Brandon Nimmo hit two home runs to power the Mets to a 4-3 win over the Braves Friday night in Atlanta. With the Braves already clinching the NL East, several stars did not play in this game, including Freddie Freeman.
Nimmo had just 12 XBH in his first 184 ABs after being activated from the IL with a finger injury. But since the beginning of September, Nimmo has 8 XBH in 61 ABs. Pete Alonso did not homer but he had three hits, including a double. Those two will go down to the wire to see who has the best OPS and OPS+ for players who have been on the team all season.
Tylor Megill bounced back with another strong effort against the Braves, pulled after five scoreless innings. In four starts against the Braves this year, Megill has allowed 6 ER in 19.2 IP for a 2.75 ERA. Against the rest of the teams he’s faced, Megill has allowed 39 ER in 70 IP for a 5.01 ERA.
Jeurys Familia was one of three relievers who gave up a run tonight. We used to joke about how Terry Collins had a clause in his contract that paid him for each pitching change he made. Rojas must be getting paid by how often he uses Familia down the stretch. Since September 2, Familia has made 15 appearances. In that span, he’s allowed 7 ER in 11.2 IP for a 5.63 ERA. He’s also allowed 2 UER. Yes, by all means, let’s pitch this guy every other day.
Edwin Diaz pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two strikeouts to earn his 32nd save of the year.
The most surprising thing for me tonight was the starting lineup. Dominic Smith starting? Wow. I mean this was his second start in three nights after starting just once in three weeks! Pinch hitting every night however. That was uncalled for, and baseless. It isntSmith’s fault this team sucked; he’s just one of the reasons.
Great job by Megill tonight. Rojas said in the postgame presser that the gun in Atlanta had Megill at 98. Corrasco tomorrow and Syndergaard Sunday, rather than Stroman who pitched Tuesday and Sunday is the fifth day. That’s messed up.
Gut Reaction: there was an October spell brewing in Atlanta last night. Nimmo hit like Alonso, Alonso hit like Nimmo and Megill pitched like deGrom. Famila broke the spell and pitched like Famila.
It’s obvious to me that Megill has ML stuff. He has that heavy fastball which hitters can’t square up early in the count… not unlike Zach Wheeler. Both can throw strike one over the plate with relative impunity and get ahead of hitters. I really like Megill for next year… I expect an extremely promising future for him… like 200 innings for years… a quiet star.
I also like David Peterson, but he’s no sure thing. Too many things have to go right for him to have a great day, and he’s certainly more thin-skinned than Megill, who seems totally unperturbed out there in the circle with a bump.
Now let’s get a manager that lets the horse run! I am soooo tired of watching Rojas run through his bullpen every single night. A ballgame ain’t a ballgame unless we use five relievers…
I’ve commented on this before, but everything the Mets should be doing for the last two weeks should be targeting the future. They should have tanked. By winning, they are getting a worse position in next year’s draft. Worse yet, they cannot protect their first round pick if they sign a free agent who turned down a qualifying offer. Perhaps they could have brought up some AAA players to see how they’d perform and given how little respect they get, one could hope they’d perform just well enough to lose. I know it sounds harsh, but we need significant improvement if the Mets are going to be a perennial contender. Winning meaningless games isn’t going to promote that.
Teams should never tank. Sets a bad precedent, smacks of being too clever, and usually backfires. If your team is that bad, you will probably lose anyway, and good athletes are not built to try to lose. It’s just all wrong.
That said, it seems foolish tp play lame ducks on the roster. Play the youth, indeed.