Paul Sewald

At Least Addison Reed Will Be Rested

The problem with pitchers’ duels in the modern game is that eventually end due to pitch count and managerial decision. We’ll never again see Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn dueling for 16 innings. Instead, we eventually get a battle of the bullpens. 

That battle makes both Mets fans and Nationals fans uneasy because both teams have terrible bullpens. 

Steven Matz and Stephen Strasburg were both terrific matching zeros through seven innings. Matz allowed for hits while walking two while striking out four. Strasburg gave up two hits while walking three and striking out six. 
The relievers that followed were nowhere near as good. Accordingly, Dusty Baker and Terry Collins were mixing and matching and failing. 

The Mets got the first crack at the bullpen in the eighth, and they are going to want this inning back. 

After a lead-off single off Nationals reliever Matt Grace, Matz stayed in the game for the sole purpose of bunting Brandon Nimmo to second. Jose Reyes, who was batting lead-off for some inexplicable reason, singled to left. Despite Nimmo initially stumbling and Brian Goodwin charging in hard on the ball, Glenn Shetlock sent Nimmo anyway:

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/882037467959963649

Nimmo was out by a pretty good margin. Maybe a better slide, and Nimmo is safe. Possibly, Asdrubal Cabrera being in position to direct Nimmo could’ve made a difference. A different replay official, and the call reasonably could’ve been overturned. Instead, the call stood. 

The send was bad on so many levels. Most importantly, there was only one out, and the middle of the lineup was coming up against a terrible Nationals bullpen. 

Cabrera would walk, and the Mets would send Yoenis Cespedes to the plate. He would come up short in a big spot. It wouldn’t be the last time. 

The Nationals wouldn’t waste their chance. 

With the pitcher’s spot due up and the top of the Nationals line-up due up, Collins went to Jerry Blevins, and he kept him in with all the right-handed hitters the Nationals brought to the plate. It was a bad strategy:

Ryan Raburn hit a pinch hit single, and Michael Taylor followed with a two run homer giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead. 
But the game wasn’t over because the Nationals bullpen is terrible too. 

Sammy Solis allowed a one out single to T.J. Rivera, and he got a gift strike call on Lucas Duda:

Baker brought in Matt Albers, and Collins countered by pinch hitting Curtis Granderson for Travis d’Arnaud. The Nationals were one strike away from winning, and Granderson tied the game:

https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/882044191727124480

This is when critical decisions are made. Addison Reed was warming up, but with the game tied, Collins wasn’t going to bring in his closer on the road unless it was a save situation. This was the Buck Showalter–Zach Britton decision all over again, and Collins showed he learned nothing. 

He initially stuck with Paul Sewald, who bailed the Mets out if the eighth. 

Sewald walked Matt Wieters to start the inning, but he struck Wilmer Difo out, who was trying to get the bunt down. At that point, the Mets had a sinker baller on the mound and needed a double play to get out of the inning. 

Collins would’ve stick with Sewald, nor would he go to Reed in the spot. Instead, he went to Josh Edgin when Stephen Drew was announced as a pinch hitter. Edgin walked Drew pushing the winning run into scoring position. Adam Lind flied out setting up first and second with two outs, and Ryan Raburn coming to the plate. 

Still, Collins would not go to Reed. No, he went to Fernando Salas and his 6.31 ERA. Raburn hit a ball to left field that dropped in front of a sliding Yoenis Cespedes. To add insult to injury, Cespedes pulled up lame on the play, and he won’t be playing tomorrow. 

Bad managing and a bad bullpen led to a loss. It’s been all too redundant this year. 

Game Notes: Daniel Murphy grounded out in a pinch hitting appearance in the eighth marking the first time in 30 games against the Mets he did not reach base. 

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Rain Can’t Wash Away This Win

This is a game the Mets don’t win this year. They blew the lead twice. They fell behind after a bullpen meltdown.  The rain coming was almost an allegory for their season being washed out. Lost in all of that, this team still has some fight it them. 

The Mets 1-0 lead on a Jose Reyes double went away with the help of a pair of fourth inning errors. 

The Phillies loaded the bases on a T.J. Rivera and a pair of walks issued by Zack Wheeler. Ty Kelly grounded to Lucas Duda on easy should’ve been an inning ending double play. Instead, Wheeler missed the return throw from Reyes allowing two runs to score. 

