Asdrubal Cabrera owes Jay Bruce a steak dinner.
On a long, drizzly night, the Mets win only their second extra-inning game of the year, and garnering their second walk-off win of the year. Tyler Pill’s first major league start was certainly a memorable one, though it started inauspiciously. With his second pitch, he hit Brewer leadoff man Keon Broxton square in the back. Eric Thames followed with a base hit, but Pill’s down-dipping slider induced a double play from Hernan Perez. Travis Shaw then broke his heart with a looping liner just out of the reach of Lucas Duda’s outstretched glove, an RBI double giving Milwaukee a 1-0 edge. Pill settled down somewhat after that, pitching in and out of trouble in his five-and-a-third innings. In that span, he stranded six Brewers in scoring position and didn’t allow another run.
For their part, the Mets couldn’t solve Zach Davies for four innings, either, despite getting three hits in a bizarre second inning. Neil Walker led off with a grounder off the glove of shortstop Orlando Arcia which was scored a hit. Duda bounded into a fielder’s choice to first. Granderson then pulled a low liner that clipped Duda in the leg. That was the second out, but by rule, Granderson got credited with a single. Cabrera then hit a ball to second that was bobbled by second baseman Jonathan Villar, but that was scored a hit, too. Travis d’Arnaud ended the madness by grounding out to short, conventionally. In the fifth, though, the Mets were finally able to break through against Davies. Granderson smoked a double to deep left center leading off and Cabrera did the same to right center. d’Arnaud lined a base hit to left, Cabrera holding at third. After Pill flied out, a walk to Michael Conforto loaded the hassocks and Jose Reyes drew a walk of his own — after generous call for ball three, which by rights, should have had him struck out. In any case, the Mets now had a 2-1 lead. They padded that cushion in the sixth, thanks to our old friend, Carlos Torres, who relieved Davies. Walker led off with a bloop double that somehow landed behind Perez in left. Duda creamed a 3-2 pitch to the opposite field that rattled around the M & M Party Deck and the Mets had a 4-1 lead. But as most things go with the 2017 Mets, joy was short-lived and the culprits were the usual suspects: the bullpen and the defense.
Fernando Salas had relieved Pill in the sixth and held the Brewers at bay, helped mightily by a terrific throw by d’Arnaud on an attempted steal by Villar. Terry Collins left him out there to start the seventh and, well… Eric Sogard had come in with Torres on a double switch and Salas immediately walked him. He struck out Broxton, but then Thames drew a pass. When Perez followed with a base hit to load the bases, Salas said goodbye and Jerry Blevins came in to quell the uprising. Somehow, he simultaneously did that, but tied the game. Blevins struck out Shaw looking, but then walked Domingo Santana to make it a 4-2 game. Catcher Jett Bandy — that can’t be his real name, can it? — then lifted a popup to short. Blevins pointed to the sky joyfully, Duda and Reyes started moves toward the dugout and Cabrera drifted under it… kept drifting…and as if possessed by the spirit of Luis Castillo, reached out toward left field for the ball and had it tick off the end of his glove. Thames and Perez scampered around to score and only a base running blunder by Santana kept the play from costing the Mets the rueful tie.
After all that nonsense, it became a game of diminishing returns. Josh Edgin gave up a walk in the eighth, but that was all. Addison Reed gave up a single in the ninth, but that was all. Josh Smoker pitched three superlative innings. On the Milwaukee side, Naftali Feliz, Jacob Barnes and Cory Knebel throttled the Mets through the tenth. By the last of the twelfth, both bullpens were spent — the thought of putting this game in the hands of Neil Ramirez was just too cruel to consider — but the Mets still had a bench, which Milwaukee did not. The Brewers were down to erstwhile starter Wily Peralta, who held the Mets off in the eleventh, but not in the twelfth.
T.J. Rivera pinch-hit for Smoker to start the twelfth and lined a base hit to left center. Conforto walked and you could see that Peralta was about to become unglued. Reyes couldn’t get a bunt down, but hit a one-hopper to first. Thames could only cut down Conforto at second as Rivera crossed to third. Bruce sent a low liner up the middle, which alighted on the centerfield lawn, thus rescuing Cabrera and giving the Mets’ spirits a much needed boost.
THe Mets close out the month of May tomorrow, with game three of this four-game set against Milwaukee, Jacob deGrom vs. Junior Guerra.
Josh Smoker is a completely useless pitcher… unless he’s facing tired major leaguers
In extra innings: 7.2 IP, 1 ER
In regulation: 13.1 IP, 15 ER
Two unlikely heroes in Tyler Pill and Josh Smoker. Pill pitched a gutsy game for a fifth starter and it was just what the Mets needed after experiencing Montero and Milone. Name, I am still laughing at your above comment, but Smoker kept the ball in the park and earned a win or his effort.
TC has been letting relief pitchers pitch complete innings lately and the results seem better. It also appears that Edgin and Sewald should move ahead of Salas on the BP depth chart. Flores has been promised starts in the next two games and the telecast said he had the second highest BA in May. At this point, I think he is a better option than Reyes.
As Charlie points out, Cabrera should also but a steak dinner for Santana who lost track of the outs and didn’t initially run on the pop up error which cost the Brewers the game. Disgraceful. I am glad he isn’t a school crossing guard but and just an overpaid baseball player.
I, too, was mortified by Cabrera’s flub, but at least he didn’t do the one-handed, show-boating Castillo flub!