RBI infield single. Another run scored when Kelly Johnson hit into a double play. There was another rally in the seventh that saw a run score on a James Loney RBI ground out and a Wilmer Flores sacrifice fly. The Mets had gone from a six run deficit to a a tie game heading into the eighth inning. Naturally, Cespedes would be the one to put the Mets ahead for good by hitting a two run double off new Marlins reliever Fernando Rodney. It was the fourth largest comeback in Mets history.
Two weeks ago, that rally wouldn’t have been possible. The Mets offense wouldn’t have mustered up much of a fight. However, this Mets team has been different since that Cespedes’ home run into the Promenade Level – a home run that reached heights no other home run had reached at Citi Field. It was a home run that has helped the Mets offense reach heights it has not reached this season. It was a home run that may propel the entire Mets team to heights they have not seen in 30 years.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com
In many ways it is fitting that James Loney was assigned the number 28 by the Mets. Loney is a left-handed contact hitter that has been pressed into action at first base by the Mets due to an injury. Throughout their careers, Loney and Daniel Murphy have been very similar hitters.
Coming into this season, Loney was a career .285/.338/.411 hitter who averaged 25 doubles and 10 homeruns. Murphy was a career .288/.331/.424 hitter who averaged 33 doubles and nine homeruns. The similarities do not end at the statistics. If you look at their stances and the approach at the plate, Loney and Murphy are very similar hitters. Here is a James Loney 2014 at bat:
As you can see, Loney stands fairly upright in his stance with his hands held high. Loney stands a little off the plate with a somewhat open stance. Here is a 2013 Daniel Murphy at bat:
Again, Murphy is fairly upright at the plate with his hands held high. He’s a little off the plate with a slightly open stance. Loney’s and Murphy’s stances are not identical, but they are very similar. Unsurprisingly, both had similar approaches at the plate. Both pulled inside pitches with some authority, but they would go the other way with outside pitches just hoping they would find a place to land.
Last year, Murphy linked up with Kevin Long, who has a reputation for unlocking player’s hidden power. Here is a look at Murphy’s updated stance from the 2015 postseason:
Murphy’s stance is now closed, and he’s in more of a crouch at the plate. The results have been terrific as Murphy has been hitting for more power. This year Murphy has been hitting .351/.394/.588 with 20 doubles and 14 home runs. The 14 home runs tie Murphy’s career high, and there is still more than half a season to play.
Kevin Long has now made similar adjustments to Loney’s stance. Here is one of his at bats from his short tenure with the Mets:
Now, the crouch in Loney’s stance is not as pronounced as Murphy’s. However, a crouch is still present, and Loney has closed his stance. From the looks of it, it appears that Kevin Long has applied to same principles he used with Daniel Murphy last year. So far, Loney appears to be hitting the ball with more authority when he makes contact.
The result is Loney hitting .297/.345/.495 with eight doubles and four homers. He hasn’t had a slugging percentage anywhere near this high since 2007.
Long has unlocked the power in Loney’s swing like he did with Murphy last year makes Loney is the perfect stopgap for Lucas Duda. If he keeps it up, the Mets are going to have to keep him on the roster and play him somewhere.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on metsmerizedonline.com
Mother Nature provided the rain, but it was the Mets bats that provided the thunder. The Mets hit five home runs within the first five innings going ahead 10-1.
It started in the second inning with James Loney and Asdrubal Cabrera going back-to-back off Cubs starter Jason Hammel. Cabrera would hit another homer off Hamel in the fifth. That would be the second homer in the inning. The first was a Yoenis Cespedes laser shot. Cespedes needed to hit that homer as Brandon Nimmo hit a home run in the fourth inning that was one foot farther than Cespedes’ shot yesterday:
.@You_Found_Nimmo will remember this one forever. His 1st career homer was crushed into the bullpen. #Mets #LGM pic.twitter.com/PXtfed68Bv
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 2, 2016
It was Nimmo’s first career home run and curtain call. He followed it up by making a nice defensive play in the fifth:
It was a terrific night for Nimmo and the Mets.
