Robert Gsellman
With Julio Teheran and his 2.25 ERA against the Mets, and the struggling Robert Gsellman starting for the Mets, it seemed as if the Mets initiation to SunTrust Park was going to be as bad as Turner Field treated the Mets. With one swing of the bat, Michael Conforto dispelled many of those concerns:
.@mconforto8 is ???! pic.twitter.com/Q3VACTbkJ2
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 1, 2017
The concerns returned when Ender Inciarte returned the favor by hovering to lead-off the first.
The Mets then did something rate in the fourth. They built a sustained rally.
The Mets quickly loaded the bases, and Neil Walker snapped an 0-13 skid to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. Jose Reyes hit a RBI groundout. Travis d’Arnaud was told to go to first (IBB) reloading the bases, and T.J. Rivera made them pay with an RBI single. After a Gsellman line out, Conforto hit a two RBI single making it 6-1.
The Braves would get a lot of that back. In the fourth, Nick Markakis and Adonis Garcia and would collect RBIs after Matt Kemp set the stage with a double.
In the sixth, Terry Collins tried to coax another inning to help a tired bullpen. Freddie Freeman and Kemp hit back-to-back doubles leaving yo term getting hooked. Collins had enough, and he used Josh Edgin and Hansel Robles combined to shut the door keeping the score at 6-5.
Gsellman had an uneven start once again due to his struggling with command. His velocity dipped a bit. Still he lasted five, and he gave the Mets a chance to win allowing six hits, five earned, and a walk.
Reyes added a run off a solo homer in the eighth to make it 7-5.
That lead would last as Jerry Blevins, Addison Reed, and Jeurys Familia shut the door on the Braves to pick up the 7-5 win. Maybe, just maybe SunTrust will be different than Turner Field.
Game Notes: Curtis Granderson went 0-3 and is now hitting .124. To his credit, he did work out a walk, scored a run, and had a fine play in center.
Look, if we are being honest, we just saw a really ugly side of Noah Syndergaard this past week, and it all surrounded how he is handling his current physical issues. As we have seen in the past, this isn’t the first time it has happened with Syndergaard.
Last year, there was a lot of drama surrounding Syndergaard’s elbow, and that drama was mostly created by Syndergaard himself. After the Mets had confirmed a report that Syndergaard did indeed have bone spurs in his elbow, he denied their existence saying, “I do not, no. My arm feels great. No, there is nothing structurally wrong with (the elbow), wear and tear will do it to you. My arm feels really good. I just have to get ready to go in five days.” (Kristie Ackert, New York Daily News). His denial of a team confirmed report created an unnecessary news cycle that ended in Syndergaard finally admitting two days later there was a bone spur.
The lesson here is there is no point in lying to the media, especially when they already know the truth. There’s also the lesson that you’re not going to win with the media, especially in a town like New York. Despite that, Syndergaard is repeating past mistakes.
After the Mets shielded him and started Robert Gsellman on Wednesday chalking it up to a “miscommunication,” the Mets and Syndergaard finally had to come clean on Thursday when Matt Harvey had to make an emergency start in his place. It was finally time to come clean. The Mets admitted Syndergaard had an issue with his bicep which precluded him from making the start. When it was time for Syndergaard to address the media, Syndergaard was completely unprofessional. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, instead of answering reporters questions, Syndergaard chose to rip into Jay Horowitz for allowing the media to do its job. Syndergaard wasn’t just disprespectful to Horowitz, he was also disrespectful to a media doing it’s job. As Jerry Beach tweeted, Syndergaard called the media Horowitz’s minions.
As if this was not bad enough, Syndergaard did something really dumb after that. He refused to get an MRI. The Mets made the dumber decision to let him pitch despite his not getting that MRI. Syndergaard took the mound without anyone knowing the full breadth of his injury. He would only last 1.1 innings before needing to come out the game with an injury. As of this moment, it is reported to be a lat injury, and no one knows if it is related to the aforementioned bicep issue.
With Syndergaard leaving the game with the injury, he left behind an exasperated Sandy Alderson, angry Terry Collins, and a dejected fan base. Also, he’s getting that MRI he initially refused to get making this whole exercise completely pointless.
