Tylor Megill

Mets Are Giant No Shows

Maybe the New York Mets were just too accustomed to playing at 10 P.M. after their west coast trip. Certainly, they came unprepared to play.

The San Francisco Giants started swing starter Sammy Long who had been ineffective in his eight appearances. Naturally, he shut out the Mets over 5.1 innings allowing just one hit.

Tylor Megill struggled allowing four homers in an ugly start. Overall, he allowed seven runs on 11 hits and five walks over 3.2 innings.

As shown, there was no fire in this team and no boost from Francisco Lindor coming off the IL. On Lindor, he hit the ball hard but at people.

With Lindor’s return, Javier Báez moved to second. Jeff McNeil shifted to left field. Finally, J.D. Davis stayed at third because you need to shoehorn him into the lineup to go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a HBP.

Really, the only highlight was the Friends theme being played for old friend Wilmer Flores. Of course, he promptly doubled reminding us of the the Wilpon and Van Wagenen incompetence.

Long story short, the Mets lost 8-0 and dropped back to three games under .500. That just about sums up what happened to this once glorious season.

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Mets Overcame Giant Obstacles And Distractions To Finally Win

After being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets were perilously close to being swept by the San Francisco Giants. With all that was happening, you almost expected it.

After all, even by Mets standards, things were completely haywire. It started with Steve Cohen’s tweet calling out the offense.

There was also Tim Healey of Newsday sending a bizarre tweet including the amount of times Marcus Stroman re-tweeted his highlights amongst his game stats. Then, there was Stroman re-tweeting tweets promoting violence against Healey and calling Cohen a clown.

James McCann was still dealing with back spasms, and the Mets still weren’t aware of whether he’d need to be put on the IL. This necessitated Chance Sisco getting emergency called up and Patrick Mazeika doing the dreaded starting a day game after a night game.

Then, well, there was a game where a lot happened. Again, that’s a lot by Mets standards.

Tylor Megill was terrific allowing just one run over six innings. Of course, he’d leave on the losing side because the Mets offense has been terrible. That’s even with Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani leaving the game in the second with an injury.

Over the first eight innings, the Mets only had just three hits. When they did get a base runner, well, they didn’t knock them in, and even better, Jonathan Villar got picked off again. Even for Villar, this was horrendous.

As a result of all the tomfoolery, the Mets were down 1-0 on the verge of a second straight sweep. That’s when Giants closer Jake McGee plunked Pete Alonso on the elbow.

That seemed to give the Mets life as Michael Conforto followed with a single sending Alonso to third. He’d then score on a sacrifice fly to tie the game. He’d then leave the game as a result of the HBP.

Edwin Diaz mowed down the Giants on six pitches sending it to extras. In the tenth where the Mets inability to score runs went to comical levels.

Villar was the ghost runner, and for some reason, Luis Rojas wanted Mazeika to bunt him to third. Naturally, Mazeika had a poor bunt, and Villar was out by a wide margin.

Brandon Nimmo kept the inning alive with a two out single. That once again put the go-ahead run at second, but Jeff McNeil hit it hard into the shift ending the inning.

Diaz again came up big. While he would plunk Austin Slater with one out, he dominated the other Giants hitters sending it to the 11th.

In the 11th, Conforto came up big with a one out RBI double giving the Mets the lead. To no one’s surprise, he’d be stranded there. That hurt as Jeurys Familia allowed a single to the first batter he faced tying the game at 2-2.

In the 12th, the Mets offense finally woke up and put the game away. Mazeika hit a one out single, and then Kevin Pillar hit a three run homer giving the Mets the lead.

That 5-2 lead grew to 6-2 with McNeil and Sisco hitting a pair of two out doubles. With Diaz and Familia done, the Mets turned to Jake Reed to close out the game.

Once again, Reed was very impressive. He retired the Giants in order. While it wasn’t a save with the Mets having a four run lead, it was every bit of a save considering the Mets struggles and needs to win this game.

In many ways, the Mets had to have this one. It got them back to .500, and it has them past a brutal losing streak. It also has them feeling better heading into a four game set at the Dodgers.

Time will tell whether then can turn their season around and get back in the race. If so, this was a huge next step.

