Jeurys Familia

Live by the Home Run, Die by the Home Run, Resurrected by the Home Run

As we have seen all season, the Mets basically need to hit home runs in order to score runs and win games.  Last night, against the Phillies was no exception in what was a back-and-forth nail bitter.

Curtis Granderson would get the Mets on the board with a two run shot off of Phillies starter left-handed starter Adam Morgan:

The home run was an important one as it gave the Mets and Seth Lugo a 2-0 lead in a game they really had to have after being swept by the Braves.

Well, because this is the Mets, and nothing is easy, that two run lead would turn into a 3-2 deficit thanks to a couple of Phillies long balls.  At the time, Seth Lugo was cruising, after only allowing a run off a Roman Quinn RBI groundout after Cesar Hernandez legged out a triple.  However, in the top of the fifth, Ryan Howard and Cameron Rupp would got back-to-back. Those homers effectively knocked Lugo out of the game after another strong effort.

Ty Kelly would pinch hit for Lugo in the bottom of the inning, and he would get a rally started with a walk.  He eventually came home on a Yoenis Cespedes clutch two-out single tying the game.  With the way things have been going with the Mets lately that RBI single seemed bigger than it probably was.  What was even bigger was Cespedes RBI double in the seventh that would score Jose Reyes to give the Mets a late 4-3 lead.  With Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia ready for the eighth and ninth, this game seemed in the bag.

It wasn’t as Reed was done in by three balls that didn’t leave the infield and one that did.  Hernandez used his speed again to bunt his way on, and he was standing at second after a Quinn sacrifice bunt.  The Mets would challenge the next play, and it was really close, but Odubel Herrera beat T.J. Rivera‘s throw to first to set up runners on the corner with one out.  Rivera really did all he could do on that play.  He made a diving stop that saved a run, he popped up, and he made a strong throw.  Herrera just beat the throw.  Why?  Well, as usual the “good defensive baseman” James Loney couldn’t bother stretching on the play.  It was a crucial play because Maikel Franco would hit a three run homer to turn the Mets sure-handed victory into a 6-4 deficit.

There was an ominous tone to the home run after the Braves series.  It was an even worse situation when the Mets failed to score in the bottom of the eighth and the bottom of the Mets lineup was due up in the bottom of the ninth.  Brandon Nimmo would pinch hit for Travis d’Arnaud and get on with a single.  After Nimmo, Jay Bruce made his obligatory pinch hit strike out thereby leaving the game in Reyes’ hands:

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger hit in Reyes’ Mets career.  As big as that home run was, what would follow in the 11th would loom even larger.

In his second straight multiple inning outing, Familia would put the Mets in position to lose in his second inning of work.  After a clean 10th, Familia would allow a leadoff double to Freddy Galvis.  Familia would be ever so close to navigating around it getting the next two guys out.  Then in a curious move, perhaps to negate the ability of Hernandez killing the Mets with his legs again, Collins ordered an intentional walk.  A.J. Ellis, who is a renown clutch hitter, would deliver the go-ahead single giving the Phillies a 7-6 lead.

Jerry Blevins would relieve Familia, and he would load the bases by hitting Herrera.  That led Collins to turn to Jim Henderson, who would walk Franco to give the Phillies an almost insurmountable two run lead.

Still, the Mets had a chance with Nimmo leading off.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same magic he had in his last at bat.  Michael Conforto, pinch hitting for Henderson, would have to get this rally started.  He did by drawing a walk.  He would find himself standing on second after a Reyes single.  At that point, the Mets would send Asdrubal Cabrera to the plate as the winning run.  Right now, he is the guy you want at the plate more than anyone – not just the Mets, but in all of baseball.  He would show you why:

His bat flip said it all.  It was a huge emotionally charged home run to give the Mets the victory they so desperately needed.  The home run also made baseball history as the Mets become the second team to come back with homers to erase two run deficits in the ninth inning or later in a game.

With the much needed victory, you felt the momentum for this team shift.  You once again felt as if the Mets were assured of winning a Wild Card spot.  As it stood, the win helped the Mets keep pace with the Giants and put them a half a game up on the idle Cardinals.

page top

Collins Mismanagement Lets Cespedes and Loney Off the Hook

First and foremost, Terry Collins mismanaged last night’s game, which helped lead to the Mets losing the game.  However, it is ultimately the players that decide the game on the field.  Ultimately, James Loney and Yoenis Cespedes made crucial mistakes that led to Collins’ mismanagement and the Mets loss.

