We finally have Mets baseball! After a rollercoaster of a week, with the ecstasy of the Lindor extension followed by the anguish of the postponed opening weekend series in Washington, the Mets opened their season in Philly, and came home to a partially fan-filled Citi Field on Thursday.
DISLOCATED RECAP
Hey, how have the Mets been doing?
🟠 Monday 4/5 at Phillies - L 5-3
Jake was the unquestioned star of the Mets delayed opening day, leading the team in both pitching and hitting after one game. He was pulled after cruising through 6 innings, with only 77 pitches. 50 of those pitches were strikes despite a terrible strike zone by the home plate ump.
With Dom Smith benched against a lefty pitcher, the Mets’ offense sputtered. Their defense shined early, gunning down Hoskins attempting to stretch a triple on a smooth relay from Pillar to McNeil to Davis. Lindor & McNeil turned a sweet double play as well, and Pete laid out to snag a scorched ground ball. But ultimately it was poor performances by May & Loup out of the pen, and a rushed throw by Guillorme to McCann which opened the door for the Phils to score 5 in the 8th and cost Jake a W.
🟠 Tuesday 4/6 at Phillies - W 8-4
It was the premier of the Str0 Show, and Marcus delivered the goods, only giving up 1 run over 6 strong innings.
Castro & May came out of the pen for the second straight night, and Familia was brought in for the 9th with a sizable lead. Each of them struggled a bit, but managed to hold onto the lead.
JD Davis came out of the game early after taking the first pitch he saw off the hand (x-rays came back negative, and he’s day-to-day)
Dom & Pete each had a 2-run homer. Nimmo had a great night too, with 3 walks, one of which came with the bases loaded, kicking off some much-needed insurance runs. He also snagged a drive in the gap to kill a potential Phillies rally. Pete also flashed some serious leather on a couple of plays.
It was a slightly shaky, but ultimately good team win, and the first of many in the Steve Cohen era. After the game Luis Rojas said he’s giving the game ball to Steve to congratulate him.
🟠 Wednesday 4/7 at Phillies - L 8-2
David Peterson got knocked around in the 1st inning, giving up a couple of dingers, and a total of 4 runs. He settled down nicely after that, keeping the Phils scoreless for the next 3 frames.
Jacob Barnes came in from the pen in the 5th with 2 men on base, and promptly gave up a home run to Realmuto, tacking on a couple of runs to Peterson’s line.
Nimmo continued to get on base, going 2 for 4 with a walk, and Guillorme also got on base 3 times. But the Mets didn’t get much going at the plate otherwise. They went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and leaving an astounding 14 runners on base.
Rough innings will happen to pitchers now and then, but you can’t win games without driving in runs.
🟠 Thursday 4/8 vs Marlins - W 3-2
Taijuan Walker made his Mets debut in their home opener, and the crowd was much louder than the 8,000+ reported. He looked fantastic, pumping in strikes, with a fastball sitting in the upper 90s. The Marlins didn’t have a hit until the 5th inning.
The bullpen kept this one close, with Castro, May, and Diaz combining for 3 scoreless innings. Let’s hope these more reliable arms aren’t overused too early this year.
The Mets’ bats were once again struggling to get runners across the plate, going 1 for 5 with RISP on the day. Nimmo went 3 for 5, naturally. But birthday boy, Jeff McNeil gifted fans a game-tying bomb in the bottom of the 9th. His epic bat flip must’ve had Marlins’ closer, Anthony Bass, shook, because he gave up hits to Guillorme & Nimmo, and intentionally walked Lindor to load the bases to face Conforto, who was hit by a pitch on a controversial call. Replays show that the pitch was over the plate and Michael sort of left his elbow hanging out there. Initially it looked like the ump rang him up, but then signaled for him to take his base, bringing in the winning run. Bizarre, to say the least!
🟠 Saturday 4/10 vs Marlins - L 3-0
Another deGrom start, another brilliant performance... completely wasted.
There’s not much to say about this one. Jake scattered 5 hits over 8 innings, while marching his career high for strikeouts with 14. His only mistake was when Jazz Chisholm took him deep on an 0-2 count in the 2nd.
The Mets offense got our hopes up early, with Nimmo leading off the game with a double, and Lindor following that with an attempted sac bunt, which was misplayed allowing him to reach base. But nothing came of it, and they couldn’t do much else the rest of the afternoon.
It was really discouraging to watch, and the fans were in mid-season form, booing pretty loudly.
Not fun. Hopefully they can get on track soon.
CAUGHT IN A RUNDOWN
All the news from this past week, which you’ve probably already seen by now.
🟠 Carlos Carrasco pitched two innings in a simulated game last Sunday. Luis Rojas said that he’s progressed well through his recovery from a torn hamstring, but he still has several more weeks before he’ll be ready to rejoin the team and slot into the middle of the Mets’ rotation.
🟠 The first change to our bullpen has been made, due to injury, not ineffectiveness.
RHP Dellin Betances has been placed on the 10-day IL with a Right Shoulder Impingement.
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 8, 2021
RHP Trevor Hildenberger has been selected to the Major League roster and will be active today.
🟠 The Mets announced a date for the unveiling of the Seaver Statue, July 22nd ⚾️
News: the Mets will hold their Tom Seaver statue dedication on July 22 at Citi Field, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. Should be a wonderful ceremony at 41 Seaver Way.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 9, 2021
Details:https://t.co/rnJBeFCUnN
🟠 The Mets announced some moves due to JD Davis’ hand injury.
INF J.D. Davis has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to April 7, with a left hand contusion.
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 10, 2021
INF José Peraza has been selected to the major league roster and will be active today…He will wear #18.
RHP Franklyn Kilome has been designated for assignment.
TWEET THE METS
🟠 Steve Cohen weighed in after the Mets first victory under his ownership ✅😂
See , that was easy
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) April 7, 2021
🟠 Dom Smith also had a message for Mets fans after their first win on Tuesday 🗣
First of many! @TheRealSmith2_ 🙌 #LGM pic.twitter.com/DDrVIyI0TN
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 7, 2021
🟠 Pete has been flashing the leather, and Str0 took notice 🐻❄️
My dawg Pete with the sick play. https://t.co/FIIe7AstAP
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) April 7, 2021
🟠 Trevor & Tai cheer our first W 🎉
Let’s go Mets.
— Trevor “IamTrevorMay” May (@IamTrevorMay) April 7, 2021
— Taijuan Walker (@tai_walker) April 7, 2021🟠 Steve & Alex Cohen greeted fans for the home opener with this message. Check out Alex’s shirt 👀 available here.
#Mets fans, here is a special message from @StevenACohen2 and Alex Cohen! pic.twitter.com/MJZKhd13yA
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 8, 2021
🟠 Str0 & Tai showing a peek of that great locker room chemistry 🤜🏽🤛🏽
Appreciate you my G!! You already know I am https://t.co/GVoNkKcqSW
— Taijuan Walker (@tai_walker) April 8, 2021
🟠 The Mets are getting vaccinated 💉 Check out the skipper’s guns, by the way 💪🏽👀
Doing our part. #GetVaccinated #LGM pic.twitter.com/MBSGyhimXZ
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 9, 2021
🟠 Uncle Steve was hyped for that home opener win 🎉
What a game that was yesterday McNeil’s home run was so clutch. Only 8000 fans and the place was still rocking .Ty Mets fans for being the best fans in baseball.
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) April 9, 2021
🟠 Trevor May would like to not get murdered by Jacob deGrom 💀
What the hell.
— Trevor “IamTrevorMay” May (@IamTrevorMay) April 11, 2021