Gut Reaction: Rockies 10, Mets 8 (6/20/18)

A back and forth game between the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets tilted in favor of the Rockies, as they defeated the Mets 10-8 for the second straight game.

Seth Lugo, who is usually on his game while on the mound, was not himself against the Rockies. Way too often his bread and butter pitch, the curveball, was left hanging way too open in the strike zone. He was punished for this, lasting only three innings, allowing 6 runs total. Over the past two games combined, Mets starters have only went five innings. Despite his poor start on the evening, I am not worried about Lugo. Everyone has rough starts, and this was just a bump in the road for Lugo.

Another pitcher who is usually sharp for the Mets, Robert Gsellman, had an off night. In his one inning of work, Gsellman allowed a three run home run to Ryan McMahon, which put a dent in his outing. My Gut Reaction however is that Gsellman and Lugo will both bounce back from this rough game, and be fine the next time each of them get into a game.

The offense of the Mets was once again good, but not good enough to capture the victory. Dom Smith had a great game, falling just a home run short of the cycle in going 3-5. In addition to the success that Smith saw, every other position olsyer that was in the lineup registered a hit for the Mets. However, there were a lot of opportunities that the Mets simply didn’t cash in on.

Now that it seems the Colorado air has seemed to ignite the offense of the Mets, they need to learn how to use it better. When Todd Frasier, a guy who is supposed to be one of the main run producers on the team, can’t seem to sniff an RBI, you know that the team has some problems.

The other Mets out of the bullpen, Paul Sewald, Anthony Swarzak, and Jeurys Familia produced mixed results. While Swarzak allowed a home run during his time on the mound, both Familia and Sewald were able to produce clean innings.

The Mets will attempt to exit the mountains of Colorado with a series split, as they take on the Rockies as Steven Matz is set to duel with fellow lefty Kyle Freeland at 3:10 pm on Thursday.