The Mets defeated the Giants this afternoon in San Francisco 9-5, snapping a three-game losing streak.
- Bartolo Colon started this one and provided the Mets with 6.1 solid innings. His final line was 9 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk (!), and 5 strikeouts (!!). It’s always nice to see a good Bartolo start.
- The Mets got the scoring started early with a leadoff double by Reyes in the first inning. Asdrubal Cabrera singled him over the third, then got picked off on a bonehead play that has sort of epitomized the Mets’ play of late. Yoenis Cespedes doubled to score Reyes, but the Mets failed to capitalize on two doubles, a single, and a walk and only scored one in the first.
- Speaking of Cespedes, he had himself a night at the plate. He went 3-5 with a double and two homers. He also just missed a third homer in the ninth. It’s nice to have such a huge threat back in the lineup.
- Alejandro De Aza only went 1-4, but had a huge three-run homer in the sixth to put the Mets up 7-2.
- The downer of the night was the Mets’ bullpen, which continues to be a concern. Specifically, Hansel Robles continues to struggle. In just .1 innings he walked two, which resulted in two runs when Addison Reed replaced him and gave up a double and a walk. Reed’s line: 1.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER (plus 2 of Robles’ runners), and 1 walk. It’s like Terry Collins is blind to the fact that he should not bring in Reed in the middle of an inning.
- The Mets will look to get a split of the series tomorrow night. A win could mean staying alive in the wild card race. A loss could mean a walking dead Mets team aching for St. Louis to put them to bed for good next week.
It is so evident what a healthy Cespedes brings to this lineup. He can and has been carrying the team during his Met tenure. Reyes also has brought some balance to the lineup because he manufactures runs. Walker is still on fire. It is the middle relief that has become a concern with many options being used but unable to right the ship.
Rob, pardon my off topic comment, but this was highly informational to me and I thought maybe someone else might like it.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/noah-syndergaard-has-a-major-problem/
Great linked article. So we can take some of the the blame off of Travis who generally can’t make the throw to second even when there is time. Holding runners in place is part of the game especially in the current era when there are no big 70 base stealers anymore. It is something they need to work on with Noah. A drop quicker to the plate would have netted him and the Mets a few more wins.
Yeah I saw that yesterday, Gus. It’s definitely a major problem, but I’m not really sure how they can fix it without disrupting his delivery/control/something else that will probably break. It’s really concerning and should be goal #1 of the offseason for him after getting his elbow cleaned out.
Baserunners operate on Timing as well. Syndergaard has a long delivery. He can check runners visually and with throws…and he can alter the time he holds the ball.
Greg Maddux was notoriously bad Holding Runners. His solution was similar to the one Syndergaard hopes for—every few baserunners, and few successful batters with runners on base.
You don’t want to alter his basic formula quickly or drastically, but he can adjust his checks and holds to be disruptive to the running game.
https://twitter.com/msimonespn/status/767374944019812352/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This link is compliments of Mark Simon; some very impressive news about this game. Add to it the August line of .300/.340/.420 and our buddy Travis should be feeling pretty good today.
The “Framed Strikes” issue remains Pukey to me. Bartolo is always around the plate…Moore struggled with location. Bartolo is almost pure fastball….Moore has a bigger mix, and he was erratic with his curve.
I have seen d’Arnaud for parts of 3 seasons— there is not a shred of positive to his defensive game…other than this rumor of “Pitch Framing”. He’s an erratic receiver…. he’s iffy on Dirt Balls…he throws poorly…
…you say he “Frames” well??? Ok…I say the Titanic had nice doornobs.