Manager Terry Collins made a very interesting comment about how he’ll use potential pinch-hitters in late game situations. No it wasn’t about Eric Campbell or Alejandro De Aza, the talk was about using one of his starting pitchers in such a role late in the game.
Collins noted that there had been roughly five instances this season where Mets’ starting pitchers have been in the batting cages getting ready for a pinch-hitting opportunity. He also went on to clarify that he does not intend to use any of his starting pitchers to pinch-hit on days after they make a start.
It has been quite a week for the Mets’ starting pitchers and in particular their offensive prowess at the plate. Last weekend in San Diego, Bartolo Colon smacked a 1-1 fastball from James Shields into the left-field stands for a two-run homer to give the Mets a 4-0 lead. Watching the big man jog gingerly around the bases and his teammates celebrating in the dugout was a moment Met fans shall not forget.
The moment was immortalized in a Topps Now baseball card that was printed and sold in limited production for 24-hours. In fact, it was the highest selling Topps Now trading card of all time, numbering 8,826 sold during a 24 hour span.
Then on Monday’s series opener against the Dodgers, LHP Steven Matz pulled the first pitch from counterpart Scott Kazmir over the third base bag, giving the Mets an insurance run. For Matz it was his second career double, and his first RBI of the season.
On Wednesday, Noah Syndergaard topped them all, throwing down the hammer and swatting not one, but two home runs off hot-shot rookie right-hander Kenta Maeda. The first shot came in the third, and was belted to right-centerfield, giving the Mets an early 1-0 lead. The projected distance of that home run was 402 feet according to MLB’s StatCast.
Then in the top of the fifth, with the Mets down 2-1 and runners on first and second, Syndergaard does it again. After two unsuccessful bunt attempts early in his at-bat, he gets the green light on 2-2 and smacks an off-speed Maeda pitch to deep left-center, giving the Mets a 4-2 lead. Syndergaard would drive in all four runs on the night for the orange and blue.
And lets not forget the other members of the Mets’ staff. Righty Matt Harvey is 2-for-8 with a double entering Friday night’s action, and while Jacob deGrom is hitless on the year, the past two seasons he has recorded double digit hits (10 in 2014 and 11 in 2015) along with three extra-base hits.
Even spot-starter Logan Verrett got into the action this year, hitting a double off Phillies flamethrower Vincent Velasquez in the Mets 11-1 blowout against Philadelphia on April 19. That was Verrett’s first hit of his career.
While there’s a lot to like about the Mets’ number nine spot in the batting order, Collins cautioned that his staff is composed of good-hitting pitchers, not good hitters, so there will still be plenty of bunting situations going forward.