Ender Inciatre led off the inning with a ground ball that dribbled through Loney’s legs.  It was a play that left Bill Buckner scratching his head.  With Inciarte reaching on the error, the Braves rally was started.  As Collins noted in the post-game, Inciarte reaching led to Collins replacing Addison Reed with Josh Smoker.  That led to Freeman’s bloop single.  Ensuing from that, Collins double switched Jeurys Familia into the game.  With Familia being poor holding runners on, it led to the Braves double steal.  Rene Rivera threw to third instead of second.  Instead of there being two outs, there was one out allowing Matt Kemp to score the run with an out instead of a hit.

It should also be noted this was Loney’s second bad defensive play of the game.  In the sixth, Bartolo Colon made a pickoff attempt.  Instead of stretching for the ball, Loney let the ball bounce away.  Colon was able to limit the damage by quickly grabbing an Ender Inciarte comebacker and catching Smith drifting too far off second.

As bad as the Loney error was, Cespedes’ lack of hustle might’ve cost the Mets even more.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cespedes hit a long flyball to left field.  Kemp raced back, jumped, and muffed the catch.  Looking at the replays, the ball was most likely going to hit the top of the wall.  Given Cespedes’ speed, there was every reason to expect him to easily be on third on the play.  Instead, Cespedes watched the ball as if he had hit it into the Fan Fest area, and he took his time jogging around the bases.  In reviewing the replay, I believe Darryl Strawberry was quicker around the bases after his home run in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.  Cespedes’ long hit would turn out to be a double instead of a triple.  That changes the entire complexity of the inning.

It is quite possible that the Braves would’ve pitched to Curtis Granderson instead of intentionally walking him.  Maybe the Braves do walk him, and they pitch to T.J. Rivera differently as they will be seeking a ground ball to get an inning ending double play instead of a strikeout.  Possibly, the Mets wouldn’t have been in position to burn Kelly Johnson, and send up Eric Campbell and Kevin Plawecki with a chance to get a lead in the game.  (Remember, Matt Reynolds wasn’t available as he came in for Jose Reyes on the Familia double switch).

It should also be noted that in the top half of the inning, Cespedes took a poor route to the Kemp fly ball, and he made a poor throw trying to get Inciarte at the plate.

So while Collins deserves every bit of blame for this loss, he’s not alone.  Collins was set in motion because Loney made an error and Cespedes failed to hustle.

page top

Terry Colllins Move of the Day – Double Switching Addison Reed Into the Game

Watching last night’s game, Terry Collins made a flurry of moves.  He was like that Little League coach that was about to mercy rule the other team and quickly panics when he realizes he hasn’t put all of his players in the game.  Except, the Mets didn’t have a huge lead on the Braves.  It was just a one run lead, and considering how feisty the Braves have been, you didn’t feel completely confident in the Mets keeping the lead.  Here is a log of all the bench moves Collins made in last night’s game:

Top of the Seventh:

Bottom of the Seventh:

Top of the Eighth:

Bottom of the Eighth:

Top of the Ninth:

  • Campbell remains in the game playing first base
  • Ty Kelly enters the game playing third base

Bottom of the Ninth

Looking over all of these moves again, the biggest error in judgment had to be double switching Addison Reed inot the game.  It was the move that precipitated all that followed.

At the time, the Mets had a 3-2 lead, and Dansby Swanson hit a two out single off Colon.  At that point, the Braves announced their pinch hitter, the left-handed hitting catcher Blake Lalli.  The 33 year old Lalli is a career .140/.122/.122 hitter.  At best, he’s a AAAA player.  Here, with the pitcher’s spot due up in the bottom of the inning, the Mets could have reasonably let Colon get Lalli.  Colon had cruised most of the night and was only at 91 pitches.  Still, if you were inclined to bring in Colon, why did the Mets go to Reed?

Bringing in Reed there meant you were going to have him pitch the next inning precipitated Conforto being effectively used as a pinch hitter and later the Mets double switching Familia in the game by switching Reynolds with Reyes.  That was the spot for Fernando Salas especially considering the fact that this was one of the situations why he was brought to the Mets.  The other option was clearly Josh Smoker.

After the Loney error in the eighth, Collins would go to Smoker to get Freeman out.  If you have that much faith in Smoker that you are willing to bring him in to get Freddie “Chipper Jones” Freeman out, you should have enough faith to use Smoker to get Lalli out to end the inning.

Going to Salas or Smoker there would have kept the Mets bench in tact with it’s best hitters.  That means when the Mets have bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and two outs, you are not sending Kevin Plawecki to take what was the biggest at bat of the season.  It also means you are not making the baffling move of pinch running Lagares for Conforto thereby burning his bat, which was needed in the bottom of the ninth.

Every mistake that happened in the eighth and ninth innings emanated from Collins prematurely going to Reed in that spot.  That lead to all the double switching and defensive replacements.  It led to Collins goading the Braves to bring in Ian Kroll so he could use Campbell.  It led to the Plawecki at bat as well.

