Mets bullpen, offense lead to loss in Pittsburgh, mediocre road trip
New York splits with the Pirates to go 4-4 on the road trip. Plus, why Francisco Lindor deserves all the praise in the world after All-Star snub...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets had to settle for a series split in Pittsburgh after losing 8-2 to the Pirates in the finale on Monday at PNC Park (box)
RHP Christian Scott was excellent on the mound for the Mets, other than giving up a two-run home run, allowing two earned runs on one hit with one walk while striking out three
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza made a controversial decision to take Scott out of the game in the sixth inning at just 77 pitches and that led to disaster
RHP Eric Orze, making his Major League Debut, entered the game and immediately gave up three earned runs on two hits with one walk and no strikeouts
RHP Adrian Houser couldn’t limit the damage started by Orze, instead giving up three earned runs of his own on five hits in a nightmare sixth inning
OF Brandon Nimmo stayed red-hot, hitting a two-run homer to make it a tied game in the sixth
3B Mark Vientos and DH Francisco Alvarez both went 2-for-4, but the rest of the lineup - outside of Nimmo - combined for just two hits all game
The Mets are now back below .500 at 44-45 and are 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot after going 4-4 on the road trip. They’ve also lost six of their last 11 games
Dave Jauss will be 1B Pete Alonso’s pitcher at the 2024 Home Run Derby in Arlington. Alonso also plans to donate any winnings he gets from the event to help youth baseball
Brandon Nimmo has been lobbying both David Stearns and Steve Cohen for the Mets to make additions by the trade deadline to help the team (The Athletic)
Both Nimmo and Francisco Lindor have taken it upon themselves to organize a series of team dinners in order to help build camaraderie in the clubhouse (The Athletic)
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Drew Smith (torn right UCL) will undergo season-ending surgery on Friday. It has yet to be determined whether it will be Tommy John Surgery or an internal brace procedure
Who’s Cold 🥶
Since June 23, the Mets bullpen has a 7.96 ERA, allowing 41 earned runs and 10 home runs in 46.1 innings over that span
Pete Alonso is hitting just .185/.185/.333/.519 with one home run over the last seven days
Over a two-week span, J.D. Martinez is hitting .132/.298/.263/.561 with three extra-base hits
Who’s Hot 🔥
In his last 23 games, Brandon Nimmo is hitting .333/.431/.644/.1.075 with 24 runs scored, six doubles, seven home runs, 13 walks and 23 RBI
Over a 28-day span, Francisco Lindor has slashed .282/.348/.534/.882 with 11 doubles, five homers, seven stolen bases, eight walks, 14 RBI and 22 runs scored
Did You Know? 🕵️
Francisco Lindor is the only player to have 15+ HR, 25+ 2B and 15+ SB at the All-Star break and not make the All-Star team
Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (44-45) vs. Nationals (42-49)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP José Quintana (3-5, 4.22 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (7-6, 2.80 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
After All-Star Game snub, Francisco Lindor deserves all the flowers ✍️
It hasn’t been a good week or so in Mets land.
Yet more bullpen issues have led to back-to-back series splits, first in Washington and then in Pittsburgh.
The latest ugly implosion from the bullpen came on Monday as Eric Orze - making his Major League debut, no less - and Adrian Houser combined to give up five runs in a nightmare sixth inning that put the game out of reach for New York.
In opting to take Christian Scott out of the game, who was in a groove and had only thrown 77 pitches, manager Carlos Mendoza came under a lot of fire for going to a gassed bullpen so early. Now, it is important to remember that Scott was on a pitch count and Mendoza had no choice but to take his starter out of the game at that point.
Where you can criticize Mendoza, however, is for putting in a pitcher making his MLB debut in a 2-2 game and one the Mets had to have. In hindsight, it wasn’t the greatest piece of bullpen management from Mendoza, and it also wasn’t his first mistake over the last week.
What also hasn’t helped New York’s cause in the last eight games has been an up-and-down offense.
The team hit .226/.270/.393 on their eight-game road trip, although they did score an average of 4.1 runs per game thanks in large measure to the two nine-run games at the beginning of the road trip. They averaged 2.8 runs per game over their last five games of the trip.
The lineup was shutout in the series finale in Washington, while it managed a total of just two runs in each of the two losses in Pittsburgh. Given the current state of the bullpen, the offense has to be able to put up a bunch of runs each game in order for the Mets just to have a chance to win games. And that’s not sustainable in the long-term.
