The Mets traveled to Detroit without Gary Cohen and the result was a bland 4-3 loss to the Tigers Friday night in the opening game of three.
- Noah Syndergaard needed 112 pitches to complete six innings. His velocity was not the problem, as he was still hitting 98-99 in the sixth. But he couldn’t always locate and he couldn’t put batters away. And after being staked to a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth, he immediately gave it back, allowing three runs in the bottom of the frame.
- The offense, which has been pretty good the last week, had a tough go against Justin Verlander and three relievers. The Mets managed just five hits, with just two of those coming after the fourth inning.
- Kelly Johnson smacked a two-run homer in the fourth, his fifth as a Met.
Verlander was very enjoyable to watch. Not just power. He threw more changes than I expected — you don’t see that a light for RH starters — and just generally mixed it up really well. Because of that, his 94 MPH fastball seemed more effective than Noah’s 98 MPH dart.
To fall back on a cliche, he struck me as more of a “pitcher” than I remembered.
It was disheartening to give up the lead in the bottom of the inning after the Kelly Johnson home run. It is expected that when you give a lead to your ace he holds it, especially against the other teams ace. Noah was not dominating on a night the team needed him to be. He also needs to hold runners because the first run was a gift in a one run game.
Kelly Johnson is hot, has inverted career splits, a career OPS of 752 and nothing except exhaustion should keep his bat out of the lineup.
Neil Walker, after a horrendous slump, is hitting near his career averages for the year. Too bad TC didn’t move him down in the order (or sit him more) during the slump.
Don’t understand Nimmo starting over Conforto.
Last night, Nimmo-Rivera-Reynolds-Granderson-De Aza = 0-17 w/ 9 Ks.
On a team that talked so much about length in the lineup, that bottom 3 was wildly overmatched.
Weird play at second when Reynolds was slow with the tag. But he kept glove on the runner who clearly slid off the base. They did not challenge the call, bizarrely, and that runner went on to score the game’s winning run. What was Matt Reynolds thinking?
Mets have gotten no help from minors this year, and teams at lower levels are getting crushed. System overall is about 30 games under .500. It’s not good.
Five left-handed hitters in OF, and four have clear weaknesses against LHP. Mets needed to replace Cuddyer role but never lifted a finger. It’s hurt them all year long.
I think Conforto is in the dog house, maybe hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Nimmo…with TC its sometimes hard to figure as we all know!
I think his plight shows the huge difference between AAA pitching and what you see in the Show. Until he stops swinging at 60 footers, hes never gonna see another strike. He was supposed to have this advanced plate discipline, but that has all gone with the hope of going long. Hes turned into Ike and Duda. I sure hope he figures this out and returns to a good eye and gap to gap line drives.
Chris, it’s
Not the dog house; it’s the Terry House. The Mets were in six years of this regime have not improved a single young player at the major league level. Worse, they not only hold their youngsters down, they suffocate them with over the hill players. I see them as the Yankees of the early 80’s. Soon we will be the Yankees of the late 80’s.