Which one was more unlikely – a 2-1 game in Colorado or the Mets ending a game with a caught stealing? Both things happened Sunday afternoon in Denver as the Mets edged the Rockies to claim the series win.
Marcus Stroman was terrific, as he allowed just 1 ER in 8 IP and if not for a stressful inning in the seventh, he might have been able to pitch a complete game. But it was his third straight impressive start and he sits with a 3-0 record with a 0.89 ERA after 20 IP this season.
Stroman also gave a highlight-reel, or perhaps blooper-reel defensive play, as he got off the mound quickly to field a ball and then got rid of it immediately. Unfortunately, he was back pedaling when he threw it and the ball went fell to the ground before going very far. After what seemed like 10 bounces, it reached first base just in time for the out.
The Mets opened the second inning with a single by Pete Alonso and a double by Michael Conforto. Jeff McNeil grounded out to score a run but it was the only one they got from that great beginning. J.D. Davis had an RBI single in the fourth to make it 2-0.
Meanwhile, Stroman was cruising. Midway through the game it appeared he could go the distance and perhaps not even break 90 pitches. But then that dream fell apart in the seventh inning. After the Rockies scored a run, Stroman finished the inning with two strikeouts.
Brandon Nimmo was hitless until the eighth inning when he lined a ball back to the pitcher, who knocked it down but was unable to get to it in time to make an out. Nimmo proceeded to steal second base but was left stranded by the next three hitters. Another scoring chance in the ninth was wiped out on the bases, when McNeil was thrown out trying to stretch a hit into a triple.
The Rockies tried a stolen base of their own in the bottom of the ninth but James McCann threw a strike to end the game, helping Edwin Diaz to his second save and the Mets to their seventh win in 11 games.
The Rockies starter today was very good also, but the Mets merely took the runs the Rockies gave them and that was enough. With second and third and no outs, a grounder by McNeil to second base got a run home and moved the other guy to third. Great job! Now it was Davis’ turn to simply get the ball over a drawn in infield for the second run, and he failed. The Rockies though gave that run to the Mets later on with some lazy defensive play by first baseman CJ Cron not getting his glove down to field a grounder and on this day it was good enough for a “W”. Execution separates good teams from bad, e v e r y time.
The Mets are 4-0 in one run games. That’s nice. They need to not beat themselves in this situation. By contrast, last year they were 6-11, while Atlanta was 11-6 and Miami was 11-8.
Early on, there are several Mets struggling: Conforto has 0 barrels on the year and a 53% ground ball rate. McNeil is usually well over .300 against fastballs, but this year so far he is at .158. My point is they are surviving well despite the hitters having lost their timing in the wake of the early cancellations, and that will help them gain strong foothold once the hitting gets going.
The starting pitching depth accumulated will be key as teams have suffered big losses to starters like Corbin, Strasbourg, Fried, and Sirotka. JdG, Stroman, and Walker have been great, but clutch hitting would be nice too. On to Chicago.
In another post, I criticized Rojas for not starting Guillorme against the RH in a game they have to win to challenge for the division. They simply have to win every series against the lower teams. Against a quality RH, it seems JDDavis was a poor choice. Oh, I know the argument that players need to play to get their games going, but Guillorme had not started a game in Colorado, had generally produced when he was in there, and supports Stroman’s ground ball proficiency better.
I continue to feel that winning is the number one priority every day. If the Mets lose that game by a run, JD’s failure would have loomed much larger, and Rojas would have had to explain… winning has a way of mitigating questionable moves, and certainly not every move from a manager will be perfect…
The platoon at 3B will continue to cause irritation to half of us, but I think it could be a boon if each player gets good swings at hittable pitchers.
As a Met versus RHP:
JD Davis — 454 PA, .290/.368/.475, 128 wRC+
Guillorme – 188 PA, .277/.377/.365, 110 wRC+
I like Guillorme and I want him to get some playing time. But the idea that he should be an automatic start whenever a RHP is on the mound is one I simply can’t get behind.
The Stroman play was terrific. Diaz in the 9th was another nail-biter.
Hard to argue with Bryan’s numbers. And I really like JD.
Mets can take advantage of an otherwise compromised situation at 3B… means Rojas needs to make some instinctual, gut choices continually throughout the year. We’ll see.
One of the key numbers I’ll be looking at: Do the Mets win the rubber games (Sunday) of series. With about 50 series in the season, winning 35 of them puts the team up 20 games over .500… about 90 wins…
Gut Reaction: The times they are a changing.
The a past, the Rockie would have been safe at second and followed by a dink RBI single. Then a next batter would get a extra base hit or homerun and the game would be over. Thank you Mr McCann.
The Mets are in first place . They are not hitting but they are pitching. Remember this when Stroman and Syndergaard contracts are negotiated. It starts with pitching.