Luis Guillorme

Mets/Phillies SPOILER ALERT

Based on what we’ve seen in this Mets-Phillies series, the Phillies bullpen is going to have a lead. Luis Guillorme is going to find a way on to start a rally. The Mets will score a run to tie and/or take the lead with a batter who the fans will say they have no faith in the big spot (Francisco Lindor, Dominic Smith, Michael Conforto).

There will be much rejoicing.

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Mets Split 2-1 Extra Inning Games Against Phillies

In the first game of the doubleheader, Aaron Nola had out-dueled Taijuan Walker. Not only did he match Tom Seaver‘s MLB record of 10 consecutive strikeouts (with the aide of some very questionable strike calls), but he drove home the only run heading into the seventh.

It looked like the Mets would lose in a frustrating 1-0 fashion. That was until Luis Guillorme led off the ninth, sorry seventh, with a comebacker against Jose Alvarado. Alvarado threw it away allowing Guillorme to go to second.

Albert Almora pinch hit and struck out. Jeff McNeil then grounded out putting all the pressure on Francisco Lindor. Lindor had Alvarado’s timing, and he delivered a game tying single.

Luis Rojas made an astute move double switching Seth Lugo into the game. Not only did this bring in his best reliever, but due to a quirk in the extra inning rules, it put Lindor at second even though he didn’t make the last out.

After Lugo struck out three of the four batters he faced, the Mets were going to get their opportunity to walk it off.

The left-handed Ranger Suarez intentionally walked Pete Alonso to face Dominic Smith. For some reason, Smith offered to bunt the first two pitches, and on the third, he hit a walk-off RBI single giving the Mets a 2-1 win.

Once again, in the second game of the doubleheader, the offenses were anemic. Only this time, it wasn’t as excusable because it was Matt Moore and David Peterson.

For a split second in the second, it appeared Almora put the Mets ahead 2-0 on a homer. However, Andrew McCutchen went up to grab it, and while the Mets thought it hit the back wall, replay upheld the out call.

Entering the sixth, there was a combined five hits in the scoreless game. Bryce Harper homered in the sixth to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead, and once again, in the bottom of the seventh, the Phillies bullpen begged the Mets to win the game.

Instead of Alvarado, Joe Girardi tabbed Archie Bradley to close it out. There was no one warming in the pen. You could say it was a mistake, but the Phillies bullpen is terrible.

Bradley book-ended Guillorme once again reaching on an error by walking two batters to load the bases with no outs. Walk-off king Patrick Mazeika strode to the plate, but he struck out.

James McCann gave one a ride to deep center, but even though he was playing shallow, Odubel Herrera tracked it down. Instead of a game winner, it was a game tying sacrifice fly.

Jeff McNeil, who had a tough doubleheader going 0-for-7 with three strikeouts, grounded out to end the inning.

Rojas went to Sean Reid-Foley, the 27th man for the doubleheader for the eighth. Reid-Foley did what he needed to do, but he got some bad luck behind him.

Brad Miller hit a grounder to Lindor. Lindor couldn’t quite get a handle on it allowing Rafael Marchand to get to third without a throw. The Phillies then pinch ran Travis Jankowski for him.

The Mets drew the infield in, and Herrera hit a hit shot at Guillorme. Guillorme made a great play to snag it on the short hop, but it popped out of his glove as it hit the ground. Guillorme was noticeably frustrated with himself for being unable to make a play at home, but he made a great play just to get the out at first.

Unfortunately, there were no heroics against Hector Neris. Lindor and Alonso grounded out before Smith struck out to end the game.

In the end, the Mets scored zero earned runs, but they were still able to scratch out a split. That’s good, and yet, there can be some frustration as a Mets team with a nearly complete lineup could barely score runs.

Game Notes: Jonathan Villar was put on the IL, and Travis Blankenhorn was recalled. J.D. Davis was transferred to the 60 day IL, and the Mets claimed Chance Sisco. Mason Williams opted for free agency. Aaron Loup and Edwin Diaz were unavailable to pitch.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Reawakening In Split Against Braves

The New York Mets treaded water by splitting the series with the Atlanta Braves, but there are signs of a big run coming:’

1. It probably should’ve been more obvious, but having Michael Conforto back really jump started this offense.

2. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out, but Conforto’s presence on this team with all the things he can do is going to put all the more pressure on the Mets to re-sign him.

3. One interesting thing Conforto said was how much of a leader Francisco Lindor is. Not only does that mean something coming from Conforto, but it’s also an indication on just how much value Lindor provides beyond his play on the field.