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Mets Platoon Obsession Dodged A Win

With the left-handed Julio Urias starting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets panicked and sat most of their left-handed hitters. That meant the Mets sat their best hitters.

What’s annoying about it was Urias has reverse splits. It’s all the more annoying because players like Dominic Smith are better against left-handed pitchers than their right-handed hitters.

Well, the Mets shot themselves in the foot. Brandon Drury, Kevin Pillar, and Albert Almora combined to go 0-for-6 with one walk and two strikeouts. In defense of Almora, that walk was a great at-bat, and it began the way towards Luis Rojas substituting players into the game to undo the inane front office lineup.

The irony of the game would be the Mets didn’t do anything until the left-handed bats could themselves in the game.

Down 4-0 after a strong effort from Tylor Megill and some gaffes by James McCann, the Mets rallied starting with a Michael Conforto two out double.

The left-handed batters did their job. Smith followed with an RBI single getting the Mets on the board.

Brandon Nimmo walked (of course), and Alonso was walked to load the bases. Jeff McNeil, another LHP not in the starting lineup, hit a two run single pulling the Mets within one. That run scored on a Will Smith passed ball.

The bats who couldn’t be trusted to be in the starting lineup, the Mets best bats, tied the score with a big two out rally.

Edwin Diaz got into trouble in the ninth starting with his walking former Met Billy McKinney to start the inning. Diaz got out of the inning leading to more platoon based nonsense.

Now, Aaron Loup has been the Mets best reliever all year, and he was fresh pitching just once over the last week. Meanwhile, Jeurys Familia has been heavily worked lately, and he has been starting to show the strain.

Well, despite Loup’s success against right-handed batters over the past two years, and the reverse splits of Smith, the Mets opted for Familia. The end result was a tired Familia giving up a go-ahead two run homer.

The Mets did get one back in the 10th, but it wasn’t enough. They lost 6-5 in a game they severely hampered themselves by being overly beholden to 1960 platoon theory.

It’s annoying the Mets handcuffed themselves like this unnecessarily and really purposefully ran converse to the analytics. They need to be better and do better than this.

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Nationals Found Nimmo Beating Them

While he may not normally be recognized as such, Brandon Nimmo is the best hitter on the New York Mets. The Washington Nationals got a first-hand glimpse of that in the first end of the doubleheader.

Nationals starter Sean Nolin allowed a leadoff single to Jonathan Villar in the second. He was close to getting out of it until Marcus Stroman had a bunt base hit. Yes, this is the same Stroman the Mets once refused to let swing the bat with the bases loaded.

That brought Nimmo to the plate, and he gave the Mets an early 3-0 lead:

This marked the first time the Mets scored first in a game since August 4. It would set them on the path to win consecutive games for the first time July 21-23.

Nimmo would strike again in the fourth. There were runners at second and third with one out after singles by Michael Conforto and Tomas Nido.

Nido singled after Conforto and stole a base. That meant Nido had a stolen base and caught stealing. Nimmo would drive home Conforto increasing the Mets lead to 4-0.

In that inning, Pete Alonso would get hit by a pitch by Nationals reliever Andres Machado. Machado clearly wasn’t trying to hit Alonso, but Alonso was jawing. Both sides would, but eventually, cooler heads prevailed.

The Mets would load the bases in that inning with one out, but they wouldn’t increase the lead. Machado settles down after the hullabaloo getting two strikeouts including J.D. Davis.

It’s difficult to say Nimmo was the Mets entire offense on a day where the Mets had 12 hits over seven innings. That said, Nimmo was the only Mets player who drove in any runs.

These four runs were more than enough for Stroman. For the first five innings, Stroman was locked in limiting the Nationals to one hit and one walk. As alluded to earlier, Nido eliminated one of those base runners with a caught stealing.

There was some concern Stroman wouldn’t get to that point. He labored in the fourth. As he admitted later in the postgame, he needed to do a better job hydrating. With the extreme heat today, that was important.

The Nationals finally got to Stroman in the sixth. It started with Stroman losing Riley Adams after being ahead in the count 1-2. It certainly didn’t help Stroman the umpire missed strike three and called it a ball.

