James McCann
With all the New York Mets players on the IL, it should come as no shock another injury happened tonight. This time it was Taijuan Walker.
You can see Walker lost velocity, and he again just outright refused to try at the plate. Despite that, all the Atlanta Braves could muster off of him was a Max Fried single.
Walker was out after three with what was classified as left side tightness. Whatever the case, the Mets came off a bullpen game in the Rays series, they’re having one tomorrow, and they needed bullpen help tonight.
Sean Reid-Foley came up huge. When the Mets needed a break, and they needed to keep up with Fried, he pitched three perfect innings. He’d be awarded his first Major League win for his efforts.
But sadly, that wouldn’t be the story of the night.
The Mets had a chance to take the lead in the sixth after consecutive two out hits by Kevin Pillar and Jonathan Villar. Pillar doubled, and seemed seconds away from scoring on a Villar single, but Dansby Swanson made a diving play to keep it in the infield.
They’d be stranded as Jose Peraza lined out. The Mets rallied and cashed-in in the seventh.
As noted by Gary Cohen, Mets catchers had not doubled prior to this game. Naturally, Tomas Nido would double to lead off the inning. Fried then left the game with an apparent injury, and he was replaced by Jacob Webb.
That’s when everything changed.
James McCann, who has struggled mightily all year, entered the game to pinch hit for Reid-Foley. He delivered with a go-ahead RBI double.
Johneshwy Fargas sacrificed. Francisco Lindor walked and stole a base. Pete Alonso struck out, and Dominic Smith was intentionally walked to load the bases. That’s when Pillar would come up and suffer one of the worst HBP you’ll ever see.
Scary scene in Atlanta. The Mets’ Kevin Pillar took a pitch to the face. He walked off the field. So that’s good. But, man, that was tough. They’ve actually paused the game to clean up the blood. pic.twitter.com/qn6enR8j7t
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) May 18, 2021
Blood was gushing all over. Somehow, he was able to get off the field on his own power. With the shock of the moment, and the need to clean all the blood from the field, there was a long pause.
The Braves did the right thing lifting Webb from the game. He was clearly distraught and needed to come out of the game. This wasn’t Roger Clemens. It was a mistake, and you couldn’t help but feel for him too.
That said, just to remind you why you hate the Braves and while the whole organization is trash, they did the dance cam during the delay:
Truist Park is rocking a dance cam during this delay
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) May 18, 2021
That gruesome moment gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. After Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect seventh, the Mets tacked on an insurance run against this bad Braves bullpen.
Nido had his first MLB three hit game, which included his one out eighth inning single. After Jake Hager pinch hit for Familia and struck out, Fargas came up.
Fargas had his first MLB hit which went from a single to an RBI double because the hurt Ronald Acuña couldn’t stop and pivot to field the ball.
First big league hit and RBI for @Johneshwy! #LGM pic.twitter.com/slyaykMWtb
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 18, 2021
Trevor May came on for the eighth, and he just didn’t seem to have it again. He’d allow a homer to Austin Riley to break the shutout. Things would get very dicey.
Guillermo Heredia doubled, and after a May wild pitch, he was on third with two outs. He’d stay there as Ehire Adrianza lined out to Peraza to end the inning.
That meant Edwin Diaz would get the ball with a 3-1 lead. He’d yield a walk, but he’d get the job done earning the save.
Unfortunately, that’s not quite the focus. The focus is Pillar’s health, and after that, it’s just trying to figure out who in the world could possibly be the next man up.
Game Notes: Fargas made his MLB debut playing center and batting ninth. Khalil Lee made his debut entering as a pinch runner for Pillar.
The New York Mets went to Tampa Bay flying high, and now, their winning streak is over, and they over wounded . . . literally. It was about as bad a weekend as they’ve had all season:
1. For all the talk of depth, it is very difficult to overcome the loss of Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo. Those are arguably your three best hitters.
2. The Mets “Bench Mob” has done their job, but you do wonder how long they can hold on as the regulars are injured and don’t appear set to get back to their healthy forms soon.
3. In terms of injuries, Marcus Stroman hasn’t been the same since his hamstring issues.
4. With Joey Lucchesi struggling in his current role, the Mets have to question what exactly he is. Is he a starter which gives you maybe four innings? Is he a long reliever? Seriously, what is he?
