Jeurys Familia

The Billy McKinney Game On Jose Peraza Day

In the first half of the doubleheader, we had two good starters going head-to-head. In the second half, well, it was more readily apparent these are two poor hitting teams.

Case-in–point was the first inning. Joey Lucchesi walked the first two batters, and with two outs, the Colorado Rockies pulled off a double steal. Still, the Rockies wouldn’t score. Part of that was Billy McKinney making a running catch down the line taking away an extra base hit from Brendan Rodgers:

In the bottom of the first, Jonathan Villar drew a lead-off walk and went first to third on a Francisco Lindor single. McKinney came up, and he’d hit into a double play. Villar scored on the play.

It seemed like this would be another 1-0 game. After that first, Lucchesi settled in for a bit, and he actually no-hit the Rockies through three.

Of course, this would be another lesson in a pitcher is dealing until he’s not. The Rockies immediately jumped on Lucchesi in the fourth.

After Ryan McMahon led off the inning with a single and was picked off/caught stealing, C.J. Cron singled. A wild pitch moved Cron to second, and Lucchesi would walk Yonathan Daza to put runners on first and second with two outs.

Even with the threat of Charlie Blackmon coming in to pinch hit, Luis Rojas brought in Drew Smith. Surprisingly, the Rockies stuck with Connor Joe. It proved to be the right move as Joe hit a game tying RBI single.

The Rockies threatened to take the lead on what appeared to be an Elias Diaz hit, but Diaz was robbed on a sliding catch by McKinney to get out of the inning.

McKinney made the big catch, and then in the bottom of the fourth he hit a one out double off Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela. From there, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs, and Jose Peraza delivered the go-ahead RBI single giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.

That wasn’t the last rally featuring McKinney and Peraza.

McKinney led off the sixth with a walk against Jordan Sheffield. After a James McCann double and Patrick Mazeika hit by pitch, the Mets had the bases loaded with one out. Peraza would drive home another run by drawing a four pitch walk.

Then, we saw Cameron Maybin is the unluckiest man alive. He was robbed of a hit in the third by Trevor Story. Even with Story out of the game due to injury, the shortstop would again rob him of a hit.

Maybin smoked a ball off the drawn-in infield. The ball would deflect off the diving third baseman McMahon to the shortstop Rodgers. Rodgers then threw home getting McCann on the force out.

Brandon Drury pinch hit for Jeurys Familia, who pitched a scoreless sixth, and in a tough at-bat, he drew a bases loaded walk to increase the Mets lead to 4-1. It was also the Mets first RBI of the day by someone other than Peraza.

The Rockies pulled Sheffield, and Yency Almonte struck out Villar to end the jam. That meant it was a 4-1 game meaning it was still a save situation. Before the rally, it appeared Familia was going to go for the sixth out save.

Rojas was forced to pivot. With Edwin Diaz getting the save in the first half, Robert Gsellman got the save opportunity. He didn’t get it.

Blackmon was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a defensive indifference, and then scored on a Raimel Tapia two out RBI single pulling the Rockies to with 4-2. Rojas then brought in Jacob Barnes. Barnes retired McMahon to pick up the save.

With that, the Mets swept the doubleheader and took three out of four from the Rockies. Sure, the Rockies are bad, but this injury depleted team did what it needed to do.

Game Notes: Maybin tied a record with by starting his Mets career by going 0-for-26. The Mets have drawn nine bases loaded walks this season by nine different players.

page top

Khalil Lee And Johneshwy Fargas – Just Like They Drew It Up

Miguel Castro came into the seventh of a game the New York Mets led 3-2, and he surrendered a game tying solo homer to Garrett Cooper. Of course, this is the 2021 Mets, so it was a crazy game.

The double guessing of Luis Rojas started as he pulled Marcus Stroman after six even with a tired bullpen. Stroman might’ve gotten the no decision, but he gave Castro a big hug.

We’d all need a big hug after this emotional roller coaster.

Trevor May, who has been struggling of late, got himself into a bases loaded two out jam in the eighth. Worse yet, he fell behind 3-1 in the count. May would rally back, strike out Cooper, and help keep this game tied.

Jeurys Familia had two on and no outs in the ninth, and he battled back to send the game into extras.

In the 10th, we’d see one of the craziest things of all with Wilfredo Tovar getting a base hit. Of course, Tovar is one of many pressed into action no one thought would even be contemplated to play for the Mets this year.

That hit was Tovar’ first Mets hit since 2013. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough to score Tomas Nido, and the Mets would somehow squander that opportunity.

For his part, Nido got yet another start, and he again proved he deserves the job. In fact, it was his third inning RBI double which increased the then Mets lead to 3-1. He also had two caught stealings including a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play:

Fast-forward to the 11th, and the Mets had a golden opportunity with Jonathan Villar starting the inning at second. At the plate was Francisco Lindor, who opened the scoring in the first with an RBI double scoring Villar.