The Nationals followed this with a single from Andrew Stevenson and an RBI double by Victor Robles. Stroman settled back in to strike out Alcidies Escobar for the first out.

With the lefties due up for the Nationals, Luis Rojas turned to Aaron Loup. Loup was phenomenal again. While he did lose and walk Juan Soto, he rebounded to get Josh Bell to hit into the inning ending double play.

Edwin Diaz came on in the ninth and would record his 25th save of the season. With that, the Mets put themselves a half game out of first, the ability to tie atop the division with a win in the second game of the doubleheader, and their first sweep since they took two from the San Diego Padres in June.

Game Notes: This is the first time a Mets starter won a game since Tylor Megill on July 23. The four RBI tied a career high for Nimmo.

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At Least J.D. Davis Got To Play For Soon To Be Third Place Mets

The Philadelphia Phillies started the left-handed Ranger Suarez, who was only slated to go about three innings. The New York Mets completely overreacted to this.

Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith didn’t start. Instead, it was J.D. Davis and Kevin Pillar, who were a combined 0-for-6 with three strikeouts through the first eight innings.

Really, the entire Mets offense had looked inept through the first eight innings. They only had two hits and just one extra base hit came from Tylor Megill in the fifth. Of course, he would be stranded.

Megill was really good for four innings. Unfortunately, the Phillies would get to him in the fifth. Brad Miller hit a solo shot, and Odubel Herrera hit a three run homer to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead.

Megill was out after 4.2 innings. He allowed those four earned on five hits and one walk while striking out five.

The Phillies lead would grow to 5-0 when Miller hit his second solo shot of the game. That one came off Yennsy Diaz in the eighth.

With the Mets appearing to be playing out the string in this one, the Phillies went to Mauricio Llovera to mop it up. That proved to be a giant mistake as Michael Conforto, Jonathan Villar, and James McCann went back-to-back-to-back to pull the Mets to within 5-3.

That forced the Phillies to bring in their newly obtained closer Ian Kennedy. It was very rocky for Kennedy. Pillar greeted him with a single. After a McNeil pinch hit foul out, Brandon Nimmo drew a walk bringing up Pete Alonso as the go-ahead run.

Now, the talking point around the Mets has been their troubles hitting the fastball. For whatever reason, they’re struggling and seem unprepared. Well, Kennedy took advantage of this getting Alonso to chase fastballs up and above the zone to strike himself out.

Kennedy then essentially repeated the act with Davis. Fittingly, it was Davis who struck out to end the game.

With the loss, the Mets drop to 1.5 games out of first. They’re now also a game back in the loss column with Zack Wheeler starting for the Phillies tomorrow. To make it all the better, the Mets are an Atlanta Braves win within dropping to third.

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Mets Can’t Overcome One Bad Pitch

The Miami Marlins began the game with consecutive singles off Tylor Megill, and Jesus Aguilar reached on a James McCann catcher interference. That brought .223/.255/.383 hitter Lewis Brinson.

The end result? A Grand Slam.

Making matters worse is those were all the runs the Marlins needed.The Mets answered in the second. Somehow, Javier Baez drew a walk, and he’d eventually score on a wild pitch by Jesus Luzardo. Brandon Drury, who is just about the only Met who can hit now, had an RBI double pulling the Mets to within 4-2.

In the third, Pete Alonso homered pulling the Mets within one, and at that time it seemed they might be able to rally back:

Those vibes seemed to die immediately when Baez pulled up lame on a groundout. It’s a reminder Baez was dealing with injuries when the Mets obtained him. The good news is he stayed in the game. He was noticeably trying to stretch out his hamstring.

This was as close as the Mets got. In the bottom half of the inning, Brinson proved to be trouble again. He “singled” on a play J.D. Davis couldn’t make. He’d then score on an Isan Diaz RBI double.

The Mets didn’t get a rally going again until the eighth. They loaded the bases with two outs. In some ways they had the guy they wanted at the plate, but Drury grounded out.

The Marlins tacked one in the bottom of the eighth, and the Mets lost 6-3. The Mets keep losing games, and now, they only lead the NL East by 2.5 games. This is a really bad situation for the team.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was scratched, but he did appear as a pinch hitter. Michael Conforto again did not start, but he came off the bench and doubled in the ninth.