5. You really do have to question why Lucchesi is constantly allowed to fail when the Mets could just call-up Jordan Yamamoto. Seriously, he can’t be any worse.
6. Again, the Mets trading Steven Matz has come back to bite them. They simply didn’t have the rotation depth to just part with a legitimate starter.
7. David Peterson had a great start just when he needed to have a great start. That said, he needs to get through the bottom third of that Rays lineup unscathed.
8. This isn’t the postseason. You simply cannot have relievers warming up all the time. Teams need to navigate a 162 game schedule, and that is made all the more complicated by last year’s shortened season.
9. Not every loss is Luis Rojas‘ fault, and that loss was certainly not on Rojas. The Mets ran into Tyler Glasnow, they didn’t hit with runners in scoring position, and then their bullpen didn’t perform up to standards.
10. Just like Peterson had to get through the bottom of that lineup, Trevor May has to get out Manuel Margot in that spot. Margot is terrible against right-handed pitching, and he is terrible with two outs and runners in scoring position.
11. With Jacob deGrom going down, the Mets are in danger of running through their bullpen depth by the end of May.
12. At some point, James McCann is going to have to do something. His offense hasn’t come along, and even worse, his framing numbers have been terrible. Maybe, this is his year of adjustment, or maybe, he needs more rest than he’s getting. Whatever it is, with all the Mets injuries, the team needs him to figure it out now.
13. While he’s played a flashy third base, Jonathan Villar has been predictably poor over there. So far, he has a -2 DRS and a -1 OAA. It’s hard to see how he keeps playing everyday when J.D. Davis is ready to return.
14. Who knows how long he can keep it up, but Patrick Mazeika is becoming the fell good story of the season. When he finally gets his first hit, it’s a homer.
15. Fair or not, the Mets need more from Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, and Francisco Lindor. They’re good enough to carry this offense with the other injuries.
16. Alonso has hit a lot of special homers in his young career, but homering in his hometown had to mean a little bit more to him. Hopefully, that homer sparks a hot streak at the plate which this team so desperately needs.
17. It’s insane to think Jose Peraza has been this good so far. Right now, the Mets have no other option than to just see how long he rides this wave.
18. The Mets are fortunate the NL East can’t get out of their own way right now. They get swept by the Rays, and they still stay in first place.
19. For all the criticism over Lindor and the ratcoon joke, Joe Girardi outright refused to answer questions about his issues with Jean Segura. While some may want to think that’s the better way of handling it, it’s hard to see how that helps brings the team together and fire up the fanbase like the ratcoon joke did.
20. Injured or not, the Mets begin an important stretch with series on the road against the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. Fortunately, they’re going to put their best foot forward with Taijuan Walker on the mound.
Game Recaps
Mets Lost Due to Glasnow and Clutch Rays Hitting
Let’s rewind to the exact situation. David Peterson had retired 17 in a row and was at 83 pitches. The Mets had a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the eighth with the bottom of the order due up.
The Tampa Bay Rays 7-8-9 hitters were particularly terrible. Here’s now they had faired in the game up to that point:
- Mike Zunino 0-for-1, BB
- Kevin Padlo 0-for-2, 2 K
- Brett Phillips 0-for-2, 2 K
Simply put, Peterson dominated this trio. He had not thrown many pitches, and since the second inning, Peterson was literally generating pop outs, ground outs, and strikeouts.
There was absolutely zero reason to believe the Rays could mount any realistic threat in the eighth. That goes double when you look at the hitters careers:
- Zunino – 72 wRC+ since 2018
- Padlo – Zero career hits
- Phillips – career 71 wRC+
There was absolutely zero reason to anticipate trouble. Peterson’s pitch count was down, and the batters due up were dreadful. To put things in perspective for Mets fans, Eric Campbell with his career 80 wRC+ would’ve been a better option.
Seeing it that way, Luis Rojas was right to send Peterson out for the eighth. That’s even the case with no safety net.
Remember, this isn’t the postseason. You don’t just get guys up and throwing just in case. You’re managing for 162 games, and the Mets are slated for a bullpen game.
The Mets needed Peterson to get through that eighth, and again, there was no reason to believe he couldn’t. Of course, with this being baseball, he didn’t.
Zunino, who has a career .387 SLG against LHP in his career homered. Padlo, who was 0-for-10 in his career doubled. It sucks, but it happens.