In what has been a poor season (career?) in terms of in-game management, Collins had his signature regular season moment last night, and it all started with him panicking and going to Reed too soon.

One thing I would like to note is I had no issue with Collins going with Smoker to pitch to Freeman.  For his career, Freeman was 2-5 with a double, a walk, and an RBI.  The short sample size translated to Freeman hitting .400/.500/.600 off of Reed.  More than it just being Reed, Freeman is hitting .307/.406/.598 off righties and .295/.380/.497 against lefties.  No, you’re not going to neutralize Freeman with a lefty, but you do improve your chances against him with the lefty.

It should be noted that Smoker has reverse splits for a lefty, but he does have the type of stuff that gives Freeman fits.  Like most batters, Freeman doesn’t fare well against pitchers that throw over 95 MPH, and pitchers that throw splitters.  Smoker does both.

page top

Ender Inciarte Robbed a Yoenis Cespedes Homer and Mets Victory

There’s anothe name to add to the Braves collection of Mets killers. It started with Terry Pendleton who got his start as a Mets killer with the Cardinals. He passed the torch to Chipper Jones who passed it to Freddie Freeman. Apparently, Freeman has been tutoring Ender Inciarte. 

Not only would Inciarte get the game winning RBI, he would rob a game winning home run. He stole a homer, a Mets victory, and spoiled a terrific Bartolo Colon start. 

Colon had completely shut the Braves down through the first six innings. He was his usually nimble self popping off the mound on balls up the middle to make a neat defensive play. In the sixth, he caught Mallex Smith straying a little too far off second when he nabbed the Ender Inciarte comebacker. It started the routine 1-6-5 fielder’s choice. 

In the seventh, Colon reached the end of the line. Anthony Recker hit a two run homer off of Colon. I’ll spare you the “He Reckered It!” line. With two outs in the inning, Colon would be chased by a Dansby Swanson single. As Colon departed, he gestured to Swanson as if to compliment him for the base knock. 

However, it was Colon that deserved the praise. After Addison Reed got the Mets out if the inning, Colon’s final line was 6.2 innings, six hits, two runs, two earned, no walks, and six strikeouts. He would depart on the long side because of a pair of homers. 

In the first, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two run homer off of John Gant, scoring Jose Reyes naturally, to give the Mets the 2-0 lead. That lead would grow to 3-0 on a Rene Rivera fifth inning home run. Unfortunately, those three runs weren’t enough. 

Reed would come back on to pitch the eighth.  The Mets defense would let him down. 

Inciarte would reach as James Loney completely bungled a sure out by being a bad first baseman. It was his second bone-headed play of the night. In the sixth, Loney had failed to stretch on a Colon pickoff attempt. Colon bailed him out by starting the aforementioned fielder’s choice. There was no bailing out Loney this time. 

In a controversial move, Collins removed Reed from the game to get Josh Smoker in against Freddie Freeman. It was absolutely the right move as Freeman was hitting .400/.500/.600 off Reed entering the night with two homers. Furthermore, Smoker did his job breaking Freeman’s bat thereby generating a weak blooper. Unfortunately, the ball had eyes and fell behind Cabrera. 

With runners on first and second with one out, Collins went to Jeurys Familia for the five out save. It didn’t happen.

The Braves immediately took advantage of Familia’s inability to hold on base runners by executing the double steal. Rather than throw to second and nail the slow Freeman, Rivera made the mistake of trying to get the speedy Inciarte at third. Rivera’s mental error proved costly. 

Matt Kemp had a terrific nine pitch at bat against Familia. He eventually lifted a fly ball to left, and Inciarte ignored the third base coach by breaking for home. It was the right move. Yoenis Cespedes didn’t get his momentum behind the throw, and his throw was up the line. Just like that tie game. 
The bottom of the eight could be best described as much ado about nothing. The Braves used three pitchers, and the Mets used three pinch hitters. The Mets would load the bases in the strangest way possible. 

Cespedes lead off with a double. It was a double instead of a triple. because he was posing as the ball hit off of Kemp’s close. Curtis Granderson was then intentionally walked. During T.J. Rivera‘s at bat, the Mets would return the favor with a double steal of their own. Rivera would strikeout setting up for some histrionics. 

The Mets announced Kelly Johnson as the pinch hitter for Matt Reynolds. The Braves then brought in the left-handed Ian Krol. The Mets responded by bringing in Eric Campbell, who Krol intentionally walked to load the bases. Kevin Plawecki pinch hit for Loney and struck out to end the inning. 