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Michael Conforto Saves Edwin Diaz

The Mets entered the bottom of the ninth up 2-1. Tylor Megill was terrific over 5.1 with little run support. Jeurys Familia got out of a big jam. Brandon Drury had a huge go-ahead pinch hit homer.

Luis Rojas gave Edwin Diaz the ball in the ninth. This wasn’t quite a must win game, but it’s one the Mets really needed to keep control over the division.

In 2019, Diaz was Armando Benitez like in these big spots. While Diaz was great in the first half, and arguably should’ve been an All-Star, we’ve seen that Jekyll/Hyde closer return.

When Diaz allowed a ground rule double to Abraham Almonte, you could sense the panic amongst Mets fans. After a Guillermo Heredia fly out, Ehire Adrianza ripped a single to right field.

Atlanta Braves third base coach Ron Washington waiver Almonte home, and Michael Conforto unleashed a perfect throw home:

James McCann fielded it, and he laid down the tag as the ball snowconed on him. Almonte would’ve been safe 9,999 times out of 10,000, but this was that one time eliciting the double, “He’s out!” from Gary Cohen.

Conforto, who has struggled all year, did everything right. He charged the ball, and he unleashed a strong accurate throw, something which used to be a hallmark from him. McCann got it and laid down a great tag.

Not only did the play save the game, it might’ve saved Diaz. He settled down to record the save. That’s even with Pablo Sandoval ripping an opposite field liner which looked to be a game tying double until Kevin Pillar tracked it down.

Instead of talking about the blown save, and worrying if the roof was caving in, we’re talking about a great throw by Conforto. These are the plays which makes seasons like this one special. It’s plays like this which could help these players turn things around.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Beat Another Good Team

The Toronto Blue Jays of Buffalo came to Citi Field, and like usual, the New York Mets took the series:

1. Luis Guillorme is an absolute magician on the field. That tag between the legs was next level genius.

2. Guillorme also has .417 OBP and 121 OPS+. How he doesn’t play everyday, even when everyone is healthy, is just bizarre.

3. One of the reason the Mets are good is Tomas Nido. On Sunday, he was flashing his cannon picking off one runner and throwing out another. He could start for half the teams in the league.

4. Luis Rojas gets maligned for some reason, but his opting to pinch hit an ailing Jeff McNeil for Nido resulted in a game winning double. Most managers don’t pinch hit for their catcher, especially in the sixth inning.

5. It was absolutely right to pull Tylor Megill. He’s a rookie who threw zero innings in a game last year. You need to keep him going to the finish line and we’ll beyond.

6. Megill has been great, and at this rate, while there are bound to be tough games and setbacks, we should expect him to continue to improve.

7. Keeping Rich Hill in for the sixth was probably the wrong move. At this point in his career, he’s a five and fly. That said, you understand pushing him with the doubleheader and the lack of starters. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

8. Pete Alonso has been a monster, and he’s stepped up big time in Francisco Lindor‘s absence. He won’t win it, but he should get some down ballot MVP votes.

9. J.D. Davis again showed he can’t play third. If you continue playing that glove while relying on a 30.8 K% and .526 BABIP, you’re going to get burned.

10. At the trade deadline, the Mets should call the Cleveland Indians and ask what they want for Jose Ramirez, and then, they should say, “Yes!”

11. Fans who don’t think Kris Bryant and Josh Donaldson are significant upgrades over Davis are just embarrassing themselves.

12. Taijuan Walker has struggled out of the break. He’ll be fine.

13. Maybe Michael Conforto won’t be any good this year. Aside from one outburst in Cincinnati, he’s been bad all year.

14. Brandon Nimmo has been terrific this year, and the Mets should be talking extension with him.

15. Mets really need bullpen help at the trade deadline. While you can count on their top guys, they don’t have depth. With the doubleheaders and just four starters, they’re going to get taxed more.

16. Dominic Smith has continued his resurgence, and quietly, he’s at a 0 DRS in left (even if OAA paints a much different picture).

17. Steven Matz once again proved he can pitch in New York. It was nice seeing him treated well by Mets fans. It’s a shame he still isn’t with the team. They needed him this year.

