In a game that was there for either team to win, the Giants came away with an 8-1 win Friday night.
The Mets welcomed back Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes but may have lost Steven Matz, who did not start due to shoulder discomfort. Seth Lugo got the emergency start and pitched better than anyone had a right to expect.
Lugo surrendered some hard hit balls but had allowed just one run through six innings. The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh when Lugo was due to hit fourth. With a low pitch count, he went back for the seventh with the score tied 1-1 and retired the first two batters before allowing a double. The eighth batter was intentionally walked. The Giants sent up a lefty PH and Terry Collins made the call for Jerry Blevins.
To the surprise of no one, the Giants then sent up a righty, who delivered an RBI single. The next batter, a lefty, also contributed an RBI single. Blevins faced three batters and gave up two hits. This month, opposing batters are hitting .348 against Blevins.
In my opinion, removing Lugo was the right call. The issue was that the bullpen has been rotten the past two weeks. As bad as Blevins has been, both Erik Goeddel and Hansel Robles have been worse. In an important game like this, Addison Reed should have been on call for the seventh inning.
The Mets had another chance in the eighth inning thanks to some poor fielding. Jose Reyes got a one-out hit on a ball that Brandon Crawford usually turns into an out. Kelly Johnson then hit a grounder to first base that Brandon Belt tried to get the lead runner. Instead, his throw hit Reyes, giving the Mets two runners on with Jay Bruce coming to the plate.
The Giants brought in a side-arming lefty and Collins allowed the lefty Bruce, who was 12-67 (.179) as a Met, to bat. He grounded into a double play. It’s tough to PH for your third-place hitter but if ever there was a time to do it, this was it. Wilmer Flores and his 1.061 OPS versus LHP was available on the bench. It’s odd how this team will bend over backwards to get their pitchers the platoon advantage but will allow a floundering lefty batter to face not only a southpaw but a sidearmer in a key situation.
The Giants tacked on five runs in the eighth inning to turn a close game into a laugher.
Just tank. If we can lose the next 40 we can get the no 1 pick
Is Reyes “signed” through 2017? He looks pretty good.
Yes, I think it’s an option year. But I expect him back.
Reyes’ contract goes through 2017 with an option for 2018. Not sure how the option is handled once he was released. My guess is that the Rockies are on the hook for the buyout. I’ll try to get up with Chris Walendin and see what he thinks.
Interesting, on B-R they just show him as released. Reading over a number of other articles, the Rockies are on the hook for about 40M$ of his salary, so I believe he can remain a Met as long through his contract at expense of Rox.
MLBTR reported a minor league contract. The explanation is from Daily News on June 27:
The contract Reyes signed with the Mets includes a club option for 2017. When he’s added to the Mets’ 40-man roster, the Mets will be on the hook for just $507,500 in salary, the pro-rated league minimum.
Colorado released Reyes in the wake of his 52-game domestic violence suspension for allegedly grabbing his wife by the throat and shoving her into a sliding glass door in Hawaii last Halloween. The Rockies are on the hook to pay the troubled former All-Star more than $38 million on his deal that ran through 2018.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/jose-reyes-contract-mets-includes-club-option-2017-article-1.2689081
The Mets are two games below .500. which means that they are not a good team. Good teams play above .500. In the 7th inning the Mets were tied 1-1 and a decision was being made concerning the pitcher. If this game is deemed important to stay at .500 then the best choice would have been Reed who is your best setup man no matter who the Giants pinch hit. If you want to win then that is your move .
Personally, because it was tied and Lugo had thrown only 67 pitches and was leading off the 8th inning, I would have told him to get this last batter and our guys will get you a win in the 8th inning. Lugo at least would have “owned” his destiny. Of course if he gets smoked, it looks bad but not as bad as a struggling Blevins facing a righty in a crucial situation. Reed was the safest choice.
The Flores pinch hitting move would have been confidence deflating to Bruce but why wasn’t Cespedes batting 3rd to begin with. Since Bruce was batting 3rd, I would have pinch hit Flores under the circumstances.
I guess I didn’t like TC’s decision making last night, It is easier to be in on the sofa than in the dugout. It is frustrating (and easier) to be a fan.
Bringing in a LOOGY to face what will most assuredly be a right-handed bat is very poor strategy.
However, my sense is that Reed has been squeezed nearly dry, so I understand the hesitation to bring him in early.
Blevins has been great this year at stranding runners. I believe he was tops in the NL prior to last night.
They play so poorly — so consistently — that is hard to fault TC on specific moves during this stretch. The whole team looks fried.
There’s no way in the world you PH for Jay Bruce in that situation. This is a game played by real people. It’s not Strat-O-Matic.
“I’m probably the only guy who worked for (Casey) Stengel before and after he was a genius.” – Warren Spahn (Spahn was a young Pitcher for Stengel before Stengel Managed The Yankees….and He was an Old Pitcher on Stengel’s Mets Team)
“Geniuses” Manage Great Players