Carlos Carrasco continued the quality efforts from a Mets starting pitcher, as he struck out nine in 6.2 IP, helping the Mets to a 6-2 win over the Reds Tuesday night at Citi Field. In the last 16 games, the Mets are 14-2.
Francisco Lindor got the Mets on the board first with a two-run homer in the third inning, his 20th blast of the season. Jeff McNeil added a solo shot in the fourth inning, a 410-foot shot off a lefty. McNeil also added an RBI single in the sixth to put the Mets up, 4-0.
Carrasco ran out of gas in the seventh inning and gave up a two-run homer. Buck Showalter gave Carrasco a chance to finish the frame but he gave up a single to a guy he struck out in all three previous at-bats, putting two runners on and prompting Showalter to go to the pen.
Mychal Givens ended the seventh with a strikeout. Trevor May came on in the eighth inning and loaded the bases but got out without allowing a run, looking like he spent serious time on the treadmill after his 29-pitch outing.
As shaky as May looked in the eighth inning, Lugo looked just as good in the ninth, continuing his season-long streak of doing great when he starts an inning.
The win clinched the series for the Mets. They go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon in a 1:00 p.m. start, with Taijuan Walker looking to rebound from his last outing, the only time since the break a Mets starter didn’t complete at least five innings.
A sweep would say a lot about us in finishing the job. Expect Walker to return to form. McNeil is having such a good season that he bats behind Alonso so that Pete gets better pitches to hit. Ruf cemented the game on the offensive side and did a good job handling throws at first. Another nice pickup and a team player. You still have to hold your breath with May but he got out of the jam. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
I’m very glad to see Lugo doing well.
To my eyes, it’s 100% more that he’s *extremely* well-rested, rather than the situation he inherits. The arm doesn’t bounce back.
It is baseball, after all, and he’s a relief pitcher. Sometimes you need to get a guy out. It’s kind of the job.
Sometimes the game hangs in the balance, two runners on, two outs, 7th inning.
But to the extent the Mets can coddle him, I think his excellence when extremely well-rested is worth the extra tender loving care.
Again: It’s about how he pitches, all the endless emphasis (and condescension) on managerial decisions misses the reality.
Let me state one thing here at the top, leaving no room for ambiguity, that perhaps can address a concern of yours. What you think of as condescension is nothing of the sort.
If the manager does 98 things out of 100 right and you mention one thing he does wrong – that by itself is not condescension. I’ve bent over backwards praising Buck Showalter for a number of things – far, far, far more praise than all of the managers that preceded him in this blog’s tenure. Since you don’t read every article every day, perhaps you missed that. Or maybe the one with the condescension issue is you in that the only time you comment is to pretend you know everything about everything and come out with guns a blazing against every perceived slight to your baseball view.
Hey, opinions are good. And voicing them is what makes writing the blog worthwhile. I encourage opinions from myself, the writers and the commenters. The more diverse the opinions in all three facets, the better, so long as they are backed up with facts. And the facts are that Lugo does best when used in the way that I’ve advocated. That shouldn’t offend you to the degree that it apparently does.
Oh, and holy crap: Dom’s comments about not being happy.
Good riddance.
It was like watching a combination of Tony Fernandez & Richie Hebner all season long.
The blame game.
Gut Reaction: The Mets just took care of business against the Reds.
Since the beginning of July, Carrasco has pitched 6 plus innings each game but one. He has been rewarded with a 13-4 record.
Lindor, in the second half, has a 1.076 OPS and McNeil has a .923 OPS.
Ruf had the clutch hit with two outs. He has 5 RBI’s in 5 games as a Met. Who let the dogs out?
Let’s sweep this afternoon. LGM
In my never ending defense of even the scrubs on the Mets, I need to disagree with Jimmy. During the radio broadcast last night, Howie Rose referenced an article that Anthony DiComo wrote on Dom Smith on mlb.com. In the article Smith says that coming out of spring training hitting .424 and then sitting the first three games and four of six while Cano and Alonso played everyday, messed with his head and he just wasn’t happy and couldn’t focus after that. It’s a shame he couldn’t be mentally tougher, but it’s also a shame the Mets commitment to giving all sorts of rope to Cano was at the expense of better performers.
Smith will be traded this winter for a bag of used golf balls to Boston so we will get to hear his name alot. Wish him well because I believe he has talent but the cupboard is now full.