The New York Mets (20-13) were beaten by the Chicago Cubs (17-15) by a score of 6-1 on Tuesday night.
Pitching:
Noah Syndergaard made his Major League debut tonight, turning in an impressive but uneven start. After striking out Dexter Fowler, the first big league batter he faced, he went 5.1 innings, allowing 3 ER on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 6.
Syndergaard threw 103 pitches, only 56 of which were strikes. His fastball fluctuated between 96-98 mph, and hit 99 a few times. His curveball, which ranged from 81-83 mph, was very impressive as well. He also showcased a circle change, 85-87 mph with fantastic movement. Overall, I was impressed by him, however he was all over the place at times. It could of course be nerves, but that remains to be seen.
His third inning should have been 16 pitches shorter, as Kris Bryant hit a ground ball to Daniel Murphy at third who took his time, allowing Bryant to beat out the nonchalant throw. Thor then proceeded to walk the next two batters, then ultimately induced a full-count fly ball to Jorge Soler to end the inning.
Alex Torres continues to have control problems, as after he struck out Addison Russell, he proceeded to walk the next three batters he faced. He then induced a ground ball to Lucas Duda at first off the bat of Miguel Montero which scored a run, and then struck out Jorge Soler to end the inning.
Sean Gilmartin pitched 1 inning, allowing one run on 2 hits, striking out one. Hansel Robles pitched the 8th, also allowing one run on 2 hits. He allowed a home run to mega prospect Kris Bryant.
Offense:
What offense?
The Mets bats remained quiet, as they only mustered 5 hits. Cubs starter Jake Arrieta went 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 10. He walked 2, both drawn by Curtis Granderson.
Daniel Murphy was the only Met to look comfortable at the plate, recording 2 hits. He raised his average to .233 on the season after an abysmal start.
Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores, and Ruben Tejada each recorded singles. The lone run scored via a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kevin Plawecki.
Notes:
In 10 of the last 13 games the Mets have scored just 3 runs or less. I don’t need to explain how much that just doesn’t win games. Since April 24th, the Mets have averaged 3 runs a game and posted a .224 average, both are ranked dead last in the NL.
Juan Lagares was not in the starting lineup this evening, as he has a muscle strain under his right arm, which he injured on a diving play last week. It was an amazing play like all his others, but it came at a cost. The MRI showed no structural damage, and he is listed as day-to-day.
Noah Syndergaard showed good stuff, but his debut was spoiled by a 6th inning home run by Met-killer Chris Coghlan. It will be fun to watch him improve this season, hopefully he remains in the rotation.
On Deck:
The Mets will turn to ace Matt Harvey (5-1, 2.72 ERA) to face the Cubs and Jason Hammel (3-1, 3.52 ERA) at Wrigley Field Wednesday at 8:05 pm ET.