After a Cameron Rupp single, Wheeler was done for the day. In his first start since his brief stint on the Disabled List, Wheeler reminded you of how frustrating he can be. He was unable to put batters away. He walked batters at inopportune times. He didn’t last long in the game. 

Erik Goeddel came on and bailed him out. He also gave the Mets the chance to win. 
The Mets picked themselves off the mat in the bottom of the inning starting with an Asdrubal Cabrera leadoff double off Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson. He’d then score on a Jay Bruce RBI ground out. Duda then untied it:

https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/881269647936548864

Goeddel couldn’t hold that lead. He’d issue a two out walk to Aaron Altherr, and before you could blink Altherr was on third base as Travis d’Arnaud threw it away on Altherr’s stolen base attempt. The whole course of events might have been rendered moot as Tommy Joseph doubled him home. 

This put the game in Fernando Salas‘ hands. Outside the first couple of weeks when Terry Collins went to him again and again, Salas has been terrible. For proof of that, look no further than his 5.88 ERA or his 1.693 WHIP. 

Two singles and a Joseph homer later, and the Mets were down 6-3. With the rains coming, it was possible that could’ve been enough to win the game. In fact, a lengthy enough delay after the seventh, and that game is over. With that, the Mets season might’ve been washed away as well.

Then T.J. would jolt everyone alive with a home run to lead off the inning. The home run sparked the Mets offense. d’Arnaud would hit a one out double off Pat Neshek, and he would score on a Wilmer Flores RBI single. 

Then, with two outs, against the team that led to the home run which inspired the day’s bobble head, Cabrera struck again:

https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/881289763411689474

7-6

That doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing. There would be a rain delay and a couple of false starts by the Phillies. 

With a 57 minute rain delay with two outs in the eighth, Paul Sewald had to come out of the game putting Addison Reed in a position where he had to get a four out save. 

To lead off the ninth, Altherr hit one to deep center just missing a home run. Reed buckled down, and he made sure to strand Altherr at second to pick up his seventh straight save attempt and his third in as many days. 

With the win, the rejuvenated Mets are now just 8.5 games behind the suddenly reeling Nationals. The Mets have a chance to make things interesting. 

Game Notes: Michael Conforto went to the Disabled List with a bone bruise in his left hand. Wheeler was activated off the Disabled List to make the start. 

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deGrom So Close, Mets Getting Closer

Tonight, we were once again reminded why no-hitters are extraordinarily difficult, and next to impossible if you pitch for the Mets. It’s next to impossible as Johan Santana slayed a number of demons one rainy night at Citi Field. 

Jacob deGrom had no-hit stuff tonight. It was one of those nights where the Phillies just couldn’t touch him. With some help from his catcher, Travis d’Arnaud, he was getting the corner. He was getting his fastball up to 98 MPH. All the stars seemed aligned except one thing – his pitch count. 
On his 80th pitch, with two outs in the fifth inning, the Phillies finally got their hit. Andrew Knapp hit a lazy fly ball that should’ve ended the inning. Stat Cast literally put the play at a 99% catch probability. The problem with Stat Cast is it didn’t account for Curtis Granderson losing it in the lights. 

As the ball fell behind him, the crowd groaned, and Knapp had his triple. It wasn’t much of a surprise Granderson lost the ball in the lights. In the previous at-bat, he had temporarily lost a line drive off the bat of Nick Williams only to recover at the last minute. 

To a certain degree, Ty Kelly following with a well hit single was a bit of a relief. Whereas the Knapp hit was cheap, this wasn’t. Another consideration was with deGrom already over 80 pitches, he wasn’t going the distance. 

On the other hand, the score was 2-1, and deGrom lost the no-hitter in the most excruciating way possible. It should come as no surprise he was miffed:

Despite his anger, deGrom would continue dominating the Phillies. His final line was seven innings, three hits, one run, one “earned,” one walk, and 12 strikeouts. It was just the latest in what has been a stretch of dominating starts for deGrom:

Lost in the Granderson botched play was his providing some offense to give deGrom the lead. 

T.J. Rivera led off the second inning with a double, and it appeared as if he might be stranded there with the pitcher’s spot coming up with two outs. deGrom would work out a walk against Ben Lively bringing up Granderson. 
Granderson hit a slow roller up the middle.  Freddy Galvis got to the ball, but with Granderson’s speed, it was an infield RBI single giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. 

