Mets drop a clunker to the Dodgers as the Mets face a new challenge in their bullpen
Adrian Houser's struggles continued as his ERA rose to 7.45 for the year
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped their series finale to the Dodgers in an ugly blowout loss with a final score of 10-0 (box)
Adrian Houser struggled again on the mound and ended his day with an unsightly final line of 4.0 IP, 7H, 8 ER, 3K - Houser’s ERA for the year now stands at 7.45 ERA
Grant Hartwig poured gasoline on the fire and gave up two earned runs in his appearance
Michael Tonkin walked one and gave up one hit but did not allow any runs in two innings of work
3B Brett Baty returned to the lineup for the first time since tweaking his hamstring and went 0-for-3
Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run on Sunday - that homer broke Hideki Matsui’s home run record for Japanese-born players
Roster Moves 🗞️
RHP Grant Hartwig was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
Injury Updates 🏥
LHP Brooks Raley (left elbow inflammation) was placed on the 15-Day IL
Who’s Hot 🔥
2B Jeff McNeil picked up a hit in the final game against the Dodgers and is now hitting .292/.370/.458 over his last seven games
OF Harrison Bader continued his hot hitting and has a slash line of .346/.393/.538 over the past week
DH DJ Stewart continues to put his poor start to the season in the rearview mirror and is now hitting .350/.440/.750 with two home runs and 8 RBIs in his last seven games
Down on the Farm 🌾
SS Jett Williams (No. 1 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB
C Kevin Parada (Double-A): 1-for-3, RBI, BB
DH JD Martinez (Single-A) 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (12-9) at Giants (10-13)
Where: Oracle Park - San Francisco, CA
Starters: LHP Jose Quintana (1-1, 3.05 ERA) vs. RHP Keaton Winn (1-3, 4.09 ERA)
When: 9:45 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
While standing out, the Mets bullpen is getting tested early… ✍️
The Mets have a good bullpen! I repeat the Mets have a good bullpen!
After the disaster that was the 2023 season, it almost seems unbelievable just how good the team’s bullpen has been so far. They have the best ERA in the league at 2.88 and are also tops in the league in K/9 at 11.51. They have also been phenomenal at keeping the ball in the yard - they are sporting a sparkling 0.44 HR/9 rate. They have done this in 81.1 innings which is good for sixth in the league.
With the Mets starters not going deep into games the bullpen has had to cover a lot of innings and they have mostly been getting the job done. The starters 103.2 IP is the fifth fewest in the National League and the bullpens 85.1 IP is the sixth highest total in the National League.
That is a volatile combination at best but so far, so good for the bullpen.
Now, they face another challenge with Brooks Raley going on the injured with elbow inflammation. He is 1-0 in eight games so far this season and he hadn’t given up a run before landing on the shelf. He was a trusted resource by Carlos Mendoza in the late innings, but now the club will have to figure out who or what combination of relievers - especially from the left side of the bullpen - can replace Raley in his absence.
Hopefully it’s just a short stint on the injured list as he did miss a small amount of time last season with a similar issue, but this creates a quality problem for the Mets on both ends of the bullpen.
Reed Garrett is the guy right now that makes the most sense to fill that role. As of Sunday he lead the league in strikeouts for a reliever with 21, and he picked up the first save of his major league career over the weekend against the Dodgers. He is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and his stuff has looked incredible thanks to a strong slider/splitter combination which are both generating a ton of swings and misses. The Mets seem to have unlocked something in Garrett and he has been one of the best surprises of the season so far.
Now its time to test him in those higher leverage spots, especially in the absence of Raley.
However, if Garrett gets bumped up in the pecking order that leaves innings that need to be covered by the combination of Drew Smith, Grant Hartwig, Michael Tonkin, Jorge López, and Jake Diekman. The organization has been aggressive shuffling ineffective relievers out of the bullpen which has helped the bullpen withstand any struggles, but at some point the club will have to find that reliable combination of relievers and get more quality innings out of the starting rotation to shorten these games.
This is just another bump for the bullpen that they can hopefully withstand until Raley returns in two weeks.
Around the League 🚩
The Angels placed 3B Anthony Rendon on the IL with a hamstring strain
The Rockies walked-off the Mariners after their first walk-off was negated by fan interference
The Astros placed another member of their rotation on the IL. Cristian Javier was placed on the injured list with neck discomfort
After getting swept by the Phillies, the White Sox fell to 3-18 and became the tenth team in major league history to lose 18 of their first 21 games