New York Mets reliever, Hansel Robles, was left with the duty of bringing the game to extra innings Tuesday night. He entered the ninth in a tie at two, but was unable to get the game to the tenth.
One strike away from ending the ninth, Hansel Robles was first flashed a slider from catcher, Kevin Plawecki. He shook it off. Robles wanted to challenge, Trayce Thompson with his fastball.
“I put the slider down,” Plawecki said. “Ultimately, I want my pitcher to have conviction with what he’s throwing. And if he doesn’t feel comfortable throwing his slider in that situation, then I’ve got to trust him on that. The situation was what it was. … We left the ball up and they took advantage of it.” (ESPN)
Robles’ fastball was left up in the zone, and Thompson delivered it over the fence for the game clinching 3-2 win. It was his second homer in consecutive games against the Mets.
“I’m very confident in my fastball,” Robles said through an interpreter. “I tried to get him confused, but he adjusted and came through.”
It is hard to fault Robles as he has been quite successful out of the pen so far this season. He has pitched to a 1.93 ERA. Robles has struck out 18 batters in 14 innings while pitching to a 1.29 WHIP.