By the way, since I do point this out when it happens
Brandon Nimmo: 410th player in Mets history to hit a HR, has as many as Bartolo Colón
— Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) July 2, 2016
The beneficiary of all these runs was Jacob deGrom. It was about time the Mets scored some runs for him too. The Mets had not given him more than two runs of support since May 27th. He’s had the fourth worst run support in the majors this year with the Mets scoring 2.89 runs per game for him (Matt Harvey has the second least with 2.79).
deGrom would finally get his first win since April 30th. His ability to get this win was in doubt as there was a rain delay for over an hour before the third inning. Terry Collins sent him out there anyway, and deGrom lasted five innings allowing three hits, one earned, and one walk with seven strikeouts. The lone run he allowed was a solo home run off the bat of Kris Bryant. It’s possible deGrom could’ve gone more than five as he was only up to 85 pitches. However, once there was another rain delay in the sixth, the third one of the game, deGrom was done for the night.
Needless to say, deGrom pitched much better out of the delay than Hammel did. The Mets pummeled Hammel in this 10-2 win like they did in Game 4 of the NLCS.
Game Notes: Loney was 3-4 with two runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer. He was a triple short of a cycle. He actually hit one this year. It was a June 18th game against the Braves. Seth Lugo made his major league debut in the eighth inning wearing number 67. He became the first Met to ever wear that number. Lugo got it up to 97 MPH showing real promise out of the pen. He pitched two scoreless innings allowing two singles, a HBP, and striking out a batter. He also had his first balk falling off the mound before delivering a pitch.
David Wright attended his second straight game. For safety reasons, he watched the game from the bullpen.
In Max Scherzer‘s last three starts (including tonight) against the Mets, he has allowed four hits total. In essence, he only allows one hit per outing against the Mets. Asdrubal Cabrera took care of that one hit with a second inning single. Since it wasn’t a home run, it meant the Mets weren’t going to score off of him.
No, it didn’t help that Curtis Granderson needed to be scratched from the lineup after getting nicked up yesterday. His absence was all the greater when Terry Collins decided to put Alejandro De Aza and his .216 OBP in the lead off spot. It really makes no sense at all until you consider
The decision worked as well as everyone thought it would. Brandon Nimmo hit a one out single in the eighth chasing Scherzer from the game. Granderson then pinch hit for Rene Rivera and singled off Oliver Perez. After a Travis d’Arnaud pinch hit fielder’s choice, the Mets sent up De Aza.
Dusty Baker brought in his closer, Shawn Kelley, for the four out save as he was the only person in the ballpark who thought De Aza was a threat. Despite having been 3-3 off Kelley in his career, De Aza would strikeout to end the inning.
It also didn’t help that the Mets didn’t re-sign Daniel Murphy in the offseason. He’s now a National AND a Mets killer. Coming into tonight’s game, he was hitting .419/.441/.645 with two homers and eight RBI. Tonight was more of the same:
Allow me to reintroduce myself. https://t.co/5UbEsOP3cK pic.twitter.com/DDQwrAfjip
— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2016
Murphy’s homer was one of the two runs scored off of Logan Verrett who made a good spot start. He pitched five innings allowing the two runs with four walks and one strikeout. It didn’t matter as the Mets didn’t score any runs for him.
If there was any hope the Mets would comeback, Murphy crushed those hopes:
FWAHHHH!!!!!! Murph done did it again! A monster homer to RF puts the #Nats up, 4-0. pic.twitter.com/arMRAYoh1G
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 30, 2016
Murphy’s two run home run off Sean Gilmartin in the eighth made it 4-0. It put the game out of reach. The James Loney two run homer in the ninth really only served to end a 23 inning scoreless streak. The Mets lost 4-2 and fell to six games behind the Nationals in the division.
Game Notes: Nimmo took some poor routes on balls leading to some base hits that led to a run in the third. Antonio Bastardo pitched two scoreless innings. Murphy went 2-4 with two runs, three RBI, and two homers.
Murph is batting .429 against the Mets so far this year, with 4 HR & 11 RBI in 9 games.
— EveryMurphyAtBat (@EveryMurphyAB) June 30, 2016