3 Up
1. Magnificent Matz
Steven Matz was sharp yet again in the series opener on Monday night, pitching six strong innings and allowing just six hits and two runs. Matz is now 5-1 on the year, and since he surrendered seven runs in 1 2/3 innings in his first outing of the year, Matz is 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA. Only Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta are ahead of Steven in that category. Matz also did some damage with his bat, hitting a double down the third base line and driving in a run in the top of the 6th inning. In 12 career starts for the 24 year old Matz, he is now 9-1 with a 2.56 ERA.
2. Thor Dropped the Hammer…Twice
We all know what Noah Syndergaard is capable of with his powerful right arm, but on Wednesday night he also showed what he can do with that bat. Not only was Noah solid on the mound, going eight strong innings while allowing just two solo home runs and striking out six, he also launched two home runs himself. Syndergaard joined Walt Terrell as the only Mets pitchers to homer twice in the same game, while driving in all four runs. Noah stole the show on Wednesday night, and it sure was fun to watch.
3. Mets Pitchers Can Hit Too
Whatever Bartolo Colon did last weekend in San Diego, it must be rubbing off on the rest of the Mets staff. Since that Saturday night at Petco, Mets pitchers have gone 6 for 16 from the plate, with three home runs, two doubles, and seven RBI. Steven Matz had an RBI double on Monday night, and we all know what Noah Syndergaard did on Wednesday night. If it wasn’t for what the Mets pitchers did at the plate against the Dodgers, they very well could have dropped three of four.
3 Down
1. Injuries Piling Up
First it was the bad news about Travis d’Arnaud needing more time to recover from his ailing shoulder, then we found out that Steven Matz will need to be skipped a start due to a sore elbow. We then found out, after he went eight strong and homered twice, that Noah Syndergaard had HIS elbow examined two weeks ago. To top it all off, word came out after Wednesday night’s game that Wilmer Flores would be placed on the 15-day DL with a left hamstring injury that he hurt in Monday’s opener. While I’m not saying any of this is reason to panic, it sure is starting to make my head hurt.
2. Home Run Happy
The Mets are currently tied for the Major League lead in home runs with 51, and while that’s certainly a huge positive, the fact that they have had trouble scoring otherwise is not. In the series against the Dodgers, 6 of the 10 runs the Mets scored were via the long ball. They were an abysmal 4 for 24 with RISP in the four game set, including their 1 for 9 effort on Wednesday night, which if it wasn’t for Noah Syndergaard, it probably would have resulted in a loss. I am as thrilled as anybody that the Mets now have serious home run hitting capabilities, since they lacked it for so long, but they need to find ways to manufacture runs other than going deep.
3. Bart Knocked Back to Reality
It sure was a week to remember for Bartolo Colon, riding high off his theatrics that included his first career home run against the Padres on Saturday night, and carrying it into a big start against Clayton Kershaw in the series finale against the Dodgers Thursday night. Unfortunately, it was not Bart’s night, as he was hit around from the start, going only five innings and allowing five runs on seven hits. It was his first loss since April 9th, and it took his record to 3-2 overall with a 3.53 ERA. Bartolo is good for one of these kinds of starts every now and again, as he just didn’t have the kind of movement on his fastball that he usually has when he’s going good. He was due.