The Mets would immediately regret blowing the opportunity. The Braves would get two soft singles off Familia. Inciarte would then hit a soft grounder past Familia to score the go-ahead run. 

The Mets went back to their bench with three straight pinch hitters in the bottom of the ninth against Braves closer Jim Johnson. Brandon Nimmo hit a lead off single. The next pinch hitter was Jay Bruce who struck out of course. The last of the trio was Travis d’Arnaud who worked out a walk. This set the stage for Cabrera. 

Over this month, Cabrera was been willing the Mets to the Wild Card by being the best hitter in baseball over the stretch. All he could do against Johnson was to fly out. This set the stage for the Mets MVP Cespedes who looked foolish striking out against Johnson to end the game yesterday. 

Cespedes launched one to deep center which looked like the game winner. Inciarte came from absolutely nowhere to jump, leap over the fence, and literally snatch away the Mets victory. 

With that, just like old times, the Mets suffered a frustrating September sweep at the hands of the Braves. 

Game Notes: Alejandro De Aza got the start over Bruce. De Aza started in center shifting Granderson to right. 

page top

Ender Inciarte Robbed a Yoenis Cespedes Homer and Mets Victory

There’s anothe name to add to the Braves collection of Mets killers. It started with Terry Pendleton who got his start as a Mets killer with the Cardinals. He passed the torch to Chipper Jones who passed it to Freddie Freeman. Apparently, Freeman has been tutoring Ender Inciarte. 

Not only would Inciarte get the game winning RBI, he would rob a game winning home run. He stole a homer, a Mets victory, and spoiled a terrific Bartolo Colon start. 

Colon had completely shut the Braves down through the first six innings. He was his usually nimble self popping off the mound on balls up the middle to make a neat defensive play. In the sixth, he caught Mallex Smith straying a little too far off second when he nabbed the Ender Inciarte comebacker. It started the routine 1-6-5 fielder’s choice. 

In the seventh, Colon reached the end of the line. Anthony Recker hit a two run homer off of Colon. I’ll spare you the “He Reckered It!” line. With two outs in the inning, Colon would be chased by a Dansby Swanson single. As Colon departed, he gestured to Swanson as if to compliment him for the base knock. 

However, it was Colon that deserved the praise. After Addison Reed got the Mets out if the inning, Colon’s final line was 6.2 innings, six hits, two runs, two earned, no walks, and six strikeouts. He would depart on the long side because of a pair of homers. 

In the first, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two run homer off of John Gant, scoring Jose Reyes naturally, to give the Mets the 2-0 lead. That lead would grow to 3-0 on a Rene Rivera fifth inning home run. Unfortunately, those three runs weren’t enough. 

Reed would come back on to pitch the eighth.  The Mets defense would let him down. 

Inciarte would reach as James Loney completely bungled a sure out by being a bad first baseman. It was his second bone-headed play of the night. In the sixth, Loney had failed to stretch on a Colon pickoff attempt. Colon bailed him out by starting the aforementioned fielder’s choice. There was no bailing out Loney this time. 

In a controversial move, Collins removed Reed from the game to get Josh Smoker in against Freddie Freeman. It was absolutely the right move as Freeman was hitting .400/.500/.600 off Reed entering the night with two homers. Furthermore, Smoker did his job breaking Freeman’s bat thereby generating a weak blooper. Unfortunately, the ball had eyes and fell behind Cabrera. 

With runners on first and second with one out, Collins went to Jeurys Familia for the five out save. It didn’t happen.

The Braves immediately took advantage of Familia’s inability to hold on base runners by executing the double steal. Rather than throw to second and nail the slow Freeman, Rivera made the mistake of trying to get the speedy Inciarte at third. Rivera’s mental error proved costly. 

Matt Kemp had a terrific nine pitch at bat against Familia. He eventually lifted a fly ball to left, and Inciarte ignored the third base coach by breaking for home. It was the right move. Yoenis Cespedes didn’t get his momentum behind the throw, and his throw was up the line. Just like that tie game. 
The bottom of the eight could be best described as much ado about nothing. The Braves used three pitchers, and the Mets used three pinch hitters. The Mets would load the bases in the strangest way possible. 

Cespedes lead off with a double. It was a double instead of a triple. because he was posing as the ball hit off of Kemp’s close. Curtis Granderson was then intentionally walked. During T.J. Rivera‘s at bat, the Mets would return the favor with a double steal of their own. Rivera would strikeout setting up for some histrionics. 

The Mets announced Kelly Johnson as the pinch hitter for Matt Reynolds. The Braves then brought in the left-handed Ian Krol. The Mets responded by bringing in Eric Campbell, who Krol intentionally walked to load the bases. Kevin Plawecki pinch hit for Loney and struck out to end the inning. 

