Mets setup man Tyler Clippard suffered from some back tightness that sidelined him during the Subway Series this past weekend.
On Monday, he returned to the mound and pitched a scoreless eighth inning, however manager Terry Collins opted to use him again on Tuesday with the team behind and Clippard was hit hard and unable to locate his pitches.
In the ninth inning, he gave up a two-run double to Adonis Garcia that put the game out of reach for the Mets in their 6-2 loss to the Braves at home.
Clippard had an incredible run in August after he was acquired from the Oakland A’s, posting a 0.60 ERA and .130 BAA in 15 appearances.
Unfortunately, September has been quite tough for the veteran reliever. In 10 appearances he has allowed nine earned runs, including four home runs, for a 7.59 ERA and 1.61 WHIP spanning 10.2 innings.
Collins doesn’t believe Clippard’s struggles have anything to do his back issue. “That’s not the problem,” he said when asked about the back. Clippard also acknowledged that his back feels fine,
Collins believes that Clippard’s struggles are mainly due to location and pointed to the Sept 12 game vs the Braves in Turner Field as the beginning of his current slump. Clippard gave up a three-run homer to Adonis Garcia in that outing.
“The ball that Garcia hit in Atlanta, he got him in a good count and he left a changeup up over the plate,” Collins said.
“If that ball is down over the plate, it might be a hit. I’m not saying he’s not going to get a hit. But he’s leaving balls in the middle of the strike zone — up. He’s being hurt by that. It’s just a matter of making better pitches.”
If Clippard continues to struggle, Collins has the option of perhaps using Addison Reed in the eighth inning as the setup man until Clippard can right the ship. Reed has tossed 11 1/3 scoreless innings since coming to the Mets from the Diamondbacks.
Still, Clippard chose a bad time to go into a slump as the Mets continue to look for stability in the bullpen and a reliable bridge to Jeurys Familia.
