Put in the books! Led by Noah Syndergaard‘s dazzling pitching, the Mets shut out the Nationals 2-0 to begin their first season series with their division rival. The quickly played pitcher’s duel included a number of notable highlights.
Ex-Met favorite Daniel Murphy got a warm welcome at Citi Field from fans who fondly recall his years in a Mets uniform punctuated by an epic home run barrage in last year’s playoffs.
Curtis Granderson hit a leadoff homerun that was like a prison yard punch in the face. Max Scherzer, fresh off a 20-strikeout masterpiece, seemed to have an edge with the Mets forced to rest both David Wright and Lucas Duda with back stiffness.
Duda’s situation is thought to be nothing serious, while Wright’s is concerning. Combined with Travis d’Arnaud already on the DL, the Mets went into this game with a very unimposing bottom of the order that featured Kevin Plawecki, Eric Campbell, Syndergaard and Eric Campbell. Thankfully the slump busting solo home runs we got from Granderson and Michael Conforto proved to be enough support for the masterful Syndergaard, who was the real story of this game.
Syndergaard was at peak form out of the gate, mixing 100 mph fastballs with sharp breaking pitches and excellent control. The end line was 7 innings, 0 runs, 10 Ks, 0 walks. Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia shut it down with a scoreless 8th and 9th. Great way to kick off the home stand. Lets go Mets!
Plawecki, Campbell, Reynolds, and the pitcher. OMG! While David Wright is a gamer, his condition brings difficulties to the Mets. Any other infielder really can’t be guaranteed a day off, because you never know… Flores should have been healthy now to show his stuff.
How long does a bat like TJ Rivera stay at AAA? Are they deciding who to cut, Reynolds or Campbell? Does it really matter?
Further, I’m a believer in good luck but not to this extent. Reynolds wasn’t brought up by accident, just when they needed an extra infielder. Collins said in his presser that they knew Duda was hurting from the weekend and without having to say it out loud, they don’t trust Wright’s back from game to game. Let tonight be witness to that. They were very lucky this didn’t bite them during the road trip where they carried an 8th reliever.
I’ll never understand Terry’s love affair with Campbell. He is not a major league player.
Who else was TC supposed to play at 1B?
Love affair? He has no choice but to play the roster he’s been given.
Collins has no voice in how the roster in composed? I doubt that.
(TJ Rivera)
Rivera is not on the 40 man roster, thus Reynolds (who sucks). My comment is really directed at the free pass being handed to the General Manager, while blaming Collins for the roster. It’s absurd. Do you blame Fredi Gonzalez for the Braves?
Well, I certainly do not believe that Collins has no input over who gets to be on the 40 Man. Of course it is mostly Alderson’s patch.
That said, I believe it is past time to take Reynolds off the 40 man roster, even if it means losing him. He’s a comparable fielder to TJ Rivera, and Rivera is a measurably better hitter.
While he’s at it, time to jettison Dario Alvarez as well. He’s not going to see Flushing again. I would replace him with righthander Paul Sewald; if Sewald can get PCL hitters out throwing 90, I’d like to see what happens when he tries it in the Show.
And while we’re shaking things up, ship out Campbell and Reynolds, bring up Rivera and Herrera. Now we’re set.
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Matt, he has no one else on the roster to put there when Wright isn’t playing and in this situation both Duda and Wright. Why don’t you wonder Alderson’s love affair with him…
Tonight, Collins had no choice, I agree. But there have been times when he’s played Campbell over Duda when Duda and Flores were both healthy and times he’s pinch hit him over Lagares and Flores. Despite Brian’s argument about BABiP, I just don’t see it with this guy. He makes his share of errors too. Super Joe McEwing was no slugger, but he played solid defense, was fast and could lay down a bunt. This kid is no gamer. He strikes out a lot, he makes errors wherever he plays. His only asset is versatility, but to what end?
I’ll never understand your thinking that TC has a love affair with Campbell.
-He’s had the least amount of PA
-He’s played in the least amount of games
-He’s played the least amount of innings on the field.
-He didn’t get a start until May 1st. He played a bunch recently only because of the injury to Flores and because of Wright.
So i ask, what “love affair” are you talking about?
Also, his other main asset is his ability to take a walk.
I previously wrote that cutting Ruben Tejada would be a mistake. Had we kept him, Campbell wouldn’t have made the team and we wouldn’t be having this argument. However may ABs Campbell has had, it’s too many. If Wright winds up on the DL, Flores, when he comes back, is the starting third baseman and Campbell becomes the primary backup infielder – exactly the situation I was dreading when we released Tejada. Should it come to that, we’ll need to make a trade – maybe bring back Uribe or Johnson for a second tour.