The Mets would immediately regret blowing the opportunity. The Braves would get two soft singles off Familia. Inciarte would then hit a soft grounder past Familia to score the go-ahead run. 

The Mets went back to their bench with three straight pinch hitters in the bottom of the ninth against Braves closer Jim Johnson. Brandon Nimmo hit a lead off single. The next pinch hitter was Jay Bruce who struck out of course. The last of the trio was Travis d’Arnaud who worked out a walk. This set the stage for Cabrera. 

Over this month, Cabrera was been willing the Mets to the Wild Card by being the best hitter in baseball over the stretch. All he could do against Johnson was to fly out. This set the stage for the Mets MVP Cespedes who looked foolish striking out against Johnson to end the game yesterday. 

Cespedes launched one to deep center which looked like the game winner. Inciarte came from absolutely nowhere to jump, leap over the fence, and literally snatch away the Mets victory. 

  
With that, just like old times, the Mets suffered a frustrating September sweep at the hands of the Braves. 

Game Notes: Alejandro De Aza got the start over Bruce. De Aza started in center shifting Granderson to right. 

page top

Ender Inciarte Robbed a Yoenis Cespedes Homer and Mets Victory

There’s anothe name to add to the Braves collection of Mets killers. It started with Terry Pendleton who got his start as a Mets killer with the Cardinals. He passed the torch to Chipper Jones who passed it to Freddie Freeman. Apparently, Freeman has been tutoring Ender Inciarte. 

Not only would Inciarte get the game winning RBI, he would rob a game winning home run. He stole a homer, a Mets victory, and spoiled a terrific Bartolo Colon start. 

Colon had completely shut the Braves down through the first six innings. He was his usually nimble self popping off the mound on balls up the middle to make a neat defensive play. In the sixth, he caught Mallex Smith straying a little too far off second when he nabbed the Ender Inciarte comebacker. It started the routine 1-6-5 fielder’s choice. 

In the seventh, Colon reached the end of the line. Anthony Recker hit a two run homer off of Colon. I’ll spare you the “He Reckered It!” line. With two outs in the inning, Colon would be chased by a Dansby Swanson single. As Colon departed, he gestured to Swanson as if to compliment him for the base knock. 

However, it was Colon that deserved the praise. After Addison Reed got the Mets out if the inning, Colon’s final line was 6.2 innings, six hits, two runs, two earned, no walks, and six strikeouts. He would depart on the long side because of a pair of homers. 

In the first, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two run homer off of John Gant, scoring Jose Reyes naturally, to give the Mets the 2-0 lead. That lead would grow to 3-0 on a Rene Rivera fifth inning home run. Unfortunately, those three runs weren’t enough. 

Reed would come back on to pitch the eighth.  The Mets defense would let him down. 

Inciarte would reach as James Loney completely bungled a sure out by being a bad first baseman. It was his second bone-headed play of the night. In the sixth, Loney had failed to stretch on a Colon pickoff attempt. Colon bailed him out by starting the aforementioned fielder’s choice. There was no bailing out Loney this time. 

In a controversial move, Collins removed Reed from the game to get Josh Smoker in against Freddie Freeman. It was absolutely the right move as Freeman was hitting .400/.500/.600 off Reed entering the night with two homers. Furthermore, Smoker did his job breaking Freeman’s bat thereby generating a weak blooper. Unfortunately, the ball had eyes and fell behind Cabrera. 

With runners on first and second with one out, Collins went to Jeurys Familia for the five out save. It didn’t happen.

The Braves immediately took advantage of Familia’s inability to hold on base runners by executing the double steal. Rather than throw to second and nail the slow Freeman, Rivera made the mistake of trying to get the speedy Inciarte at third. Rivera’s mental error proved costly. 

Matt Kemp had a terrific nine pitch at bat against Familia. He eventually lifted a fly ball to left, and Inciarte ignored the third base coach by breaking for home. It was the right move. Yoenis Cespedes didn’t get his momentum behind the throw, and his throw was up the line. Just like that tie game. 
The bottom of the eight could be best described as much ado about nothing. The Braves used three pitchers, and the Mets used three pinch hitters. The Mets would load the bases in the strangest way possible. 

Cespedes lead off with a double. It was a double instead of a triple. because he was posing as the ball hit off of Kemp’s close. Curtis Granderson was then intentionally walked. During T.J. Rivera‘s at bat, the Mets would return the favor with a double steal of their own. Rivera would strikeout setting up for some histrionics. 

The Mets announced Kelly Johnson as the pinch hitter for Matt Reynolds. The Braves then brought in the left-handed Ian Krol. The Mets responded by bringing in Eric Campbell, who Krol intentionally walked to load the bases. Kevin Plawecki pinch hit for Loney and struck out to end the inning. 

