There must have been something in the cookies David Wright made for the Mets last night, as the team hit eight long balls tonight, and outslugged the Phillies to a victory. The Mets set team records for most extra base hits and home runs in a game.
- The Captain came back tonight and hit an upper deck home run in his first at-bat of the game. Wright also added a single and a walk to his performance. The only downside of the debut were the two errors he committed in the field. Hopefully the defense will improve with more repetitions, as fielding will be crucial as the team approaches October.
- Jacob deGrom struggled tonight, as he pitched 2.2 innings and let up seven runs. It was not the typical deGrom we are used to seeing, but the Mets offense battled and did not let the slow start ruin their night.
- Four Mets (Michael Cuddyer, Travis d’Arnaud, Wilmer Flores, Daniel Murphy) had three base hits tonight, and Flores hit two homers while driving in five runs. Truly a great offensive output from this squad, as seven Mets hit eight home runs,
- Sean Gilmartin is tonight’s unsung hero, as he went 3.1 innings and did not let up a run. He only let up three hits and struck out four. This game could have been a wild back and forth event, but Gilmartin came in and put up some much needed zeroes.
Tonight’s game showcased the Mets’ resiliency, as the Mets would have been blown out in this type of game a couple of months ago. Noah Syndergaard will pitch against Jerome Williams tomorrow as the Mets look to continue their win streak against the Phillies.
Early on in the Chatter I said something about Wright’s blast needing to come in a win. Sure didn’t look that way when it was 7-2. What an incredible game!
Here’s the bullpen’s line for tonight: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 Ks and that was without both Clippard and Familia.
Even Oh No! pitched a scoreless inning.Amazing.
I was pumped for this game before it began. I am pumped now. Earlier today on a different blog I predicted DeGrom was going to do something special, DW might have a hit or two, but nothing spectacular, and that we’d get big games from Flores and Lagares.
Well, Degrom did something special – at least for him – he stunk. It might have been avoided, however if that first play doesn’t get ruled a foul ball. Did anyone see it hit Galvis’s leg? Galvis didn’t seem to feel anything. In any case, that play threw DeGrom off sync. You could tell.
As for the other predictions, I whiffed on DW. And I’m glad I was wrong. This whole run started with the non trade. Two nights after Flores cried, he hit the game winner in extras and suddenly, magical things started happening in the vast majority of games that have followed. Of course DW, in Philly, against a lefty, after a 4 month absence, having not hit placed more than a single against single-A pitchers, would hit the longest, highest no doubt about it home run on his first at bat to put an exclamative button on this past month of baseball. From here on out, it’s about the singular goal of taking the division. The team has basically it’s full roster all getting healthy at the right time, with bullpen reinforcements on the way. This is great timing for the Mets.
As for Lagares and Flores, as it turns out I could have literally predicted any two players on the Mets except Tejada would have big games and had been right. But I picked them because of how well they have been playing – WIlmer in general, and Juan against the lefties that it almost seems automatic that they are contributing when called upon. As is just about everyone on the roster right now. Everyone is playing their roles and we are starting to see this thing come together for real before our very eyes. We get to tune it up for the next month against some inferior competition while working out the kinks all in preparation for facing much stiffer competetion in the post season.
Love this team.
It was obvious that JDG became unglued because of the bad call on the leadoff hitter and I was glad to see JDG deal with some adversity because he rarely sees any. He will get bad breaks at times and he needs to keep it together better.
It will be interesting to see TC’s lineup tonight vs. RHP. If he stays strict platoon, he would drop Flores and Lagares.
I think Lagares is a platoon player at this point, and defensive specialist, but I’d like to see Flores play today over Johnson. It could be that he slots into SS.
And moving forward, I’d like to see Conforto get some starts vs. LHP.
My point is that I don’t want to see the two lineups become automatic, regardless of performance.
Murphy has been phenomenal.
What a game!
James, Lagares last year hit .264 against righties and was amazing defensively. That’s pretty good. This year he has hit .249 and has been good defensively due to the range but not the defense we know him to show due to a possible injury that isn’t brought up.
He may be best in this role until he heals, but if he is more like last year’s player then he is an everyday player even if he bats seventh.
One of the benefits of the Cespedes trade is that TC has been able to platoon Lagares.
I agree that he needs time to heal.
He also needs more work on strike zone discipline and pitch recognition. He has to learn to lay off the low outside breaking pitch.
Gus, surely you know that quoting BA in isolation does not begin to present an accurate picture.
In 2015, vs. LHP: .309/.362/.485 for an 857 OPS
In 2015, vs. RHP: .250/.267/.327 for a 594 OPS
Against LHP, he’s a star. Against RHP, he’s a liability.
The splits in 2014 are more of the same, except that he had an overall better season and that his production against RHP was not nearly as bad. A .658 .vs RHP means that he was a borderline player, given the defensive genius. I felt those numbers needed improvement, not regression.
The Mets are a much, much stronger team against RHP with Conforto over Lagares.
Conforto vs. RHP: .276/.368/.534 for an OPS of 902.
Who you gonna play, Conforto or Lagares?
902 > 594
There’s no decision here.
Well, that was a slam dunk. I agree that Lagares needs to improve but I am not ready to call him a platoon player. Amazing defense with a .660 or so OPS is acceptable at the bottom of the lineup. How Conforto has that high an OPS I don’t know because we all watch every game and don’t see him being the big OPS guy, but consistent is the key, I guess. The bottom line is 5 1/2 up and hopefully climbing! Don’t change a thing!
Nine XBH and nine walks in 74 PA gets you a high OPS.
In Lagares’ first 74 PA this year he had 2 XBH and 2 walks. That gets you a .649 OPS.
I was very excited to see David Wright last night, and that home run was like a thunderbolt. Mentally I was prepared to see him dink and dunk himself to a .270 BA. That home run showed there was more in the tank.
You know, here’s a guy who can be the center of two amazing stories. One could be absolutely beautiful: the injured veteran returns to his team, plays a key role as they march into the playoffs, gets big hits, etc. (I can’t even type the rest.)
Or, yes, he comes back and struggles, the team struggles, falters and fades — his very presence begins to hurt the team, an error here and there — a brutal end to a disappointing career.
Which story will it be? I know I have my preferences. And I know which ending he deserves.