In a classic Coors Field game on Wednesday night, the New York Mets lost to the Colorado Rockies by a 10-8 score though the Mets had plenty of chances to plate even more runs.
The biggest chance that they squandered was in the sixth inning when Dominic Smith doubled to lead off the innings, Devin Mesoraco walked and Jose Reyes walked to load the bases with one out. The Mets were trailing 9-8 in another slugfest.
Mets manager Mickey Callaway had two pinch hitting options for the pitchers spot, slow-footed catcher Kevin Plawecki or impatient hitting Amed Rosario to bat against lefty Harrison Musgrave.
Musgrave had walked two straight batters so Callaway went with the patient Plawecki (.355 OBP) instead of Rosario (.276 OBP).
The move backfired when Plawecki hit a borderline 3-2 pitch into a 5-3 double play that ended the threat and the Mets scoring for the night.
After the game, Callaway explained that he used Plawecki to save Rosario for later possible defensive purposes and that Kevin has swung the bat better lately (two hits on Tuesday).
Possibly the biggest issue with Plawecki batting in that spot is that Brandon Nimmo, currently one of the NL’s best hitters, is on deck and you need him to get up at the very least. Plawecki lessens that chance because he’s a slow runner and his 65.1 groundball rate is second among all major league hitters (50 PA min.).
Plawecki has now hit into three double plays this year in only 62 at-bats and Rosario has hit into three double plays in 229 at-bats.