Lindor got the hit, but Villar stopped at third. That proved costly when Villar was PICKED OFF OF THIRD?!?!?!?

That’s a horrid job by Villar, but you do wonder where third base coach Gary Disarcina was. On that note, it was another terrible job by Disarcina tonight with his getting two runners caught at the plate. One of those was Nido in the fourth. Nido wasn’t even close.

After Drew Smith navigated his way through the 11th, the Mets would not be denied in the 12th. It was just how the Mets drew it up in Spring Training.

Dominic Smith was the runner on second (because Rob Manfred hates baseball), and he moved to third when Jake Hager had his first career hit. He wasn’t the only one.

Khalil Lee came up to the plate despite literally striking out in literally all of his career plate appearances. He’d hit a go-ahead double.

This wasn’t good enough. Johneshwy Fargas would hit a two run RBI triple to give the Mets a 6-3 lead. It was 6-3 partially because Fargas went for the inside the park homer but was nailed at the plate.

Initially, it was up to Aaron Loup to earn the save. It didn’t go too well with his allowing back-to-back singles to start the inning pulling the Marlins to 6-4. That’s when Lindor bailed out Loop with a big double play:

Better than the heads up play by Lindor was the Smith pick at first. Yes, a run score, but the Mets were that much closer to winning. They’d get that win with Rojas going to Jacob Barnes.

When Barnes recorded the final out, the Mets had a very hard fought 6-5 win in 12. They’re down 16 players, and they have Triple-A talent out there. Despite all that, they’re 21-17 and in first place.

Game Notes: Pete Alonso was placed on the IL. Brandon Drury was called up to take his place, and Daniel Zamora was designated for assignment. Tommy Hunter was also placed on the IL.

page top

Tomas Nido Wins It

With all the New York Mets injuries, they’re at a point where they need everything to go right to win games. Well, tonight, Luis Rojas was pushing the right buttons.

With this being a bullpen game, Tommy Hunter was second up. Not only did he pitch two scoreless innings, but he’d hit a one out single against Tucker Davidson. That meant he’d score the first run of the game when Jonathan Villar hit a two run homer.

We’d also get some big time defensive plays. In the fourth, Jose Peraza picked Freddie Freeman off the base paths.

We’d see some more big plays later, both offensive and defensive.

After the Braves pulled themselves to within 2-1 when Austin Riley homered off Robert Gsellman in the fifth. The Mets would get that run back.

Leading off the sixth, Francisco Lindor hit a ground rule double. He’d eventually score on a Pete Alonso sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game.

The Braves responded with a Freddie Freeman homer off Trevor May. The Mets then used their defense to try to desperately hold onto the 3-2 lead.

Khalil Lee make his first real impression in the majors with a diving catch robbing Ozzie Albies of an extra base hit.

In the eighth, Ehire Adrianza doubled off Aaron Loup. Adrianza made a phenomenal slide to avoid the tag after Johneshwy Fargas made a phenomenal throw.

Jeurys Familia entered the game and walked Ronald Acuña. That’s when Lindor pulled off a phenomenal double play tagging out Ozuna, and then beating Freeman at first.

On the play, Adrianza went to third. That meant he was in place to score when Marcell Ozuna hit an RBI single. With that, all the Mets did to grab and hold a lead was gone.

However, the Mets weren’t done. There was one trick up their sleeve. That was Tomas Nido.

With the way he’s been playing, the Mets have been shifting towards using him more. His play coupled with James McCann‘s troubles led to Nido starting a second straight game and his batting in the ninth:

Nido’s go-ahead homer off Will Smith gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

After a tough weekend in Tampa, the very depleted Mets are in Atlanta making a statement. Even without their best players, the Mets are a better team, and they’re suddenly making a case they’re the best team in baseball.

Game Notes: The Mets acquired Cameron Maybin for cash from the Chicago Cubs.

page top

Mets Win Game And Lose Two More

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.

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:

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.

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.

page top

Patrick Mazeika With Yet Another Walk-Off

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.

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.

page top

The Rat And Raccoon Lead Mets To Victory

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.

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.

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.

page top

Mets Split Bizarre Doubleheader

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.

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:

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.

Villar increased the Mets lead to 4-0 with a solo homer in the fourth.

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.

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.

page top

20/20 Hindsight: Phillies Awaken Mets

There are ebbs and flows to the season, and the New York Mets were fighting it. Fortunately, Jose Alvarado and the Philadelphia Phillies were there to help them out:

1. Alvarado is a punk. He throws at batters. He talks a good game, but when he’s confronted, he goes hiding behind teammates.

2. Dominic Smith announced to the world he and the Mets will not be pushed around. Unlike Alvarado, Smith would back it up.

