Luis Rojas
Entering this week, MLB.com did their weekly Power Rankings. In those rankings, the San Diego Padres were ranked third, and the New York Mets were ranked 12th.
That was despite the Mets going to San Diego and splitting a four game series. That was despite the Mets pitchers leading the league in fWAR, second in ERA, and leading the majors in FIP.
This is a decimated team, and they’re getting big time pitching, good defense, and good managing from Luis Rojas. They’re in first place with the largest division lead in the NL.
Well, the Mets team that is somehow worse beat the Padres last night behind the best pitcher in baseball. Actually, at this point, we should probably just call Jacob deGrom the best baseball player, especially given how he has more RBI than earned runs allowed.
Today, Marcus Stroman allowed one earned over 6.1 innings while striking out eight. Francisco Lindor and Jonathan Villar homered.
2-Run HOME RUN! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/lgCkB93HYI
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
Seth Lugo looks healthy, and once again, he looks like the best reliever in baseball. Behind him, Edwin Diaz once again slammed the door shut to earn the save.
With that the Mets took the first two of this three game set with the Padres. They’ve also won four of the six games between these teams, and they’ve already taken the season series. Not too bad for a team not close to being in the same league as the Padres.
MLB and whoever else can keep under estimating this Mets team all they want. The Mets are still going to win games and the division. They’re still going to have deGrom lead them into the postseason. As we know these Power Rankings are jokes, and the joke is on the rest of baseball.
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.
These pitches just ain't fair. ?
Eight Ks through 4 IP for deGrom. #LGM pic.twitter.com/A6nCLHCkN6
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
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.
? M-V-P pic.twitter.com/Y2wDMCabhS
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
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.
The New York Mets traveled to Baltimore to play the Orioles to complete their nine game road trip. With the split, they finished 5-4:
1. Of course, Kevin Pillar and Mason Williams were the first Mets to go back-to-back. In some ways, that’s the perfect encapsulation of this season.
2. On the subject of homers, Pete Alonso hit three, and he’s heating up just before a temperature check series against the San Diego Padres.
3. Alonso has always been one to speak his mind, and he was right on point when he said the biggest issue is the way MLB changes the ball year-to-year.
4. It’s funny. The Mets really had no choice but to obtain Billy McKinney, but now they suddenly look like geniuses for it.
5. The story of how Kevin Pillar has been a big believer in McKinney, was exited about the acquisition, and picked up McKinney when he joined the team speaks volumes about why this team is performing so well.
6. It’s funny how quickly fans went from why would the Mets sign Pillar to Pillar becoming a fan favorite they fiercely defend has been hilarious. It’s also a sign about all the things Pillar does right on and off the field.
7. While the Mets offensive onslaught felt great, especially the day after the Mets were blown out, some of the joy was taken out of it because it happened against Matt Harvey.
8. At this moment, David Peterson is not an MLB caliber starting pitcher, and it’s unfair to him to keep putting him in a position to fail.
9. No, the Mets don’t have a real answer in Triple-A, and it is going to be tough to navigate this next stretch, but when Peterson has given you 3.0 innings over the last two starts, he’s not going to help you.
10. The Mets desperately need Robert Gsellman to be good. As we saw, when he isn’t, games get way out of hand.
11. The best way for the Mets to navigate things going forward is to get starts like they did from Taijuan Walker.
12. There’s something to be said for Walker and McKinney, two once highly regarded prospects who haven’t lived to expectations, starting to look like the players we thought they would become under Luis Rojas.
13. This is getting way to ahead of ourselves, but McKinney just has this vibe right now where he’s just going to have a really big moment this postseason.
14. McKinney and Ty Kelly are doppelgängers.
15. It was hard to take Ron Darling seriously yesterday when he didn’t have Jacob deGrom atop his pitcher power rankings. In fact, it’s hard to take MLB Network seriously as Darling wasn’t the only one.
16. The baseball card shtick in blowouts works, and Darling and Gary Cohen trading an Andres Gimenez card for a Francisco Lindor was pretty clever.
17. It’s actually amusing the Mets had a game where Alonso and Dominic Smith were both in the lineup and neither played first base.
