Tuesday night’s game began promising for the Mets. Frankie Montas shined in his Flushing debut, tossing five shutout innings, and Brett Baty hit a two-run single to cap a three-run fourth inning. Carlos Mendoza called upon Huascar Brazobán for the first of 12 outs he needed from the bullpen. Unfortunately, the wheels once again fell off for the relief unit as the Braves defeated the Mets for the fifth straight time, 7-4.
Brazobán began his outing by walking Marcell Ozuna on four pitches. The righty then got ahead 1-2 on Austin Riley, but lost the strike zone after a few foul balls, issuing another free pass. Brazobán got ahead 1-2 on Drake Baldwin, but the rookie backstop fouled off two change-ups before the 35-year-old missed badly on his next three pitches, loading the bases. Ozzie Albies followed with a sacrifice fly, bringing an end to Brazobán’s outing.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jose Castillo entered and gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Eli White – a ball that just eluded Baty’s glove. Castillo then hit Michael Harris II – a lefty batting just .205 against southpaws – with a first-pitch fastball. Nick Allen drove in the tying run with a single to right field, and Castillo exited without recording an out. Reed Garrett struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. on a check-swing, and just like in Atlanta last week, the righty was one strike away from escaping the jam after he went up 0-2 on Matt Olson. However, Olson lined a 1-2 fastball into center field for a two-run single. Garrett issued the fourth free pass of the inning to Ozuna, then struck out Riley to end the inning, exiting the field to a chorus of boos.
Richard Lovelady appeared to provide a breath of fresh air with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, but after getting the first two outs in the eighth, the southpaw walked Acuña, then Olson drove an 0-2 breaking ball into the right-center field gap for an RBI double. After Lovelady issued another walk to Ozuna – the ninth one of the night – Riley cracked a booming double off Dedniel Núñez to bring home Olson.
Entering June, the Mets’ bullpen had a 2.87 ERA, which ranked second in the majors behind the Giants. In June, however, the unit has an ERA of 5.12 – the fifth-worst mark in the majors. Furthermore, they have been charged with six losses and seven blown saves – nearly matching their totals from the first two months of the season. During this dreadful 11-game stretch, the bullpen has given up 33 earned runs in 45 innings (6.60 ERA) while issuing 22 walks.
Huascar Brazobán (43) – Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Brazobán and Garrett were two of the best relief arms in baseball in April and May, but have seen their numbers come crashing down to earth. Brazobán has allowed nine earned runs and issued 10 walks in 8 1/3 innings. Garrett has walked five and been charged with six earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, but more alarmingly, his strand rate, which was 94% through the end of May, has plummeted to 46.7% in June. Four of his five inherited runners have scored this month, compared to just four of 17 over the first two months. Those struggles aren’t exclusive to Garrett – the bullpen’s 64.5% strand rate in June is third-worst in the majors, and they’ve allowed 19 of 40 inherited runners to score.
Some of these poor results may be due to bad luck – opponents have a .359 BABiP against the Mets’ bullpen this month, the second-highest in the majors. Additionally, their 3.73 FIP represents the second-largest ERA-FIP gap in the majors, only trailing the Twins. Garrett has been the biggest victim of this luck, as his 1.97 FIP and 21% hard-hit rate are the lowest he’s had in any month this year, but his BABiP has shot up from .241 to .526.
Perhaps some of these recent woes can be attributed to the bullpen’s heavy workload. The unit has thrown 294 innings this year, which ranks 11th in MLB and fifth in the NL. The 45 innings they’ve thrown in the last 11 games rank seventh in the majors. However, the Mets don’t have any relievers ranked within the top 50 in the majors in appearances. Garrett waited six days between appearances before pitching in Monday night’s contest. Brazobán didn’t pitch from June 6 to June 12, then waited another five days before his next appearance. He has pitched on consecutive days just three times since May 1, with the last time coming on June 2-3 against the Dodgers.
Edwin Díaz has held up his end of the bargain, allowing just one earned run since May, but he has pitched just twice over the last 11 days and seven times all month. The other bright spot for the bullpen has been José Buttó, who hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 27. Ryne Stanek, on the other hand, has struggled to an 8.10 ERA this month after a strong month of May, though those numbers were all accounted for in two bad outings.
Even with the bullpen’s struggles, they rank seventh in the majors with a 3.46 ERA. As the trade deadline approaches, one glaring need has been identified for David Stearns to address, and some help should be on the way with Brooks Raley on a rehab assignment. There’s still time for this ship to be righted, but it’s hard not to show some concern right now.
