The Mets wasted a good pitching performance by Steven Matz to get shut out for the third time in four games. Matz delivered six innings of one run ball and Paul Sewald and Robert Gsellman kept the Mets in the game, allowing one additional run over three relief innings, but the Mets lineup again looked anemic. Six hits with only one extra base hit (a Jay Bruce double) resulted in yet another goose egg.
Bruce and Asdrubal Cabrera delivered two hits apiece but most of their teammates forgot to bring their bats to this game. Cabrera, who has been the Mets offensive MVP so far this season, is hitting a robust .336. The next highest batting average among the regulars is Todd Frazier‘s .255, followed by Bruce (.245). Yoenis Cespedes (.240), Adrian Gonzalez (.221), and Amed Rosario (.237) are all below where they should be while the struggling Michael Conforto (.187) and the catchers (.139 and .152) have been automatic outs.
Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares have been outperforming the regulars off the bench and Wilmer Flores has shown signs of breaking out. It’s clearly time to shake up the lineup. And waiting for career backup/AAAA prospect Kevin Plawecki to return is not a winning strategy for solving the black hole catching problem. DFA’ing Matt Harvey dominated the headlines this week, but as I blogged a few weeks ago, Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes may need to follow him out the door.