Speaking of triples that should have been outs, Jose Reyes hit a ball to the wall in center. More times than not, Odubel Herrera makes that play. Tonight, he couldn’t hang onto it. This set up a d’Arnaud RBI single. 

d’Arnaud is getting hit. Over his last three games, including tonight, he is 4-10 with a double, homer, and three RBI. If he continues hitting like this, he’ll quiet the talk of the Mets needing to upgrade at catcher. In fact, he may even get his manager to play him everyday. 

This game was ultimately closer that it probably should have been. A first inning rally was ended with a Wilmer Flores GIDP. Part of the reason the Mets only came out of the second with a run was a d’Arnaud GIDP. 

The Mets had little room for error, but their bullpen made it work. 

Jerry Blevins allowed a one out double to Cameron Perkins.  He kept things at bay with a Daniel Nava ground out. Terry Collins brought on Paul Sewald, who got Galvis to fly out to end the inning. 
Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth to give the Mets a good win. Mets are really trending in the right direction with good pitching and timely hitting. They’ce now won six of seven, and the Nationals may be facing another injury. 
Game Notes: Lucas Duda missed another game with the flu, and Michael Conforto sat because he still cannot swing a bat. No, he still hasn’t been put on the DL. 

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Mets Need A Long Man In The Bullpen

There are many problems with the Mets bullpen this year.  One of the most understated is the complete and utter lack of a long man in the bullpen for much of the season.  This has led to Terry Collins needing to trotting out a series of relievers whenever a starter can’t go deep into games.  It has led to Collins pushing relievers past their breaking points.

This has saw Hansel Robles completely break down to the point where he’s not even an effective Triple-A reliever.  Collins stretched Josh Smoker to the point where he first was sent down to the minors, and then to the point where he landed on the Disabled List.  With Smoker gone, Paul Sewald seems to be the guy who gets stretched out for three innings despite his being a 1-2 inning closer in most of his time in the minor leagues.

Doing that means Smoker and Sewald, two pitchers who should have been establishing themselves as late inning relievers this season, have been bounced around in their roles.  We have seen uneven performances from them this year to the point where the Mets really don’t know what they have in either pitcher.  More to the point, it has led to Neil Ramirez pitching in important spots.

The latest example was on Tuesday.  The Mets were riding high after a sweep of the Giants, and the team was in a soft part of the schedule where they could have reasonably been at or even over .500 going into the All Star Break.  At that point, who knows?

And this Mets team looked resilient last night.  Robert Gsellman went down in the top of the fourth.  Sewald came on and gave the team three good innings they desperately needed.  Travis d’Arnaud had two RBI, including a solo home run, to tie the game at 3-3 entering the bottom of the seventh.  With Sewald, one of the better relievers on the team, no longer available, Collins went with Ramirez.  To the surprise of no one, Ramirez would earn the loss.

Why was he and his demonic 6.66 ERA even an option?  Ultimately, it is because of the Mets refusal to carry a long man in the bullpen.  Instead, the team would rather carry a group of pitchers who ideally should be limited to two innings or less that can post high strikeout numbers.

Why couldn’t the Mets carry Tyler Pill as the long reliever.  Sure, he was predictably lackluster, but that is a significant upgrade from Ramirez being an abject disaster. While it is a small sample size, there are indications Pill could be useful as a long man.  In this three games, the first time through the lineup teams are only hitting .250/.296/.292 off of him.  Extrapolating this out, this means Pill could be good to keep the Mets into a game for about three innings.

This could led to the Mets turning the game over to their best relievers late in the game.  Instead, the Mets would rather pitch their pitchers past their breaking points.  They would rather pitch Ramirez in important spots.  While there are many things you can pinpoint for the Mets failures this season, it’s the lack of a long man in the bullpen needs to be front and center.

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Seen This Loss Too Many Times This Year

The Mets fought hard to get back into this game.  In the end, it was the usual culprits that would let the Mets down – injuries, defense, and the bullpen. 

After Curtis Granderson led off the game with a home run off Dan Straily, Robert Gsellman would just give the lead back. 

In the bottom of the first, the Marlins had runners on first and second with two outs, but Gsellman couldn’t come up with that big pitch to get out of the inning. Justin Bour singled to tie the game, and Martin Prado doubled to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead. 