The Mets would immediately regret blowing the opportunity. The Braves would get two soft singles off Familia. Inciarte would then hit a soft grounder past Familia to score the go-ahead run. 

The Mets went back to their bench with three straight pinch hitters in the bottom of the ninth against Braves closer Jim Johnson. Brandon Nimmo hit a lead off single. The next pinch hitter was Jay Bruce who struck out of course. The last of the trio was Travis d’Arnaud who worked out a walk. This set the stage for Cabrera. 

Over this month, Cabrera was been willing the Mets to the Wild Card by being the best hitter in baseball over the stretch. All he could do against Johnson was to fly out. This set the stage for the Mets MVP Cespedes who looked foolish striking out against Johnson to end the game yesterday. 

Cespedes launched one to deep center which looked like the game winner. Inciarte came from absolutely nowhere to jump, leap over the fence, and literally snatch away the Mets victory. 

With that, just like old times, the Mets suffered a frustrating September sweep at the hands of the Braves. 

page top

It Wasn’t Easy, But It Was a Grandy Win

It doesn’t matter that the Twins are one if the worst teams in baseball. When you’re fighting for a postseason spot, the games are going to be tough. Tonight, the Twins showed a lot of fight. It certainly helped them that they were sending their ace, Ervin Santana, to the mound. 

And you know with him being a former Brave, he’s pitches well against the Mets. That’s exactly what happened tonight. 

The Mets did absolutely nothing against Santana for the first four innings. T.J. Rivera got things started with a single, and he moved to second on a balk. Because Paul Molitor apparently had no idea James Loney isn’t good, he ordered an intentional walk. It wouldn’t burn the Twins. First, Rene Rivera struck out. Then, Terry Collins gambled a bit pinch hitting Kelly Johnson for the starter Seth Lugo. Johnson popped out to end the inning. 

It also closed the door on Lugo. It was the typical bend but don’t break Lugo outing where he found an extra gear on his fastball and three more curves when he was in trouble. The only run the Twins were able to score off of him was an Eddie Rosaro solo homer in the fourth. 

Lugo’s final line would be five innings, four hits, one run, one earned, four walks, and two strikeouts. 

The Mets had a chance to get Lugo off the hook in the seventh. T.J. got the rally sterted with a cue shot double down the first baseline followed by another inexplicable intentional walk to Loney. Alejandro De Aza pinch hit for Rene and walked to load the bases. Terry Collins then made two strange decisions. 

The second, but most puzzling, was his waiting for a pitch to be thrown before having Ty Kelly pinch run for Loney. The other curious decision was going to Michael Conforto to pinch hit. It was strange because Conforto has been idle for too long and because he’s been uncomfortable pinch hitting. Furthermore, the Mets activated Lucas Duda just for spots like this. Collins went with Conforto, who had a bad at bat striking out on four pitches. 

The bad news was the Mets missed out on another huge scoring opportunity. The good news was Santana was done for the night. 

Jose Reyes gave a rude welcome to Twins reliever Ryan Pressly by hitting the first pitch by Pressly for a single. Reyes would quickly find himself on second after a wild pitch and an Asdrubal Cabrera groundout. With the game on the line, Yoenis Cespedes was at the plate with a 3-2 count, and he would lunge at a ball off the plate:

Of course, he came through in that spot tying the game at one. Molitor went to his left in the pen Taylor Rogers. Rogers would make quick work of the two lefties Collins was so nice to stack in the middle of the lineup, Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce. By the way, Bruce, the man Collins has the utmost confidence, was 0-5 with a strikeout. 

The game would go into extras as:

Lost with the Mets practically emptying their bench was terrific work out of the bullpen. Josh Smoker, Fernando Salas, Jerry Blevins, Addison Reed, Jeurys Familia, and Hansel Robles combined to pitch five shutout innings allowing only three hits and one walk with striking out eight. 

However, they wouldn’t get a sixth shutout inning.  Byron Buxton would hit a long home run off Robles to give the Twins a 2-1 lead in the 11th. It wasn’t a bad pitch, and it shows why people think Buxton is going to be a great player. None if that matters. 

What matters is Granderson led off the bottom of the 11th with an opposite field home run to tie the game at two. 

After Granderson’s homer, and the obligatory Bruce out, the Mets, sorry, Las Vegas 51s, continued the rally.  T.J. and Brandon Nimmo hit back-to-back singles.  Kevin Plawecki almost ended the game. However, instead of his liner going into center, it hit the pitcher leading to the fielder’s choice. It put the game in Matt Reynolds hands. After fouling a ball off his foot, Reynolds was hit by a pitch to load the bases. 

