Blame whoever you want. Blame Terry Collins. Blame Scott Boras. Heck, even blame Matt Harvey if you want. But really it’s the bullpen you should be pointing fingers at this morning.
Last night, after Matt Harvey pitched five dazzling innings of one-hit ball, he was removed from the game by his manager after throwing 77 pitches so that they could preserve him for a more significant role in the postseason.
If you happened to miss the first five innings of the game last night, you may have been tricked into believing this was a blowout from the start with the final score being 11-2. The truth is, when Harvey exited the game and the bullpen took over in the 6th inning, the Mets held a 1-0 lead over the Yankees and all seemed well.
As frustrating as it was to see Harvey get removed from a game in which he seemed just about as dominant as he’s been all year, we all knew it was going to happen. Terry Collins said it was the plan before the game and even alluded to it in an interview with ESPN’s Buster Olney in the 4th inning, “He’s done after five,” the Mets manager said.
The bottom line is, Terry Collins and the Mets needed four sharp innings from their bullpen to preserve a series win over the Yankees, and they didn’t get it.
Hansel Robles got things started for the Yankees when he surrendered five runs on three hits and wasn’t able to complete the sixth. Not exactly what the Mets were looking for from Robles. Sean Gilmartin, Eric O’Flaherty, Erik Goeddel, Carlos Torres and Tim Stauffer all followed and combined to allow six more runs in the final three innings.
In a perfect world, or at least the way the Mets had envisioned it, Robles, Reed, Clippard, and Familia all would have picked up where their ace left off, the offense would have tacked on a few more runs, and the Mets would have went to on to win and take the series.
But instead, the bullpen completely imploded and dropped the Mets lead over the Nationals for the division lead to six games.
The good news is the Mets will now go on to face the Braves, Reds, and Phillies before they close out the season at home against the Nats. However, with all the talk of innings limits and skipping starts, it is imperative that this Mets bullpen sharpens up down the stretch and brings some momentum into the playoffs should they get there.
Last night, was a playoff-like test for that bullpen. This time they failed. Hopefully the next time they are put into a high pressure situation it is a different outcome. After all, every game from here on out is a playoff game for the Mets.
