Edwin Diaz came on in the rain to get five outs and close out the win for Jacob deGrom, as the Mets won the game, 4-2, and swept the Diamondbacks Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. It was the fifth-straight win for the Mets, the longest streak this season.
While deGrom gets a rare victory, he left the game early, unable to get loose when coming out in the sixth inning. This was his first start in 10 days, as he missed time with a sore lat. The announcers talked about him reaching behind him in the first inning, an indication that perhaps things weren’t 100% for him. But deGrom was brilliant thru four innings, as he did not allow a hit and struck out five batters on just 39 pitches.
But things fell apart for him in the fifth. He issued three walks and gave up an extra-base hit. He escaped allowing just one run.
Once again, the bullpen came thru for the Mets, allowing just one run in four innings. Miguel Castro worked out of trouble in the sixth, Jacob Barnes cruised through the seventh but struggled in the eighth, necessitating the early call for Diaz. With a runner in scoring position and one out, Diaz hit the first batter he faced. But he got out of the inning with a double play and then fanned the side in the ninth for his fifth save of the year.
The Mets didn’t have a great offensive day but they plated four runs, which has been the magic mark to support their wonderful pitching. The win upped their season record to 14-2 when scoring at least four runs. Monday will be a much-needed day off for the pen. The Mets return to action on Tuesday against the Orioles, when they’ll face John Means, who threw a no-hitter in his last start.
Is it too late to simply observe that Lindor’s and McNeil’s rat/raccoon story was just their way of telling the press to mind their own business? I thought it was a creative and funny way of telling reporters to shove off. What happens in the clubhouse, out of sight of the cameras, should stay in the clubhouse. The NY Press thinks they have a right to know anything that interests them. Apparently, Mets Management thinks so too, but for my money, the players have a right to keep things among themselves private. AGM Scott was wrong not to support his players. I find myself wondering how much his comments reflected President Alderson. Management should have just laughed it off.
Certain people have jobs which revolve around analyzing and dissect every little move related to the team. Why in the world would you expect the press to not ask questions?
If they wanted to keep it private, they made a really really really poor choice of where to do it.
The New York media is famous for being ultra-aggressive, which is partly the reason some good players can’t make it in NY and go on to be very successful elsewhere, think Steve Matz. Only in NY can players having some fun with a prying media become a ‘big’ story. It seems to me that too many reporters can give, but they can’t take. They are the ones keeping this non-story alive.
Gut Reaction: five game winning streak, in first place with just two starters hitting above .700 OPS. The pitching is carrying them. Hope for the hitting to come around.
Gut Reaction: the bullpen has been the glue. Accumulating wins and moving on…
Despite some blemishes and continued struggles on offense, the Mets got some much needed wins against an inferior team staggering on the road. The Mets aren’t the only team with RISP issues. These are the kind of wins that quality contenders grind out while at the same time not overlooking the continuing issues. A lot has changed in baseball but some things never change…when you pitch well you always have a chance to win, and it doesn’t take all that much to win.
I like the part after the ellipses.
Relating to both this and the comment you left on the Hefner story on Sunday – I think it’s a good idea to avoid permanent solutions to temporary problems. Is offense down because pitchers are too good (or hitters are too bad) or is this a giant sequencing problem?
The other day, the Mets were 1-14 with RISP. I just have a hard time believing that the pitchers are dominating if a team comes to bat 14 times with a runner on second and/or third base.
When pitchers were really dominating in 1968 we didn’t see this. I clicked on Bob Gibson and looked for his first 2-1 complete game, which happened on April 26. In that game, the Pirates were 0-2 with RISP and the Cardinals were 0-3.
I feel like I’ve said this in many prior seasons, but it feels like if we can maintain .500 heading into June we’ll be in good shape. The bats are starting to wake up, the weather will warm (eventually) and the pitching staff is going to get a huge jolt as three of our best haven’t taken the mound yet. As frustrating as the rainouts have been, they probably work to our advantage as the games will be made up when this team is hopefully firing on all cylinders. Hope JDG gets to make some of those 7-inning starts in August.
Seems like most teams are experiencing up and downs. The Nats, Braves, Phiilies, Dodgers, and Mets have struggled, and you can bet they will all play better come summer. The key for the Mets is pitching (defense). Their lineup will find a way to score 4-5 runs.
To win a division title, they need to play the good teams tough and beat up on the weaker teams. Losing three to the Cubs was a setback. Sweeping the DBacks almost evens that score. Consistency is the key element.
Batting averages will rise, but McNeil especially has to figure sometime out. What’s his BA on first pitches? I’m getting tired of his hitting harmless fly balls or weak ground balls on first pitches and then berating himself on his way to the dugout… change something, Jeff… maybe take more pitches?
As it was said you need to beat up on the inferior teams. But McNeil, Linder and Conforto simply need to hit. If they hadn’t all started slowly we might have 3-4 more wins. They seem to be coming on now and that is a great sign. Don’t want hover around .500 by June, would like to be 8-10 over and moving ahead of the pack. The Phillies and Braves both have talent and can make a run. Got to love our subs making the most of their playing time. Got to love our eye at the plate and patience in taking those walks. Optimism is back at Citifield.