The struggling Mets’ offense put up just one run but because the pitching was both good and lucky, the Mets were able to snap their three-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over the Rockies Friday night at Citi Field.
Kodai Senga had some trouble with walks but the Rockies did next to nothing against him when he threw strikes. He completed six innings for the first time as a Met, although not without some panic from the manager. Senga gave up a soft two-out hit and Jeremy Hefner went to the mound while Drew Smith started to warm up in a hurry. But Senga got a harmless grounder to end the inning.
With the win, Senga went to 4-1 on the year and he lowered his ERA to 3.38 for the season. He threw a season-high 101 pitches. But it was the type of outing where it wouldn’t have been a major issue if he came out for the seventh inning. It’s not a great Rockies lineup but Senga was in control.
Brandon Nimmo broke out of his funk and he supplied the game’s only run with a solo homer in the fourth inning. He later doubled and walked but was left stranded both times. And if that wasn’t enough, Nimmo also made a nice diving catch in the outfield.
But there wasn’t much offense besides Nimmo, as five different Mets took the collar. Starling Marte went 0-4 and now has a .585 OPS. Tomas Nido went 0-3 and he wishes he had Marte’s OPS, as his checks in at a dismal .266 mark. If he had an option left, the Mets should probably demote him at this point. Unfortunately, FanGraphs says he does not.
Smith relieved Senga in the seventh and had an inning without much drama. We couldn’t say that about either David Robertson in the eighth or Adam Ottavino in the ninth. Robertson walked the leadoff man but got the next two batters. Then Nido tried to pick off the runner on first but instead sailed his throw into the outfield. Robertson ended up giving an unofficial intentional walk to the next batter to put the go-ahead run on first base. Next man up for the Rockies hit a rocket but the Mets dodged a bullet as the batted ball hit the runner on first for the final out of the inning.
Ottavino also allowed the leadoff man to reach base, this time via a hard single to right. Ottavino has always been easy to run on and it’s only worse now with the new rules. The runner took off and Nido dropped the ball trying to hurry his throw, which again put the tying run in scoring position. The Rockies sacrificed him to third. But Ottavino picked up a crucial strikeout and then got the final out of the game when a line drive went right to Marte to end the game.
Gut Reaction: pitching, pitching, pitching is the name of the game. Senga pitched a very good game followed by scoreless bullpen of Smith, Robertson and Ottavino. Nimmo provided the offense and the defense. The result was a Met win.
I was very surprised that Vogelbach hit a runner on second base and a LHP on the mound in the 7th.
The next nine games are with Colorado, Cincinnati and Washington. They have an opportunity to make up ground.
Another day of lost offense. 2-3-4 hitting under .250 and Nido hitting less than a friend’s Labrador retriever. We need Narvaez back so we can get rid of Nido. Had he picked off that runner at first we might be willing to stay the course. And dropping the ball on a steal attempt is so AA even if he had no shot to throw the runner out. Guillorme has to go as well. Time to bring up Mauricio and his .353 BA and 1.013 OPS from AAA. Perhaps another answer is a new hitting coach that many have been clamoring for. I’d get Chavez off the bench and put him back in that spot. Megill against Gomber and his 7.57 ERA today. Need to make this 2 in a row.