It’s about time.
Jacob deGrom pitched wonderfully, again, but it looked like he was going to suffer another painful loss, this time to the one-two punch of no run support combined with bad defense. But the offense bailed him out in the top of the seventh inning and the Mets earned a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Rockies in the first game of a doubleheader.
Even besides the result – a deGrom win! – it was just a weird night overall for the Mets ace. He seemed to struggle at the very beginning, showing neither the velocity nor the command that we’ve come to expect. But then he righted the ship in the most remarkable way. In an effort that brought up 51-year-old memories, deGrom struck out nine straight Rockies and looked in complete control of the game.
While deGrom was back in a groove, the Mets did their typical job of not giving him much to work with, as their only run came on a single by Pete Alonso, which drove in deGrom in the third inning.
Then the roof caved in on deGrom in the fifth. The strikeout streak was snapped on a ball hit back thru the box. It got past the pitcher but Jeff McNeil was there to field it. However, McNeil temporarily lost his footing, which led to a throwing error and a man on base. Next batter up hit a triple and the game was tied.
The Rockies took the lead on a sacrifice fly to shallow right field, one that really shouldn’t have been deep enough to score a run. Again, a stumble led to a poor throw, this one up the first base line that made James McCann have to lunge forward and then dive back to the plate to attempt a tag. Without McNeil’s earlier error, the catch would have been the third out of the inning. Even so, Michael Conforto deserves some scorn for the throw. Imagine the disgust if that same exact throw came from the center fielder…
A frustrated deGrom then allowed a homer to light hitting Raimel Tapia to make it 3-1.
The Mets battled back to cut the deficit in half with a solo homer by Alonso in the sixth. Old baseball lingo is to describe a hard-hit line drive as a “frozen rope,” and while it may not have been freezing in the sixth inning of the first game, it was probably not far from 32 degrees at the time. And the ball sure got out in a hurry since it didn’t waste much time going up.
In their final turn at bat, the Mets strung together four straight hits to take the lead. Jonathan Villar, pinch-hitting for deGrom, tied the game with an RBI double. Francisco Lindor put the Mets ahead with an RBI single. Unfortunately, despite there being no outs, two men on base and the heart of the order coming up, the Mets were unable to tack on any more runs.
But Edwin Diaz made the lead hold up, as he struck out the side in the seventh. The Rockies struck out 17 times in a seven-inning game. That may not be a record but it sure was impressive. Even more incredible is that the Mets snatched a victory for deGrom when it looked like a done deal that he was going to end up with another hard-luck loss.
Allegedly there was a second game but if you looked at the box score none of the pitchers looked like they were on the Mets. Sure, Robert Gsellman made an appearance but that must’ve been a Triple-A outing, as surely, he didn’t make the roster this year.
Joey Lucchesi gave up three runs in the first inning. The Mets rallied in the fourth, with a two-run double by McNeil. But any thoughts of a comeback went out the window in the fifth inning when the Rockies tagged Jacob Barnes for four runs. Perhaps Barnes deserved a better fate. He induced what could have been an inning-ending double play that instead went for a cheap hit against a shifted defense.
But Barnes has no one to blame but himself for allowing a three-run homer later in the inning.
One last note – it seems a little curious that after all of the talk about using an opener and then having Lucchesi come on and provide the bulk innings in the middle – it seemed strange that the Mets opted to use him as a starter. Was all of the talk just that – talk – or did Coors Field influence the decision in some way?
Gut Reaction Game #1: Baseball is unpredictable. deGrom strikes out 9 batters in a row and then he gave up a triple and a homerrun.
Another clutch pinch hit by Villar but the difference in the game was pinch running Almora for McCann. Nice substitutions.
Future Reaction Game #2: What is the strategy for bullpen?
Lucchesi dug himself a hole and then put up two scoreless innings on 57 pitches. He was pulled with the score 3-2 with the Rockies bottom of the order due up. Why Gsellman instead of Castro or Loup who were rested? Why not Lucchesi? Gsellman does good and in a 2-3 game Barnes comes on. The situation called for a better pitcher.
Yet in a 5-1 victory earlier, the closer is burned in a non save situation.
I don’t envy Rojas here. You have to find work for 8 relievers when the starters are generally pitching well and you’ve got a ton of postponements. Not saying he’s made all of the right moves but this is pretty close to a no-win situation. Gsellman hadn’t pitched at all and Barnes had 1 IP. Guys need work.
4/6 used Castro in 7th winning 6-1, May in the 8th winning 6-2 and Familia in the 9th winning 8-2
4/14 used Diaz in the 9th winning 5-1
There were better opportunities than yesterday to get second tier relievers in to a game. Bullpen management is very difficult and separates a good manager from the average manager. This is just an observation not an indictment that Rojas is not doing his job. Just maybe he painted himself into this a no win situation.
My issue with Rojas: winning the game is priority one. Getting guys work is down the priority list. Guys get work when any game is out of hand… up or down, but not when the game hangs in the balance. Barnes might be done.
Almora’s dash was impressive, as was DiCarcina not screwing it up… perfect slide home.
Conforto’s throw was complete incompetence. Ideally condition, short throw coming in, slow runner at third… embarrassing result… DeGrom was visibly upset… still, I wanted to see a changeup to a few hitters with two strikes… there were almost none. Conforto needs something… maybe electroshock… start playing loose and let his talent unfold.
Also, how about not broadcasting the “opener” strategy. Start Gsellman, they load up on lefties and then bring in Lucchese. Very good strategy if you have a tough lefty who can go 5 innings… unless you give it away and they temper their lineup… kind of defeats the intent, no?