The Mets opened up their homestand and series against the Reds with a win, 5-3. It was the kind of game that seemed to just drag, but it was a win nonetheless. The team is now 11-7 on the year.
- Noah Syndergaard looked like something resembling a mere mortal in this one, pitching 6 2/3 innings with nine strikeouts while giving up seven hits and three runs. It was the most labored we’ve seen Thor in a while, with the Reds’ hitters making him work pretty much the whole game both at the plate and on the base paths. The Reds stole five bases on him.
- Neil Walker continues to do terrible things to baseballs, knocking his eighth homer of the year in the seventh inning to put the Mets ahead for good.
- Did the lack of home runs last night get you down? Fear not! Walker, Michael Conforto, and Lucas Duda went yard in this one, making the world right again. It was another game in which the team scored all of their runs on the long ball. This is important to note not just because it’s been pretty amazing, but because they continue to struggle as a team with runners in scoring position. They went 1-9 with RISP and left eight on base.
- Once one of the only bright spots in a lineup that struggled out of the gate, David Wright continues to strike out at an alarming rate. He struck out twice tonight to bring his season total to 24 in 59 at bats.
- How about Duda continuing to be aggressive early in the count? The first-pitch hits are nice to see. His taking of the first pitch in his at bats was maddening, but it seems as though he’s working to be less predictable and passive.
According to TC in the post game, TdA had a shoulder problem from throwing — unrelated to swing. Seeing Doctor tonight. It sounded like he was concerned.
Correction on Wright: Now at 26 Ks and 63 ABs.
Striking out 36% of PA.
In and of themselves, maybe strikeouts don’t matter too much. But as signifiers, very, very concerning.
He might need more rest than he’s getting. And Mets might need to upgrade on the Flores plan. Wilmer needs to play for Cabrera one game, then Wright another, then Duda another. Time to see if this guy can get into a rhythm and contribute. Or not.
Conforto continues to steam along. I hope he bats 3rd tonight against the LHP. It is time to give him the chance to be a fixture in the three spot in the lineup.
In the 7th inning, Henderson was the expected choice instead of Bastardo. Bastardo failed and was followed up with Verrett. In a tie game the long man is usually held out to the end in case it goes 13 or 14 innings. TC once again drew the inside straight and won the pot. Keep it up TC because the Mets keep winning.
Agree. I was rhinking the same thing. Flores is still a youngish player so infrequent playing time is new to him.
Unfortunately, the more I see his swing the more I believe his upside is limited.
The RISP thing is frustrating to watch. But as bad as it may seem, the Mets are not the worst team in baseball in this situation. They rank 22nd with a .638 OPS.
Last year the worst team in the majors had a .655 OPS with RISP. Even without moving into the top half of the league in this category, I would expect their performance here to improve noticeably the remainder of the year.