From there, Peterson struck out Phillips (who failed in his bunt attempts), and he was relieved by Trevor May. Obviously, no one is going to question that because no one wanted Peterson going through the lineup a fourth time.
Remember, at that time, the Mets still had a 2-1 lead. It was a hard out, but May retired Randy Arozarena. That left May facing Manuel Margot, who is a career .240/.289/.373 hitter off RHP. He’s also a career .232/.316/.297 hitter with two outs and RISP.
This is the exact match-up you want. You wanted May to get an overmatched Margot to get out of the inning, so the Mets could go to Edwin Diaz in the ninth.
Instead of ending the inning, Margot hit a game tying double. May just stumbled here after being great all season. Again, it happens.
This is what caused Mets fans fury. They expected Rojas to not let Peterson start the eighth or to not permit him to pitch against a batter with zero career hits.
Even if you had a preference, that’s not the same as saying Rojas blew it. Rojas had made sound decisions and put his pitchers in a position to succeed.
They just didn’t. It happens.
The same goes for Jeff McNeil failing to deliver with two on and two out in the second. McNeil hit a one out double in the eighth, but Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor failed to drive him home.
Failing to deliver those insurance runs proved costly. Even more costly was James McCann grounding out with two out and two on in the ninth.
That’s emblematic of what happened in the eighth. The Rays delivered in the big spots, and the Mets didn’t. That’s on the players, not the manager.
In the end, Peterson allowed extra base hits to two flat out bad hitters. May couldn’t get a batter who couldn’t hit RHP out. The Mets couldn’t get the key hit they needed to expand or reclaim the lead.
That’s what happened, and it’s difficult to pin the Mets inability to deliver in these spots on the manager. Overall, there is plenty of blame to go around, but none of I should be directed at the manager.
Rojas managed that game well, and he put his team in a position to win. His players just didn’t take advantage. It’s just time to move past this game and start a new winning streak. With Rojas at the helm, they should.
The Tampa Bay Rays had their chance. David Peterson faltered in the second, and based on how things have transpired this season, this is the point where Peterson gets knocked out of the game.
Yandy Diaz doubled to start the inning, and Peterson lost control walking the bases loaded with one out. That’s when Peterson reached back and found something he hasn’t before in this season.
He blew away Kevin Padlo. Peterson then battled with Brett Phillips before striking him out on a 3-2 pitch. The Rays wouldn’t get close to Peterson again.
Big time slider leads to a big time strikeout. @_David_Peterson | #LGM pic.twitter.com/E75swfSuKZ
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 14, 2021
Over seven shutout innings, Peterson allowed just two hits. While he walked two in that second inning, he wouldn’t walk another. He’d strike out eight. Long story short, he completely dominated the Rays.
17 straight batters sat down by @_David_Peterson. ? pic.twitter.com/cIbvxJqesf
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 15, 2021
Of course, he did get help from his defense. In the first, James McCann threw out Manuel Margot. In the third, Jonathan Villar made a diving stop turning a would be Randy Arozarena double into a ground out.
It’s a good thing too because Tyler Glasnow was just that good. In fact, through four, he was perfect, and it looked like the Mets would need a miracle to get a hit off of him, either that or a well hit out.
In the fifth, they got their miracle. With two outs, Kevin Pillar hit an infield single which shortstop Willy Adames just couldn’t get to first in time. Two pitches later, Villar launched a go-ahead two run homer:
.@JRvillar6 went pop at the Trop. ? pic.twitter.com/UIRK0ErQ9O
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 15, 2021
The problem for the Mets would turn out that there was an eighth inning. With Peterson only at 83 pitches, Luis Rojas let him try to get out the bottom third of the Rays lineup before going to the bullpen.
That calculated risk turned into a reminder a pitcher is cruising until he isn’t.
Mike Zunino led off the inning with a homer. That cut the lead to 2-1, and then things got very precarious when Padlo followed with a double. Peterson responded by striking out Phillips, and then, Rojas would bring in Trevor May to face the top of the Rays lineup.
Villar would make a great play on an Arozarena liner to get the out and preserve the lead. Unfortunately, Margot would hit a game tying double. May struck out Austin Meadows to end the jam, but the damage was done.
The Mets had their chance in the top of the ninth against Pete Fairbanks. Pillar hit a two out single, and Villar reached on an Adames error. That was the opportunity for McCann to deliver, but like much of this season, he made an easy out.
