Maybe the Mets were just destined to lose today.
Still, one can’t but help to think that the pitching moves made by Luis Rojas played a big part in this defeat, a 7-3 setback to the Padres, who avoided getting swept with the victory.
Joey Lucchesi, who they keep on a tighter leash than Jacob deGrom, was the starter and after giving up a leadoff homer to Tommy Pham, Lucchesi settled in and gave a solid effort. Yes, there were a couple of more hard-hit balls in the first inning but no more damage was done and from there it was mostly smooth sailing.
In the second inning Lucchesi gave up a walk and in the fourth inning he allowed a single. But otherwise it was nothing but outs, including strikeouts of the last four batters he faced. He looked in complete command at the end of the fifth inning, having thrown 73 pitches.
The Mets took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Jose Peraza. Lucchesi was the next hitter and Rojas opted to pinch-hit for him. This despite the fact that Lucchesi was in a groove on the mound. Additionally, the Mets had just a two-man bench in this game, as Jonathan Villar was away attending to a personal matter and Billy McKinney was out with a sore knee.
The answer will be that they don’t like Lucchesi facing a lineup the third time. But that shows nothing but a CYA approach to managing, no different than automatically bringing in a lefty reliever to face a lefty batter, no matter how good the reliever is against LHB or how the batter hits southpaws.
It’s a tone-deaf move, designed to avoid criticism and completely disregarding the circumstances of the current game.
Removing Lucchesi before he faces a lineup a third time might be the correct move eight times out of 10. But this was not one of the eight.
Jeurys Familia came on to pitch the sixth inning. And as Metsense put it, he had a familiar Familia inning – putting two runners on but escaping any damage.
And then, quite inexplicably, Rojas asked for another inning from Familia. While there were three pitchers who had gone back-to-back days, the Mets had five relievers available who hadn’t pitched in at least three days. Why he felt the need to get a second inning from Familia in this spot just made zero sense.
Again, Familia put two runners on base. But it seemed he was going to get out of it, as he picked up two outs and had two strikes on Jurickson Profar. But they fell in love with throwing Profar sliders and the end result was a walk to load the bases. Pham drew a walk, too, that tied the game and ended Familia’s day. And Rojas painted himself into a corner, forced to use Jacob Barnes against Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bases loaded.
And then Barnes was the recipient of a bad call. A 1-1 pitch that certainly appeared to be a strike was called a ball, putting Tatis in the driver’s seat. And he responded with a grand slam to seal the outcome.
The Mets ended up using Familia, Barnes and Smith in the game, with Smith pitching two innings. If you were set on using a reliever for two innings to relieve Lucchesi, why would you go with Familia? In 21 appearances before today, Familia had gone more than three outs just one time. Meanwhile, Smith had gone longer than an inning in four of his eight appearances before today, including two innings in his last outing on 6/8 against Baltimore.
And for the final kick in the pants, the Mets needed a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and had to use Robert Gsellman.
Yes I’m piling on to what Brian had stated so eloquently…. Luis Rojas is anything but a “manager of the year” candidate; as some in the sports media establishment wish to crown him. Again;
A) Never put Diaz in a game where he can’t earn a save;
B) Never use Familia for more then one inning;
C) Stop pulling starting pitchers from a game when they are on a roll, no matter what their pedigree is.
Oh, and while I’m in a ranting mood; why is Barnes still on the team?
So, I don’t really want to pile on, and I’ll also say I am generally very pleased with Rojas, but…he did not have a good game today. Taking all factors into consideration – less of a pen due to several guys unavailable, a brutal stretch of games upcoming and many innings to fill, how well Lucchesi was throwing, and evidently Lucchesi having gas in the tank, sending him out for the 6th was almost an obvious choice. Ok, he went text book. But, as Brian said, sending Familia out after his Houdini act in the 6th was just an egregious error. These is simply no excuse for it. They may well have lost anyhow, but this in not Luis’s first rodeo and it is not his first egregious mistake. I can’t think of any rational argument for sending Familia back out there. This type of call makes it very difficult to have confidence in the manager.
Regarding Familia, personally I have had a lot of patience with him, which matters to no one, but the team has as well. While he has given up a lot of hits that have found holes, and hasn’t given up a HR yet, his walks per inning are brutal, have been brutal for several years, and show no signs of improving. He really needs to be used as a mop up guy and not brought in to one run games. Frankly, his Met tenure could be in jeopardy as they can’t afford his wildness, and they also can’t afford Barnes’ gopher balls. After this run of 33 games in 31 days, these guys could be gone.
Gut Reaction: Lucchesi step up for the third game in a row that he has pitched in and four of his five previous games. In two of the games he was cruising. He has jumped ahead of Peterson as the 4th starter.
Why is Barnes ahead of Drew Smith on Rojas’ depth chart? For that matter, why isn’t Reid-Foley not in the majors instead Barnes? Barnes now has a 3.0 HR/9 and that should be unacceptable.
Footballhead sums it up nicely and Brian and TJ make valid points also.
In discussing today’s game with my buddy from New York, we both agreed that Rojas blew that lead and he has a major problem sensing the pulse of the pitcher. That is a weakness and we can’t expect that to change. The Mets may have eventually lost, but the manager’s job is to make sure he isn’t the reason they lose.
After Familia walked Profar in a very grueling at bat, the WPIX boys were explaining to us how Tommy Pham doesn’t chase. So, you have a tired pitcher with bad control to begin with, who just walked a guy and is on fumes, pitching to a guy that doesn’t chase? And if the PIX boys knew that, why didn’t the dugout boys? So, he walked Pham and I just shut it off. I missed the granny and Barnes’ incredible success that Jeremy Hefner is still waiting for, while Reid-Foley just keeps getting outs in upstate New York and did in downstate, too.
Y’all said the rest, no sense repeating… This is the hand the Mets are dealt: If the manual given to Rojas prior to the game by the higher ups works out, they win. If not, they lose. But, the team is tight, so Rojas gets some deserved love there.
Totally correct all around. Rojas continually continually undervalues the starting pitchers with gas in the tank. Let them go an extra inning, conserve the bullpen, and win more games. This was a winnable game and would have been a nice sweep going into the Cubs series. I hope Peterson is up to the task.