JD Martinez shines, but Mets come up with a loss to the Cardinals
JD Martinez shines, but Mets come up with a loss to the Cardinals
The bats go cold again and another starter struggles as New York wastes a gem of a debut from J.D. Martinez...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets returned to losing ways after dropping the series opener to the Cardinals, losing 4-2 at Citi Field (box)
New York has now lost four of its last five, scoring a combined five runs in those losses
RHP Jose Buttó endured a rough night on the mound, giving up four earned runs and two homers on four hits with three walks while striking out four in 5 2/3 innings of work
DH J.D. Martinez was electric in his Mets debut, hitting a single and an RBI double in four at-bats
C Tomás Nido had a productive day at the plate, hitting a double and a solo home run - his first long ball in 574 days
The rest of the offense struggled against Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas, managing just eight hits and going 2-for-11 with RISP
The Mets bullpen was money again, with LHP Josh Walker, RHP Jorge López and RHP Sean Reid-Foley combining to throw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit in the process
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that DH DJ Stewart will get opportunities to play in the outfield and at first base
Roster Moves 🗞️
OF J.D. Martinez was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
INF Zack Short was designated for assignment
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Kodai Senga (shoulder capsule strain) threw an up-down bullpen on Thursday, and is scheduled to face hitters for the first time on Monday
RHP Tylor Megill (shoulder strain) is expected to begin a minor league assignment with High-A Brooklyn on Saturday
Who’s Cold 🥶
3B Brett Baty is now 2-for-17 with no extra-base hits and no RBIs in his last five games
RHP Jose Buttó continues to struggle with control issues having now walked eight batters over his last two starts. He’s given up six earned runs in that span
OF Harrison Bader is 1-for-18 with three strikeouts and no extra-base hits in his last five games
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Mike Vasil (No. 11 prospect, Triple-A): 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
DH Mark Vientos (Triple-A): 1-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
RHP Joander Suarez (No. 28 prospect, Double-A): 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
3B Rowdey Jordan (Double-A): 4-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
RHP Jordan Geber (High-A): 5 IP, 1 H, O R, O BB, 4 K
LHP Zach Thornton (Single-A): 5 IP, 1 H, O R, 2 BB, 6 K
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (13-12) vs. Cardinals (12-14)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Adrian Houser (0-2, 7.45 ERA) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (2-1, 1.04 ERA)
When: 4:05 PM EDT
Where to Watch: FOX
J.D. Martinez provides tantalizing taste of things to come… ✍️
After an offseason full of hope, after weeks of waiting patiently, Mets fans finally got their first look at J.D. Martinez in their team’s uniform on Friday night.
Okay, it was hardly a happy occasion given that the Mets hardly put up a fight in a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals to open up the homestand.
But, after spending the entire winter hoping and praying that the front office would go out and sign the six-time All-Star, and then having to wait patiently as Martinez ramped up and then battled injury, Friday night was a good step in the right direction.
It was something just to see Martinez stride to the plate as a member of the Met. This had been a very long time coming, after all.
His moment to impress Mets fans finally arrived.
And, boy, did he take it.
On a night where the offense struggled and few others - Tomás Nido and Brandon Nimmo aside - performed at the plate, Martinez provided a delicious glimpse of what we should expect from him the rest of the way out.
In his first at-bat as a member of the New York Mets, Martinez produced a typical Martinez at-bat to line a leadoff single into right field.
His third at-bat of the night was even better. With two outs and a man on second, Martinez ripped a double into right to score Francisco Lindor and pick up his first RBI as a Met.
It was quite the introduction to Citi Field and Mets fans in general.
Granted, Martinez’s stellar debut didn’t have any impact on the outcome of the game as several fatal flaws concerning this team continue to rear their ugly head. However, it was crucial to get the slugger into the lineup.
Martinez looked up to speed from the very get-go and it became apparent pretty quickly that he will help this lineup in a lot of ways. Sure, he shouldn’t be considered a savior and, as we saw on Friday night, he won’t be much help if the rest of the offense struggles and fails to come up clutch in big spots.
However, batting fifth between Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, Martinez offers some much-needed protection to the best hitter in the lineup and lengthens the lineup considerably. His presence alone should help take the pressure off the likes of Brett Baty and Harrison Bader at the bottom of the lineup.
And, as was the case on Friday, Martinez isn’t just going to be a one-man wrecking ball for this team. While his 315 career homers speak for themselves, the six-time All-Star is a master of putting the ball in play, as evidenced by his career .350 on-base percentage.
Martinez did just that in his debut, getting on base twice with two beautifully hit balls to the opposite field. That’s what the slugger does best. Although, it is fair to say that his double should have been a home run.
All in all, as far as introductions go, this was a delicious and mouthwatering appetizer that certainly left you wanting more. The good news is that as Martinez gets more and more comfortable in this lineup, even better results should follow.
We all advocated hard for the Mets to sign Martinez because of the damage he can do at the plate. Again, while he won’t solve every problem this team has, he should make the offense that much better and we saw encouraging signs of that on Friday.
It was a pretty tough night if you were a Mets fan, but Martinez’s wizardry with a bat in his hand made it that little bit better.
Around the League 🚩
DH Shohei Ohtani inflicted more pain on Blue Jays fans once more by launching a home run in the 1st inning as the Dodgers won, 12-2, in Toronto
LHP Shota Imanaga continued his historic start in MLB, improving to 4-0 with a stellar 0.98 ERA as the Cubs beat the Red Sox, 7-1
C Patrick Bailey cranked a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Giants to a 3-0 walk-off win over the Pirates at Oracle Park
LHP Chris Sale allowed just one run on two hits while striking out six in seven innings of work as the Braves beat the Guardians, 6-2
INF Joey Ortiz had a four-RBI night, including the waIk-off single in extra-innings, as the Brewers beat the Yankees, 7-6
Orioles phenom SS Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, was optioned to Triple-A after a tough start to his major league career