Rojas went to Miguel Castro for the ninth. For probably just the second time this season, Castro didn’t have it.
He’d issue a one out walk to Brandon Lowe. Lowe then went first to third on an Adames single. Lowe JUST beat Michael Conforto‘s throw. Replay would uphold that.
After Zunino walked, Rojas went to Aaron Loup. Initially, Loup came up huge striking out Joey Wendle. However, Loup couldn’t get Phillips, who hit the walk-off single giving the Rays a 3-2 win.
The loss snapped the Mets seven game winning streak, and assuredly, there will be those who will blame Rojas. The blame is misguided.
The truth is Glasnow is a dominant pitcher who was great today. Peterson should’ve been able to get through the bottom third of the lineup there, and a Mets bullpen who has been great all year had a misstep.
It happens. The trick now is not letting it happen again.
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo had a setback in his rehab assignment and will be shut down. There has not been a stolen base with Peterson on the mound.
With Marcus Stroman and John Means pitching, we had the hopes of a pitcher’s duel. Boy, were we ever treated to one.
The Orioles didn’t get anything going until the seventh. That was because Stroman was that good. In fact, at one point, he retired 14 of 15.
One of the reasons why is Stroman is a great fielder. When Means tried to get a sacrifice bunt down in the sixth, Stroman popped off the mound and got the lead runner.
The Mets wouldn’t get a rally going until the fourth. Part of the reason for the offensive struggles for them in this game was Means. Another was Jeff McNeil pulling up lame trying to stretch a single into a double.
In the fourth, the Mets got a pair of two out singles, but Jonathan Villar popped out to end the inning. The Mets had a bigger opportunity in the sixth go to waste.
Jose Peraza, who replaced the injured McNeil, and Francisco Lindor hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. After a Michael Conforto fielder’s choice, there were runners at the corners with one out.
Unfortunately, the Mets wouldn’t cash in. Pete Alonso, who had a very bad night, popped out. Kevin Pillar then flew out to end the inning.
The seventh inning saw one of the more unusual things you’ll ever see in a game.
The Orioles got to Stroman in the seventh. After Freddy Galvis and Maikel Franco led off the inning with consecutive singles, Rio Ruiz dropped a successful sacrifice. That led to intentionally walking Pedro Severino to load the bases.
With the game tied 0-0, the Orioles felt compelled to pinch hit for Means. What was odd was right when Means was taken out while throwing a gem, the Mets did the same with Stroman.
Stroman was keeping the ball on the ground, and the Mets needed the double play. Instead, they opted for Aaron Loup. He’d allow a sacrifice fly to Pat Valaika. The Mets got out of the inning, but they were down 1-0.
The Mets chances of responding died when James McCann hit into a double play. That wouldn’t be the Mets only back breaking GIDP of the night.
The Mets fell down 2-0 in the eighth partially due to one of the scariest plays you’ll see. Against Trevor May, Austin Hays hit a drive to deep center. Albert Almora tracked it down, caught it, and then he face planted against the wall going full speed thereby dislodging the ball.
Sending our best wishes to Albert Almora Jr., who had to leave tonight's game after a collision with the centerfield wall.
Almora was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power. pic.twitter.com/OAtohVGs3D
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 12, 2021
Conforto made a heads up play to get it in and keep it to a triple. May came up huge striking out the next two Orioles, but Galvis would drop down a perfect bunt to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
Tomas Nido pinch hit for May in the bottom of the eighth, and he drew a lead-off walk. Peraza struck out, and Lindor walked. Conforto then hit an opposite field single to pull the Mets to within 2-1.
The Mets were well poised to not only tied but break it open. That was until Alonso hit into an inning ending double play. With the way the game was going, it seemed like the Mets blew their shot. They’d get another.
The Orioles brought in their closer Cesar Valdez, and for the briefest moment, at least until the umpires got a clue, it looked like Pillar tied the game with a homer. It was foul.
Instead, he singled, and then Villar would single. After McCann first missed badly on a bunt attempt, and then struck out.
Dominic Smith didn’t start due to the left-handed Means, and he came in when Almora was injured. As noted by Ron Darling, Smith, with his ability to hit off-speed pitches, was exactly who the Mets wanted up in that spot.
Smith hit a single which fell just in front of the diving right fielder. Pillar did a great job base running scoring just ahead of the throw. When the third got past Severino, Villar scampered to third.
