The Mets extended their winning streak to nine games with a 6-5 victory over the Brewers Friday night in the first of a three-game series.
Todd Frazier delivered his first Mets homer in his first trip to the plate and added his second Mets homer the next time he came to bat. New Met Jose Lobaton tripled (!) in his first PA for New York. And that was after nearly tripping himself twice while navigating first base.
If you like pitching, this wasn’t really the game for you. Steven Matz surrendered two, 2-run homers, opposing hitters got good swings off Seth Lugo and Jerry Blevins didn’t record an out. Sure, Robert Gsellman came on and retired the only batter he faced but it was Jett Bandy, so let’s not make it out to be something special. Oh and there was another partial-inning appearance for AJ Ramos, as Mickey Callaway used four pitchers in the eighth inning. Yeah, it was a weird night.
Only Jeurys Familia came on and impressed and picked up his seventh Save of the year in the process.
Yoenis Cespedes had a good game. He delivered an RBI single in the first inning, made a nice defensive play with a leaping catch in the second and he threw out a runner at third base in the seventh. He also beat out an infield hit and had a couple of foul balls that were smoked. Perhaps the funniest moment of the game came in the eighth inning when Jesus Aguilar drilled a ball into left field and thought about trying for a double. But he quickly scurried back to first base with his arm raised in an apologetic manner, as if he was repentant for even considering the idea of trying to take the extra base on Cespedes.
It seems wrong to feel so conflicted about a win. Or maybe being 11-1 spoils you, feeling that the victories need to be everywhere and not just on the scoreboard. But let’s not pretend that both teams didn’t have ugly pitching performances. Meanwhile, neither the defense nor baserunning for Milwaukee was particularly impressive. In a sense, the Brewers deserved to lose this game more than the Mets. And lose they did.
Nine games in a row!
Frazier was the hitting star and once again started a DP that would not have been turned last year. Cespedes made two fine plays in left field. The Mets, instead of giving up extra outs, are making plays to get outs. Four relief pitchers seemed excessive in the 8th inning but Callaway is making the right choices. It was a Familia ending.
Gsellman came in and handled the Only Batter he faced—continuing a string of impressive perfomances…. oh…you weren’t impressed???
Mets had lots of opps to really bury this game with another hit or two—Good Win—ya gotta take it!
He retired the immortal Jett Bandy – all hail his greatness.
Wait, Bandy is a lifetime .220 hitter who batted .207 last year in his most trips to the plate. And he’s batting .125 this year. He’s the equivalent of 2015-16 Kevin Plawecki. If Bandy hits like this a few more years, we’ll have to update the line for crappy hitting to “The Bandy Line.”
Did Gsellman get the job done? Yes. Was it impressive? Only if you completely ignore the caliber of hitter at the plate.
Say what you will about the shortcomings of Jett Bandy all you want. It doesn’t change the fact he is a professional baseball player at the MLB level. Fact is, that was a crucial out. Eighth inning, tying and go-ahead runs aboard and previous pitchers struggling. Kudos to Gsellman who once again came through unscathed. Certainly one of the most important outs in the game.
And he got it.
If you think there’s no difference in Jett Bandy and Ryan Braun – they’re both professional baseball players for the Milwaukee Brewers at the MLB level – I don’t know what to say to you.
Really now. I didn’t compare Jett Bandy to Braun or anyone else, which would be nothing more than an exercise in futility. All I said was that he is a pro and in that particular spot, no out should be taken lightly or for granted. Besides, who is to say Braun wouldn’t have whiffed in that spot?
No one can say with any degree of certainty how any at bat is going to play out. That is what makes the game so beautifully perfect. I tip my cap to Gsellman for getting a key out. Doesn’t really make any difference who was at the plate.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if Leiter would have been able to retire the weak-hitting Luis Soho in exactly the same spot in the 2000 WS?
The expected outcome when a righty relief pitcher comes on to face Jett Bandy is an out. If I was writing the Gut Reaction for the Brewers instead of the Mets, the main point would have been what a terrible job Craig Counsell did letting Bandy hit in a key spot against a RHP when he had Eric Thames and his .692 SLG mark on the bench. For Pete’s sake – that point of the game had a LI over 4(!!) – you don’t let a scrub like Bandy hit in the late innings with the game on the line when you have arguably your best hitter ready to come on with the platoon advantage. Would Callaway have let Jose Lobaton hit there if he could have sent up Cespedes with the platoon advantage?
You keep making comparisons that to me make zero sense. You can’t compare Bandy to better hitters simply because he’s in the majors. He’s a backup catcher employed because he’s good defensively and he can hit a little against LHP. To pretend otherwise is a mistake.
And to compare Al Leiter, who had already thrown 141 pitches and was running on fumes, to a rested Gsellman facing his first batter, is silly.
It’s taking things that barely have top of the surface similarity and trying to give them equal weight. It doesn’t pass the smell test.
You pitch to the batter in the batter’s box. He got him out. Success.
You’re completely missing what this discussion is about.
Many of us have questioned Callaway’s bullpen usage and compared it to Collins. However, someone who knows better than us just told to chill out about it:
From Keith Hernandez’ Twitter:
“Here’s to 11-1. Love what Mickey is doing with the bullpen. As promised he is calling on everyone. Last night Gsellman to get a crucial 3rd out in the 8th when he could’ve used Familia for a 4 out save. Terrific. Building confidence in these young players. Love it.”
8:15 AM – Apr 14, 2018
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I guess Keith can be right, because the difference between Collins’ use and Callaway’s is that Callaway doesn’t bring people in three days in a row too often, so he gives them rest. But, I still don’t agree…
Wow. This is the most excited I’ve been about this team since our 2015 playoff run and I’m sure everyone reading this feels that too. I want so badly for this streak to continue, to break the 11-game team record, to pad this nice early cushion, but alas tonight’s game is a tough one. Harvey is the biggest wild card in the rotation, Lugo won’t be available and, even without Yelich, this Brewers lineup can hit. Add to that Chase Anderson is a good pitcher. Lineup is not out yet, but I’d love to see Nimmo bat leadoff and save Bruce to pinch hit in a key spot.
I don’t know if it’s Callaway, the leaders in the clubhouse, or if there is something in the water he is drinking, but the one thing I have been most impressed with thus far in 2018 is the hustle consistently displayed by Cespedes. Last night was another example. He flat-out beat out the ball he hit to third last night, even after looking a little off balance coming out of the box. And it was no means a dribbler or slow roller. He can be one of the fastest players on the club when he wants to be.
Admittedly, I have been critical of his lackadaisical play over the past two seasons, but thus far in 2018, he is looking like a completely different player. Good for him and good for the club. I hope he keeps it up.
He said he wants to MVP this year. Afraid to jinx it. It’s like talking about a no-hitter in progress.
Let’s Go Mets! Best start ever.
Windy and warm, here in the Pacific.
David