The Mets lost to the Nationals tonight at Citi Field 6-1, ruining many a night and dropping to five games back in the division.
- Logan Verrett was…present in this this one. His main accomplishment was pitching into the seventh inning, really. His final line was ugly: 6.2 innings pitched, five earned runs (though one was inherited and given up by the bullpen), five walks (four unintentional), and three strikeouts. He’s shown he can be better than he’s been, and perhaps getting into a routine will help him settle in, but the Mets really need him to be better if they hope to hang on in this race.
- Max Scherzer was…himself in this one. He shut down the offense for seven innings, which wasn’t even a little bit shocking. What was surprising was that the team had him immediately on the ropes in the bottom of the first inning. They took advantage of location issues with his fastball and managed to manufacture an (unearned) run. Of course, they had runners on second and third with no outs and only got the one. Brandon Nimmo struck out to end the threat, with Travis d’Arnaud on deck and hitting behind him because…reasons? Gotta get that lefty-righty balance in there, huh?
- Daniel Murphy continued his Summer of Vengeance™ against his former teammates, and he’s kind of being a quietly polite jerk about it. He was 3-4 with four RBIs, going just a triple shy of the cycle. This late-2015 model Murphy has six home runs and 19 RBIs against the Mets in just 12 games this season. The man. The myth. The Murph.
- I feel like every time I write up a game I’m writing about Antonio Bastardo being awful. He relieved Verrett in the seventh with his container of gasoline and immediately gave up a two-run homer to Murphy.
- Alejandro De Aza had a rare good game, going 2-3 and accounting for half of the Mets’ hits. He struck out to end the game as the skies opened up, a fitting end.
Rob, you politely mentioned the lineup but I will not be as polite. Now, the Mets may well have lost, but just seeing the lineup made me wonder if this team had a chance.
Let’s review: Reyes, Granderson, Walker, Loney, Cabrera, Nimmo, d’Arnaud, de Aza, Verrett.
My first glance was at the middle to see how they would overcome their best hitter being out. I saw Walker, Loney, Cabrera. Now I know Collins has 47 years of baseball experience, but I guess Jim Leyland never told him that when a hitter is making more outs than usual, he’s in a slump.
Neil Walker on May 1st: .315/.344/.620/.963. 96 plate appearances
Neil Walker since then: .233/.321/.352/.674. 221 plate appearances
You bat him 3rd?
Cabrera on May 3rd: .307/.365/.409/.774. 96 plate appearances
Cabrera since then: .249/.365/.443/.752. 240 plate appearances
There’s your #6 guy!
Collins put the best home run hitter remaining second, Nimmo 6th, TDA 7th.
So, we take a young player that is used to being at the top of the order and bat him in an RBI position; we take our best homerun hitter and bat him second; we take our hottest current hitter and hit him 7th because 8th was spoken for.
TDA since coming back from injury: .318/.333/.455/.788. 45 plate appearances.
Nimmo is a player that takes pitches and works the count. Too, when Nimmo led off during Granderson’s missed games, he did well at the top. However, being put in an RBI position, he swung at the first pitch all three times that he struck out, missing the pitch twice. But, notice his mindset: it’s aggressive!
But, Collins forever refusing to open his eyes to reality. Did they really have a chance?
A win is necessary. It will conclude a sucessful home stand. It is two games in the standings. It will be progress instead of treading water. Remember that at the beginning of the home stand we were hoping to tread water. It will relieve some of the pressure and make the break more relaxing. Lets win this one.
What to do about Bastardo? He is signed for two years and can’t be trusted in a close game. He is a very expensive mop up man.
Flores finally gets to start today.