If being fair is important to you, then maybe this wasn’t the best game ever. The Mets won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a walkoff HBP, which would have been weird enough all by itself. But on this particular play, not only did Michael Conforto make no effort to get out of the way of the pitch, he actively moved his elbow (complete with body armor) into the ball’s path, turning what should have been strike three into an RBI, giving the Mets the 3-2 win on Opening Day at Citi Field.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly immediately protested and the umpires did go to review the play. But in perhaps the quickest replay ever, they ruled that the call stood and the game was over. The Mets needed the win but this was not the way to get it.

Conforto was 0-2 coming into his plate appearance in the ninth, with both outs coming with a runner on base, continuing his awful results from yesterday. He did have a walk earlier in the game, and this was his second HBP of the contest.

Birthday boy Jeff McNeil tied the game earlier in the ninth with his first hit of the season, an upper deck blast to right field.

Taijuan Walker made his Mets debut with a solid effort, as he allowed just 2 R in 6 IP. He had good velocity, reaching 97 mph with his fastball. But the Marlins are not exactly an offensive juggernaut, so we’ll need to see him repeat these results against a better-hitting team.

Miguel Castro and Trevor May each pitched a scoreless inning and Edwin Diaz came on in the ninth and ended up with the win in his first appearance of the year. With a rare Friday off day tomorrow, the fact that all three pitched today was not a big deal.

Brandon Nimmo had three hits, including two doubles, and Dominic Smith had the Mets’ other RBI with a Sac Fly to deep center that was nearly a three-run triple but ended up an out thanks to a very nice defensive play by Starling Marte.

9 comments on “Gut Reaction: Mets 3, Marlins 2 (4/8/21)

  • TexasGusCC

    A BS win is still a win. Kind of feels like a makeup of Monday’s give away. Can’t understand how a hitter that is blocking the strike zone can get legally hit by a pitch, but I’m expecting alot of fallout in the press. Conforto is slumping, and that happens.

  • Wobbit

    I watched the relay closely and the ball was exactly at the letters, which I think technically is a ball, bit the way Conforto is going, it probably would have been called strike three. That brings up Pete and who knows.

    Conforto will take some heat for this, and I hope it gets him pissed off… he needs something to rattle his cage… his ABs today were pathetic… and he’s my boy (I live in Oregon).

    McNeil’s homer the first real positive event for the offense after much poor hitting (Dom looks good). Maybe that gets the team moving. Marlins will be pissed on Saturday… deGrom could take advantage of that.

  • Footballhead

    OK, let’s see what Rojas will do to his lineup for Friday. First off, keep Nimmo as your lead off hitter. He’s hitting, he’s getting on base; what else does he have to do to cement that spot?

    As far as Conforto is concerned, he should be dropped in the lineup to the 7th hole until he wakes up. As I’m on record regarding him, I’ve always thought he was overrated as a hitter, who (I think) is as bad as they come with RISP. I think he’ll continue to press in his walk year.
    And how much more leeway will Rojas keep giving him? Another game like today and he sits!

    McNeil should be the #3 batter…another person with a higher OBP who should set the table for Alfonso. While he says he doesn’t care where he hits in the lineup, I think stability would do him; and the Mets, a world of good.

    Nice to see Diaz seal the win, even if Miami isn’t a power house.

  • T.J.

    I sure hope that Taijuan recognizes that his teammates gave him the royal treatment in only his first start with the club. This kind of Mets’ run support is treatment reserved for aces with multiple Cy Young awards. I hope this is a sign of how well Taijaun will perform going forward. I did take note of the unfortunate news that Paxton needs TJS, interesting as he was a guy the Mets were considering instead of Walker. Thankfully, the Mariners did the Mets a favor and offered more…maybe they felt obligated after the Kelenic fleecing. But, today we’ll take the shady win and look forward to Taijuan building off this start.

    • TexasGusCC

      Did you see that Bauer is under investigation for “suspicious baseballs”?

      • T.J.

        Yes, I did, and wouldn’t that be sweet if he got tagged with a suspension. Additionally, on a more somber note, Rosenthal, and Met target, is facing career altering surgery. The Mets have some continuing pitching issues for sure, but that may be three huge bullets they dodged, and Taijuan’s upside with good health could be a huge add. This bodes well despite the rocky start and tainted win.

  • Metsense

    Gut Reaction: a tainted win because Conforto didn’t make an effort to avoid the pitch but nevertheless it is a win.
    That was the third quality start in four games.
    Nimmo is an on base machine.
    Castro, May and Diaz got the job done as planned.
    Blevins should have replaced Betances (IL) on the roster, not Hildenberger.

  • TexasGusCC

    In Mike Puma’s write-up of today’s game, he quotes the home plate umpire, Ron Kulpa: “The guy was hit by the pitch in the strike zone,” Kulpa said. “I should have called him out.”

    Some people are expecting Conforto to get hit the next game; I can see it, especially with a throwback like Mattingly. I believe the Mets aren’t going to get a call the rest of this series, and maybe for a while as this was blasted on every website.

  • Wobbit

    Besides being a borderline pitch (looked high to me), Conforto should be out for having intentionally tried to be HBP. So if they call him out, Alonso still hits with the bases loaded. Mets may still get the win, even if they go to extra innings. Marlins should complain, but they still might have lost the game.

    Conforto will be tested in next few days. He will either shrink from the scrutiny and the embarrassment, or he will steel himself and shake it off, maybe start hitting some balls hard… the best possible antidote to a glaring mistake.

    At some point this “error in spontaneous judgement” will become
    a minor glitch… what he does from here will not.

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