Maybe Syndergaard needs to believe he is indestructible in order to take that mound and pitch as great as he does. Maybe his emotions get in the way, and he responds in ways he later regrets. No one really knows because no one has the stuff he has, and those that have had something close have not been able to harness it the way Syndergaard has. He’s special on the mound, and there’s no doubt his mental makeup is a large part of that.
Still, Syndergaard needs to be a professional out there. While the New York media can certainly be unbearing, and at times cruel, a player has to learn to deal with them. Moreover, he has to learn to treat the people he works with with respect. That involves treating Horowitz like something more than a punching bag. It involves him doing the aspects of his job he doesn’t want to do like talking to the media when there’s a problem. It involves him not leaving his teammates to pick up the bag for him in the clubhouse or in the locker room.
These are the same criticisms everyone had of Harvey last year when he was going through his struggles, and they were all fair. However, it should be noted Harvey was not on record insulting anyone. He knew enough not to do that.
This isn’t to say Syndergaard is a bad guy, or that he needs to change that thing about him that makes him great. We all love his swagger. The 60’6″ talk. The pseudo-war with Mr. Met. Rather, Syndergaard just needs to learn when to answer a question and listen to medical advice. If anything, it will make his time in New York easier, and it might lengthen his career.
Robert Gsellman was initially supposed to be skipped tonight so Noah Syndergaard could pitch. The Mets later announced the announcement was a mistake, and Gsellman would indeed get the start.
Someone forgot to tell Gsellman.
In a long first inning, Gsellman did not get a batter out until he faced Dansby Swanson, the eighth batter in the lineup. At that point, the Braves were already up 5-0.
In that brutal first inning, Gsellman allowed walks to Ender Inciarte (lead-off) and Freddie Freeman. Right-handed batters Brandon Phillips, Matt Kemp, and Tyler Flowers (double) took advantage of Gsellman living on the outside corner by going opposite field for their hits.
The defense wasn’t much help either. Gsellman pulled Jay Bruce way off the bag on an Adonis Garcia dribbler. Yoenis Cespedes had a chance to nail Freeman at the plate on a bad send by Ron Washington, but Cespedes’ throw was well up the third base line.
Before any of this, Inciarte and Phillips nearly pulled off a double steal. Travis d’Arnaud‘s throw was late, but he got credited with a caught stealing as Phillips overslid the bag. Had that not happened, the first inning could’ve been much worse.
Not that it mattered much anyway. When Julio Teheran and his 2.21 ERA against the Mets gets to bat before he pitches, the game is over. This one was.
Worse yet, it was a sloppy game from the Mets. The team had three errors before they got their first hit.
The Mets had their chance in the fourth loading the bases with no out. All they got was one run off a Neil Walker sacrifice fly. The rally ended after that with Curtis Granderson and d’Arnaud popping out.
What is even more maddening during that rally was Terry Collins having Fernando Salas warm up in the pen in case Gsellman’s spot in the lineup came up. Why Collins would warm up his seventh inning guy as opposed to Hansel Robles, who has the ability to eat some innings.
With d’Arnaud making the last out, Gsellman went back out for the fifth. Three hits, one run, and no outs later, Collins was forced to go to Josh Edgin, who did a terrific job getting out of the jam.
Don’t worry, after Edgin pitched 1.2 good innings, Collins brought in Salas to help Edgin get out of the two on two out jam. Nothing like taking a relieved on pace for 90+ appearances and having him warm up twice in a game. Even better, Salas stayed on to pitch the seventh.
Speaking of overworked pitchers, Jerry Blevins pitched as well. He had to bail out Salas who ran into trouble himself allowing three hits and two runs to make it 8-1. This led to the overworked Robles coming in.
The Mets moved some deck chairs, scoring a run in the seventh, but at 8-2 who cares?
We can get on the Mets offense all we want, and they deserve it. However, Gsellman cannot give up five runs in the first inning. Even if he did, he needs to give the Mets some length. Just a bad loss all around.
Game Notes: At 8-12, the Mets are four games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2014 season. The Mets have the fewest at-bats with RISP in baseball. Bruce was 2-2 with two walks.
One of the ongoing jokes during yesterday’s rain out was that despite the rain out, Terry Collins had Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas warming up in the bullpen in case the game started on time. As with most jokes, this one did have a twinge of truth to it.