18. The replay system has become a complete and utter joke. They can’t even manage to get clearly blown calls overturned.
19. Nobody is talking about him, but Cedric Mullens is a phenomenal baseball player who put on a show against the Mets. The All-Star Game is at its best when it gives a player like him a stage to introduce himself to the world, and it’ll be great to see that next month.
20. MLB can keep the Mets down in the power rankings all they want. This is still a first place team.
Game Recaps
For the second night in a row, the San Diego Padres flirted with a no-hitter against the New York Mets. This time it was Blake Snell.
Through 4.2 innings, he was perfect until he walked Billy McKinney. That led to nothing. Leading off the seventh, Francisco Lindor saved the Mets from the indignity of being no-hit with a lead-off single.
The real shame was Joey Lucchesi was again terrific. It didn’t start out that way when he gave up a homer to Manny Machado to lead off the first.
After that, he gave the Mets 4.2 strong innings before handing it to the Mets bullpen. The Mets bullpen kept it close but had a seventh inning hiccup.
Wil Myers doubled off Drew Smith, and then Smith plunked Jurickson Profar. For a moment, it seemed he get out of it when he pounced off the mound on a sacrifice bunt attempt to get the rare 1-5-3 double play.
We love turning 2 on a sac bunt! pic.twitter.com/sdTW6u229a
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2021
Instead of getting out of it, Smith walked Tucupita Marcano. Jeurys Familia then relieved Smith only to walk the first two batters he saw to force home a run. When he walked Machado with the bases loaded, it meant that Machado had both RBI in a 2-0 game.
In some ways, this whole game was that seventh.
Lindor had the aforementioned single, which got past Tommy Pham and rolled to the wall. That meant Lindor was at third with no outs in what was then a 1-0 game. He wouldn’t score.
Snell struck out James McCann. In a tough at-bat, Pete Alonso eventually popped out. Then, Snell made quick work of Brandon Drury striking him out on three pitches.
Despite all of this, the Mets gave themselves a chance to win in the ninth. Like with Snell in the seventh, they had Mark Melancon on the ropes in the ninth.
Lindor had a one out single. McCann came up, and he was rung up on a pitch very clearly off the plate. McCann got angry, gave home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott a piece of his mind, and he was quickly tossed.
A clearly irritated Luis Rojas came out to stick up for his player, and Wolcott didn’t waste time ejecting him too.
Once the dust settled, Alonso singled putting the tying run on base. Drury fought off some pitches, but he’d eventually strike out to end the game.
Say this for the Mets right now. They’re pitching the bottom part of their rotation, and they have 17 players on the IL. Despite that, the second best team in the NL has needed everything they had to beat them. It’s a good harbinger for when these Mets are finally healthy.
Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was 1-for-1 with a walk in a rehab game for Syracuse.
The New York Mets went to the desert, and it was the Arizona Diamondbacks who came up dry. While the Diamondbacks did push the Mets, the Mets took this series:
1. The fact Bob Brenly is still employed after what he said about Marcus Stroman is an embarrassment to the Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Seriously, why hasn’t Rob Manfred stepped in here?
2. Brenly should forever keep Tom Seaver‘s name out of his mouth. He should not be sullying the name of a great man and best right handed pitcher in the post World War II era.
3. Luis Rojas going to the well with Trevor May was really bizarre. May has been struggling, and he was very fatigued.
4. Holding back Seth Lugo from a save opportunity when you’ve already used Edwin Diaz and Miguel Castro because you want to ease him back from his injury is all well and good. However, you just can’t follow that up by trying to throw him two innings in his first appearance back. That’s a contradictory and dumb position.
5. Diaz is just a different pitcher than he has ever been. He’s able to go back-to-back days now with no issue. He’s shaking off blown saves. He’s having consecutive good years. There is not enough superlatives you can throw his way right now. He really deserves credit for how much he’s improved.
6. On that note, Jeurys Familia resurrecting his career has been perhaps the biggest key to this bullpen being this good.
7. It looks like that stint at first base was great for James McCann. He’s continued hitting well, and as we’re seeing, he seems to thrive on the platoon role. Fortunately for the Mets, Tomas Nido has taken his game to a new level to make this a tenable plan.
