Jake Hager, Khalil Lee and Johneshwy Fargas all delivered hits in the 12th inning, giving the Mets a three-run lead. They gave back two in the bottom half of the inning but held on for a 6-5 win over the Marlins in the opener of a three-game set in Miami Friday night.
All kind of wild and wacky things happened in the game but let’s focus on the pitching in the late innings. Marcus Stroman started and had some trouble getting untracked but was doing his best pitching in innings 4-5-6. He walked the leadoff batter in the seventh and was yanked by Luis Rojas. Here’s what happened pitching wise after that:
7 – Miguel Castro gives up game-tying homer then strikes out three straight.
8 – Trevor May needed 32 pitches to get thru the inning – thanks to a blown strike call by the ump – but ended up striking out the final batter with the bases loaded.
9 – Jeurys Familia allowed the first two batters to reach base but escaped without allowing a run.
10 – James McCann had a passed ball that put a runner on third base but Edwin Diaz struck out the next two batters.
11 – Again, the Marlins had a runner on third and one out. After a strikeout, the Mets intentionally walked a batter to get to the pitcher. The Marlins had already used everyone in their bullpen, so they sent the pitcher up to hit. He worked a deep count and then hit a ball fairly well, you know, for a pitcher, into the gap that Cameron Maybin was able to track down for the final out.
12 – Aaron Loup relieved Drew Smith but with a three-run lead. Loup gave up consecutive hits and then was bailed out by a double play. With no one on base and a one-run lead, Jacob Barnes came into the game to get the final out.
The Marlins finished 3-17 with runners in scoring position and two of those hits came in the 12th inning. At one point, the Mets had five hits with RISP and only three runs. And one of those runs came on an RBI double with a runner on first and another came on a throwing error. So, the first five hits with RISP plated one run.
But all’s well that ends well and the first-place Mets upped their division record to 12-6 and their overall record to 21-17. It’s really remarkable with the lineup they’re putting out there these days.
One of my personal pet peeves is having a manager that would rather lose with his bullpen than with his starter.
Stroman has pitched in 9 games this year and has yet to throw 100 pitches in the game. And he’s one of the better starters in the league. The babying of SP is freaking annoying. It’s not preventing any injuries and we end up seeing more crappy middle relievers in the long run, yet any halfway decent starter is better tired than a fresh middle reliever. Let starters be starters again!
It is amazing what our third stringers have done out there with 5 starters on the IL, not including most of our starting rotation. Playing in the NL “Least” has its advantages and despite our inability to drive in runs, the starters who are not injured not getting hits, and often needing several relievers to throw on consecutive days, we miraculously still sit in fist place. Stroman has certainly done his part and the cavalry is on the way as Jake looks ready to return and Thor is a months time or less away from standing on the bump. No clue on the return of the walking wounded position players, whose fallen now included Alonso. Kudos to the organization for stocking the bench with players able to step into an MLB lineup and contribute. What an upgrade from last year. Can’t help but be optimistic that we can eek out a division title and by then no one will have as strong a rotation as us.
I feel the same as Name above. Stroman is a ML starting pitcher, which means he knows how to pitch, get people out. This was a prime example of a pitcher getting stronger with more innings… let him work around a baserunner and get through the 7th, at least! Knowing the weekend was a stretch on the bullpen anyway, this was a very stupid move by Rojas.
The Mets bullpen run of magical thinking is over. They will give up runs. Castro had Cooper beat, then threw the wrong pitch. Still, he has the nastiest stuff and should be left for the highest leverage situations… set up man, since he seems better than May. Loup is an imposter… sure wish we kept Justin Wilson.
Really gotta hope Gsellman can go 5 or 6 today. Reid-Foley, too. Yamamoto can become a folk hero with a good outing. Love the new OF…
Gut Reaction: clutch hitting going 7-14 RISP. Lee, Fargas and Lindor came through.
I was surprised that Rojas pulled Stroman with 89 pitches and a 3-1 lead because thy are scheduled for 17 games in a row. He should have tried to lengthen the outing not shorten it. The bullpen is showing some fatigue. They increased their lead in first place night and positioned themselves to take the series.
BTW I favor the extra inning rule. The lends tension, excitement and strategy to the game.