So far this season, the Mets bullpen has been going on an unsustainable rate. Mike Marshall holds the single season record for appearances by a reliever with his making 106 appearances for the 1974 Dodgers. The Mets record for appearances is Pedro Feliciano with 92 appearances in 2010. This was the reason why Gary Cohen dubbed him Perpetual Pedro. Interesting enough, Felicano’s record is tied for fourth all-time with Marshall, who had 92 appearances for the 1973 Expos. Right now, the Mets bullpen is set to challenge these records at an alarming rate.
Blevins is on a pace to make 102 appearances this season. Hansel Robles is on pace to make 94 appearances this season. Addison Reed and Salas are on pace to make 85 appearances this season. Josh Smoker is on pace to make 77 appearances this season. Obviously, this would be career highs for each of these pitchers.
If they are to keep up this pace, Blevins would be second all-time for single season appearances by a reliever, and Robles’ 94 appearances would tie the now standing second place position. Looking over the record list, no one has made more than 74 appearances in a season over the last five years. The bullpen’s usage is unprecedented in terms of how many appearances these relievers are making. It is utterly amazing that the current pace of these relievers would put them at the top five appearances made by a reliever in single season over the past five seasons.
When you combine the appearances with the amount of times these pitchers warm up, they are going to be on fumes. Certainly, we have seen some diminishing returns already from Salas. The rest of the bullpen may not be too far behind him. This bullpen needs a rest and the subsequent rain out helped. However, they need more help.
They may receive some help now that Jeurys Familia has returned from his suspension. Certainly, he is the reliever Collins’ trusts most, and he will likely be the one Collins over uses next. More than Familia, the bullpen can use some length from their starting pitching.
Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, and Jacob deGrom are the only relievers averaging at least six innings per start. Zack Wheeler and Robert Gsellman are averaging just over five innings per start. This means every night the bullpen needs to pick up at least 3-4 innings. With the Mets having already played four extra inning games to start the season, it has been much more than that.
The relative lack of length from the bullpen is understood. Harvey and deGrom are coming back from season ending surgeries last season. Wheeler has not pitched since 2014. Gsellman has not thrown more than 159.2 innings in a season. Really, you’re only workhorse right now is Syndergaard.
However, sooner or later something is going to have to give. The starters are going to have to give more length, or Collins is going to have to trust some of the other guys in the bullpen more. It’s understandable he hasn’t when Josh Edgin is a LOOGY with a 3.68 ERA, and his former long man, Rafael Montero, managed to get worse. The long story short here is someone has to step up. Otherwise, the bullpen may not last very long.
As if the Mets weren’t injured enough, the team had a new rash of injuries heading into tonight’s game.
Wilmer Flores and Lucas Duda went on the disabled list. Travis d’Arnaud and Yoenis Cespedes didn’t, but they couldn’t start. At least d’Arnaud was available to pinch hit. To make matters worse, Asdrubal Cabrera is now dealing with a hamstring injury keeping him out of the lineup, and Jacob deGrom woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
With deGrom waking up with a stiff neck, he missed tonight’s start, and he probably needs someone to start for him tomorrow.
With so many people out of the lineup, the Mets needed someone to step up. The Mets had people stepping up all over the place tonight.
First was Matt Harvey who was the surprise starter. Harvey gave his team a chance to win pitching seven innings. His final line was seven innings, four hits, three runs, three earned, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Harvey pitched well, but he was tripped up by the long ball. In the first inning, he grooved one to Bryce Harper who launched it for a two run homer. It was a strange site to see when you consider Harper couldn’t get a hit off pre-TOS Harvey. The third run off Harvey came off a Jose Lobaton solo shot in the fifth.
Despite the two homers and the makeshift lineup, Harvey had a no decision.
He was first helped by a Michael Conforto first inning blast off Tanner Roark‘s first pitch of the game:
.@mconforto8 stays ?!
2-1 Washington | End-1 pic.twitter.com/RK74WLFI9C
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 21, 2017
The second and third runs came courtesy of Curtis Granderson. In the fourth, Granderson had a two out RBI single scoring Jay Bruce. He then tied the score in the sixth:
Reservation for one in the Coca-Cola Corner. https://t.co/DrAgLPqptU #Mets pic.twitter.com/hStQG062AT
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 22, 2017
It was a terrific night for Granderson. Coming into the night, he was hitting .143/.197/.214. Just like he’s done in his entire Mets career, Granderson stepped up when the Mets needed him most going 2-4 with a run, two RBI, one walk, and the home run.