8. Between McCann hitting again and Francisco Lindor having figured things out, perhaps we can stop passing judgments on two months. Clearly, these two needed to settle into a new city with a new coaching staff. And yes, it helps them and everyone that the team replaced Chili Davis.
9. For those who haven’t noticed, Lindor is a truly great player. Look at what he’s doing. He’s top five in the majors in OAA, and over the past month, he has a .758 OPS. Remember, that includes a period when he was in a deep slump. By September, we’re all going to laugh at the panic some people showed over his start.
10. This team is clicking with the return of Pete Alonso. His presence in the lineup seems to have taken pressure off of everyone, and frankly, it helps that he returned to the lineup in peak Alonso form.
11. There is no one tougher than Kevin Pillar. Not only did he return from that fastball to the face and surgery to replace multiple facial fractures, but he’s picked right up where he left off.
12. The Mets have had a number of injuries, but if the hamstring lingers, none might be more impactful than Jonathan Villar. Villar has been able to hold down third base with all the injuries, and while his numbers and propensity to get picked off leave something to be desired, he does find a way to have an impact on games. The Mets are going to miss him.
13. The J.D. Davis injury is getting increasingly worrisome. It seems like he just has set back after set back. You really just have to wonder if the Mets are really missing a significant injury here.
14. The fact the Mets have a 4.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves, the largest in baseball, is impressive. The fact the Mets have that lead allows them to hold their cards and wait for Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo to return at their own pace. Of course, the pitching being so dominant allows that as well.
15. At some point, Jacob deGrom gets a no-hitter, right? Sure, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux didn’t, but you have to believe deGrom eventually gets one.
16. Because baseball is stupid, you have to guess Joey Lucchesi or David Peterson gets one before deGrom even though neither pitcher really belongs in the starting rotation right now. Injuries have really helped keep them here.
17. The Mets really need to decide if they want Peterson to be Mike Pelfrey, or if they want to try to give someone else a shot while he goes to Syracuse to develop like he needs.
18. For those saying the Mets need Pelfrey, the team can certainly figure it out. After all, they have Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Sean Reid-Foley who can give you multiple innings consistently out of the bullpen. They also have Jerad Eickhoff, Corey Oswalt, and Thomas Szapucki to plug into the rotation. Really, there are options, and they need to do something.
19. Speaking of Gsellman, those 3.2 innings were phenomenal, and it speaks to his being back to being the pitcher the Mets thought he was when he was first called up in 2016.
20. May was right. That game winning hit by Josh Reddick was foul. Really, this just highlights the absurdity of the replay system where there aren’t cameras down the lines to ensure we get calls like that absolutely correct. Then again, this is baseball under Manfred, so why should we expect any different?
GAME RECAPS
This seemed like yet another easy win. Everything was clicking for the New York Mets, but baseball always finds a way to make things interesting.
Through the first three innings, there were base runners, but Caleb Smith and Marcus Stroman were making the pitches they needed to make. It also doesn’t help the cause when Jonathan Villar was picked off yet again.
In the fourth, Pete Alonso hit a two out single. Then, for that first time in well over a month, Dominic Smith homered.
DOM ?! @TheRealSmith2_ pic.twitter.com/U4MqpCEOi3
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 2, 2021
Stroman did his part to keep it at 2-0 by continuing to shut down the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup. The Diamondbacks were so frustrated, they began jawing at Stroman, and like most baseball confrontations, it proved to be much ado about nothing.
The benches have cleared in Arizona after Marcus Stroman and Josh Rojas exchanged words. pic.twitter.com/O0DydtErKL
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 2, 2021
The Mets would get Stroman’s back the best way they could. That’s by scoring runs.
Villar went right to work against Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply. Villar then scored as the suddenly hot Francisco Lindor tripled him home.
After Alonso was walked, Smith hit a sacrifice fly to drive home Lindor giving the Mets a 4-0 lead. Alonso wasn’t able to move up on the play, which was unfortunate as Tomas Nido followed with an inning ending GIDP.
It didn’t seem to matter much. After all, Stroman was dealing, and the Diamondbacks have been reeling. However, that didn’t stop the Diamondbacks from responding.
