Taijuan Walker Leaves Displeased in Loss to Giants

On a Wednesday night in Flushing, the Mets sent pitcher Taijuan Walker to the mound against the San Francisco Giants. Walker, who gave up four earned runs in his last start against the Dodgers, hoped to get the struggling Mets in the win column. 

Walker started the game emphatically by striking out LaMonte Wade Jr. on a four-seam fastball, then getting first baseman Brandon Belt to fly out to right fielder Michael Conforto. Kris Bryant followed suit by flying out to Conforto as well. It took Walker only eight pitches to set the Giants down 1-2-3 in the top of the first. 

Both Alex Dickerson and Brandon Crawford started the top of the second by flying out to left fielder Brandon Nimmo, giving Walker four straight fly ball outs. Shortly after, center fielder Mike Yastrzemski popped out to Javier Baez, completing Walker’s second 1-2-3 inning to begin his night. 

Walker gets his first ground ball and seventh consecutive out on a ground out to Jeff McNeil by catcher Curt Casali. Tommy La Stella grounded out sharply to McNeil as well, who threw to first baseman Pete Alonso for the second consecutive time in the inning. Walker then fielded Johnny Cueto’s hit ball and threw to first to end the third and to retire nine straight batters. 

Wade Jr. started out Walker’s fourth inning of work by flying out to left fielder Dominic Smith. Baez then showed off his spectacular defensive skills by making a sliding grab on a ball hit by Belt to aid Walker for the second out of the inning. After retiring the first 11 batters faced, Walker gave up a solo home run to Bryant, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. After the homerun, Walker proceeded to walk Dickerson, giving the Giants a base runner with two out. The walk wouldn’t matter much as Crawford struck out swinging to end the inning. 

After giving up the lead last inning, Walker went back to work by striking out Yastrzemski to start for his third strikeout of the night. Casali and La Stella consecutively flew out to Nimmo in center for Walker’s fourth 1-2-3 inning. Besides the home run thus far, Walker has been dealing the way that earned him a spot on the All-Star team last July. 

Fresh off of his second base hit of the night and the Mets tying the game on a throwing error by Bryant, Walker went back to the mound for his sixth inning of work. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores was the first to bat and he grounded out to third baseman Jonathan Villar who threw to Alonso for the out. Wade Jr. then flew out to Conforto for the second out and Belt ended the inning with a fly out to Nimmo. Walker has now retired six straight Giants after giving up the home run and a walk in the fourth inning. 

Walker headed to the mound for the top of the seventh with the lead for the first time tonight thanks to a Smith RBI double. Bryant started the inning for the Giants by reaching on a fielding error by Villar at third. Dickerson follows the error with a pop-fly single to right field, setting up the Giants with two on and nobody out. That would be it for Walker after throwing just 74 pitches and giving up two hits. Mets manager Luis Rojas calls on Aaron Loup to finish the inning for the displeased Walker. 

Loup, who has been unhittable for months, gave up a two-run double to Crawford on the first pitch he threw, giving the Giants a 3-2 lead in the seventh. 

Taijuan Walker’s final line: 6.0+ IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

It can be discussed if Rojas’ decision to remove Walker for Loup in the seventh was the right move or not but nonetheless, the Mets got exactly what they needed from their All-Star on Wednesday. Before the seventh, Walker’s lone mistake on the night was a Bryant home run but was seamless otherwise. The bats again fell short for Walker with many scoring chances not being cashed in throughout the game. 

After the game, Walker tells the media that “It’s not my call to make” referring to his manager pulling him in the seventh. That “there’s nothing to have a conversation about” talking about his low pitch count of 74 pitches.

Time is running out for the Mets in this 2021 season and games like these are more than a ‘must-win’ for this team. When playing a team like the first-place Giants, every opportunity needs to be seized with force and the Mets are doing the exact opposite.