4. Mets are lucky Marcus Stroman may not be IL bound because they can really ill afford to lose pitching.

5. There’s a lot of things we can say about Jacob deGrom‘s start, but the biggest thing to come out of it is he came off the field on his own accord with no injuries.

6. deGrom is on pace for the greatest season ever with a 744 ERA+, which is well over double the best season ever.

7. It’s interesting Tylor Megill made his MLB debut when he was 25 years 330 Days old just like deGrom in 2014 (hat tip Christopher Soto). There were certainly some flashes for Megill in his 4.1 innings.

8. No, no one really wants to see a pitcher frisked in Enrico Pallozo fashion when they step off the mound, but as Preston Wilson astutely points out, there really isn’t a better way to do this.

9. So far, the Mets pitchers have been gentlemanly in the checks, which they should be as the umpires didn’t want this. The best reaction so far was the bemused Aaron Loup.

10. Sometimes you get it wrong, and I got it really wrong on Loup. Loup’s three innings was the latest example of how great an addition Loup has been.

11. On the topic of pitcher reactions to umpire checks, Sergio Romo‘s was funny, but it was probably uncalled for given how umpires didn’t want this either. Max Scherzer was just childish with the temper tantrums, especially when he’s one of the reasons why this is happening.

12. In terms of asking Scherzer to get checked out, Joe Girardi was right to have Scherzer checked after his two checks. If anything, not asking someone explicitly named as using foreign substances is bad managing. The only spot Girardi was wrong was the childish challenging to a fight.

13. Once again, Corey Oswalt showed he can pitch at this level. His innings came up huge because this Mets bullpen is on fumes and is starting to deal with some significant injuries.

14. Drew Smith is going to get his chance to be a significant part of this bullpen.

15. Luis Guillorme showed why he should be starting over Jonathan Villar and J.D. Davis when all three are healthy. Not only does Guillorme do things defensively the other two couldn’t dream of doing, but he can get on base.

16. We could make a bigger deal of the shut outs and offensive struggles, including that embarrassing base running performance, but really, it was a group stepping up and doing it for as long as they could. You can’t expect the back-ups and the back-ups to the back-ups to not finally relent.

17. Unless something changes, and it very well might, we may just have to admit Pete Alonso‘s career year was 2019, and he’s really the player he was last year.

18. It doesn’t matter how many injuries the Mets suffer, they’ll never need and should never want Bartolo Colon.

19. The Mets are finally getting an off day after playing 15 games in 13 days. While you might’ve wanted more, their dividing lead stays in tact.

20. The Mets aren’t atop All-Star voting, and they probably shouldn’t be, but who cares? They’re winning the division, and that’s what matters.

Recaps

Jacob deGrom Was Great and Healthy

Mets Ran Away from Win

Marcus Stro-No, Not Another Injury

Mets Offense Returns with Conforto

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Mets Offense Returns With Conforto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Issue Wasn’t Edwin Diaz Relieving Seth Lugo

The Mets pitching was again phenomenal. That started with Joey Lucchesi pitching 5.1 scoreless innings. After that, the bullpen provided 2.2 scoreless.

That last one-third of an inning came from Seth Lugo. It wasn’t a pressure situation in the bottom of the eighth, but Luis Rojas tabbed to get relieve Aaron Loup and get Trea Turner out.

He did. Keep in mind, Lugo’s turn in the order didn’t come up. He didn’t have an injury issue. The Mets didn’t get a lead.

Simply put, Rojas just trusted Edwin Diaz against the Washington Nationals top hitters more than Lugo. Honestly, this is not a bad decision.

Lugo has been phenomenal, but he’s still working his way back from injury. The Mets are also in an insane stretch of games, and they’ll need a fresh Lugo again soon. Mostly, this is Diaz whose been phenomenal all year.

No, it didn’t work. Diaz walked Juan Soto before surrendering back-to-back singles to Ryan Zimmerman and Yan Gomes. With that, the Mets lost 1-0.

It should be noted with Soto, that was a completely blown call. Still, the inning fell apart, and the Nationals scored the only run of the game.

Therein lies the problem. Erick Fedde limited the Mets to two hits over seven innings. He did walk four, but the Mets did nothing to drive home any runs.

Mason Williams and Luis Guillorme were thrown out trying to steal a base. In total, the Mets were 0-for-1 with RISP, and they stranded four.