The Diamondbacks led off the bottom of the sixth with two straight hits. Then, with one out, Pavin Smith pulled them to within one by hitting a three run homer. Suddenly, an easy 4-0 game was a tight 4-3 one.
Stroman was done after that sixth. What was once a dominant effort turned into merely just a good one. Still, allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks with std strikeouts was enough to get the win. The Mets bullpen assured he would get it.
Again, it wasn’t easy. Jeurys Familia came on to pitch the seventh, and he was greeted by Villar making an error to not only allow Nick Ahmed to reach, but to also take second.
Familia rebounded to get the next two out, but he would walk Ketel Marte. While the tying and go-ahead runs were on base, it’s important to remember we’re seeing vintage Familia this year. He proved that again by striking out Eduardo Escobar to get out of the inning.
Aaron Loup pitched a scoreless eighth, but Edwin Diaz could not converthis 10th save in many chances. It wasn’t entirely his doing.
After striking out Stephen Vogt, he allowed a single to Ahmed. Ahmed then took second when McKinney had a bobble fielding it. Ahmed would be at third with two out when Josh Rojas, the same player jawing at Stroman earlier in the game, hit a game tying single.
Things got dicey from there. Marte singled, and Rojas appeared set to go first to third. However, he slipped, but the Mets couldn’t take advantage as Jose Peraza couldn’t quite secure a throw from Mason Williams.
Diaz got out of the ninth with the game tied 4-4 when Escobar flew out. That meant we got Rob Manfred extra innings gimmick baseball.
Peraza was the designated runner, and James McCann pinch hit for Williams. McCann, who has corrected himself at the plate after his first base stint, hit a go-ahead RBI single off Alex Young to give the Mets a 5-4 lead.
.@McCannon33 coming up clutch. #LGM pic.twitter.com/kjSImScbC1
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 2, 2021
McCann would be stranded there meaning Trevor May had no margin for error when he entered the game with a runner on second to try to earn the save.
May was an odd choice as he’s been fighting it of late, and he threw 26 pitches last night. There was also the fact Seth Lugo was just activated and available. Whatever the case, Luis Rojas went with May.
It was an easy first guess, and it cost the Mets. May issued a one out walk to Smith. Josh Reddick then hit a ball down the line which appeared foul but was ruled fair.
The ball got by Brandon Drury in right allowing the tying and game winning runs to score. The Mets tried to challenge to no avail.
The Mets will certainly want this one back. They blew a 4-0 lead and wasted opportunities to add insurance runs. Diaz blew his first save, and Rojas went to the exhausted reliever with the game on the line.
Overall, the Mets are and need to be better than this. They should be tomorrow.
Game Notes: Mets-Diamondbacks finale will be televised on YouTube. Billy McKinney has four straight games with an extra base hit.
Joe Musgove. Carlos Rodon. John Means. Wade Miley. Spencer Turnbull. Corey Kluber.
It just doesn’t make and sense. Somehow, these six have no-hitters, and yet, with one out in the fifth, Carson Kelly hit a single off Jacob deGrom.
Regardless of the inane scoring when Billy McKinney dropped a Josh Reddick line drive, that’s all the Arizona Diamondbacks could muster off deGrom through six. He had no-hit stuff (as usual), and the Diamondbacks were his victims.
All told, deGrom’s final line was 6.0 innings, two hits, zero runs, zero walks, and eight strikeouts.
As is the case, deGrom drove in more than he allowed. In the fourth, Jose Peraza hit a one out double, and Merrill Kelly intentionally walked Mason Williams to get to deGrom.
Kelly and the Diamondbacks paid for that mistake when deGrom hit an RBI single. With that hit, he’s driven in as many runs as he’s allowed this year. Honestly, there was nothing unusual about that.
What was unusual was the run support. A big part of that was the return of Pete Alonso to the lineup.
In the third, Alonso came up with the bases loaded and two outs, and in his second at-bat since coming off the IL, he hit a two RBI single giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. Alonso got two more RBI when he hit a two run homer in the seventh.