It was one of those nights where you knew Gsellman probably wasn’t long for the game. You’d be right, but not for the reason you’d expect. 

In the fourth, Lucas Duda got a rally started with a one out double, and it appeared as if the Mets would strand him there. Travis d’Arnaud came up with the big two out RBI single pulling the Mets within one. 

Then came the Gsellman injury. Gsellman would ground out to the pitcher. On the play, he’d vacillate between jogging and busting it. It led to a leg injury. Rather go on a rant here about another injury, it’s best to leave it to Ron Darling:

This led to Paul Sewald getting thrown into the game. He did a great job pitching three scoreless innings keeping the Mets in the game. It allowed d’Arnaud to tie the game with a solo shot off Kyle Barraclough. 

The hit got the Mets going, and it seemed as if the Mets might take the lead. Brandon Nimmo worked out a pinch hit walk, and Granderson smoked a grounder up the middle. 

That’s when JT Riddle made a phenomenal play on the Granderson grounder to get a 6-6-3 inning ending double play. 

With the game tied at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh, Terry Collins went to Neil Ramirez and his 6.66 ERA. You knew nothing good would come of this. 

Ramirez would issue a leadoff walk to J.T. Realmuto, and Riddle would smoke a grounder towards Duda. It was difficult, but Duda needs to make that play. The ball hit off his glove setting up first and third with no outs. 
Like all Mets fans, Collins had enough of Ramirez and went to Jerry Blevins, who has pitched poor of late, to pitch to Ichiro Suzuki. 

Being the wily veteran with 3,049 career hits entering the game, Ichiro knew just where to hit it – right by Wilmer Flores, who went in the completely wrong direction:

From there, Blevins walked Giancarlo Stanton to get to the left-handed Christian Yelich.  The move didn’t work as Yelich hit a two run single giving the Marlins a 6-3 lead. 

This loss was the same loss that we’ve been seeing all season long. This is the same loss that has derailed the Mets season. 

Game Notes: Michael Conforto was not available to pinch hit after getting hit on the wrist in Sunday’s game. Erik Goeddel pitched 1.2 scoreless. He has three scoreless innings in three appearances this year. 

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In A Cabrera Second, Mets Bats Come Alive

After having the tar beaten out of them by the Nationals and Dodgers, the Mets finally found a team worse than them. 

The team jumped all over Giants starter Ty Blach.

Curtis Granderson led off his third straight game with a hit.  This time it wasn’t a homer. He’d move to third on an Asdrubal Cabrera single. Cabrera’s hit was only a single because Brandon Belt tracked down the bloop hit and threw out Cabrera trying to stretch the single into a double. For a player that did not want to be at second today, Belt granted him his wish. 

Granderson would score on a Wilmer Flores two out RBI single. Unlike the past two games, the Mets would win a game they had a 1-0 lead after the top of the first. The main reason for that was the Mets bats exploded in the top of the second. 

The rally started with a Lucas Duda lead-off double, and he’d score on a Seth Lugo RBI double. After a wild pitch, Granderson hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. 

After Cabrera singled, Yoenis Cespedes would hit his third home run since coming off the disabled list:

https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/878446961359294465

The rally didn’t end there. Flores, Michael Conforto, and Travis d’Arnaud hit consecutive doubles to give the Mets a 7-1 lead. 

With that lead in hand, Lugo was cruising. Through the first five innings, he had just allowed one run, and he was making quick and efficient work of the Giants. 

His lead would grow to 10-1 in the sixth. Cespedes hit an RBI double scoring Granderson. Flores hit a sacrifice fly scoring Cabrera, and Conforto hit a two out RBI single scoring Cespedes. 

After another long inning, Lugo struggled. After having thrown just 59 pitches through the fifth, his pitch count would escalate to 95, and he still didn’t get out of the inning. 

It was a combination of the Giants batters being more patient and Lugo issuing two of his three walks on the night. 

He loaded the bases with one out, and Brandon Crawford tattooed one that became a sacrifice fly. 

Lugo issued another walk to re-load the bases, and Gorkys Hernandez followed with a two RBI single. At that point, Terry Collins had little choice but to go to his bullpen. Paul Sewald came on and got the out to keep the score at 10-4. 

From there, Duda continued his monster night at the plate. He hit a seventh inning homer, and he nearly missed another in the ninth. Overall, he was 3-5 with with two runs, two doubles, a homer, and an RBI. 

