3 UP
1. Great Starting Pitching
In the three game series against the Reds, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Marcus Stroman combined to allow just three earned runs over 18.2 innings. That’s exactly the formula the Mets need to win games.
On Friday, deGrom pitched seven scoreless to out-duel Luis Castillo and to further cement his status as the Cy Young front runner. On Saturday, Wheeler overcame a Todd Frazier‘s first inning mistakes to limit the Reds to just two runs (one earned), and he kept the Mets in the game allowing them to come back and tie the score.
As for Stroman, the Mets made an inspired choice. Doing all they could do to grab a Wild Card spot, the Mets switched Steven Matz for Stroman to allow Matz to pitch at home where he pitches much better. Despite dealing with nausea, Stroman gave the Mets all he had, and he allowed just two earned over 4.2 innings before Brad Brach came in and got him out of a jam.
What we have seen from this rotation in this series and in their recent outings, we see the blueprint for the Mets success for this year and in the future. Hopefully, that future includes October baseball.
2. Alon50
On Friday night, Pete Alonso hit his 50th homer of the season. That homer is now the all-time rookie first base record. It also extended his record for most homers in a players first season. Of course, this extended the Mets single season home run record.
Alonso’s 50th homer was also his 81st extra base hit. That broke the single season record once held by Carlos Beltran (2006) and Howard Johnson (1989). This is all part of his assault on the Mets single season and MLB rookie record books.
What is truly astonishing is this is just year one for Alonso.
3. Conforto Reawakens
Michael Conforto had a miserable September before this series. Finally, he would show signs of coming out of it on Friday. He drew two walks before getting of the snide with an RBI single. On Saturday, as the Mets were three hit, he still managed to get on base drawing a walk. Finally, on Sunday, he got the big hit he needed with a three run homer in the first.
Suddenly, it looks like Conforto is primed for one of his hot streaks where he can carry the Mets for week or more. Right now, the Mets need all the help they can get, and they can use Conforto powering them to an improbable Wild Card.
3 DOWN
1. Time Is Running Out
Under normal circumstances, if you take two out of three on the road, you’re happy. That’s not the position the Mets are in right now. This is a team who can ill-afford to lose games at the moment. With their losing on Saturday, and with the Pirates having less of a pulse than a goldfish flushed down the toilet, the Mets elimination number now stands at three.
That’s three with seven games remaining. This means even with the Mets winning out they still need a lot of help. The best hope is the Phillies take care of the Nationals during the five game set in Washington. Of course, if that were to happen, it would have the Phillies neck-and-neck with the Mets.
The Mets may still be alive, and they have a schedule which helps them. What works against them right now is time, and that is something they can’t beat.
2. Shot in the Foot
In the third inning of the game on Sunday, Robinson Cano was hit in the foot by Trevor Bauer knocking him out of the game. Fortunately for him, the x-rays taken after the game were negative. Unfortunately for him, it happened at just the wrong time.
Cano had a first inning RBI double. It was his first RBI since the September 12 game against the Diamondbacks. It was also the hopes he was going to break out of his recent cold streak. As the Mets headed to Colorado and Cincinnati, the hopes were he and the rest of the Mets lineup was going to go on a tear. That didn’t happen.
Entering yesterday’s game, he was in a in a 3-for-30 rut. While that first inning double might’ve been the hope he was about to help push the Mets over the finish line, his foot injury makes you wonder if he could contribute as much as Jed Lowrie is at the moment. Time will tell.
3. Enough of Christian Colon
In Game 5 of the 2015 World Series, it was Christian Colon who had the go-ahead 12th inning RBI single which all but killed the Mets World Series chances. Almost four years later, he hits a 3-2 Seth Lugo curveball for an RBI single leading to the Reds 3-2 win. That could be the second time in his career Colon has obliterated the Mets World Series dreams.
Colon is a career .254/.318/.316 hitter. He has 26 career RBI, and he has not had one in the majors since 2016. Part of the reason for that was he had multiple stints in the minors, including one year with the Mets where he didn’t do much at the plate.
When it is a player like Chipper Jones, you could understand. The man was a Hall of Famer. You had this begrudging sense of respect for an all-time great. However, when it comes to Christian Colon, it is a little too much to bear.