Reyes worked out a nine pitch at bat, but he would strike out looking ending the inning and sending the game into the 12th. 

Granderson once again hit the huge extra inning home run.

This one was a game winner – off a lefty to boot. It was the first time in Mets history a Mets player hit a game tying and game winning home run in extra innings. 

With that, the Mets won a tough game and will make up ground on someone tonight. 

Game Notes: Granderson’s homers wrre the Mets’ 200th & 201st of the season, which is the new Mets single season record. 

page top

Classic Bart 

If not for back-to-back homers by Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera in the third, this game would have had a completely different feel to it. 

Cabrera’s home run was his 20th of the season breaking Reyes’ single season Mets record for homers by a shortstop. 

Instead the Mets had a 2-0 lead allowing everyone to comfortably watch Bartolo Colon do his thing. 

It the first, he pounced off the mound to grab a Jorge Polanco grounder to start an inning ending 6-4-3 double play. 

In the fourth, after Yoenis Cespedes dropped a line drive off the bat of Max Kepler, Colon would pick him off of first.

In the bottom of the inning, he struck out bunting with runners on first and third. It wasn’t a suicide squeeze, but man that would’ve been fun to see. Overall, Colon earned his 14th win pitching seven innings allowing only three hits and walking two while striking out six. 

In the seventh, the Mets got some breathing room. Alejandro De Aza lead off the inning with a pinch hit single, and he would move to second when Cabrera drew a walk. De Aza would score easily on a Cespedes single right through the originator. That 3-0 lead was more than enough for Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia. 

It was Familia’s 49th save of the season which ties the single season record held by Jose Valverde for most saves by a Dominican born pitcher. 

This win and Colon’s performance overshadowed some pretty ugly performances by some struggling players. Jay Bruce was 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout leaving two men on base. Travis d’Arnaud was 0-4 with a strikeout leaving three men on base. However, even with these struggling players, a win is a win. 

With the win, the Mets are assured of gaining ground on someone as the Giants and Cardinals play later tonight. 

Game Notes: With news of Lucas Duda being activated tomorrow, James Loney had his best game in quite some time going 2-4 with a hustle double and a terrific diving play. Matt Reynolds came on to play shortstop in the ninth as Cabrera had a leg issue (not his injured knee). Juan Lagares was activated before the game but did not play. 

page top

T.J. Rivera Had the Game of His Life

When perusing the lineup, it was surprising to see T.J. Rivera‘s name in the lineup instead of Kelly Johnson with the right hander starting. Rivera would justify Collins’ faith in him going 3-4 with his first major league homer and three RBI. He would also rob Daniel Murphy of a base hit with a nice play in the first. 

Things had started out well with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. Tonight, he continued to make his Cy Young case in striking out his 200th batter of the season and dominating the Nationals. 

Thor’a final line was seven innings, four hits, one run, one earned, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. He had his dominant stuff working throwing his hardest slider in the second half. 

The only run he allowed was off a Wilson Ramos opposite field double. Ramos only had a chance to hit it as Thor took a little off his fastball there. It was thrown at 98 MPH. 

Aside from that double, Thor had everything working. He wouldn’t get the win because the Mets couldn’t generate enough offense. 

Asdrubal Cabrera continued his second half tear. He doubled in his first two at bats, and even on a hobbled knee, he would steal third after each double. It was heads up base running as he took advantage of the Nationals shifting with Curtis Granderson at the plate. 
In true Mets fashion, they would strand him there in the first.  However, in the third, T.J. Rivera took advantage of the RBI opportunity much in the same way he’s taken advantage of every opportunity he’s ever been given by this Mets organization. Rivera’s RBI single would tie the score at one. Rivera would be heard from again. 

In the fifth, Yoenis Cespedes would start the game winning rally with a single off Nationals starter A.J. Cole. Granderson brought him home with an RBI triple. Rivera then brought him home with a sacrifice fly. 

With the seven innings from Thor, and the two run lead, the game was effectively over. Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth, putting Jeurys Familia in position to recorded his 49th save of the season to tie Jose Valverde for the most saves in a single season by a Dominican born pitcher.

It didn’t happen as Familia was abandoned by his defense. 

Murphy just beat out an infield base hit bringing Bryce Harper to the plate. Familia did his job getting Harper to ground to Jose Reyes. With no play at second on Murphy, Reyes went to first throwing wide of the bag. James Loney, who never stretches, also apparently never comes off the bag. 

Instead of Murphy and second with one out, the Nationals had runners on second and third with no outs. Anthony Rendon hit a single past the diving Reyes. On the play, Reyes did not show much range. The Nationals then tied the game on a Ramos infield single. 