In addition to Duda, Cespedes also went 3-5. Cespedes was also amazing falling a triple short of the cycle. With the sac fly, Flores was 3-4. Overall, the only Mets batter without a hit was Jose Reyes who walked twice. 

Cabrera should also be signaled out for having a good game. Despite all the pregame hysteria over his move to second base, he came to play. He was 3-6 with two runs. He was flawless in the field even turning a double play. Perhaps if he had played this well all year, the Mets never would’ve had the inking to move him to second. 

This was more than enough for Jerry Blevins, Erik Goeddel, and Addison Reed to close it on out. Each pitched a scoreless inning to secure the Mets first win in over a week. 

Game Notes: Before the game, Cabrera demanded the Mets trade him for the team’s decision to play him at second base. Sandy Alderson said Cabrera’s option would not be picked up.  Gavin Cecchini was sent down to Triple-A to make room for Cabrera on the roster. 

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It Was Juan Grandy Win

This game started just like yesterday’s game with Anthony Rizzo leading off the game with a home run. Then, things were worse than where last night’s game started when Ian Happ followed with a home run of his own to make it 2-0 Cubs before there was an out in the game. 

It seemed Iike things were going to be worse than that. It has become passé to say Matt Harvey didn’t have it, but he really didn’t have it tonight. He was throwing his two seamer in the high 80s. Even when Harvey’s been at his most injured, he was never there. The Cubs would take advantage too. 

Kyle Schwarber was chief among them with this shot OVER the Shea Bridge:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/875145071343128578

The Cubs would go up 4-1, and Harvey would only last four innings. 

However, unlike last night, the Mets were in this game. 

In the second, the Mets took advantage of an error by Kris Bryant to cut the lead to 2-1. Bryant’s throw in the dirt allowed Jose Reyes to reach safely, and it allowed Jay Bruce to score. 

In the fourth, the Mets loaded the bases with no outs with Harvey due up. Yoenis Cespedes wasnot yet warmed up to play, because, why have all your players ready to play the game.  Michael Conforto likely wasn’t an option with the left-handed starter Mike Montgomery on the mound. Terry Collins opted to go with Steven Matz as the pinch hitter. 

Matz made Collins look like a genius (nah) with an infield single in a ball Javier Baez didn’t get quite cleanly enough. After Juan Lagares‘ sacrifice fly, the Mets rally sputtered, and the Mets went to the fifth inning and their bullpen down 4-3. 

The Mets pitchers contributions were terrific. Matz had the RBI single. Paul Sewald pitched two scoreless. Fernando Salas pitched two-thirds of an inning scoreless. Jerry Blevins had his longest outing of the year pitching 1.1 scoreless innings. Robert Gsellman entered the game as a pinch runner. 

Their collective work allowed the Mets to stay in the game and have a chance to win. 

The chance came when Curtis Granderson earn a lead-off walk. Two outs later and two strikes on Lagares, it appeared as if the Mets might squander the opportunity. Then, Lagares hit a ball off Pedro Strop only Lagares could’ve caught:

The score remained tied until the eighth when Granderson did what Granderson does when the Mets need a huge hit:

The homer ignited the Mets offense.  The next big hit came from Lucas Duda:

As it turns out, Duda wasn’t even supposed to be in the game. With the left-handed starter on the mound, he was on the bench. However, when Neil Walker suffered a leg injury attempting a bunt single, Duda came in the game.

The homer didn’t kill the rally either. The Mets poured it on against Carl Edwards, Jr. Three more hits would follow culminating in a T.J. RBI single to make it 9-4. 

Collins went to Addison Reed to close out the game.  It wasn’t easy with the Cubs loading the bases with two outs and Rizzo coming to the plate. Rizzo grounded out, and the Mets won 9-4. 

This was a huge win in front of a huge series this weekend. Things are definitely looking up for this Mets team. 

Game Notes: Walker is getting an MRI tomorrow and is likely DL bound. Gavin Cecchini was held out of the 51s game, and he looks like he will get the call once Walker is put on the DL. Granderson’s eighth inning home run was the 300th of his career. 


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Mets Turning Things Completely Around

This should have been a great game that got you more excited about this team. It was the fourth win in a row. Instead of the wins coming against the lowly Braves, this win came against the reigning World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. (It’s still weird to type that). 