Matt, would you really prefer Tejada at the plate to Campbell? I mean, Campbell spanks the ball, doesn’t really drive it, but Tejada mostly tickles it.
Tejada strikes out less and makes far fewer errors.
Ruben Tejada is hitting .167 for the Cards this year with no walks.
BTW, I put on WFAN on my phone this afternoon and listened to Mike Francessa while driving back from out of town. Not much of a Francessa fan, but he said: “I have said many times, Curtis Granderson is the most important player in that lineup. When he goes, the Mets go, because he combines power and OBP.”
Four hours later, Granny leads off with a homer. I won’t be listening tomorrow…
I was listening to that as well. Not a big Mike F fan. He also said that when Duda’s hot the team can’t lose. That I agree with. He’s like Strawberry in that regard. Unfortunately, his hot streaks have been few and far between
Ach; I should have “called” this game; it played out exactly as I thought it would — which is probably why I didn’t call it.
Scherzer is a mighty pitcher, but he was leading the NL in home runs allowed going in to the game; so I figured the Mets could hit a couple of solo shots. Syndergaard was due, I felt, and there were plenty of holes in the Nats’ lineup for him to exploit. And I daresay the Nats team remembers how 2015 played out, which is not an enormous factor but should at least count for something.
It’s rare that games go in an entirely predictable fashion, but I would say that this one did.
Granderson is a gamer, the type of player that sets the tone and finds a way to win.It was nice to see him do it last night like he did it in 2015. Hopefully he will get hot.
Conforto is perfect as a three hitter.
Syndergaard pitched a masterful game. His seven innings was what this team needed. If Harvey and deGrom would begin to dominate also ,like they have in the past, then this team would be hard to beat.
Reed and Familia are a strong backend to a bullpen.
TJ Rivera was a more deserving call up. Forty man roster could have been handled as Brian stated in his earlier article.
Campbell is playing because Wright, Duda and Flores were out. If these players have lingering injuries then it would be time to look for a veteran backup to give these at bats to.
Very glad — and a little surprised — that TC stood up to David’s pleadings to stay in the lineup yesterday.
Can’t say it’s a good sign that David tried to talk himself into the lineup on a day when, by all reports, he was clearly hurting.
Such a tough, tough situation for all concerned.
I think Sandy’s plan — and I mean to say, probably “my plan” if I was in that situation — was to begin the season giving David all the respect and support he deserved. Go ahead for at least two months, assess the situation, and go from there. Meanwhile, I’d sort of know which players are out there and what it would take to acquire one of them. The opposing teams know the Mets need a solid backup 3B, so I’m sure there have been muted conversations.
I’m sure that Sandy knows that Campbell and Reynolds are not good. He’s biding his time. I think by having a guy like, say, Uribe in place already might have put too much pressure on David, who is after all the team captain. He’s been shown the respect that he’s earned. But there may come a time when those hard decisions will have to be made.
I strongly believe that the K-rate is unsustainable, and that it’s something of a miracle that he’s been able to keep the rate stats going (so far). Why any MLB pitcher walks him at this point is beyond me. It’s like they didn’t get the memo. He’s on pace for more than 100 BBs and he’s hitting .229. It’s crazy.
But back to the moment: I think you stick with Cuddyer — I mean: Wright! — support him in every way possible, bat him 2nd, and then in June you take a look at things.
I honestly don’t know if Walker would be willing to shift over to 3B. I do believe that he’d be unwilling to bounce around. If David was clearly out for a long period, it might be possible. Then you could try Herrera at 2B. But I think you’d need almost a perfect storm for it to happen.
If Wright needs to sit every 4th game, I think you can make due with Flores, provided he gets back soon. However, if he’s headed for the DL, we have two viable options – shift Walker to third and call up Dilson or bring in a veteran like Uribe. Reynolds and Campbell do not belong on the roster of a team with playoff plans.
I do believe that Wright is on the cusp of retirement…especially if they win the WS.
I have been surprised at that he has made hard contact and demonstrated some power….I don;t think comparing him to his “mid-20’s version” is fair. We know he’s diminished.
The big problem is his ability to play consistently… also, he shortens the bench tremendously when he doesn’t start.
My early take is that he looks better than his stats…..or maybe he just looks btetter than my own low expectations coming in.