A night that started out with such electricity ended with a thud as the Reds downed the Mets, 6-2, Friday night at Citi Field.
Whether it was due to the acquisition of Javier Baez earlier in the day, or the return on the black jerseys or the long-awaited debut of Carlos Carrasco – the atmosphere early at Citi Field was tremendous. However, a lot of air went out of the place early, as Carrasco surrendered a home run on his very first pitch as a Met.
But the energy quickly returned as the first four Mets reached base. Brandon Nimmo started off with a single and scored on a double by Jeff McNeil to tie the score. The Mets loaded the bases with no outs and looked to have a big inning in store. But Michael Conforto struck out and Jonathan Villar hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Mets didn’t do much against Sonny Gray after that. Carrasco matched him but was lifted after four innings. And the bullpen didn’t have it tonight, allowing 5 ER in 5 IP, with Miguel Castro taking the loss.
There was one last gasp in the eighth inning, when the Mets had two runners on and one out with the heart of the order coming up. But McNeil popped up and Pete Alonso hit into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
The Reds scored three in the top of the ninth, making another big hit by Brandon Drury – an RBI double as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth a mere side note in the game.
Gut Reaction: Carrasco pitch good and that was a encouraging sign especially with the deGrom news. Banda had rough second inning after a impressive first inning. The acquisition of Baez should move Conforto back batting order to seventh and he should sit against LHP also until he hits better.
It made sense that the Reds would be aggressive right off the bat looking for a first pitch to swing at, and they did it well. Then Carrasco pitched like we thought he would from the start of the season. That was the best news of the night. It can’t be lost on McNeil that he might be losing playing time with the arrival of Baez, and he had a good game on both sides of the ball. Granted, Gray can pitch but we had him on the ropes in the first and as usual failed with RISP. Hoping Baez can be infectious in a good way and that Conforto finds his stroke. Otherwise resigning him for big bucks looks to be a diminishing concept. Unlike 2015 we don’t need to add bench pieces as ours will be as as good as any in MLB once Lindor returns Can we hold off the competition until Jake comes back will decide whether we win the division. Today’s another day LGM