When you get just two hits, and you don’t score for a second straight game, you’re going to lose. That’s the case whether Lugo or Diaz pitches.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Can Beat Good Teams

After the Chicago Cubs swept the New York Mets at Wrigley, the Mets nearly returned the favor at Citi Field:

1. It all begins and ends with Jacob deGrom. If he’s healthy, he and the Mets are unbeatable. Right now, he’s not healthy.

2. Another important thing is no one knows what’s wrong. We just lived the era of Jeff Wilpon, MD. Let’s let the professionals actually call the shots.

3. Marcus Stroman picked up the slack with seven great innings. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the win, but with the bullpen innings saved, it may mean one down the road.

4. That David Peterson start was huge, but he’s had those moments. The real key for him is consistency.

5. The Mets are usually known for the worst free agent signing. With Taijuan Walker, it’s nice seeing the Mets make the best one for once.

6. On that note, Kevin Pillar has been much better than advertised. It’s not just the offense and defense. It’s the grit.

7. Pete Alonso is great, but he has his moments where he tries to do way too much. Sometimes,he needs to take instead of jumping out of his heels. It’s why that AN was a sacrifice fly.

8. Its a tough spot for Drew Smith, but if you’re brought in to mop it up, don’t make a game of it. That’s how you eventually lose a roster spot.

9. The Dellin Betances rehab assignment has the feel of the old David Wright ones.

10. Luis Guillorme‘s ability to transfer is at another level, and as we saw with the play at the plate, it’s game changing.

11. Billy McKinney continues to play well. It appears he may need to hold the fort down just a little longer.

12. The new rules, or better put, efforts to enforce the rules, is merely a deflection from the change in the ball. It also has the added benefit for MLB to have a bargaining chip for the impending CBA talks.

13. Knock on wood, but so far, we’re not seeing any change in performance for Mets pitchers. We’ll see if that continues when enforcement officially begins.

14. With all these games bunched up, Sean Reid-Foley suddenly becomes massively important. His stepping in for deGrom is a sign of the value he can provide to this team

15. For all that narrative about the Mets not beating over .500 teams, they just took five of seven from the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs.

16. Again, you win with pitching a defense. The Mets have the best FIP and second best DRS. If that continues, they’ll continue to win.

17. The Mets have an opportunity to absolutely bury the Washington Nationals and force them to be sellers. They may be tired, but they can’t miss this chance.

18. Last time deGrom was the Mets only All-Star was 2015. That’s a good omen, but odds are the Mets will get a few pitchers.

19. Dominic Smith seems more comfortable in the OF, and he’s working counts, but he needs to pick it up.

20. The Mets have the largest lead in baseball, and they’re not really playing well yet. This team is scary good.

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Luis Guillorme Is A Magician

While the focus was on Willie Harris‘ bad send, truth be told, it only looked bad because of that relay. In previous seasons, Jake Marisnick would’ve been safe and scored the tying run.

There’s one word for what Luis Guillorme did there – Magic.

It’s an old magicians maxim. The hand is quicker than the eye. You could say that about Guillorme. His hands in receiving the relay, transferring it, and going home, were quicker than Harris’ eyes.

Guillorme’s lightning quick transfer could be the best in the game. It’s the difference between a run and an out. It’s the difference between a fielder’s choice and a double play.

Guillorme is just that good. He’s a wizard in the middle infield. Certainly, we can’t go talking about Guillorme’s tricks without bringing up Adeiny Hechavarria‘s bat again.

Guillorme can do things on the field seemingly no one else can. His hands are quick. His instincts, reflexes, and reaction time are quicker. When you get all of that, you get pure magic on the field.

When you get pure magic on the field, you build a winner. Notably, the Mets are in first and appear poised to stay there all season long. The Mets making the other team’s chances of winning the division may just be the best magic trick of them all.

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Taijuan Walker Great, Defense Better

While we’re seeing pitchers struggling after MLB declaring they’re cracking down on sticky substances, Taijuan Walker just went out there and had a big start against the Chicago Cubs. It was the best start from the best free agent signing.

Over 7.0 innings, Walker allowed two earned on five hits and zero walks while he had a career high 12 strikeouts. The only blemish was a third inning two run homer by Javier Baez.

Walker partially had a good start because there was excellent defense behind him. Dominic Smith made a leaping catch into the wall robbing Willson Contreras in the third. Jonathan Villar went in the hole and made the play on a ball Joc Pederson hit against the shift.

After the Cubs scored their two in the top of the third, the Mets returned serve. Villar drew a one out walk against Alec Mills. After Smith hit a two out double, Pete Alonso tied the score with a two out single.

The next time Alonso stepped to the plate in the fifth he had the opportunity to break the game open. Mills was knocked out of the game, and Cubs reliever, Rex Brothers loaded the bases.

