It doesn’t feel like five starts since Dillon Gee‘s last victory which came over a month ago to the Atlanta Braves on July 9th! The man who earned the opening day start this year for the Mets is 4-6 with a 3.84 ERA but has now dropped his fifth straight start.
The numbers aren’t as bad as his record. A 3.84 ERA isn’t all that bad and it seems as though Gee generally does keep the team in games.
Last night this was not the case. Gee fell behind to a number of batters throughout the game but things really fell apart in the 4th inning. He couldn’t locate his curveball, yet insisted on throwing it over and over. This led to a bases loaded situation after he walked the number nine hitter Eric Sogard. Coco Crisp promptly laced a bases clearing triple to the wall.
After the game, Gee was obviously not happy about his results. “It’s difficult and it’s frustrating. All I can do is try to take the positives out of this, keep working hard and try to turn it around” (USA Today). Turning things around is crucial for Gee. After pitching to a 2.38 and 2.25 ERA in April and May, his ERA in the following months spiked as high as 6.08 in July and now rests at 3.84. “I haven’t been able to get through the rough inning” Gee added.
No matter how you spin it, Gee was outclassed by one of the best pitchers in the American League this season. Scott Kazmir was on his game, going 6 innings, allowing just a single home-run to Travis d’Arnaud. Given the offensive struggles, allowing four earned runs as a starter just isn’t going to cut it.
The road doesn’t get much easier for the Mets. While Zack Wheeler has been on a dominating streak, he faces another ace of this staff in Jeff Samardzija this afternoon with Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers waiting on deck.
