Mets waste Justin Verlander's gritty effort as they're blanked by the Jays 3-0
The Mets were shutout for the eighth time already in 2023 on Friday night
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were shutout by the Blue Jays 3-0 at Citi Field on Friday night (Box)
The Mets were shutdown by former mate Chris Bassitt, who allowed just three hits over 7.2 shutout innings against his former club
The Mets scattered just three singles around a first inning double from Jeff McNeil
The Mets lone opportunity to crack Bassitt came in the third inning when they had runners at the corners with nobody out, but Bassitt induced a pop out from Brandon Nimmo, a strikeout from Francisco Lindor, and a pop out from McNeil to get out of the jam
Justin Verlander gave the Mets gutsy effort, throwing 117 pitches over six innings while allowing just a solo home run to George Springer in the first - it was his 330th career quality start
Daulton Varsho nailed this game shut with a two-run home run off of Jeff Brigham in the ninth
The Mets were shutout for the eighth time in 2023 after being shutout only eight times in all of 2022
The Mets lost for the first time this season when their starting pitcher goes at least six innings - they are now 16-1 in such situations in 2023
News and Notes 📰
Ronny Mauricio - in an attempt to be more versatile - is getting reps in left field, Mets GM Billy Eppler said on Friday. He has also played second, third and his natural position at shortstop
Kodai Senga will begin pitching on four-days rest with his next start on Sunday as part of the next step in his transition to American ball
Bartolo Colón will officially retire from baseball at Citi Field on August 26 (Héctor Gómez)
Roster Moves 🗞️
Acquired RHP Vinny Nittoli from the Cubs for Cash, added him to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse
Justin Verlander’s 117 pitches… ✨
Were the most he’s thrown since September 1, 2019, also against the Blue Jays when he no-hit them while with the Astros
Were the most thrown by a Mets pitcher in a single game since Jason Vargas threw 117 on June 5, 2019 again stat eGiants
Were the most by a pitcher age 40 or older since RA Dickey threw 121 pitches on August 30, 2017
Were the most by a Mets pitcher age 40 or older since Bartolo Colón threw 121 pitches on July 14, 2014 (Sarah Langs)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (30-28) vs. Blue Jays (31-27)
Where: Citi Field – Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Tylor Megill (5-3, 4.67 ERA) vs RHP José Berrios (5-4, 3.86 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Notes on Verlander, the Mets offense, and needing more from who is currently here… ✍🏼
That’s a game you’d hate to waste.
It has been an up-and-down season for Justin Verlander so far in 2023, mostly down thanks to the muscle strain which left him absent for the first part of the season and a general inability to find consistency over his first six starts with the Mets after signing his massive three-year contract with the club in the off-season.
But on Friday night, Verlander gave the Mets every chance possible to win with one of the gutsiest efforts from the club’s starting pitching staff to-date in 2023. He was far from efficient - he needed 117 pitches to get through six innings, but he executed his out pitches on seemingly every occasion and left the game with the Mets trailing 1-0 after six innings, capped by his ability to get out of that key bases loaded jam in the sixth to end his night.
That’s what he’s here to do. Come up aces, make big pitches and keep the opposing team off the board. Verlander has built a hall of fame career doing just that.
Again, he’s been up and down for the Mets so far this season but when you look at his ledger, he’s allowed two runs or less in four of his first six starts and pitched at least six innings in three of them. His ERA at 4.25 is inflated by two generally ineffective starts but there’s every indication - especially after last night - his season will begin to balance itself out and he will resemble the pitcher the Mets badly need him to be over the course of the season.
Now, before I discuss the Mets offense, let’s first offer props to Chris Bassitt, who came back to Citi Field last night and took the Mets to school for nearly eight innings. It looked effortless for him as he dazzled the Mets with an array of sinkers, cutters and breaking balls down in the zone. He got 14 swings-and-misses on that sinker, leaving the Mets utterly clueless at the plate.
That brings me to Francisco Lindor, who essentially just stood and watched while Bassitt struck him out in the third inning. Like, literally.
I said a couple of weeks ago the start of his season in 2023 closely resembled that of his start from 2022, and then he picked it up and put together a quality season overall. But right now, there are no signs of that really coming together for Lindor, especially from the left side of the plate where he has shown flashes at times, but no consistency whatsoever. He’s hitting .207/.287/.348 from the left side, and often times isn’t even competitive in his at-bats against right-handed pitching.
Still waiting for him to turn that corner. It needs to come soon. The Mets need more from Lindor. Period.
Anyway, while the Mets did sweep the Phillies, they haven’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard on this homestand, scoring 10 runs in their first four games, four of which have come courtesy of Mark Canha. It’s tough for this offense when Alonso isn’t providing the power - after all, he can’t homer every day, although at this point he pretty much needs to for the Mets to have any sort of consistency in their lineup.
And of course when the Mets had their one chance in the third inning with runners at the corners and nobody out, Bassitt found a way out of the jam while successfully navigating the Mets top of the order.
It’s frustrating when the Mets can’t capitalize off of the quality performances from their co-aces. Those are the games good teams are supposed to win. They’re typically going to keep the opposition at bay, and as we saw with Jacob deGrom for so many years, it ends up turning into a wasted start for the team, despite the individual achievements they collect along the way. Overall, the Mets are 9-6 when Verlander or Max Scherzer get the ball.
Good, but not as good as the Mets need which helps speak to their 30-28 record.
The questions I have is, how will Billy Eppler address this offense at the deadline, especially with an obvious need for their rotation and their bullpen? It seems like a lot to do and a tall task when money isn’t the primary form of currency in July. Offensively, they obviously need more from their DH, but they generally need more from almost every position aside from first base. Addressing their DH problem might be the path of least resistance for Eppler
Does one bat fix this offense?
At some point, the Mets need more from who is already here.
Around the League 🚩
Mookie Betts had four hits and a walk to lead the Dodgers to an 8-4 win over the Yankees
Shohei Ohtani had a rough night on the mound for the Angels - he allowed five runs in six innings as the Astros charged to a 6-2 win
The Diamondbacks won their sixth game in a row to keep pace with the Dodgers for first place in the NL West with a 3-2 win over the Braves
The Orioles moved to 36-21 for the year with a tight 3-2 win over the Giants
Chris Sale landed on the injured list for the Red Sox with shoulder inflammation