This win started with Jacob deGrom, who must’ve fixed whatever mechanical flaw he had because he was dominant. He would become the fourth straight Mets starter that pitched into the seventh inning and the third straight to pitch seven innings. 

Actually, deGrom was better than that pitching a complete game. This made him the first Met to pitch a complete game since deGrom did it last July against the Phillies. His final line was nine innings, five hits, one run, one earned, four walks, and five strikeouts. 

In the game, the only Cub to get to him was Addison Russell who hit an opposite field home run in the seventh. Other than Russell, no Cub reached third base against deGrom. A big reason for that was the Mets turning four double plays behind deGrom. 

That wasn’t the only support deGrom received from his middle infield. Asdrubal Cabrera hit two homers off Cubs starter John Lackey:

https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/874421307454181376

The other two Mets runs would come off a Jay Bruce two run homer in the third. Bruce would double in the sixth putting him on a pace for 84 extra base hits, which would be a Mets single season record. 

In the bottom of the eighth, the Mets tacked on two runs against the Cubs bullpen. The inning started with a Bruce single off Brian Duensing, and he moved to second when Cabrera tried to bunt his way on with one out. 

Joe Maddon brought in Felix Pena who couldn’t navigate the Cubs out of the inning. He first allowed a Travis d’Arnaud RBI double and then a Reyes RBI single. With that, the Mets were up 6-1 giving deGrom a huge margin in the ninth. 
Overall, despite Terry Collins inane decision to start Jose Reyes over Wilmer Flores, it was a great game for the Mets. 

That is except for the injuries. Michael Conforto missed the game with what was described as a stiff back due to the flight from Atlanta. Considering the Mets recent history with back injuries, we should all wait with baited breath until he is reinserted into the lineup. 

Conforto was the lesser of the two injuries. Yoenis Cespedes left the game in the sixth with that was described as a left heel injury. It should be noted Cespedes just came off the Disabled List with a left quad issue, and he said he was still not 100%. 

These injury issues put a damper on an otherwise terrific win. Still, as long as the Mets starters keep pitching this way, the Mets are going to win a lot of games. 

Game Notes: Paul Sewald was warming in the bullpen should deGrom get in trouble in the ninth. This was deGrom’s second career complete game. 

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Ironically Mets Beat By Dynamic Young SS 

With the Braves sending Julio Teheran to the mound, the Mets needed Matt Harvey to be good tonight. 

Harvey was good enough. For just the third time in his 12 starts, he didn’t allow a homer. More than that, for the first time this season he had an outing where he didn’t allow a run. 

Still, it wasn’t smooth sailing. The only 1-2-3 inning he had was the fifth, which was also his final inning as he needed 104 pitches.

Most of those pitches came in a 27 pitch second inning. The Braves loaded the bases with one out with Teheran coming to the plate. He hit a chopper to Wilmer Flores, who came home with it. His throw barely beat Matt Adams. 

For what it’s worth, it may not have beat Adams. That play was close as it gets, and shockingly, the Braves didn’t challenge. It was probably lucky they didn’t. It was emblematic of the luck Harvey continues to have with runners in scoring position. 

The Braves were 0-5 with RISP against Harvey leaving six runners on base. It fueled a good start for Harvey whose final line was five innings, four hits, no runs, no earned, two walks, and three strikeouts. It was enough for Harvey to leave with the win. 

And it was barely enough. Teheran was his usual terrific self, and the Braves were flashing the leather. 

In the third, Dansby Swanson made a diving catch on a sinking Michael Conforto line drive, and turned it into a double play. It was the second time Swanson made a play to get Conforto out. 

In the fifth, Ender Inciarte robbed Travis d’Arnaud of an extra base hit that probably would’ve scored Curtis Granderson. 

While he wouldn’t score there, Granderson did get the Mets on the board with a solo shot in the third. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. 

Paul Sewald was double switched into the game in the sixth, and he was immediately in trouble after Matt Kemp‘s lead-off double. Sewald was so close to working around it. With two outs in the inning, the Mets had an option: pitch to Danny Santana or Swanson.

The Mets chose Swanson, and intentionally walked Santana putting the go-ahead run on base. The Mets would rue the the decision as Swanson hit a two RBI double to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. 

In the seventh, the Braves brought on Jason Motte to pitch to d’Arnaud, and d’Arnaud tied the game at 2-2 with a solo home run. 