With runners on the corners and one out, Patrick Mazeika pinch hit. After falling behind 0-2, he’d foul off three pitches and even the count. He’d then hit into a fielder’s choice. First baseman Trey Mancini‘s throw was nowhere near in time to get the speedy Villar walking off the 3-2 win.
Once again, Mazeika delivered a game winning RBI. On the season, he has three RBI and no hits. Certainly, the Mets will take it.
Game Notes: Alonso is 3 for his last 21 with no extra base hits albeit with seven walks. Jeurys Familia picked up the win after pitching a scoreless eighth. Notably, all of the infielders on the 40 man roster are with the team or on the IL.
The New York Mets seemingly have a million different issues thus far, but as we saw in their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, it is not stopping them from winning games:
1. The biggest issue the Mets have right now is the health of Jacob deGrom. Fortunately, his MRI was clean, and even better, the team is taking a cautious approach by putting him on the IL.
2. The Mets are getting next to nothing from their starting rotation right now, and it is not stopping them from winning games because the bullpen has been phenomenal. There is a lot of credit due to Jeremy Hefner, Jeremy Accardo, and Luis Rojas for not only getting the most out of them, but also for putting them all in positions to succeed.
3. If Edwin Diaz is bailing the Mets out of innings, and he is getting five out saves, this Mets team is going to be completely unstoppable.
4. The Mets are in first place right now without Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco, Seth Lugo, and Brandon Nimmo. It is high time the narrative on Rojas shifts from over his head to being a good manager. At this pace, he may emerge as a real Manager of the Year candidate.
5. We don’t know what happened between Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor in that tunnel, but we do know it has not stopped them from turning absolutely incredible double plays.
6. The coverage of the “ratcoon” story was all the more puzzling when you consider everything the press looked the other way on when the Wilpons were in control. Apparently harassment of women and interfering with medical decisions didn’t need the serious reporting a fight between teammates warranted.
7. The press feeling insulted by Lindor “lying” to them is tough to take. After all, J.D. Davis lied to their faces about his involvement in the Astros sign stealing scandal, and they didn’t seem to remotely care.
8. At the moment, it seems like Tomas Nido is outplaying James McCann. The problem for any organization is determining whether Nido is superior to McCann or if McCann just needs some additional time to return to his expected form. Many times, it is decisions like these which define a season.
9. The Mets are getting a lot of production out of their bench. As noted, Nido is actually outplaying McCann. We also see Kevin Pillar playing very well in all aspects over the last few weeks. If he can keep this up, he is going to make decisions very difficult for the Mets.
10. If Dominic Smith is going to continue to struggle at the plate and in the field, and Pete Alonso is going to continue to play defense this well, it is going to be very difficult to find Smith playing time. The hope is the firing of Chili Davis could help turn around his season.
11. Once again, Michael Conforto appears to be a very good baseball players, and we are starting to see him pick it up defensively. It just goes to show you not to over rely or overreact to players have slow starts.
12. Jonathan Villar had a golden opportunity to claim himself an everyday job with Davis and Luis Guillorme injured. With his struggles at the plate and seeing him let a pop up fall, he’s cementing himself as a pure bench option.
13. With Villar’s struggles and Albert Almora flat out not hitting, if you look forward, perhaps the Mets could look to bring back old friend Asdrubal Cabrera for bench help for the postseason. Yes, this classifies as getting ahead of ourselves, but we should be embracing the excitement of the moment.
14. David Peterson is certainly making things easy on what the Mets should do when Carrasco and Syndergaard are ready to return from the IL.
15. One of the most bizarre things happening right now is Patrick Mazeika‘s penchant for pinch hit RBI where he doesn’t actually deliver a hit. So far, he has had an extra innings fielder’s choice and a bases loaded walk.
16. One of the biggest shames of the ratcoon fallout is seeing Mazeika not get celebrated for his first career walk off hit.
17. It’s not only funny to see Trevor Bauer up in arms over the Los Angeles Dodgers struggling, but it is downright hilarious he is being outpitched by Taijuan Walker so far this season. And yes, that is happening with Walker having a better ERA+ and FIP than Bauer.
18. For all the problems with the Mets offense, with their pitching, they only need to get to four runs. When that has happened this year, the Mets are 15-2.
19. The Mets do have a negative run differential, but that is partially fueled by their 12 run loss against the Cubs. If you take that game out of the equation, they would have a positive nine run differential, which would be good for sixth in the NL. Put another way, aside from one game, they’ve been in the upper echelon of the NL.