The Mets nearly took the lead in the seventh. Zack Wheeler hit for Harvey and hit a pinch hit double. The Mets would load the bases, and the Nationals would go to Oliver Perez, who got Bruce to line out to end the inning.
In the ninth, there was some craziness. Rene Rivera earned a lead-off walk off Joe Blanton, and Terry Collins opted to pinch run Robert Gsellman. T.J. Rivera then bunted Gsellman to second.
Cabrera then pinch hit for Addison Reed and drew a walk. Given his hamstring issues, Collins sent out Kevin Plawecki to pinch run for him. No, it didn’t make sense to do this and force the pitcher’s spot to come up earlier in the lineup, but nothing in this inning made much sense.
In the long run, Blanton worked his way out of the inning. Another side effect of the inning, Collins’ mechanations led to the pitcher’s spot coming up three spots earlier in the lineup. He did that in a game where the Mets had a short bench. Just an inexcusable move.
The Mets certainly could’ve benefitted from better managing as the pitcher’s spot did come up in the bottom of the 11th with the Mets down 4-3.
The Mets were down 4-3 because Jeurys Familia is still rusty. Keep in mind, he only made two relief appearances in the minors before his suspension was over.
After Josh Smoker allowed a lead-off double to Harper, Murphy was intentionally walked, and Familia entered the game. He threw a wild pitch allowing Harper to go to third. It didn’t matter much as he issued back-to-back walks to Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner to force in a run. Familia settled down after that, but it was too late. The Nationals took the lead.
Shawn Kelley came on in the 11th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning to earn the save. With that, the Mets fought valiantly, but still lost. They’re now under .500, and who knows who will be healthy enough to play tomorrow.
Game Notes: Daniel Murphy‘s 19 game hitting streak came to an end. He was 0-4, and he was intentionally walked in the 11th. Apparently, Reed wore the wrong hat during his appearance.
For a multitude of reasons, the Mets needed this one. They needed to snap the four game losing streak. They need to capitalize on all game against the Phillies if they have any designs on winning the NL East. Overall, they needed to get back on track.
That starts with Robert Gsellman who was very good tonight. He looked more like the pitcher he was at the end of last year. Coincidentally, that pitcher had a 2.37 ERA against the Phillies last year.
For a moment, it appeared the Mets would give Gsellman a first inning lead. Jay Bruce hit a two out double off Vince Velasquez. Despite Glenn Sherlock giving him the stop sign, Yoenis Cespedes tried to score and was nailed at the plate.
With Cespedes not scoring there, the game remained scoreless through the first three until the Phillies would finally get to Gsellman. It started with Gsellman hitting Aaron Altherr, who went from first to third on an Odubel Herrera single. Altherr then scored on a Maikel Franco groundout. Gsellman bore down and got out of the inning without any further damage.
The Phillies touched up Gsellman again in the fifth with Velasquez hitting an RBI single scoring Cameron Rupp who hit a leadoff single.
The run scored that inning wasn’t the biggest damage to the Mets. Both Lucas Duda and Travis d’Arnaud would suffer injuries that inning and would eventually have to come out of the game.
Duda was hurt when Gsellman threw a ball into the runner. The ball and Cesar Hernandez arrived at the same time. Gsellman was charged with the error, and Duda suffered a hyperextended elbow.
Later that inning, d’Arnaud was injured while trying to throw out Hernandez. On the pitch, Altherr struck out and moved towards home plate. Altherr’s bat hovered over home and d’Arnaud’s hand collided with the bat. d’Arnaud tried to argue with Home Plate Umpire Chad Whitson it was interference, but d’Arnaud’s pleas fell on deaf ears. d’Arnaud would stay on through the sixth, but he would have to leave the game as well.
Just like that the Mets were down both two runs and two players.
In the sixth, the Mets would stage a two out rally after Curtis Granderson‘s GIDP seemingly killed a potential rally.
Asdrubal Cabrera would get the two out rally started with a two out single. Cespedes followed with a walk. Bruce then:
PHI@NYM: Bruce hammers three-run homer to right https://t.co/cUXsNHns95
— Mets Daddy (@MetsDaddy2013) April 20, 2017
It was a huge home run, and it put Gsellman on the long side. Unfortunately, Gsellman would not get that win.
Gsellman started the eighth inning due to game conditions. With Rene Rivera leading off the inning with a single, the Mets having a short bench, and with the right-handed Altherr due to lead-off in the top of the eighth, Terry Collins stuck with Gsellman. Considering how well Gsellman was pitching and how tired the Mets bullpen has been, it was probably the right move.
Despite it being the right move, Altherr hit a bloop double to lead-off the inning. Collins wasted no time, and he went to Jerry Blevins who couldn’t quite get out of the jam.
Herrera grounded out pushing Altherr to third. Then Blevins got a huge strikeout of Franco. Michael Saunders then lined a single that dropped right in front of a sliding Cespedes tying the score at three.
It was a shame Gsellman wouldn’t get the win. He was the first Mets starter to pitch into the eighth. He only allowed six hits, three runs, three earned, and one walk with seven strikeouts.
Gsellman wouldn’t get the win, but Hansel Robles, who came on for Blevins, would.
Cespedes would lead-off the bottom of the ninth with a single off Luis Garcia. Bruce then followed with his second home run of the game:
In what may be his last save attempt as the Mets designated closer with Jeurys Familia eligible to return from suspension tomorrow, Addison Reed recorded his fourth save. He allowed a run due in part to Franco’s one out triple, but Reed would shut the door on the 4-3 win.
Game Notes: Jose Reyes was 0-2 and is now hitting .096. Granderson is 0-11 in his last 11 ABs. Neil Walker still doesn’t have an extra base hit from the left-hand side. Six of Bruce’s 14 homers with the Mets have come against the Phillies.
Looking at this Mets team since 2015, one thing has been perfectly clear: this team is built on pitching, and it will only go as far as the pitching carries them. In 2015, when their starters were healthy and able to last the season, the Mets were able to win the National League Pennant. In 2016, with three of the arms going down, the Mets were still good enough to enter the postseason as the top Wild Card.
The Mets have been fortunate because the pitching has been cheap. It was not until recently that Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jacob deGrom entered their arbitration years. Noah Syndergaard won’t be arbitration eligible until after this season. It is interesting because it is after this season that things begin to become murky. Harvey and Wheeler are scheduled to become free agents after the 2018 season with deGrom becoming a free agent the season after that.
With the Mets success rising and falling on their pitching, it begs the question why haven’t the Mets selected at least one or two pitchers and come to terms on a contract extension. The common refrain among Mets fans is the team should keep Syndergaard and deGrom and join them in a rotation that one day may also feature Robert Gsellman, Justin Dunn, and Thomas Szapucki. For now, even with the clock ticking, the Mets aren’t making a move.
While it may not make sense to most Mets fans, in a report by Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the New York Mets have advised why they have not entered into contract extension discussions with any of their young pitching:
1. Injuries
As GM John Ricco explained, “[GM] Sandy [Alderson] has not said let’s be aggressive in that area, and that [injuries] is the biggest reason.”
Fact of the matter is each one of these pitchers have an issue. Harvey, deGrom, Matz, and Wheeler have all had Tommy John surgery. Harvey, deGrom, and Matz all had season ending surgery last year. Even someone healthy like Syndergaard dealt with bone spurs last year. Point is, the Mets pitchers have not been exactly healthy, nor do they inspire confidence they will be healthy going forward. To that end, the Mets relative inactivity has been understandable.
2. Lack of Urgency
As noted in Sherman’s piece, the Mets do not have a pending free agent until the after the 2018 season, and Syndergaard isn’t a free agent until after the 2021 season. Honestly, this reason is a bit disingenuous. With Harvey’s pending free agency many expect this is Harvey’s last season in a Mets uniform as the team does not want to risk him walking in free agency and the team getting nothing in return for him.
3. Pitchers Aren’t Interested In Extensions
According to Ricco, who would know this better than fans, extension discussions are typically begun by the player and his agent. Again, with fans not being in the business, it is hard to challenge him on this. With that said, it is hard to believe the Mets would be willing to let all their pitchers go to free agency without so much as initiating contract disucssions with them. Frankly, it is harder to believe when you consider back in 2012, the Mets pounced on an opportunity to give Jon Niese a five year contract extension.
4. Personalities
As noted in Sherman’s piece, when you give a contract extension to one player, it is going to have ripple effects. As Ricco said, “You would have to manage personalities because if you do [an extension] with one, how does it impact the others?”
Now, this is a bit of an overstatement on Ricco’s part. Entering into contract extensions with the pitchers should be part of an overall plan. For example, when Omar Minaya was the General Manager, he was faced with Jose Reyes‘ pending arbitration in 2006, he agreed with a four year pact with his shortstop. Minaya then quickly moved and locked up David Wright to a six year deal. While Alderson is dealing with more than just two players, Minaya’s actions certainly show if the team has a plan an executes it, there should be no issues.
5. Budget
It is something Mets fans don’t want to hear, but it is a reality. After this season, the Mets will have Reyes, Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, Addison Reed, and Fernando Salas as free agents. The team will have to decide on options for Jerry Blevins and Asdrubal Cabrera. In addition, all of the Mets marquee starting pitchers will be in arbitration thereby escalating their salaries. Furthermore, Jeurys Familia will also be owed a lot of money in arbitration if he has another stellar year. Long story short, the Mets will have to spend some money this offseason.
In order to do that, the Mets need to have the money. As Ricco explains, “Once you’ve locked in [on an extension], you do limit flexibility in some ways.”
Now, it is easy to say the Mets can plug in Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith next year, but at this point, it is not known if they will be ready to be 2018 Opening Day starters. Putting forth such a plan would be folly, especially for a team that can still compete for a World Series.
Overall, the Mets concerns over not extending their pitchers have some merit, especially when you consider the injury issues. Still, the longer the Mets wait, the more expensive each of these starting pitchers will become. As they become more expensive, the chances of locking up more than one of them significantly decreases. Sooner or later, the Mets are going to have to take a chance on a couple of these pitchers if they have designs of competing for World Series over the next decade. With Harvey being a free agent after next season, the sooner the Mets begin executing a plan, the better.
Hansel Robles had pitched in three straight games and four out of the last five. In his last appearance, he appeared gassed. As such, even with Robert Gsellman not getting out of the fifth and the game going deeper and deeper into extra innings, Terry Collins did all he could do to keep Robles out of the game.
Rafael Montero, Fernando Salas, Addison Reed, and Josh Smoker all pitched more than an inning. For his part, Smoker threw a career high three innings. With the bench already empty, Jacob deGrom pinch hit for Smoker in the top of the 15th necessitating the pitching change.
With Robles as the last man standing, he was the obvious choice. Despite him looking absolutely gassed, he managed to pitch two scoreless and pick up the win. It almost didn’t happen.
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Collins’ Plan B was to pitch Rene Rivera if Robles told him he couldn’t go. There was just one tiny little problem – the Mets were out of bench players.
This meant Collins was going to have to use a pitcher in the field. The natural choice was probably deGrom, who was a collegiate shortstop, but that wasn’t Collins’s choice. Instead, Collins decided that Zack Wheeler would’ve entered the game to play first base.
It seemed like the Mets 16 inning win had everything, but apparently it did not. That’s a good thing because Rivera pitching was likely not going to go well. Wheeler at first might’ve gone even worse.
Lucky for everyone involved, Robles not only took the ball, but he earned the win. He gave his team a chance to win. He gave his team a chance to keep catchers from pitching and pitchers from playing first base.
When you play 16 innings, the game takes many twists and turns. Tonight’s game was that and then some. It was full of clutch hits, clutch fielding, gutsy pitching, and bizarre managerial moves.
This was just a classic Terry Collins game. He made a series of bizarre moves. As usual, they surrounded use of his pitching staff, but today was an extra treat because it wasn’t just limited to the pitching staff.
From the beginning, it was apparent Robert Gsellman didn’t really have it. In the first, he walked two and eventually allowed a grand slam to Marcell Ozuna putting the Mets down 4-0 before anyone could blink.
With the Mets offense humming with the series in Philadelphia, the Mets immediately tied the game in the top of the second.
Travis d’Arnaud hit a bases clearing three RBI triple, and he’d come around to score on a Curtis Granderson two out RBI single.
The Mets got the lead when Yoenis Cespedes and Wilmer Flores, batting clean-up and playing first with the Marlins starting the lefty Wei-Yin Chen hit back-to-back homers.
.@ynscspds crushes, Wilmer feasts
We'd like to say they're both beasts. pic.twitter.com/qhCanJIkjT— New York Mets (@Mets) April 14, 2017
Cespedes’ homer was absolutely annihilated:
MLB is gonna have a shortage of baseballs if Yoenis Cespedes keeps hitting dingers at this rate ?⚾️pic.twitter.com/sah9Ptytzg
— TPS (@TotalProSports) April 14, 2017
With the two run lead, Collins made his first strange move of the game. While Flores started due to the lefty, T.J. Rivera started at third to give Jose Reyes a mental health day. Heading into the bottom of the fourth, with Chen only going three innings, Collins lifted Rivera for Lucas Duda.
Obviously, Collins was just itching to shorten his bench with the activation of Juan Lagares from the DL giving him a full bench. Why Lagares didn’t start with this deep outfield and with a lefty on the mound is also bizarre in and of itself. Despite that, the Mets carried a 6-4 lead into the fourth.
Cespedes added another homer in the fifth for good measure giving the Mets a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Gsellman struggled just like the first. The Marlins quickly loaded the bases, and he walked Christian Yelich pulling the Marlins within two. Giancarlo Stanton hit a sacrifice fly pulling the Marlins within one.
It was only at this point that Collins went to the pen. With the left-handed hitting Justin Bour coming to the plate in an absolutely pivotal moment, Collins went to Josh Edgin instead of Jerry Blevins.
Bour doubled to tie the game. Ozuna was intentionally walked. Derek Dietrich then singled to give the Marlins an 8-7 lead. The Marlins probably would’ve done more damage, but on the Dietrich single, Jay Bruce nailed Bour trying to score from second.
The Marlins got their revenge in the seventh. Cespedes took first after he struck out on a wild pitch. He then appeared to score from first to tie the game on a Bruce double:
https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/852715280501428224
Naturally, Angel Hernandez got the call wrong necessitating the replay showing Ozuna nailed Cespedes at the plate. Between this play, the grand slam, and all the other plays we’ve seen from Ozuna, he’s become an extremely annoying player along the lines of Willie Harris, except Ozuna is a much better player.
The Mets were still undeterred. In the top of the eighth, d’Arnaud got on with a two out single. Michael Conforto who has hit every chance he’s been given this year got his latest chance pinch hitting for Blevins. Conforto would double in d’Arnaud to tie the game at eight.
The battle of the bullpens continued, and it became a war of attrition.
With the exception of the two lefties, Edgin and Blevins, each reliever pitched over one inning. This includes Josh Smoker who really stepped up for the Mets. Smoker would throw 38 pitches over three scoreless innings. It was an outstanding appearance. Considering his struggles going over an inning last year and his struggles this year, it was simply incredible.
In the top of the 15th, with the bench already empty to the point that Rene Rivera was playing first base, Jacob deGrom pinch hit for Smoker and struck out.
This left the Mets with no other choice but to put Hansel Robles in the game. Understandably, Collins was hesitant to use Robles with him pitching three straight days and four out of the last five.
While the Mets plated eight runs, it was not as if everyone was hitting. Asdrubal Cabrera took an ugly 0-7. His double play partner Neil Walker was 1-7.
Conversely, Cespedes, Flores, Bruce, and d’Arnaud was great. While Cespedes had the two home runs, d’Arnaud was the best of them all.
In the 16th, having run out of pitchers Don Mattingly turned to tomorrow’s scheduled starter Adam Conley to pitch the 16th Despite, Conley being fresh and having dominated the Mets, and despite d’Arnaud having caught 15 innings, d’Arnaud hit the game winning homer. It was the Mets first hit since the 10th inning.
NYM@MIA: d'Arnaud hits go-ahead solo home run in 16th https://t.co/kLChzJtOGF
— Mets Daddy (@MetsDaddy2013) April 14, 2017
By far, this was d’Arnaud’s most memorable game as a Met. He was 4-6 with three runs, a triple, a homer, and four RBI. This was the second game this week he came one hit short of the cycle.
Other Mets with great games were Cespedes with the two homers, Bruce going 3-7 and nailing a runner at the plate, and the entire bullpen not named Josh Edgin.
After Edgin, everyone stepped up and pitched scoreless inning after scoreless inning. Given their respective usages this year, asking most of them to pitch over an inning, and some of their early season struggles, this was an absolutely amazing group performance from that pen.
It wasn’t easy in a game where nothing was easy. Ozuna, an absolute pest, made a very loud final out with Lagare catching it right in front of the center field wall.
It should be noted Collins elected to have Robles pitch to Ozuna with two outs and Conley on deck. Sure, you’re loathe to put the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on base, but the pitcher was on deck! This game was a classic example of winning despite your manager.
Robles despite having nothing pitched two innings and got the win in the 9-8 win. This is a special win that signifies just how special this team could be.
Game Notes: The game lasted 5:38. Even with d’Arnaud behind the plate, the Marlins did not attempt a stolen base. Reyes pinch hit for Edgin in the sixth and singled. Despite starting the game 0-7, Asdrubal Cabrera extended his hitting streak to eight games with a 16th inning single. His double play partner Neil Walker similarly struggled going 1-7. Mets have won consecutive games despite giving up a grand slam in both games.
After toiling away away in the minor leagues for seven years, and after three teams had decided to move on from him, Ty Kelly found himself as a member of the Las Vegas 51s last year. At 27, it was becoming harder and harder to believe that Kelly was ever going to find that light at the end of the tunnel.
Still, he was undeterred. He just went out there and did all he could do to give the Mets no other choice but to call him up to the majors. He jumped right out of the gate hitting .386/.500/.477 in April. He was even better in May hitting .394/.463/.592. Kelly did this while also playing all eight defensive positions. Finally, due to a number of injuries, and his hot hitting, on May 24th, Kelly got the call up to the majors.
Unfortunately, Kelly struggled. Right off the bat, he was 0-4 with three strikeouts in his first ever game. During that first call-up, Kelly played in nine games only hitting .182/.250/.318. With that, call-up it seemed as if his first ever career home run might just be the lone highlight of his career:
His second call-up in June didn’t go much better with him going 0-5 in his five pinch hitting appearances. With that Kelly found himself in a familiar position. He was back in the minor leagues just waiting for his chance to get called back up to the major leauges. In some sense, this time it had to be all the more frustrating because he finally got his chance, and he struggled. He got his chance, and he was right back to square one. Fortunately for Kelly, he got one more chance, and he took advantage of it.
In August, Kelly was a surprise call-up due to his struggles, and he was an even bigger surprise as the starting left fielder. This time, Kelly took full advantage of the opportunity going 2-4 with two runs and a walk. During this stint, he proved he could hit at the major league level. He showed he can be a versatile player. Mostly, Kelly established there was a spot for him in the major leagues. This is no small feat for anyone, let alone anyone who waited over seven years for this chance.
In total, Kelly finished his first season in the major leagues hitting a very respectable .241/.352/.345 with a double, triple, home run, and seven RBI in 39 games. He was used in a myriad of roles playing first, second, third, and all three outfield positions. He was used as a pinch hitter and a pinch runner. He proved himself to be a smart baseball player. He earned himself a spot on the Mets Wild Card Game roster. In fact, Kelly should pinch hit for Addison Reed in the eighth inning, and he would get the one out single. His hit was only one of the four hits the Mets collected that day.
Kelly showed enough during his stint with the Mets to be named to the Team Israel roster in the World Baseball Classic. He was the team’s third baseman, and the number two hitter in a lineup that shocked the World by making it into the second round.
His play last season was enough to get him named to the Mets Opening Day roster, but it was not enough for him to stick. With both Zack Wheeler and Robert Gsellman both having short outings back-to-back, the Mets needed to clear space on the 40 man roster to bring up another pitcher. It was a numbers game, and Kelly was the one the Mets gambled on keeping. Ironically, the move was made so Paul Sewald could finally get his shot after waiting five years in the minor leagues.
It should come as no surprise that a team was interested in a player like Kelly. The Blue Jays made room on their roster for a player squeezed out by the Mets. Oddly enough, Kelly is now with a team that once passed over him. Once again, Kelly gets to prove everyone wrong and show both the Blue Jays and all of Major League Baseball that he belongs in the majors. Based upon last year, I wouldn’t bet against him.
And when he finally does get called back up to the majors, and we know he will, all Mets fans should wish him the best of luck. I know I will.