In a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners with lousy current ERAs, Jake Arrieta did a better imitation of a top pitcher, leading the Phillies to a 4-1 win Tuesday night in Philadelphia, sending the Mets to their third straight loss. In two games against the Mets this season, Arrieta is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA. Against every other team he’s faced, Arrieta is 2-4 with a 6.19 ERA.
Rick Porcello started and gave the Mets 6 IP but gave up 4 ER. That’s a 6.00 ERA but at this point all we can do is shrug and say – that seems about right. For the season now, Porcello has a 6.06 ERA. He’s been lousy but it’s not like the Mets are in a position to replace him. At least he gives them six innings, with is more than Michael Wacha does while he’s stinking up the joint.
And it’s not like the offense gets a free pass. They banged out 11 hits and somehow only managed to score one run, which came on a solo shot by Brandon Nimmo. They were 0-6 with runners in scoring position, including 0-2 marks from both Wilson Ramos and Dominic Smith. Ramos hit into a particularly deflating double play with the bases loaded, swinging at the first pitch from JoJo Romero, who came on for an injured Arrieta. Ramos weakly grounded to third base for the inning-ending twin killing.
It’s tough to remain optimistic about the Mets’ chances, even with the expanded playoff format. But their starting pitching just doesn’t give them enough chances to win the game. A fact made even tougher when Zack Wheeler and his 4-0, 2.47 self sits in the Phillies’ dugout.
Let Matz start, bench Porcello, play Rosario somewhere else (second base?) and see how he looks, put Squirrel in CF and see how he looks, bring up Drew Smith already – it’s not like your relievers are lights out, and let Kilome get a start. Sow the seeds for tomorrow.
I don’t second guess others because what the hell do I know? However, I saw this outcome clearly coming when Porcello walked the opposing pitcher with two down in the bottom of the fourth to load the bases. This was obviously one of those so-called high leverage situations, and I was yelling at the circles and squares on my computer screen to bring in a reliever.
So what happens? Next guy gets a hit, and two runs score.
Then, incredibly, Porcello is still in there in the bottom of the fifth, and gives up a two-run homer. And even though he easily gets through the sixth with no further damage, I can only sit there and think WTF? (Please excuse my capitalization, but it beats using a cuss word.)
Actually, other than those two batters who made Porcello pay, it seems that he did a decent job wiggling out of a few crises. But I guess it doesn’t really matter when your own team blows multiple opportunities and scores only one run.
A very frustrating game. Ya know, guys, the Phils really ain’t that good!
And Porcello got paid $ 10 million for his one year deal. There are a lot of pitchers who could have given us a 6.06 ERA for the major league minimum.
So, here is the good news. In another 12 games, we can say goodbye to some of Brodie’s best signings, such as Porcello, Wacha and Lowrie.
In a season that most folks, including me, would be happy and thankful to simply have baseball games to watch, the Mets have found a way to disappoint. While the GM has done a bad job, and injuries/opt-outs have hurt, this team still has more than enough to qualify for watered down playoffs. This season is a text book example that regardless of individual stats, the final score is the only stat that matters. Performance counts most in key spots, and the team has come up small way too many times. Barring a miracle run, they’ll be embarrassed. There is a silver lining here in that they do have a quality young core, and hopefully they grow from the bitter disappointments of this season.
I know GKR have to do it, but I don’t want to hear about the Mets having the highest average in the league, on base, etc. They don’t put it together. It’s a team sport. Exception is if deGrom can beat Bauer, who looks to be the toughest nut to crack, will win a 3rd Cy Young. That matters to me. That and Lugo getting his shot to start going into 2021. It’s always about the individual achievements with this team, which is the sign of a bad team. It’s exhausting.
Gut Reaction : Phillies are above .500, are playoff bound, Their bullpen is last in most categories, the team has a fair share of injuries including their star catcher. Their starting pitching in suspect and their play the last Mets series was comical at times. Their $30M man hasn’t hit in a month and is a selfish egomaniac. I give the credit to Joe Girardi. Last night he saw the opportunity and acted upon it. Sometimes I works out and sometimes it doesn’t but some don’t even recognize or too afraid to act when the opportunity arises.
Right now the Mets and Phillies have played 8 games and the Phillies have won 6 of those. If you take the two clubs and eliminate the head-to-head games, this is what you have:
Mets: 19-21
Phils: 18-21
If the Phillies make the playoffs, they should send a thank you card to the Mets.
Conforto (.341), Smith (.331), McNeill (.331) and Cano (.320) and we score 1 run on 11 hits. Well done Metropolitans.
The last year we really hit in the clutch was 2015 and having a killer bat in Cespedes raised the entire team’s batting. We have no one in the lineup that another team really fears so people pitch around Alonso and his frustrations show in his poorer at bats. Just two hits with the bases juiced would have altered the game with Arietta on the ropes. I am an optimist but I’m ready to put a fork into 2020 and get excited for some free agent signings for 2021. We have a good base but need some keys parts to becoming a real consistent competitor.
FWIW – In 2019 the Mets had a .770 OPS overall and a .799 OPS with RISP