A Polar Bear visits the desert and exits the yard. #LGM pic.twitter.com/ymFUbGRc8c
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 1, 2021
At that point, the Mets were in control. That’s when Luis Rojas went to the bullpen. Between the 5-0 lead and deGrom’s recent IL stint, you understood the move.
The problem is Trevor May struggled. Eduardo Escobar homered off of him to lead off the inning.
After two quick outs, Pavin Smith singled off May and then took second on a wild pitch. He then scored on a Reddick RBI single. Miguel Castro relieved May and got the Mets out of the inning further unscathed.
Well, it wasn’t so much Castro as it was Williams. The call-up singled in his first at-bat, and he’d make a big play to get the Mets out of the seventh up 5-2.
Mason Williams with the great grab to get out of the 7th!
(Reminder we don't control the away camera feeds, Arizona must've wanted to see Miguel Castro's face idk) pic.twitter.com/jRAgoK7Tyy
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 1, 2021
Castro would give the Mets another inning, and with the help of another fine Jonathan Villar play, it was a scoreless eighth. Even with the scoreless inning, he did not give the ball off for a save situation.
The reason for that was Billy McKinney hitting his second homer in as many games. This one gave the Mets a 6-2 lead.
Lefty on lefty matchup? @billy_mckinney doesn't care. ☄️ pic.twitter.com/6ACDbgz8be
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 1, 2021
With the four run lead, Jeurys Familia came on to finish the game. Familia retired the first two quickly, but the second batter, Smith, hit one off Familia’s hand.
Familia shook everyone off, but there was some concern after a Reddick bloop double. Whatever concern that might’ve been, Familia put it to rest striking out Domingo Leyba.
Game Notes: In addition to Alonso, Kevin Pillar and Seth Lugo were activated off the IL. Sean Reid-Foley, Khalil Lee, and Patrick Mazeika were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Sam McWilliams and Cameron Maybin were designated for assignment. The Mets had 13 hits with James McCann being the only starter without a hit.
The New York Mets had a chance to put further distance between themselves and the rest of the NL East. Instead, they lost a tough series:
1. Of course, Jordan Yamamoto got hurt because there can’t be a Mets game without an injury.
2. The same fans who wanted Joey Lucchesi pitch the fifth are the same ones who wanted everyone warming when David Peterson last pitched.
3. Johneshwy Fargas belongs.
4. If you wanted proof Baseball is a cruel sport, look no further than Jake Hager being designated for assignment the day after celebrating his first MLB hit.
5. Marcus Stroman cheering on Miguel Castro after Castro blew Stroman’s win speaks volumes about Stroman as a person and teammate.
6. At this rate, and after his strong rehab start, Noah Syndergaard may be the first person back from the IL. Okay, it’s really going to be Jacob deGrom, but you get the point.
7. Tomas Nido gave an inch in this series with the dropped ball, but James McCann again showed no reason why he should play over Nido right now.
8. The Mets are really banged up, but there has to be better options available than Brandon Drury and Cameron Maybin . . . right?
9. Jonathan Villar has been abysmal of late.
10. There’s literally no point in complaining about the lineups right now because there are zero good choices to put out there.
11. Dominic Smith really is a terrific defensive first baseman. Hopefully, his getting time where he’s most comfortable can get him swinging better.
12. Well, except for clutch situations. He’s as good as gold in those situations right now.
13. With Robert Gsellman and Sean Reid-Foley, the Mets have been getting phenomenal performances from the long men in the bullpen.
14. Really, the bullpen has been great from top to bottom. You just have to wonder how much longer they can withstand this usage rate.
15. Luis Rojas and Jeremy Hefner aren’t getting nearly enough credit.
16. Mets need more from Francisco Lindor. They’ll get it eventually. Until that time, just enjoy the great defense and the hugs.
17. The game winning hit was fun and all, but Khalil Lee is completely and utterly overmatched at the plate right now.
18. It’s awesome to see MSG rocking for Knicks playoff basketball. It’s been so desperately missed.
19. The last time the Knicks and Mets made the playoffs in the same year was 2000 when the Mets lost the World Series, and the Knicks lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
20. The Colorado Rockies are coming to Citi Field at a time the Mets weakened roster needs a truly putrid team they can beat.