Even with the Mets scheduled to face three southpaws in the NLDS, hitting coach Kevin Long isn’t concerned about how his top left handed bats will perform.
Long says the Mets were going to be challenged regardless of who they would face in the playoffs, and he believes that lefties like Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda are capable of grinding out at bats.
“It’s the playoffs, that’s the bottom line,” Long said. “We could have been facing [Gerrit] Cole and [A.J.] Burnett. You can face a team with great righties and it can be the same challenge. It doesn’t present a more difficult challenge, if that’s what you’re asking.” (Marc Craig, Newsday)
“We need our lefties to put together good at-bats,” Long said. “Not necessarily get hits, but grind on them and put together good at-bats.”
The three lefties the Mets will go up against are Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood and Brett Anderson, who have been tough on lefties the all year. Overall, the Dodgers’ pitching has held left handers to a .616 OPS this year, which is the third best mark in the MLB.
Meanwhile, Granderson, Murphy and Duda have been susceptible to left handed pitching.
Granderson has struggled the most with a .183 average and .558 OPS in 126 at bats this season.
Murphy only has a .254 average and a .633 OPS against lefties this year, which is below is career average of .271 and .674.
While Duda has been excellent against lefties with an OPS near .900 this season, this has not been the case for his career. His lifetime OPS is .670, and he also has not done much against them in the second half.
“I’ve seen throughout my years as a hitting coach,” Long said, “guys fluctuate.”
“At any given time, a guy can feel comfortable with his at-bats, comfortable with where he’s at,” Long said. “And right now, Grandy feels good with where he’s at. I’m not really concerned with the lefties and whether Grandy will put together good at-bats.”
The great thing about the Mets’ lineup is that they are dangerous against both right and left handed pitching. While some lefties might be held in check, the Mets have plenty of right handed fire power to overcome it.
David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud have obliterated lefties all year as they both have an OPS above 1.000. And perhaps most importantly, they also have Yoenis Cespedes, who is extremely dangerous against both lefties and righties.