20. The Mets being able to play games has clearly been good for them. They’re getting into a rhythm offensively and defensively. As we see them play more and more games, we can see them get better and better. They’re in first place now, and who knows just how far they will go from here.
Game Recaps
Francisco Lindor and Mets Show Some Fight
One day, you are a struggling baseball team under media scrutiny over a raccoon/rat story. The next, you’re just a good baseball team winning games.
Front and center both times was the Mets middle infield. We saw them both in action in the third inning. First, it was a Jeff McNeil two run homer giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.
No doubt about this one! ? @JeffMcNeil805 pic.twitter.com/3JTZYBE2J7
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 9, 2021
Francisco Lindor was up next, and he singled off Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly. He’d then take off for second for a stolen base. After Carson Kelly‘s throw deflected into the outfield, Lindor went all the way around the diamond to score.
He just stole 'em all! ? pic.twitter.com/QBgZulbT26
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 9, 2021
That was good enough for the Mets pitching. Over the first five innings, Tommy Hunter (2.0) and Joey Lucchesi (3.0) kept the Diamondbacks hitless. The way things were going the best way for anyone to reach base was by catcher’s interference, which Josh Rojas did in his first two plate appearances.
The Mets got a little greedy pushing Lucchesi to a fourth inning. Rojas would finally swing for the ball instead of James McCann‘s mitt, and he’d single.
He’d go to third on a Christian Walker single, and he’d score on a David Peralta fielder’s choice. At that point, Jeurys Familia came in and bailed him out.
Familia pitched the seventh, and things got very interesting. He’d get two quick outs, but then things went haywire.
Pavin Smith hit a ball against the shift which Lindor couldn’t field cleanly. Kelly blooped one into center. Rojas had a weak hit against the shift which Lindor chased down to prevent Smith from scoring.
Things got all the more dire when Familia fell down 3-0 to Walker, but Familia battled back into the at-bat. Walker then hit it to Lindor who was bailed out by Pete Alonso‘s fancy footwork at first.
In the bottom of that inning, McNeil reached via fielder’s choice. McNeil then stole second and scored on a Lindor RBI single.
The Diamondbacks rallied in the eighth against Aaron Loup.
Old friend Asdrubal Cabrera hit a one out single, and he moved to second on a Nick Ahmed walk. He’d then score on Stephen Vogt pinch hit RBI single. Smith would then ground out to end the jam.
Trevor May came on in the ninth to earn his first save as a Met and the eight of his career. With this 4-2 win, the Mets are now two games over .500, and they’re on the verge of putting together a big run.
Game Notes: Kevin Pillar made two diving catches in center. This was the first time all season Loup allowed an earned run.
The New York Mets traveled to St. Louis for a four game set with the Cardinals. How they got there was strange even for Mets standards:
1. Fly Chili Davis out to St. Louis. Fire him after scoring five runs (and losing). The same offensive ineptitude continues.
2. Being fair, it’s going to take more than a series to fix Davis impact. Regardless, the Mets handling of his firing was garbage.
3. At least Francisco Lindor snapped his 0-for-26 streak. His only longer streak was 2018 when he had his best ever offensive season.
4. Even with his struggles, Lindor has walked more than he’s struck out.
5. Speaking of walks, Michael Conforto walked six times in this series. It’s another indication just how much he’s locked in at the plate.
6. Taijuan Walker was completely locked in with the best non Jacob deGrom start of the year.
7. Walker again appears to be the steal of the offseason.
8. It’s way too soon to panic about deGrom. He knows his body, and he opted to be precautious. If he says he’s ready to go again soon, we can trust him.
9. Carlos Carrasco is a bigger issue. The team may not want to call it a setback, but it was.
10. Carrasco is emblematic of a larger issue. The Mets didn’t build sufficient starting pitching depth, and right now, they don’t have a fifth starter. It’s another reason why when with Sean Reid-Foley‘s early season success, the Steven Matz trade made little sense.
11. For some bizarre reason, the Mets have a lot more trust and faith in Joey Lucchesi than Jordan Yamamoto. That’s even with Yamamoto performing better against the Cardinals than Lucchesi.
12. Marcus Stroman is a warrior. He was willing to take the ball on short rest with a hamstring injury, and he performed well in a snakebitten start.