3. Before the Alvarado nonsense, he fell to a paltry .206/.225/.324. After that, he’s 4-for-9 with two doubles.

4. As much as he’s heated up, it’s Michael Conforto carrying the Mets offense. He hit the huge go-ahead homer, and he’s hitting .327/.400/.551 over his last 14 games. It’s like he’s always been this good, and we shouldn’t have overreacted to a slump.

5. Jeff McNeil looked awfully comfortable batting lead-off.

6. Pete Alonso had his own take on why the Mets have started hitting – Donnie Stevenson. Stevenson is apparently a mix of Sidd Finch and that mustachioed man who looked like Bobby Valentine.

7. Mets need McNeil’s ability leading off if Brandon Nimmo is more hurt than originally expected.

8. Mets are also going to need to see Kevin Pillar step up. His game in the series finale with the big homer was a great start.

9. Jonathan Villar‘s scoring from first was an incredible and shocking play. We haven’t really seen a Mets player make a difference in a game with pure speed since Jose Reyes‘ first stint with the team.

10. Villar running the bases is like what we used to see from Daniel Murphy except with speed.

11. Edwin Diaz continues to both be great and completely unreliable.

12. Considering Diaz has issues going consecutive days, pitching with runners on base, and the like, it might be time to start considering him more for a set-up role.

13. Diaz faltered because he faltered. That’s not Luis Rojas‘ fault. Not everything that goes wrong with this team is Rojas’ fault.

14. The Mets can consider that because Jeurys Familia seems back to form. We saw that again with his big strikeout of Bryce Harper and resulting save. He and replay really bailed out Diaz.

15. You can’t kill Miguel Castro for having one poor outing. He’s been phenomenal all year. Really, the Mets pitching as a whole has been.

16. The Mets seemingly are getting nicked up of late. At the moment, Marcus Stroman‘s hamstring is the biggest issue. Hopefully, the reports he’ll be alright prove true.

17. David Peterson has been pretty good, but he needs to be more than a five and fly pitcher.

18. Taijuan Walker increasingly looks like the steal of the offseason.

19. Francisco Lindor is going to be fine, and while we await his bat, we can just enjoy what is just truly special defense.

20. Mets are just starting to get going, and they’re already in first place. It’s going to be a great May and an even better year.

Game Recaps

Phillies Awoke a Sleeping Giant

Clutch Conforto

Mets Make Alvarado and Hoskins Pay

page top

Mets Make Alvarado And Hoskins Pay

This had all the makings of a New York Mets brutal Sunday Night Baseball loss. They weren’t hitting, and they blew a late lead . . .

Entering the bottom of the sixth, David Peterson was in line for the win. He had allowed one run on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Really, he cruised along after allowing an Andrew McCutchen to start the first.

Now, Peterson did get some help with Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor performing pure defensive magic behind him. That included one beauty of a double play:

Peterson had that 2-1 lead because of his defense. He also had some help from the offense. The first run came when Conforto singled home McNeil in the third.

Notably, McNeil was batting lead-off with Brandon Nimmo unavailable. With McNeil returning to a familiar and comfortable spot in the lineup, he was much better at the plate going 4-for-6 with two runs and a double.

It was a double again that got the Mets going again in the sixth. Dominic Smith led off the inning with a double, and there were runners at the corners with no outs after a Kevin Pillar single.

After Jonathan Villar struck out, the Phillies had the opportunity to get out of the inning unscathed with a double play. James McCann obliged by hitting the require grounder, but Phillies starter Zack Eflin threw it wide to second allowing everyone to reach safely and for the go ahead run to score.

The Mets would load the bases with two outs with Lindor coming to the plate. Lindor would fly out to right leaving behind a golden chance to blow the game open.

Keep in mind, that wasn’t their only shot to put up more runs. Back in the second, Smith led off the inning with a single, and Gary Disarcina needlessly sent him home on a Pillar single. Smith was out at the plate, and J.T. Realmuto would deliver a cheap shot.

The Mets would regret blowing those run scoring opportunities in the bottom of the sixth.

Now, the Mets bullpen has been great with a 19 inning scoreless streak. Miguel Castro has been one of the Mets best pitchers in the pen, but he didn’t have it tonight.

On a rally started when Castro made an error, Didi Gregorius hit a go-ahead three run homer. At 4-2, it seemed like the Mets might be done.

In fact, they weren’t. The momentum shifted when Pillar homered to lead off the eighth:

This was easily Pillar’s best game as a Met. The player who struggled so mightily to start the season stepped up in Nimmo’s absence. In addition to the homer, he was 3-for-5.

