On a day we remember all those made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our great country, the Mets defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2. After playing last night, the Mets did not let an early 4:10 start time affect them today. Leading the Mets today was Robert Gsellman, who threw seven strong innings in his start. Over those seven, Gsellman allowed only one earned run over three hits and five strikeouts. He was leaning heavily on the ground ball, as that is where the majority of his outs came from. Although Gsellman knows that his spot in the rotation is likely to evaporate soon, it was nice to see a solid outing from him. This was the fourth game in a row that the starting pitcher for the Mets went at least six innings.
The offense for the Mets got the job done today without hitting a home run. Wilmer Flores went three for four with three singles. Gsellman helped his own cause by hitting a sacrifice fly and also walked home to drive in a run. The other runs were drove in by a Rene Rivera double and a Michael Conforto double in a three-run fifth inning. Asdrubal Cabrera and Lucas Duda also contributed hits to the offense today.
A positive sign for the Mets today was the success of the bullpen. Paul Sewald came on in the eighth inning, and struck out two in a clean effort. After a shaky start, Addison Reed closed the door in the ninth for his seventh save of the season. My Gut Reaction is that as the Mets starters eat up more innings, the bullpen will become more effective as they become less used. The Mets are back in action tomorrow night as Tyler Pill makes his first career MLB start at 7:10 against Zach Davies. Happy Memorial Day to all of you, and thank you to all those who continue to serve this amazing country we get the privilege to call home.
Bases loaded, two out and the pitcher due up in the sixth. He has thrown 89 pitches while only giving up one earned run. Do you pinch hit? This is traditional National League baseball at it’s finest. TC chose to let him bat. It is a tough job being a manager. Gsellman walked. (For the record I chose PH in the chatter) .
Sewald in the 8th after 31 pitches last night. Interesting choice. Others were available. 1-2-3 inning. It looks like Paul has skyrocket on the depth chart.
Flores with three more hits against RHP. TC likes Jose but Jose should be worried.
Gsellman is not going to give up his rotation spot without a fight.
Good win.
Heard Sandy say he was gonna put Lugo in the rotation due to his elbow and push Gsellman into the bullpen. Not sure I love that, especially with the latter finally putting two good starts together.
The key word, there, is “finally.” It’s nice to have Gazoo around if Lugo’s elbow becomes shredded wheat.
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>> It is a tough job being a manager.<<
I like Reyes batting 8th. And getting regular days off. That .278 OBP doesn't belong at the top of the lineup.
My expectations for Tyler Pill are very low, but I do like that he's hot and has been pitching extremely well (for being, you know, Tyler Pill).
My hopes for Lugo are fairly non-existent.
Matz, OTOH, wow. That last outing made me sit up and take notice.
If Reyes still has speed value, why not bat him ninth? Although unorthodox, the Mets pitching staff is decent at hitting collectively, and it would be invigorating to shake the lineup a bit.
I would have PH, too, Metsense.
I was at the game – my first time seeing Gsellman live. Now I’ve seen them all at least once. Saw Duda up close – that is one big dude.
I like Gsellman as a starter, especially now that he appears to have figured it out. I see Lugo as a natural swingman.
A reliever pitching two innings Sunday night because the team had a big lead. Eschewing a pinch-hitter because the starter was capable of throwing another inning. Not playing matchups in either of the past two games.
I dig it!
It gives one hope.
On the 37th try, the rat made it out of the maze in time to win the cheese.
Managing is really hard, and no manager is perfect. And nothing exposes that like a leaky bullpen. I still like Terry.
I’m still targeting Jose Reyes and his .278 OBP. As team moves closer to Rosario Time, they need to make some adjustments to the roster. But can Cabrera handle 3B? Is he willing?
Wilmer should get more time at 3B, hope the defense improves with more regular work. I don’t think he’s the everyday “answer,” unless the question is: Do we have anyone who’s better than Jose?
That’s the position they need to figure out. Might need to look outside the organization.
By midseason, the play should be to call up Rosario and move Cabrera to third. Could be an audition for 2018 for both of them. Reyes can back up the left side and Flores the right. Unless it is an emergency, Flores should not see any time at third – his throws are awful. And, although he has played better of late, I don’t see Reyes as an everyday player anymore.
Given opportunity, Flores will prove that he cannot play 2nd base very well… adding to the positions that he cannot play well.
That makes him usable…if you protect yourself via substitution, and if he continues to hit like a Monstah.
Collins gets killed for not playing Flores.
And he’d get killed if he played Flores.
That’s managing in the internet era. You can’t win.
To date, overall, I think TC has a pretty good handle on Wilmer and has by and large used him correctly.
As a sub who mashes LHP.
As long as Flores gets his at bats against LHP, I don’t mind how Collins plays him.