13. It seemed all Kevin Pillar needed to get going was to get some playing time. He’s really stepped up in Brandon Nimmo‘s absence.
14. With Trevor May and Aaron Loup putting their poor first appearances behind them, the Mets bullpen has been unstoppable, and that’s before Seth Lugo returns from injury.
15. Tomas Nido is having a great season. In limited duty, he has hit and framed well. If he keeps this up, he may soon put pressure on James McCann to get some more playing time.
16. In addition to his hitting again, Jeff McNeil has certainly looked very good at second. It’s early but that 3 DRS is a great mark.
17. It’s incredible to think Albert Pujols was released. On that note, and to a lesser extent, the Mets face a similar dilemma with Robinson Cano next year.
18. It’s way too soon to seriously suggest Luis Rojas is on the hot seat. The Mets are fine, and they’ll soon start putting distances between themselves and the rest of the NL East.
19. The state of umpiring is at its worst. We saw it when they had no idea as to the rules about use of an interpreter. By the way, just allow a player to use an interpreter.
20. Not sure how they’re going to handle the vaccinated/non-vaccinated and other issues, but it will be great to see large crowds at games again.
Game Recaps
Mets Front Office Hurts Mets Chances Of Winning
With the way the New York Mets offense is going, they need brilliant pitching performances to win games. They got that and then some from Taijuan Walker.
If not for Jonathan Villar throwing away a double play ball in the second, there’s no chance the Sr. Louis Cardinals score a run. That unearned run is all the Cardinals would score. In fact, they wouldn’t see another base runner.
.@tai_walker was dominant, allowing just one hit and retiring the last 18 batters he faced. ? #CarryTheFreight pic.twitter.com/hyhSrEKoSY
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
The only thing which stopped him was his hitting 92 pitches. Really, nothing else was stopping him. He was that brilliant. Just one hit with no walks while striking out eight.
Put it another way, he had no-hit stuff.
With this being the Mets, it couldn’t be easy. Not this offense. In fact, they’d set a Mets record for futility stranding 17 runners on base.
SEVENTEEN!
The Mets had an opportunity to get that run back in the third, but Gary Disarcina and the Mets offense got in the way.
Jeff McNeil hit a lead-off single, and he moved to second on a Michael Conforto walk. With one out, Pete Alonso hit what should’ve been a game tying single, but Disarcina held him up.
That hold looked even worse when Harrison Bader‘s throw was offline and short. Compounding the problem was Smith strikeout and Pillar flying out.
The Mets wouldn’t crack through until the fifth, and that’s because John Gant, who was arguably better than Walker over the first four innings, got wild.
After Pete Alonso reached on a rare Nolan Arenado error, Gant walked the next four Mets. The walks to Villar and James McCann each forced home a run giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.
Despite Gant losing it, the Mets couldn’t further cash in. Walker struck out and then Jeff McNeil grounded out.
It was the same situation in the eighth except this time it was against the Cardinals bullpen. The Mets loaded the bases, and Alonso walked to force home the third run.
They FINALLY got a bases loaded hit when Dominic Smith hit an RBI single, but it would only score one. That’s where it ended.
Kevin Pillar popped out. Villar struck out. McCann flew out. It was 4-1, and Walker was done. Fortunately, the Mets didn’t need more runs.
Trevor May pitched a perfect inning. Edwin Diaz walked a tightrope allowing Paul Goldschmidt and Arenado come to the plate as the tying runs.
Goldschmidt flew out, and Arenado grounded out. With that, the Mets earned a split of the four game series, and they had a winning road trip where Jacob deGrom didn’t pitch.
All-in-all, despite all that’s gone wrong and with all the drama, not too bad. It’s now time for the Mets to start putting together a big stretch.
Game Notes: The Mets wouldn’t call it a setback, but Carlos Carrasco was moved to the 60 day IL. Lindor snapped an 0-for-26 stretch with a ninth inning single. Even with that, Lindor has walked more than he struck out this season.
The first game of the doubleheader between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets was just an ugly game. Really, almost everything about it was bad.
The Mets were 0-for-5 with RISP leaving five men in baseball. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg.
The Mets loaded the bases in the fourth wig no outs. They only scored one run on a James McCann fielder’s choice. On the play, Nolan Arenado fielded the ball while stepping on the bag simultaneously.
