The Mets were finally able to produce offense off of Brave’s starter Julio Teheran, as the defeated him and the Braves 4-1.
For the first time all season, I found myself saying “I want more Jason Vargas!”
Vargas pitched a solid five innings against the Braves, giving up no runs and only two hits and a walk. Against the stout Braves lineup, it was impressive to see this kind of success from Vargas. It was after his fifth inning that Mickey Callaway made one of his more head-scratching decisions of the season. Although Vargas was only at 65 pitches, Calloway decided to yank him anyway. This was a questionable call on multiple levels.
On one level, this bullpen has had to run on fumes as of late. By pulling Vargas unnecessarily early, Callaway put a strain on his bullpen that just didn’t need to happen. To add onto the bullpen perspective of the decision, the bullpen has not exactly been hot as of late. Vargas was pitching seamlessly, yet Callaway put the game in danger by throwing the bullpen into the mix. How was Callaway rewarded for his decision? Tim Peterson allowed a home run during his stint in relief.
I’m sure no one needs to be reminded that Vargas has been far from the best pitcher on the staff so far this season. His start tonight was not only encouraging to the fans watching at home, but possibly to Vargas as well. Being pulled so early shows the complete lack of trust that exists between the two of them. Luckily, all worked out for the Mets. Some of the help came from a dynamic evening from Amed Rosario.
The player of the game for the Mets tonight was Rosario. He had a terrific night at the plate, flashing his speed with a triple and a double to get into scoring position. In the field, he made a diving stop to start a double plat to help out Jeurys Familia in the bottom of the eighth inning, with runners on the corners. My Gut Reaction is that we saw the true potential of what Rosario could be in tonight’s game.
Brandon Nimmo had another great night at the plate, drawing his normal walk while also picking up two hits and an RBI. Jose Bautista, Jay Bruce, Adrian Gonzalez, and Vargas also struck hits for the Mets. One of Gonzalez’s hits was a home run.
The Mets were able to leave Atlanta with a split of the four game series. Following the win, they improve to 27-26 on the season. On Thursday, Seth Lugo will start against Jose Quintana as the Cubs come to Citi Field at 7:10 pm.
I’ve given Mickey crap about his managing, but he managed a great game today. lmost as brilliant as that game saving defensive play Rosario made. I wanted Familia to be used exactly like he was today in the deGrom game and today Mickey stepped up. I did have issues in the moment of not having Vargas pitch another inning but on three days rest and facing the order a third time thru I understand why not. How great had Rosario been on the trip? He’s killing the ball and has even walked a few times and stolen bases, the whole package is coming around.
Brandon Nimmo is a joy to watch and is becoming a star. Brandon has an incredible eye, is a great baserunner and has good pop and plays good defense and his joy for the game is refreshing. He is so much better than Bruce and it’s frustrating that Sandy blocked his path by re-signing a one dimensional player like Bruce, who no longer has power. You know if he’s back on the bench when Ces returns I’ll be beyond angry as I’d sit Gonzalez and play Bruce at first and Nimmo in RF. Nimmo is an elite leadoff hitter and some thought he was a bust and he’s proven them all wrong. Heck, I thought he was a 4th outfielder a year ago and I’m happily proven wrong.
Great game and yeah a split would have looked good four days ago but they should have swept the series.
I too was scratching my head when he lifted Vargas. Whether he did it because of the 3 day rest or he didn’t want to spoil an outstanding effort, it worked. I can’t imagine the fan reaction if Vargas got lit up in the 6th.
I would love to see Nimmo get more playing time also although I wouldn’t do it solely at Gonzalez’s expense. He’s already sharing first with Wilmer. Let Bruce sit a lot more until he shows something. Bruce has shown nothing this year whether it’s lack of run production or warning track power. Gonzo has been clutch.
To follow David’s and Michael’s commmets, it’s my feeling Gonzalez has passed Bruce in the “trust” totem pole, and Bautista has really done well and looks spry. Bruce looks pudgy and plays like a guy that got his contract, and as I said last year, Bruce has had good years only at contract time. To his credit, Bruce has said that he will do whatever the club asks him to and will be ready whenever they call on him. Nice words.
Peterson came in against the top of the order and did a nice job overall. Welcome kid.
Nimmo and AGone with clutch run scoring hits, and I also must commend Callaway for smart usage tonight of the few bullets he had in the bullpen.
Lugo tomorrow: If he struggles any, throw a Puerto Rican jersey on him. Just kidding, because I’m confident and excited.
Give the amount of concern, criticism, and pessimism in recent weeks, as posted by me (and others), I’ll compliment the team on a nice win last night. Vargas stepped up (although tiring), and the team made clutch plays when it counted. Kudos to Amed Rosario, despite his error, with an excellent defensive play and some continued offensive production. Hopefully he builds on this and garners some expanded confidence.
I agree with Gus regarding AGon/Bruce, and have been thinking the same for a couple of weeks. AGon, while not tearing it up, has been a pleasant surprise. His calm, cool, and professional demeanor is a benefit to the team. By the end of the year, Bruce may outproduce him, but as of now the opposite has occurred, and defensively he is the superior first baseman. Bruce’s playing time may be in serious jeopardy, especially when (if) Cespedes returns and Joey Bats continues to look good both at the plate and in the field.
Despite brutal offensive stretches, the pitching, or lack thereof, continues to be my biggest concern for the balance of 2018 and beyond.