In the eighth, d’Arnaud would also help the Mets by completing a strike ’em out – throw ’em out double play. 

That only stayed the inevitable. In Fernando Salas‘ second inning of work, he allowed a one out hit to Swanson. Swanson got on his horse, and he took advantage of Granderson’s poor arm for the hustle double. It didn’t hurt that Granderson was deep playing no doubles, and he didn’t go full speed getting to that ball. 

Terry Collins went to Josh Edgin to pitch to Rio Ruiz. Ruiz hit Edgin’s first pitch past a diving Asdrubal Cabrera. With Conforto unable to get the ball out of his glove, there would be no play at home. 
The Mets lost a game they should’ve won further pushing them closer to selling. If only this team had a SS prospect who could’ve had an impact on this game like Swanson. 

Game Notes: Neil Walker missed his second straight game with a knee issue, and T.J. Rivera was given the start. Yoenis Cespedes will come off the Disabled List tomorrow as the 26th man. 

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Elias With Previously Unheard Of Stats

There was a time Gerrit Cole against Matt Harvey would be an anticipated pitcher’s duel. Not tonight. Maybe not ever again. Instead, it was a facing off of sluggers. Lucas Duda for the Mets, and Elias Diaz for the Pirates?

Because Francisco Cervelli was sick, he was removed from the lineup, and Diaz was put into the starting lineup. Diaz had only played in nine games over three years, so naturally, he was 2-3 with a double, homer, and six RBI. He absolutely killed the Mets. 

Still, this was a ballgame at one point.  A slugfest, but a ballgame nevertheless. 

In the first, Harvey loaded the bases with no outs. He somehow wriggled out of it allowing just the one run. While he was unable to put anyone away, he reached back and was able to strike out both Josh Bell and Andrew McCutchen to get out of the inning. 

From there, it appeared Harvey had settled in a bit. For a while, it even looked like he’d get the victory in this game. 

This was mostly thanks to Duda who launched two huge homers. The first shot in the second inning nearly took down the Shea Bridge and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead:

Harvey then ran into trouble in the fourth. Once again, he would load the bases with no outs. This time, he wasn’t so lucky. Diaz would hit a pitch over the middle of the plate for a bases loaded triple. This snapped an 0-26 steak opponents had against Harvey with runners in scoring position. 

Despite these struggles, Harvey would be in position to win this game. 

After Harvey failed to get down his second sacrifice bunt of the night, Michael Conforto hit an opposite field homer to tie the score at 4-4. 

After a Jay Bruce walk, Gregory Polanco played a Neil Walker hit into an RBI triple. Walker then scored on a Duda home run that went way up the Pepsi Porch capping off a five run inning and giving the Mets a 7-4 lead. 

At this point, the Mets offense was rolling, and it appeared the game was in-hand. Harvey made quick work of the Pirates in the fifth, and he took the mound in the sixth. That’s where the game changed. 

Bell led off the inning with a home run, and McCutchen followed with a walk. Terry Collins then double switched Paul Sewald into the game. Coming into the game, Sewald was arguably the Mets best reliever with a 2.21 ERA. He’d leave the game with a 4.35 ERA. 

The Pirates just went to work on Sewald. Diaz hit a three run homer off of him. After getting tattooed left and right, he eventually reloaded the bases and walked in a run. Before Collins went it to get him, he faced eight batters get to g just one out. His final line in the loss was 0.1 innings, five hits, five runs, five earned, one walk, and one strikeout. 

Sewald was bailed out by Neil Ramirez, who was probably the Mets best pitcher of the night. He worked 2.2 innings allowing just a home run to Josh Harrison to make it 12-7. 

In addition to Diaz, Harrison killed the Mets. He was 3-4 with two runs, a double, homer, and two RBI. He also made a nice diving catch robbing Conforto of a single. 

Really, the key difference in this game was when the managers pulled their starters. Harvey went too long, and it led to the Pirates game winning rally. The Pirates pulled Cole, and he got the victory despite allowing seven runs in five innings. 

This was just the latest in inexplicably and inexcusable losses for this team. 

Game Recap: Curtis Granderson recorded his 1,600 hit with a second inning single. Travis d’Arnaud was 2-3 with a walk. He’s now 6-12 this year against the Pirates. Wilmer Flores has supplanted Jose Reyes as the starting third baseman. 

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