Top 4th – @Cardinals challenge call that Kevin Pillar is safe at 3B; call overturned, runner is out. Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/GyOR9KBSZa
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) May 5, 2021
After that, Jonathan Villar and Albert Almora struck out to end what was the Mets only rally of the game.
Of course, no discussion of that fourth inning is complete without discussing the Kwang Hyun Kim interpreter controversy and ensuing roughly 10 minutes of deliberations and replay.
Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizer went to the mound to talk with Kim, and Kim’s interpreter came from the dugout to the mound. Later in the inning, the interpreter joined Mike Maddux, Luis Rojas correctly pointed out that was technically a second mound visit necessitating Kim be removed from the game.
The umpires blew the call because they didn’t know the rules, and the replay officials got it wrong even when they informed them of the rule, they let Kim stay in the game.
Sadly, Marcus Stroman, who was making a start on a sore hamstring, made the mistake of allowing two earned runs.
The first was a Paul Goldschmidt first inning homer. In the third, Arenado had an RBI single. That’s all the runs the Cardinals would need.
The final score was 4-1 as Francisco Lindor threw a ball away with two outs, and Paul DeJong continued being a Mets killer by hitting a two run homer.
While we wouldn’t see the Mets offense respond to the Chili Davis firing in the first game, we would in the second.
After a scoreless first where we saw the Mets use Miguel Castro as an opener, the Mets bats would put runs on the board for Castro and Jordan Yamamoto, who was making his first Mets appearance.
Dominic Smith started a rally against Cardinals starter Johan Oviedo with a lead-off single. He’d move to third on a Kevin Pillar double.
With respect to Pillar, he’s really stepped up when the Mets needed it most. Their best hitter, Nimmo, was injured and finally hit the IL. Since Nimmo has gone down, Pillar is 8-for-16 with four runs, a double, two homers, and four RBI.
After two quick outs, you were left wondering if the Mets would ever score. That made Oviedo’s wild pitch allowing Smith to score a relief. What was even better was Tomas Nido‘s ensuing two run homer:
.@tnido24 put a shirt on that hanger. ? #LGM pic.twitter.com/1oGywmHb4H
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
The Cardinals had a chance to respond in the second. Former Met Ali Sanchez doubled, and Oviedo tried to help his own cause, but Pillar would gun down Sanchez.
Kevin Pillarm. ??@KPILLAR4 | #LGM pic.twitter.com/NCF1g9edHR
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
Villar increased the Mets lead to 4-0 with a solo homer in the fourth.
Jonathan Villar goes deep the other way for his first Mets home run! pic.twitter.com/NElyfXvupV
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 6, 2021
The Cardinals put a rally together in the fourth. Yamamoto hit Tyler O’Neill to start the inning, and he’d be on second with two outs when the Mets went to the bullpen.
Aaron Loup relieved Yamamoto, and he’d allow an inherited runner to score on a Dylan Carlson pinch hit RBI single. Things were getting dangerous after a Tommy Edman single, but Loup would retire Matt Carpenter to get out of the inning.
After the Cardinals scored one in the bottom of fourth, the Mets would get one back and then some in the fifth.
What was impressive was the Mets delivered with two outs again. With runners on first and second and two outs, Pillar and Villar hit consecutive RBI singles to increase the Mets lead to 6-1.
The _illar Bros add on a couple more. ?@KPILLAR4 | @JRvillar6 | #LGM pic.twitter.com/SZXfnBKqnO
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
Villar, the surprise starter at short had a very good game. In addition to the two RBI, he’d later make a very good play in the hole.
From there, Trevor May pitched a scoreless fifth, and Robert Gsellman allowed one run in the sixth.
With Bernardo Flores Jr. wild, the Mets took advantage loading the bases and scoring a run on a Pillar RBI groundout.
The Mets sent Jeurys Familia to the mound to close out the five run lead. Even though such an act was impossible earlier in the week for Edwin Diaz, Familia took care of business securing the 7-2 win.
In a bizarre series of games, the Mets secured a split of the doubleheader, and they are in position to split the series with a win tomorrow. That closes out a wild 72 hours.
Game Notes: Sean Reid-Foley was the Mets 27th man for the doubleheader. Lindor is hitless over his last 24 at-bats, the second worst stretch in his career. Brandon Nimmo was put on the IL between games with Patrick Mazeika getting called up off the taxi squad. Keith Hernandez was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame.