Sean Reid-Foley
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
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.
An undermanned New York Mets lineup became all the more so when Jose Peraza was unavailable. Suffice it to say, this lineup had more trouble scoring than usual.
Fortunately for the Mets, the pitching and defense were again terrific.
Joey Lucchesi was great through the four scoreless innings allowing just hit while striking out eight. While Ron Darling and many fans were perplexed, given Lucchesi’s year and his career numbers, the Mets went to the bullpen.
Sean Reid-Foley was again terrific. Through his first two innings, he didn’t allow a run while striking out three. Unfortunately, the Miami Marlins got to him with consecutive one out singles putting runners at the corners.
Aaron Loup came into the game to get the left-handed Corey Dickerson out to maybe induce a ground ball double play. Instead, Dickerson hit a fly to medium left.
Cameron Maybin made a terrific throw, and at first glance, it looked like he nailed Brian Anderson at the plate. Just as the home plate umpire was about to ring him up, Tomas Nido dropped the ball. It was 1-0 Marlins, and it looked like the Mets would need a near miracle to tie.
Well, they got it.
The Mets had very limited opportunities in this game, and they squandered them all. That began in the first when Wildredo Tovar struck out with the bases loaded.
In the fourth, Johneshwy Fargas hit a two out double, and he’d be stranded. The Mets would’ve have another base runner until the eighth, and that was courtesy of Anthony Bass.
Bass lost the strike zone issuing a lead-off walk to the pinch hitter Peraza. He’d then issue a one out walk to Francisco Lindor. After Maybin struck out, Don Mattingly brought in Richard Bleier to get out Dominic Smith.
For a split second, it appeared Bleier did his job. However, home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez called what should’ve been strike three a ball. Smith took advantage of the new life hitting the next pitch for an RBI single tying the score.
.@TheRealSmith2_ has tied the game! #LGM pic.twitter.com/zvOf6LbnwP
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2021
Wayne Randazzo, who was filling in for Gary Cohen, would not shut up about the blown call. What was odd about his chirping was Marquez was very inconsistent on the low and away pitches all game. It was not at all a surprise he missed that pitch.
From there, the Mets defense did all they could do to help the Mets win. The first great play was in the eighth Smith diving in the hole to get Miguel Rojas.
Now you're just showing off @TheRealSmith2_. ? pic.twitter.com/jRZxfvSdic
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2021
The next came in the bottom of the ninth. Jesus Aguilar hit what should’ve been a lead-off double. Instead, Fargas make a diving snow cone catch to turn it into an out.
? @Johneshwy pic.twitter.com/5FXRAlAeLp
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2021
Unfortunately, the Mets magic ran out. With two outs, Anderson hit a ball Smith couldn’t get to with his dive. Then, Drew Smith would wind up taking the loss when Garrett Cooper hit a walk-off two run homer giving the Marlins a 3-2 win.
It was a tough loss for the Mets, but when you’re this injured, it’s going to be difficult to win games like these. Despite all that, the Mets remain in first place.
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo said he’s dealing with a nerve issue in his finger. Smith is 9 for his last 14 with RISP.
With all the New York Mets players on the IL, it should come as no shock another injury happened tonight. This time it was Taijuan Walker.
You can see Walker lost velocity, and he again just outright refused to try at the plate. Despite that, all the Atlanta Braves could muster off of him was a Max Fried single.
Walker was out after three with what was classified as left side tightness. Whatever the case, the Mets came off a bullpen game in the Rays series, they’re having one tomorrow, and they needed bullpen help tonight.
Sean Reid-Foley came up huge. When the Mets needed a break, and they needed to keep up with Fried, he pitched three perfect innings. He’d be awarded his first Major League win for his efforts.
But sadly, that wouldn’t be the story of the night.
The Mets had a chance to take the lead in the sixth after consecutive two out hits by Kevin Pillar and Jonathan Villar. Pillar doubled, and seemed seconds away from scoring on a Villar single, but Dansby Swanson made a diving play to keep it in the infield.
They’d be stranded as Jose Peraza lined out. The Mets rallied and cashed-in in the seventh.
As noted by Gary Cohen, Mets catchers had not doubled prior to this game. Naturally, Tomas Nido would double to lead off the inning. Fried then left the game with an apparent injury, and he was replaced by Jacob Webb.
That’s when everything changed.
James McCann, who has struggled mightily all year, entered the game to pinch hit for Reid-Foley. He delivered with a go-ahead RBI double.
Johneshwy Fargas sacrificed. Francisco Lindor walked and stole a base. Pete Alonso struck out, and Dominic Smith was intentionally walked to load the bases. That’s when Pillar would come up and suffer one of the worst HBP you’ll ever see.
Scary scene in Atlanta. The Mets’ Kevin Pillar took a pitch to the face. He walked off the field. So that’s good. But, man, that was tough. They’ve actually paused the game to clean up the blood. pic.twitter.com/qn6enR8j7t
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) May 18, 2021
Blood was gushing all over. Somehow, he was able to get off the field on his own power. With the shock of the moment, and the need to clean all the blood from the field, there was a long pause.
The Braves did the right thing lifting Webb from the game. He was clearly distraught and needed to come out of the game. This wasn’t Roger Clemens. It was a mistake, and you couldn’t help but feel for him too.
That said, just to remind you why you hate the Braves and while the whole organization is trash, they did the dance cam during the delay:
Truist Park is rocking a dance cam during this delay
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) May 18, 2021
That gruesome moment gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. After Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect seventh, the Mets tacked on an insurance run against this bad Braves bullpen.
Nido had his first MLB three hit game, which included his one out eighth inning single. After Jake Hager pinch hit for Familia and struck out, Fargas came up.
Fargas had his first MLB hit which went from a single to an RBI double because the hurt Ronald Acuña couldn’t stop and pivot to field the ball.
First big league hit and RBI for @Johneshwy! #LGM pic.twitter.com/slyaykMWtb
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 18, 2021
Trevor May came on for the eighth, and he just didn’t seem to have it again. He’d allow a homer to Austin Riley to break the shutout. Things would get very dicey.
Guillermo Heredia doubled, and after a May wild pitch, he was on third with two outs. He’d stay there as Ehire Adrianza lined out to Peraza to end the inning.
That meant Edwin Diaz would get the ball with a 3-1 lead. He’d yield a walk, but he’d get the job done earning the save.
Unfortunately, that’s not quite the focus. The focus is Pillar’s health, and after that, it’s just trying to figure out who in the world could possibly be the next man up.
Game Notes: Fargas made his MLB debut playing center and batting ninth. Khalil Lee made his debut entering as a pinch runner for Pillar.
With Joey Lucchesi proving he can’t be a Major League starter, the Mets have been forced to go with bullpen days when his turn comes up in the rotation. The problem is the Mets can only hide him for so long.
After Drew Smith allowed an unearned run in his first two innings as the opener, the ball would be given to Lucchesi. All the Mets would need from him is a solid outing because they had a lead.
In advance of Lucchesi entering the game, the Mets hit two homers against Shane McLanahan. The first was a three run shot by Jose Peraza in the second.
? JOSÉ PERAZA FOR THREE! #LGM pic.twitter.com/6vYJFhrWrm
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 15, 2021
The second was Pete Alonso in the third. That one must’ve been really special as it came in his hometown.
Pete knew it, we all knew it. ☄️ pic.twitter.com/vHrtzilZWs
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 15, 2021
Lucchesi pitched a clean third, but he’d get into trouble immediately in the fourth issuing a leadoff walk to Yandy Diaz. Joey Wendle doubled, Manuel Margot singled, and Willy Adames doubled. With that, the 4-1 lead was gone.
After two outs, Sean Reid-Foley “relieved” Lucchesi. Austin Meadows doubled, and Randy Arozarena singled. With that, the Rays put up a five run inning. The Mets would be chasing the rest of the game.
After having a three strikeout game, Francisco Lindor got the Mets closer with a solo homer in the top of the eighth. That’s as close as the Mets would get.
.@Lindor12BC cuts into the deficit. ? #LGM pic.twitter.com/Gsez73DoQW
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 15, 2021
The problem with bullpen games like these is everything needs to work. If there’s one hiccup, the wheels come off. That’s what happened with Lucchesi, and it happened again when Jacob Barnes loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth.
Luis Rojas brought in Jeurys Familia to get the Mets out of the jam. Instead, Diaz and Wendle would slam the ball into the turf for doubles clearing the bases and putting the game out of reach.
When all was said and done, the Rays had a six run inning, and they cruised to a 12-5 win. After winning seven in a row, the Mets lost two straight, and their bullpen is showing some signs of weakness.
Game Notes: Jake Hager made his big league debut against the team who once drafted him in the first round. Khalil Lee was sent down. J.D. Davis will begin a rehab stint.
The New York Mets traveled to St. Louis for a four game set with the Cardinals. How they got there was strange even for Mets standards:
1. Fly Chili Davis out to St. Louis. Fire him after scoring five runs (and losing). The same offensive ineptitude continues.
2. Being fair, it’s going to take more than a series to fix Davis impact. Regardless, the Mets handling of his firing was garbage.
3. At least Francisco Lindor snapped his 0-for-26 streak. His only longer streak was 2018 when he had his best ever offensive season.
4. Even with his struggles, Lindor has walked more than he’s struck out.
5. Speaking of walks, Michael Conforto walked six times in this series. It’s another indication just how much he’s locked in at the plate.
6. Taijuan Walker was completely locked in with the best non Jacob deGrom start of the year.
7. Walker again appears to be the steal of the offseason.
8. It’s way too soon to panic about deGrom. He knows his body, and he opted to be precautious. If he says he’s ready to go again soon, we can trust him.
9. Carlos Carrasco is a bigger issue. The team may not want to call it a setback, but it was.
10. Carrasco is emblematic of a larger issue. The Mets didn’t build sufficient starting pitching depth, and right now, they don’t have a fifth starter. It’s another reason why when with Sean Reid-Foley‘s early season success, the Steven Matz trade made little sense.
11. For some bizarre reason, the Mets have a lot more trust and faith in Joey Lucchesi than Jordan Yamamoto. That’s even with Yamamoto performing better against the Cardinals than Lucchesi.
12. Marcus Stroman is a warrior. He was willing to take the ball on short rest with a hamstring injury, and he performed well in a snakebitten start.
13. It seemed all Kevin Pillar needed to get going was to get some playing time. He’s really stepped up in Brandon Nimmo‘s absence.
14. With Trevor May and Aaron Loup putting their poor first appearances behind them, the Mets bullpen has been unstoppable, and that’s before Seth Lugo returns from injury.
15. Tomas Nido is having a great season. In limited duty, he has hit and framed well. If he keeps this up, he may soon put pressure on James McCann to get some more playing time.
16. In addition to his hitting again, Jeff McNeil has certainly looked very good at second. It’s early but that 3 DRS is a great mark.
17. It’s incredible to think Albert Pujols was released. On that note, and to a lesser extent, the Mets face a similar dilemma with Robinson Cano next year.
18. It’s way too soon to seriously suggest Luis Rojas is on the hot seat. The Mets are fine, and they’ll soon start putting distances between themselves and the rest of the NL East.
19. The state of umpiring is at its worst. We saw it when they had no idea as to the rules about use of an interpreter. By the way, just allow a player to use an interpreter.
20. Not sure how they’re going to handle the vaccinated/non-vaccinated and other issues, but it will be great to see large crowds at games again.
Game Recaps
Mets Front Office Hurts Mets Chances Of Winning
The first game of the doubleheader between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets was just an ugly game. Really, almost everything about it was bad.
The Mets were 0-for-5 with RISP leaving five men in baseball. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg.
The Mets loaded the bases in the fourth wig no outs. They only scored one run on a James McCann fielder’s choice. On the play, Nolan Arenado fielded the ball while stepping on the bag simultaneously.
Top 4th – @Cardinals challenge call that Kevin Pillar is safe at 3B; call overturned, runner is out. Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/GyOR9KBSZa
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) May 5, 2021
After that, Jonathan Villar and Albert Almora struck out to end what was the Mets only rally of the game.
Of course, no discussion of that fourth inning is complete without discussing the Kwang Hyun Kim interpreter controversy and ensuing roughly 10 minutes of deliberations and replay.
Cardinals catcher Andrew Knizer went to the mound to talk with Kim, and Kim’s interpreter came from the dugout to the mound. Later in the inning, the interpreter joined Mike Maddux, Luis Rojas correctly pointed out that was technically a second mound visit necessitating Kim be removed from the game.
The umpires blew the call because they didn’t know the rules, and the replay officials got it wrong even when they informed them of the rule, they let Kim stay in the game.
Sadly, Marcus Stroman, who was making a start on a sore hamstring, made the mistake of allowing two earned runs.
The first was a Paul Goldschmidt first inning homer. In the third, Arenado had an RBI single. That’s all the runs the Cardinals would need.
The final score was 4-1 as Francisco Lindor threw a ball away with two outs, and Paul DeJong continued being a Mets killer by hitting a two run homer.
While we wouldn’t see the Mets offense respond to the Chili Davis firing in the first game, we would in the second.
After a scoreless first where we saw the Mets use Miguel Castro as an opener, the Mets bats would put runs on the board for Castro and Jordan Yamamoto, who was making his first Mets appearance.
Dominic Smith started a rally against Cardinals starter Johan Oviedo with a lead-off single. He’d move to third on a Kevin Pillar double.
With respect to Pillar, he’s really stepped up when the Mets needed it most. Their best hitter, Nimmo, was injured and finally hit the IL. Since Nimmo has gone down, Pillar is 8-for-16 with four runs, a double, two homers, and four RBI.
After two quick outs, you were left wondering if the Mets would ever score. That made Oviedo’s wild pitch allowing Smith to score a relief. What was even better was Tomas Nido‘s ensuing two run homer:
.@tnido24 put a shirt on that hanger. ? #LGM pic.twitter.com/1oGywmHb4H
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
The Cardinals had a chance to respond in the second. Former Met Ali Sanchez doubled, and Oviedo tried to help his own cause, but Pillar would gun down Sanchez.
Kevin Pillarm. ??@KPILLAR4 | #LGM pic.twitter.com/NCF1g9edHR
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
Villar increased the Mets lead to 4-0 with a solo homer in the fourth.
Jonathan Villar goes deep the other way for his first Mets home run! pic.twitter.com/NElyfXvupV
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 6, 2021
The Cardinals put a rally together in the fourth. Yamamoto hit Tyler O’Neill to start the inning, and he’d be on second with two outs when the Mets went to the bullpen.
Aaron Loup relieved Yamamoto, and he’d allow an inherited runner to score on a Dylan Carlson pinch hit RBI single. Things were getting dangerous after a Tommy Edman single, but Loup would retire Matt Carpenter to get out of the inning.
After the Cardinals scored one in the bottom of fourth, the Mets would get one back and then some in the fifth.
What was impressive was the Mets delivered with two outs again. With runners on first and second and two outs, Pillar and Villar hit consecutive RBI singles to increase the Mets lead to 6-1.
The _illar Bros add on a couple more. ?@KPILLAR4 | @JRvillar6 | #LGM pic.twitter.com/SZXfnBKqnO
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2021
Villar, the surprise starter at short had a very good game. In addition to the two RBI, he’d later make a very good play in the hole.
From there, Trevor May pitched a scoreless fifth, and Robert Gsellman allowed one run in the sixth.
With Bernardo Flores Jr. wild, the Mets took advantage loading the bases and scoring a run on a Pillar RBI groundout.
The Mets sent Jeurys Familia to the mound to close out the five run lead. Even though such an act was impossible earlier in the week for Edwin Diaz, Familia took care of business securing the 7-2 win.
In a bizarre series of games, the Mets secured a split of the doubleheader, and they are in position to split the series with a win tomorrow. That closes out a wild 72 hours.
Game Notes: Sean Reid-Foley was the Mets 27th man for the doubleheader. Lindor is hitless over his last 24 at-bats, the second worst stretch in his career. Brandon Nimmo was put on the IL between games with Patrick Mazeika getting called up off the taxi squad. Keith Hernandez was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
The New York Mets came to Chicago looking to beat up on a reeling Cubs team. Instead, they got beat up and are reeling themselves.
1. J.D. Davis needs to be on the bench period. He continues to prove he can’t field, and that really hurt the team in this series.
2. In the three game set Taijuan Walker, David Peterson, and Joey Lucchesi failed to go four innings let along five.
3. Walker and Peterson were really hurt by Davis’ defense. Walker would also be hurt by walks as would Lucchesi.
4. The more you see Lucchesi, the more you realize he’s not a starter, but he might be a great reliever.
5. One bright spot of this series was maybe discovering Sean Reid-Foley could be a real piece. He kept his walks down for a night. If he can do it for many nights, watch out.
6. Speaking of watch out, Pete Alonso is heating up. He hit some big homers, one of which left the ballpark.
7. Michael Conforto almost hit one out, and he at least appears to be working towards being his normal self.
8. After all the nonsense and hand wringing over Francisco Lindor, he hit his first homer and had his first three hit game.
9. Jeff McNeil just can’t seem to get going this year. It’s really difficult to pinpoint the problem too.
10. While the Mets are struggling at the plate, it’s too early to derive conclusions. That said, they’re following the same patterns as other Chili Davis coached teams with climbing ground ball rates.
11. James McCann is just so good mechanically, and he gets the ball out so quickly, he gives his middle infielders a real chance to get down the tag.
12. The one issue with McCann is he hasn’t been great receiving throws. Then again, the throws to him at home have been terrible.
13. The Mets defense on Wednesday set the sport back. It was just that bad, inexcusably so.
14. Davis can be terrible all he wants, but he has no one to blame but himself. He sure can’t blame Alonso.
15. The state of umpiring in the game is really bad. We’ve seen Mets pitchers get really squeezed. Walker was ejected AFTER he was removed from the game. Kris Bryant still hasn’t touched first.
16. Luis Guillorme is the epitome of a grinder. Down 12 with two outs in the ninth, and he battles in an at-bat and gets a hit.
17. If Brandon Nimmo has an issue, the Mets should just get him on the IL. Get him the rest to allow him to come back as their best offensive player.
18. If Kevin Pillar is struggling this much, the Mets should at least throw Albert Almora at least one start.
19. Edwin Diaz has great stuff, and he can be absolutely dominating and unhittable. That said, it’s really difficult to trust him when he implodes like he did in the 10th inning.
20. It’s hard to take people seriously when they support runners on second in extra innings and seven inning doubleheaders, but they get bent out of shape about uniform colors.