18. Aaron Loup continues to be phenomenal. When he pitches this way in the postseason, they’ll write ballads about him.

19. Seth Lugo has been good and effective, but he hasn’t been Seth Lugo yet.

20. The Mets seem to have the division wrapped up heading into the deadline with the NL East teams really in position to sell. They need to get healthy, and they can’t let anyone try to make things interesting.

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Pete Alonso Powers Tylor Megill’s First Career Win

Steven Matz was once in this position. On the mound at Citi Field getting his first MLB hit and win. Except, those days are gone now.

Instead Matz was squaring off against the Mets. He was trying to keep Tylor Megill winless. He gave it his best shot, but he fell short.

Matz wasn’t successful for three reasons. First and foremost, Megill was really good. For the second straight start, he pitched six innings. For the second straight start, he had his best career start.

This start was far more impressive than his last. It’s not just because of the two hits and one walk while striking out five. It was because of the strength of the Toronto Blue Jays lineup.

Keep in mind, after Bo Bichette stole second in the first, no other Blue Jay would get into scoring position against Megill. Of course, there was some clutch defense.

Matz also had a strong start against his hometown team. Ironically, the only problem with his start was his start. Mets fans are all too familiar with that.

  • Matz walked Brandon Nimmo to start the first. Then, Pete Alonso hit a homer giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.
  • https://twitter.com/mets/status/1418715090069737475?s=21

    • Past that, there wasn’t any offense from either side. That wasn’t until Alonso again homered in the eighth. This one was an impressive shot to the second deck.

    This 3-0 lead stood because the Mets bullpen was strong. Seth Lugo and Trevor May each pitched a scoreless inning. Edwin Diaz, who blew three consecutive saves, would not blow this one.

    Diaz was hit hard, but they were at em balls. These meant instead of extra base hits Mets cruised to victory hete and look to continue winning.

    Game Notes: Jeff McNeil was held out of the lineup due to muscle weakness. The Mets acquired Rich Hill in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

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    Mets Starting Pitching Needs Doesn’t Preclude Addressing Other Needs

    With Jacob deGrom down, and with Carlos Carrasco looking further away than initially hoped, the New York Mets have a real need for a starting pitcher. In fact, at the moment, their rotations is Megill, Walker, Stro, and Who Knows?

    So, obviously, the Mets are going to need a starting pitcher, and they are going to need one sooner rather than later. Who they can get, and what the cost will be, is anyone’s best guess.

    While we know this is a priority, this is not the only area the Mets need to address at the trade deadline. As a result, they should not and cannot get myopic in their endeavors to improve the team. This is a front office well capable of multitasking, and they are well aware of those needs.

    Right now, those needs include pitching in general. While the rotation is getting all the focus, the bullpen needs help as well. Since June 1, the Mets bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball. In fact, they own a 5.21 FIP which is the second worst in baseball. Their 4.69 ERA may only be 13th worst, but that is the worst among any teams currently in a postseason position.

    While the bullpen has been a strength early, it has been a liability of late. Part of that is fatigue and players hitting the IL. The other part of it has been Edwin Diaz regressing and starting to resemble the unreliable closer who lost his job in 2019. With that being the case, the Mets need to seriously take a look at adding at least an arm or maybe two.

    The other big area of need is third base. Right now, Mets third basemen collectively own a -8 DRS, which is the third worst in the National League. Coincidentally, it is the only position where the Mets own a negative DRS defensively.

    Part of the reason is the Mets aren’t playing Jeff McNeil there. Instead, they have asked Luis Guillorme, Jose Peraza, and Jonathan Villar to play out of position. That has yielded poor results. The other problem is J.D. Davis has long proven completely incapable of proving the position. The boiling point on Davis should have been when he literally just stood in foul territory in Pittsburgh when Walker unsuccessfully tried to knock a ball foul.

    As we see, the Mets have three real areas of need with the rotation, bullpen, and third base. You can also make the case with Peraza suffering a broken finger, the Mets could afford to add a little more depth to the roster. Overall, if the Mets want to win the World Series, and they have the core to do it, they need to look at more than the rotation.

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