So much for run prevention, again!
The Mets dropped their series to the Brewers thanks to yet more bad defensive play
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped their series in Milwaukee after losing 4-3 to the Brewers in the series finale on Wednesday (box)
RHP Christian Scott didn’t have his best outing and faced a lot of traffic, although his outfield defense didn’t help. He left after just 3.2 innings having allowed three earned runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts
Four relievers combined to allow just one earned run the rest of the way, with both LHP A.J. Minter and RHP Daniel Duarte tossing scoreless outings to end the game
2B Marcus Semien got the Mets on the board with a solo home run in the second inning, and RF Brett Baty made it a one-run game with a solo blast of his own in the top of the fifth
However, the offense struggled again and, after C Francisco Alvarez hit an RBI single in the ninth to cut the lead to just one-run, the rally ended there with CF A.J. Ewing making the last out with the tying run on base
In all, the lineup recorded just eight hits, struck out 15 times and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven runners stranded on base
Injury Updates 🏥
OF Juan Soto (left calf soreness) was given Wednesday off in order to fully recover with a scheduled off day on Thursday. He is expected to be back in the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers
RHP Clay Holmes (fractured right fibula) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday and is expected to pitch roughly three innings. It is expected that he will need one more rehab start after Thursday before being activated
RHP Dedniel Núñez (Recovery from Tommy John surgery) allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over 1.1 innings in his latest rehab outing for Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday
Rumor Mill 💨
CF Luis Robert Jr. is drawing “preliminary interest from multiple teams with the Trade Deadline fast approaching (The Athletic)
There is a “significantly greater likelihood” of RHP Clay Holmes being dealt than signing an extension with the Mets (The Athletic)
Play of the Game 🙃
Christian Scott was charged with three earned runs on Wednesday, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story about his eventual downfall in the series finale.
With the Mets protecting a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, Scott was looking to get out of a jam with runners on the corners but two outs.
Arguably, he should have.
And he no doubt would have were it not for Brett Baty misplaying a routine fly ball that allowed two runs to score on an RBI triple.
The play wasn’t ruled an error, but Baty’s mistake proved costly in what was a close game.
So much for run prevention, hey?
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
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Down on the Farm 🌾
SS Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
1B Eric Wagaman (Triple-A): 1-for-4, 3 RBIs
DH Corey Collins (Double-A): 2-for-3, 2 RBIs
SS Elian Peña (No. 6 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B
CF Trey Snyder (Single-A): 3-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBIs, 1 2B, 1 SB
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets are off on Thursday and will be back in action on Friday when they open up a three-game series against the Dodgers at Citi Field
Good old run prevention comes back to bite the Mets again! ✍️
I officially never want to hear the words “run prevention” ever again.
My goodness, what a mess.
All we heard all offseason was how the main priority of the front office was to improve the team defensively. Instead, thanks to asking players to constantly play out of position, the Mets have been an absolute disaster class in the field for much of this season, as was the case again on Wednesday, which is what doomed the Mets on Wednesday.
While Christian Scott wasn’t exactly great on the mound, his cause wasn’t helped by Brett Baty, who botched a routine fly ball in right field that led to two runs being scored and the entire tenor of the game changing.
Players being used out of position leading to the most basic of mistakes in the field - where have we heard that one before?
Now, I understand that there was a need to rest Juan Soto so he could get a full two days off to heal his calf. And I also understand the need to be careful with Luis Robert Jr.’s workload. But Tyrone Taylor was available and he would have been the better option to start out in right over someone who is a third baseman by trade in Baty.
Of course, Baty did go on to hit a home run in the game, but there are no excuses for messing up what should have been an easy third out, except for the fact that he isn’t a right fielder and the Mets have stretched him way too thin at too many positions. And, while this season is all but done and wins will matter very little, that shouldn’t be an excuse for the Mets not to go out with the mentality of trying to win every single game.
Playing Baty out of position when there are better options available certainly doesn’t help, and that’s on the dugout staff specifically, although it was this front office’s idea to move Baty and several others out of position in an effort to make them more versatile (and to really accommodate Bo Bichette, who is also playing out of position at third base, albeit reasonably well).
Plus, to compound matters, Luis Torrens was used at first base later in the game (!!!). Again, the Mets’ stated intentions and their actual actions haven’t aligned all season when it comes to run prevention, and comically bad defense is a huge part of why they are in this mess.
Heading into Wednesday, the Mets ranked 24th in the Majors with minus-11 Fielding Run Value, according to Statcast, while being tied for the second-most errors in baseball with 69. A lot of those struggles are thanks to pieces being rammed into holes that don’t just fit. Versatility is one thing, but what the Mets have done all year has bordered on the absurd.
Furthermore, I won’t be convinced otherwise that being constantly yanked around and being asked to play alien positions hasn’t contributed to Baty’s overall struggles this season.
Looking ahead to the offseason, if the Mets are going to emphasize run prevention, they need to actually focus on building a defense that works with pieces that actually fit. I’d rather not see A.J. Ewing have to play second base again, because that takes him away from where he’s most effective and most valuable.
The margin for error in Major League Baseball is intricately small, and all it takes to blow a game is one defensive miscue, as was the case yesterday.
I’m sick and tired of seeing sloppy play after sloppy play sink this team, and we can only hope that the front office learns from its mistakes this past offseason and shifts its focus to putting the right players in the right position. If they can stop talking about run prevention and actually put more energy into fixing the defense, then that would be nice too.
Around the League 🚩
Royals star SS Bobby Witt Jr. was placed on the IL for the first time in his career with lower-back tightness (MLB.com)
The Astros traded RHP Nate Pearson to the Royals for Class A RHP Max Martin (The Athletic)
The Red Sox tied a franchise record by winning a 15th straight game after beating the Orioles 6-3, although they fell short of setting a new franchise record thanks to a 5-1 loss in the second game of the doubleheader
LF Yordan Alvarez hit his 34th home run of the year to lift Houston to a 5-2 win over the Marlins
LHP Max Fried struck out seven over five innings of scoreless ball in his return, helping the Yankees to beat the Pirates 2-0 and split the doubleheader
C Dalton Rushing had a home run and three RBIs as the Dodgers beat the Phillies, 9-5
The D-backs erupted for 15 runs in a 15-3 rout of the A’s, led by five home runs