3 Up
1. De Aza’s Da Man
Coming into Thursday night’s series finale against the Cardinals, Alejandro De Aza had been mired in a 4-34 slump over his last 16 games. Due to Jay Bruce’s calf injury, De Aza got the start in center and it paid dividends almost immediately. De Aza robbed a homerun in the bottom half of the first inning, and then went on to go 2-4, including a huge three-run home run off of Adam Wainwright in the fifth inning. He tallied a career high five RBI, and helped the Mets secure a must-have series.
2. Gsellman and the Bullpen
Just hours after he joined the team in St. Louis, Robert Gsellman was called upon to save the Mets in the series opener on Tuesday night. After Jon Niese left the game with a knee injury, Gsellman came in and was solid. He pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings and then handed it off to the bullpen which only allowed just one run in four innings pitched.
3. Lugo Comes Up Big
In the crucial series finale on Thursday night, the Mets had a not so ideal matchup of their rookie pitcher Seth Lugo and Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright. It was Lugo who came out on top, tossing five scoreless innings before exiting with a right calf cramp. He allowed only two hits while striking out five batters.
3 Down
1. deGrom Roughed Up Again
When the Mets desperately need to lean on one of their aces in Jacob deGrom, he has come up short in his last two starts. After getting rocked his last time out in San Francisco, deGrom was no better this time around, allowing five runs on 12 hits, including three home runs. In his last two starts deGrom has now given up 25 hits and 13 runs. The Mets desperately need him to figure things out if they want to make a run at this.
2. Granderson’s Woes Continue
Curtis Granderson just cannot figure it out, and it’s frustrating to watch. While he salvaged a hit in the series finale on Thursday night, Granderson went just 1-9 while striking out three times and leaving five runners on base. He has just 19 hits in his last 112 at bats and continues to struggle mightily with runners in scoring position. Again, it is to the point where Terry is going to have to figure out what is best for the team, and that may be sitting him.
3. Injuries, Injuries, and More Injuries
Does this sound like a broken record? It sure does to me, and while many teams get bitten by the injury bug, it seems as though there is no chance it’s ever as gotten as bad as it has for this Mets team. After placing Steven Matz on the DL with shoulder tightness, recently acquired Jay Bruce left Wednesday night’s game due to cramping in his calf. On Thursday night, after pitching five scoreless innings, Seth Lugo left the game also due to cramping in his calf. While both Bruce and Lugo should be fine, it has gotten to the point of ridiculousness.