As good as Pillar was, no one was ready for what Villar would do. Villar singled off Brandon Kintzler to start off the rally. With no one really left on the bench, partially due to injuries, Jose Peraza pinch hit for Castro. Peraza hit one Rhys Hoskins couldn’t handle, and well, Hoskins misplayed it just about every way you could:

Villar scored all the way from first on an infield single to tie the game at 4-4. That’s when the Phillies brought in Jose Alvarado to try to keep the game tied.

What’s interesting is Alvarado was suspended for his antics the other day. However, he was able to appear in the game because he appealed that three game suspension. As it turned out, the Phillies probably wish he accepted that suspension.

Alvarado faced McNeil, Lindor, and Conforto, and he failed to get any of them out. McNeil singled, and then Alvarado issued consecutive walks forcing home the go-ahead run.

The Mets were up 5-4, and Pete Alonso faced Phillies reliever David Hale. He’d go the opposite way for a three run double giving the Mets an 8-4 lead.

Now, Luis Rojas had Edwin Diaz warming when the Mets initially got the lead. After getting him up, it made little sense to not use him. Instead, Rojas (justifiably) believed his closer would lock down the much needed win.

Well, Diaz imploded, and it started with a leadoff walk to Gregorius.

Roman Quinn tripled him home to bring the Phillies to within three. Diaz was on the verge of getting out of it, and then he issued a two out walk to Matt Joyce. That brought Hoskins to the plate representing the tying run . . .

What was a game tying home run was ruled to be a ground rule double. That meant instead of a tie game, the Mets still had a lead at 8-7.

Things were still dire with the tying run in scoring position. It was all the more so with Diaz hurt. That led to Jeurys Familia coming on to face Bryce Harper to earn the save.

In a flashback to 2015, Familia delivered by striking out Harper. With that, the Mets won a game they blew twice (or almost twice), and they find themselves not only back at .500, but also delivering a message to the Phillies.

Game Notes: Jacob Barnes earned his first win as a Met. This was Familia’s first save with the Mets since 2018.

page top

20/20 Hindsight: Mets Get Red Sox Knocked Off

The New York Mets had not lost a home series or been swept once this season. That was until the Boston Red Sox came to town:

1. The best way to sum up Jacob deGrom‘s greatness is a bad start is one run over six innings.

2. In four starts, deGrom is 2-2 with a 0.51 ERA. That’s beyond absurd.

3. The long story short is if deGrom doesn’t shut ’em out and hit one out, he’s going to lose the game.

4. That may not be a deGrom thing anymore. The Mets offense has been that bad lately.

5. This isn’t exactly by chance. The Mets are following the pattern of teams who previously retained Chili Davis as hitting coach.

6. As noted and will continue to be noted, Francisco Lindor is a slow starter. If you’re booing him over that, you’re an idiot.

7. Also, imagine booing him when he makes a great play to turn an unassisted double play.

8. Speaking of defense, Pete Alonso has been great at first. While we note the diving play, that stretch on the James McCann throw was excellent.

9. With the Mets offense the way it is, making bad pitching look great, they need all the great defense and pitching they can get. Fortunately, the pitching has been great leading the league in FIP.

10. Keep in mind, this is before Carlos Carrasco, Seth Lugo, and Noah Syndergaard come off the IL. That’s how good the pitching has been.

11. Mets really need to navigate this Brandon Nimmo hip issue because he’s the one consistent bat in this lineup. He’s also playing well in center.

12. Jeff McNeil homered and was dropped in the lineup. It’ll be interesting to find out what Sandy Alderson comes up with to bench McNeil again and/or drop him in the lineup again.

13. Mets held the best offensive team in 2021 to three runs TOTAL over two games. Somehow, the Mets were swept over the two game set.

14. With the Mets pitching and hitting this way, it’s reminiscent of the summer of 2015. The only difference is these Mets are healthy and the other batted Eric Campbell and John Mayberry in the heart of the lineup. These Mets are healthy.

15. It’s way too soon to panic or overreact, but the Mets problems have gone from bad to worse. That said, there is still plenty of time to turn things around.

16. The at-bats by Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis at the end of the second game where literally as bad as you can get. They were swinging at pitches in the dirt.

17. Jeurys Familia and Trevor May have been nearly unstoppable since their struggles in their first appearances. Miguel Castro has been unstoppable all year.

18. Jerry Blevins seemed to be a casualty of the dumb three batter rule when he announced his retirement. Same goes for former Met Oliver Perez who was designated for assignment by the Indians despite pitching well.

19. As Joe Girardi was rightfully flipping out over Genesis Cabrera hitting Bryce Harper in the face and Didi Gregorius in the ribs, he has no issue putting Jose Alvarado on the mound who threw consecutive dangerous up and in pitches to Conforto. If you’re going to be upset about hard throwers with zero control endangering batters, don’t put one on the mound yourself.

20. Despite what people want to tell you, the Mets are going to be fine. They’ll finish April near or at first, and they’re primed for a big May.

page top