And, when you consider that a slew of teams are all going to be wanting bullpen help at the trade deadline, thus driving the price through the roof, it is hard to see how the Mets address a real need without giving up some significant prospect capital. They can’t afford to mortgage the future for a chance to be a Wild Card team, especially when they are probably a .500 team at best right now.
So, all in all, some unwanted hens are coming home to roost after a hugely disappointing road trip.
However, I want to take a break from regular-scheduled programming to actually focus on a major positive for the Mets right now: Francisco Lindor.
Much has been made about the shortstop’s surprising snub from the All-Star Game, with our very own Justin Mears doing a deep dive on that - and Brandon Nimmo’s snub - in Monday’s newsletter.
When you consider that Lindor is the only player to have recorded 15+ HR, 25+ 2B and 15+ SB before the All-Star break and not make the All-Star team, then that tells you all you need to know about how big an injustice Lindor not going to Arlington actually is.
But, All-Star disappointment aside, I want to take a couple of minutes today to give Lindor his richly-deserved flowers.
After all, it only seems like yesterday that Lindor was being attacked by certain sections of the fanbase after getting off to another historically slow start in April. So intense was the narrative surrounding the shortstop, owner Steve Cohen had to intervene to try and get Citi Field to show some support for one of the faces of the franchise.
Fast forward to now and it is a very different story. Despite that awful start, Lindor is currently hitting .248/.315/.444/.759 and is well on pace for another 30/30 season. He’s been one of the best players in baseball this season, and has been the driving force behind the Mets’ stunning resurgence this year.
It is also crucial to pay attention to the off-the-field stuff with Lindor too. Despite being mired in one of the worst slumps of his career, and having his worth to the organization constantly questioned by some, he had the presence of mind to call a players-only meeting in the wake of the Dodgers debacle in May. That display of selfless leadership sparked what was a red-hot June, leading to the Mets breathing new life into a season that looked all but dead.
Furthermore, Lindor has remained a figure of consistency when it comes to acting as a mentor to the younger guys in the clubhouse. He’s never allowed his own struggles to get in the way of doing what’s right and best for the team. Rather than sulk and fester in a corner over his own below-par performances, Lindor instead stood up, held himself accountable, demanded more of himself and then asked the same of the rest of the team.
That’s a natural-born leader right there.
Will Sammon of The Athletic recently penned a story on how Lindor, along with Nimmo, have been organizing team dinners in order to boost the overall spirit in the clubhouse. It has obviously worked given the overall incredible run the Mets have been on since the dark, dark days of May. And, again, it is testament to who Lindor is as a person and as a leader. He’s team first all the time.
His overall importance to this franchise can’t be overstated.
Of course, a ballplayer will always be judged first and foremost on what he does on the baseball diamond. The good news is that Lindor has been consistently great since his slow start, coming up with clutch hit after clutch hit - along with his usual defensive magic at shortstop - to ensure the Mets still have a chance of making the postseason this year.
So, while he’s not officially an All-Star, Lindor should always be considered an All-Star in the eyes of Mets fans. He also deserves more credit as not only one of the best and most consistent shortstops in the game, but also as the very heartbeat of this organization.
You can’t put a price on what Lindor brings both on the field and in the clubhouse for the Mets. And the key role he’s played in saving this season from the depths of absolute despair.
Around the League 🚩
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna both declared for the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby in Arlington
Reds OF Rece Hinds marked his MLB debut with two extra-base hits, including a mammoth 449-foot blast - the second longest by a player making his big league debut since 2015
Angels superstar Mike Trout (torn meniscus) progressed to running on the field and is on track for a return to action in late July
Matt Wallner crushed a home run at 116.7 mph as the Twins beat the White Sox 8-6 in extra-innings
Corey Seager crushed a monster 457-foot homer - the second-longest of his career - to help the Rangers overcome the Angels 9-4
Pitch counts are ridiculous and have not proven to stop pitcher injuries. I’d just keep trying internal candidates for the BP including minor league starters like Megill. We can mortgage the future for a reliever at the deadline for this team
The higher-ups what Scott to be on a pitch limit. He followed their dictates. I really don't see the difference of him throwing 5-10 more pitches & trying to finish the inning myself, but shrugs.
The choice of who to finish the inning was Mendoza's. I think he made some dubious bullpen moves in the last week, including leaving Scott in too long in the start before & relying on Diekman too much.
Not a great week for Houser. He is not put in a game & they lose. He is put in & gives up the winning run. He is put in a bit too late (yes, like him to start an inning but there was no one on base) & then has a bad outing when he enters. Oh well.