Notably, Smith had a very tough at-bat. After falling down 0-2, he stayed alive, and he drew a walk.

For some reason, even with Brothers losing the zone and falling behind 2-0 to Alonso, Alonso got aggressive. Luckily, Alonso hit a sacrifice fly scoring Villar and putting the Mets ahead 3-2.

Seth Lugo breezed through the Cubs in the eighth, and with Edwin Diaz unavailable, Lugo was being called upon to convert a six out save.

With the Mets rallying in the eighth, that meant Lugo would bat for himself. He went to sacrifice runners to second and third, but he popped up the bunt. Anthony Rizzo let it drop to try to turn the double play.

The plan almost worked. The problem is Lugo busted it out of the box, and Sergio Alcantara dropped the ball. It’s hard to know how much it tired Lugo, and maybe it didn’t at all, but Lugo lost some velocity in the ninth.

Certainly, Lugo struggled in the ninth. It started with a Contreras single, and Jake Marisnick came on as a pinch runner. Eric Sogard then hit a single into the gap.

Kevin Pillar did well to prevent the ball from going into the gap. He made a strong throw back to the infield which normally would have frozen the runners, but Cubs third base coach and perpetual Mets killer Willie Harris got aggressive sending Marisnick.

Luis Guillorme came across, fielded the relay throw, and made a lighting fast transfer as he threw a strike to James McCann. That was a huge play to keep the tying run from scoring.

Lugo might’ve been on fumes, but he had enough left in the tank to strike out Alcantara to end the game. With that, the Mets won another tight game, and they once again did it with pitching and defense.

Game Notes: The Mets were the only team to offer Walker a contract this offseason.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Better Than Padres

For all the talk about the San Diego Padres this year, a depleted New York Mets team just took the season series:

1. People keep telling us to appreciate Jacob deGrom and not take him for granted. Not sure why because every Mets fan absolutely venerates him.

2. One of these days, deGrom is going to have a perfect game. It’s just going to happen.

3. Next time deGrom departs a game early, the reaction should be calm. He’s listening to his body, the Mets are listening to him, and they’re all just getting him ready to dominate in October . . . which he will.

4. While we’re told not to under appreciate deGrom, his sheer greatness is actually overshadowing Marcus Stroman who has been great this year.

5. Give credit where it is due, Joey Lucchesi has absolutely turned around his season. He wants a chance to go through a lineup a third time, and sooner or later, he probably should get that chance.

6. Not enough credit is being given to Luis Rojas and Jeremy Hefner for the job they’re doing.

7. Of course, it was a poor decision to leave in Jeurys Familia that long and to bring in Jacob Barnes in that spot. However, when you’re short bad and indefensible decisions like that are going to happen.

8. The question does need to be asked – if the Mets are so reticent to use Barnes, why is he still on the team?

9. Seeing Seth Lugo back to Lugoat form, you’re further convinced this team is going to win the World Series.

10. People can dismiss what Chris Paddack said all they want, but he does seem to have Pete Alonso‘s number.

11. Dominic Smith really needs to pick it up. Sooner or later, this team will get healthy, and he’s going to be in peril of losing playing time.

12. It’s great to see Luis Guillorme back healthy and performing wizardry in the field.

13. Months later, he may no longer be on the roster, but people should remember how Jose Peraza held down the fort and each and every single one of his homers gave the Mets a lead.

14. He’s probably not the best option, but Jonathan Villar has done everything the Mets could’ve asked. He’s been better than anyone could’ve reasonably expected, and at this point, the third base job should be his.

15. Of course, Billy McKinney is dealing with a sore knee and needed to miss a game. This would’ve be the 2021 Mets if that didn’t happen.

16. Tomas Nido has started struggling at the plate once he stopped being the everyday catcher, but James McCann is thriving.

17. More than what they’re doing at the plate, the Mets pitchers are thriving while throwing to both of these catchers. So long as the catchers are maximizing pitcher performances, they’re doing a great job.

18. On the topic of catchers, if Francisco Alvarez hits a huge homer, let him do a bat flip. Criticize him when he celebrates and the ball doesn’t go out, which is something that hasn’t happened yet.

19. People may want to get rid of the DH, but deGrom has more RBI than earned runs allowed.

20. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s June 14, and the Mets are over .500 so far this month.

Game Recaps

Jacob deGrom Provides Thrills and Chills

Mets Prove Power Rankings Pure Trash

Jacob Barnes Wrong But –

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Jacob deGrom Provides Thrills And Chills

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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