Paul Sewald took the mound for the second straight night on Monday, but while the results were strong, the rate at which the young right-hander is being used is cause for concern.
Why would this time be any different than others? With a bullpen that manager Terry Collins has so frequently abused in the past, a solid reliever is being overworked and overused yet again.
Sewald, 27, worked a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts on Monday against Milwaukee.
Sewald has allowed three runs in his last 20 innings (1.35 ERA) and has 23 strikeouts in his last 16.0 innings (12.94 strikeouts per nine innings).
On Sunday night in Pittsburgh, Sewald fired two scoreless frames with the Mets holding a 7-1 lead over the Pirates in what was yet another head-scratching in-game decision by Collins.
If someone like Neil Ramirez, who eventually pitched after Sewald on Sunday anyway can’t hold a six run lead, why is he on the major league roster?
For instance, Ramirez was brought in with the game on the line on May 24 vs. the San Diego Padres.
He faced one batter with the bases loaded and a 5-3 lead and let the Friars back into the game, surrendering a game-tying single to Wil Myers in the road to an eventual 6-5 Mets loss.
Where was Sewald in that game? Collins said post-game he wanted to give Sewald some rest after the righty tossed a scoreless inning the night prior — in a game the Mets won 9-3.
It’s refreshing to have someone like Sewald come up and make an immediate impact, but a reliever should always be used like wasabi: sparingly — and maybe in tied games and not 9-3 routs.
