If Hollywood came up with this storyline in a Kevin Costner movie, baseball fans would have rolled their eyes. But it happened – it really did. The Mets had leads of 6-3, 9-5 and 10-7 and couldn’t hold them. They had the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning and couldn’t push home an insurance run. And they ended up on the very wrong end of a 13-10 score in extra innings against the Braves, getting swept for the second straight series.
Brandon Nimmo hit a grand slam. Francisco Alvarez hit two homers. Starling Marte had three singles. They scored 10 runs on 14 hits and 5 walks. And it wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t enough because of an absolutely putrid pitching performance by seven different pitchers. You can say that Brooks Raley didn’t give up a run and shouldn’t be lumped in with the others. But he faced two lefties and gave up hits to both of them, not exactly what he’s here to do.
But Justin Verlander has to take the biggest blame. He gave up five runs and needed 82 pitches to throw just three innings. On a night where the Mets needed Verlander to be an ace even more than normal, he failed spectacularly. He can no longer be given a free pass for missing all of April. This was his seventh start and this type of performance is completely unacceptable.
The Mets travel to Pittsburgh next but geography aside, it’s hard to say where the team goes from here.
My opinion is that there needs to be an outburst. Maybe Steve Cohen can pay Bobby Bonilla extra if he comes to the clubhouse and threatens to show the entire pitching staff the Bronx. Maybe Buck Showalter can channel Billy Martin and call his star player a born liar and his boss a convicted one. Perhaps Steve Gelbs can finally be useful and sucker punch Drew Smith. Show some heart, show some soul. Act like these results hurt you to your core.
Everyone wants the club to make moves but there are no player transactions available to help this malaise. And for everyone lamenting Daniel Vogelbach and his passivity, a bases loaded walk in the ninth sure would have helped. Instead, Mark Vientos struck out, part of an 0-5 night that saw his AVG fall to .163, and even worse, a .422 OPS.
*****
It was incredible how many hard-hit balls there were in this game, one that had two pretty good starting pitchers in Verlander and Spencer Strider. A ball with an exit velocity of at least 95 mph is consider a hard-hit ball. There were 34 balls hit hard enough to reach this threshold, including 24 that registered over 100 mph. By comparison, in Wednesday’s game there were 15 balls with a triple-digit exit velocity and Tuesday it was 12.
Gut Reaction: if they can’t rely on their starting pitching then it is going to be a long year. Verlander wasn’t reliable. They’re starting pitching is comprised of middle of the rotation starters and back of the rotation starters. That combination stressing the bullpen, which wasn’t too deep anyway. All three games, the offense scored more than four runs and usually the Mets win these games.
Somehow they have to regroup quickly but the problems are paramount and the solutions aren’t readily available. Right now, it is a gut check.
This is on Eppler. Cohen’s head probably exploded after last night’s debacle. I hope Vientos doesn’t turn out to be a nice AAA player. This team is stuck in the mud, so let’s bring up Mauricio.
Now, let’s get to the pitching. Next year Scherzer and Verlander will be a year older. The year after that, they are gone. The biggest gaff is not drafting enough pitching. Parada may be a nice player, but did they really have to draft a catcher. Ayyye
We need Ohtani and not for a trade, as a free agent.
How did it become acceptable for a starting pitcher to pitch 3 innings? It is a disgrace. Pitchers should be able to pitch at least 5 to 6 solid baseball innings. The Mets aren’t going to win unless this happens. No team will have success without solid pitching. It is one of the most important things in baseball
Absolutely no one says or even thinks it’s acceptable.
Bring up Mauricio – Vientos will have an extended opportunity to make an impression if/when Alonso goes on the injured list.
Good chance the Bravos actually did the Mets a favor. The gap in class between these teams is very wide. Even if the Mets recover and close the gap, I wouldn’t trust them to succeed late. They need to avoid parting with any legit prospects at the deadline. Seeing themselves aaa World Series contender this season is entering the pipe dream phase. They should take actions now to think in terms of sustainable winning after 2023.
It’s depressing with how the Mets are playing.
Yet I don’t see the gap between the Mets and Braves being that large. They were in all three games, they led all three games. This isn’t like in 2017 when they went 0-7 against the Dodgers and were outscored 57-15. That was a talent gap.
I’m not sure what this is. It might very well be hopeless – it certainly feels that way, right this moment. But I’m not throwing in the towel and conceding anything today.
I agree with you TJ. This feels like a transition year, but anything can happen. What I do want are for the rookies including Mauricio to get extended playing time. Scherzer and Verlander have not lived up to billing. We need pitching pitching and more pitching. I am reading about the Mets interest in Alexis Diaz. What we really need more than anything in the offseason is Ohtani. He fills two needs. It may be time to jettison alot of players and shake up the roster. What pitcher could we get for McNeil. I like Jeff, but he is not pulling the ball and putting in the air. Maybe we could get someone to take Scherzer or Verlander off our hands. I am open to all options. Eppler should be on the hot seat.