At this point, the wheels were unravelling, and it appeared to be a near certainty the Mets were going to lose. There were runners on first and second with no outs. Familia bore down. He first got Ryan Zimmerman to hit a weak liner to Loney. Clint Robinson then hit a sinking line drive to Rivera, who nabbed it just before it hit the dirt. Not taking chances, he flipped to Rivera for a 4-6-3 double play. 

The game was tied at three making it a brand new ballgame. Rivera would untie it in the 10th with his first career home run off Mark Melancon.

It put the capper on what was a terrific game for the undrafted Rivera. Tonight, he showed everyone the guile and talent that took him from non-prospect status to an important contributor for a playoff team. 

Fernando Salas then came on to close it out in the bottom of the 10th. One of the reasons why he the Mets got him was his closing experience. He got so close too by making quick work of the first two batters.  However, Jayson Werth would bloop one in, and Terry Collins wouldn’t take any chances. 

Collins went to the former National Jerry Blevins to get the former Met Murphy. For what it’s worth, Murphy has trouble with Blevins:

Blevins would then get a huge strikeout of Murphy recording his first save as a Met giving the Mets a 4-3 victory. 

With that, the Mets get back in the win column and have a chance to get some breathing room in the Wild Card race with the Cardinals currently losing. 

Game Notes: Wilmer Flores is still unable to go with a neck injury. 

page top

Mets Fifth Starter Will Be?

After last night’s game, Terry Collins stated the obvious when he said Rafael Montero wouldn’t get another start. The natural follow-up Collins couldn’t quite answer yet was, “Who will replace Montero in the rotation?”  Unfortunately, the Mets have few options. 

Injured Starters

One of the reasons Montero is in the rotation to begin with is because Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz are injured. While there have been optimistic reports about them getting back on the mound, there are no indications either will be availsble to pitch on Saturday. 

Right now, it seems deGrom is the closer of the two, but the Mets only intend to use him in the bullpen for now. 

Skip the Fifth Starter’s Spot

With the Mets having an off day on Thursday, they can pitch everyone on normal rest for one turn through the rotation. If the Mets pursue this option, the team wouldn’t need a fifth starter until Wednesday, September 21st against the Braves. 

This route accomplished two tasks. First, it allows the Mets to pitch their best (remaining) pitchers thereby giving them the best chance to win. Second, it gives deGrom and Matz a little more time to rejoin the rotation. 

Gabriel Ynoa

If you’re judging Gabriel Ynoa by the 5.1 innings he has thrown in the majors, you wouldn’t want him or his 15.19 ERA anywhere near the mound.  Worse yet, in Ynoa’s outings, he has been hit hard, and he has had trouble putting batters away. 

However, it should be noted those are only 5.1 innings. It should also be noted Ynoa was pitching out of the bullpen in each of these spots, which is a very unfamiliar situation for him. 

Ynoa also was on a hot streak before getting called up in September. In his final four starts of the season, he was 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. These are better numbers than what Montero had in AA when he was tabbed the fifth starter. 

Logan Verrett

Mets fans have seen enough of Logan Verrett in the rotation this year. In his 12 starts, he was 1-6 with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.617 WHIP. These are terrible numbers, BUT they are better than what Montero is giving the Mets right now. 

Sean Gilmartin

Unfortunately, the 2016 version of Sean Gilmartin had been nowhere near as good as the 2015 version. Whether it was due to the shoulder injury which put him on the seven day DL or not, the results aren’t there for him. 

In 18 starts and one relief appearance in AAA, Gilmartin was 9-7 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. His worst month was August where he was 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP in three starts. 

In his 11 appearances for the Mets this year, he has a 5.40 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. However, he has been pitching better of late. In his last six appearances, he has allowed only two runs with a 1.17 WHIP. 

Bullpenning

With the publication of Brian Kenny’s new book, “Ahead of the Curve” there has been more and more discussion about the plausibility of the concept of bullpenning. 

Bullpenning is when a team eschews a starting pitcher, and instead opts to go with their bullpen for all nine innings. With September call-ups, the Mets have a deeper bullpen certainly making this concept a plausible option. 

With Fernando Salas, Addison Reed, and Jeurys Familia set for the last three to four innings, the Mets would only need to account for the first five to six innings of the game. 

Now, given the fact that Ynoa, Verrett, and Gilmartin have not been stretched out in a while all three could give two innings each to begin the game.  Hansel Robles has also shown the a ability to go multiple innings to either change the look batters see it to step in if one of the aforementioned pitchers falter. 

Bullpenning could also be an avenue to start deGrom and Matz while still limiting their innings and pitch count. 

As it stands at the moment, there is no obvious solution. With that in mind, the Mets are probably going to need a hybrid approach to replace Montero in the rotation. 

page top