The Mets played the Phillies for two at Citi Field, and will be traveling to Philadelphia to keep the home and home series going for two more games on Wednesday and Thursday.
Driving this strange home and home series is the London Series that will be taking place between the two teams on June 8th and June 9th. Each team will have a “home game” there so this series has been modified to adjust for that.
Along with that, here is a modified rundown of the Mets vs. Phillies, Citi Field two-game edition. It was not a good start to the series for the Mets, who were taken down in Game 1 in extra innings after a 9th inning blown save by Edwin Díaz, and an offensive no-show in Game 2.
Game 1: Phillies 5, Mets 4
The Mets grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. This was probably the team’s worst loss of the season.
All-world closer Edwin Díaz entered the game for the Mets in the ninth inning, staked to a 4-2 lead. To say he didn’t have “it” would be an understatement. After surrendering a leadoff solo homer to Bryson Stott of Philadelphia to lead off the ninth, Diaz then loaded the bases before hitting Alec Bohm with a pitch to drive in the tying run.
The Mets bats went silent in both the ninth and tenth innings, sealing the loss after a very emotional Mother’s Day victory courtesy of Brandon Nimmo heroics in the bottom of the ninth.
In the top of the tenth inning, Sean Reid-Foley entered the game to pitch for the Mets. He allowed one run to score on a Bryson Stott sacrifice fly but stopped the bleeding after that to give the Mets bats a chance down 5-4 in the bottom of the tenth. While Reid-Foley took the loss, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of Diaz for the ninth inning.
Starting for the Mets was Sean Manaea and he pitched well, going 6 innings and allowing only one run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Against a quality Phillies lineup, the Mets will certainly take this stat line from their starter. Manaea’s ERA stands at 3.05 on the season.
From the batter’s box, Pete Alonso (2 for 4 with a double) and J.D. Martinez (3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s) delivered five of the team’s 8 hits. Martinez’s season average is now at .302 with an OPS of .785. If and when his power returns, he should be returning to his All-Star form.
The Phillies were paced by Bryson Stott (2 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBI’s). Bryce Harper was 1 for 5 with 3 strikeouts. Cristopher Sanchez got the start and went 5.2 innings surrendering 3 runs on 7 hits.
Game 2: Phillies 4, Mets 0
The Mets wore their blue jerseys for the first time this year but were effectively a no-show for this one and were defeated 4-0 by the Phillies.
Aaron Nola of the Phillies started and was masterful, spinning a four-hit shutout over 109 pitches. The Mets did not get their first hit until a leadoff single to left field by Tyrone Taylor. It seemed as though they wanted to get the game over with and hit the road to Philly. As an example, in a symbolic show of how the rest of the game transpired, in the bottom of the seventh inning, Starling Marte went first pitch swinging and delivered a single to right field. Francisco Lindor followed with a line out to second base on the first pitch he saw, and Pete Alonso hit into an inning-ending double play on the first pitch. Three up, three down….on three pitches!
To say the Mets offense is struggling is an understatement. They totaled four hits in the game and it never felt like they were in the ballgame.
Jose Butto got the start for the Mets, and in what is becoming a pattern for him, he struggled a bit early on but finished strong. His final stat line was 5 innings pitched, with 2 runs allowed on only 1 hit but 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. Both of his earned runs came in the third inning, with the first Phillies run coming on a bases loaded hit by pitch for Alec Bohm (deja vu to Edwin Díaz and Game 1’s ninth inning). The second run was a bases loaded walk to the next batter, Brandon Marsh.
Upcoming: Completing the Home and Home in Philadelphia
On Monday, manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Adrian Houser would be getting the start in Wednesday’s Game 3 in Philadelphia. However, Houser warmed up in the ninth inning of Game 2 to protect the overburdened bullpen. As such, he will not be starting Game 3 and the nod will likely go to Joey Lucchesi as reported by Joel Sherman of the the New York Post. Lucchesi comes with major league experience, sporting a career record of 23 wins and 24 losses with an ERA of 4.07 and WHIP of 1.27.
In an update to my earlier reporting, Joel Sherman of the New York Post also gave an update on how the Mets would clear a 40 man roster spot to call up Joey Lucchesi. They are going to designate for assignment Yohan Ramirez. This will be the third time this season that Ramirez will be DFA’d. It is actually the second time the Mets have done it this season with Baltimore claiming him after the first Met DFA just for the Mets to claim him and again DFA him.
Ramirez had performed better than what you might think for a guy who has been DFA’d three times in this still relatively young season. He has faced 65 hitters, and struck out 17 of them for a 26.2 K% which is a tick over league average. On the other hand, the 29 year old right-hander has given up 11 earned runs.
another roster move
Both Ben Yoel and Andy Martino are reporting that the Mets are going to recall Mark Vientos from Triple A Syracuse and do another DFA, this time to veteran infielder Joey Wendle.
Let’s talk about what they adding in Vientos first. In 31 games in Syracuse Mark is hitting .284/.376/.500 with six home runs. Mark is also striking out at a 28.6% clip but Vientos is only 24 years old and will get a chance to prove his possible upside. The bigger question here is what will this do to another young infield prospect in Brett Baty? For now, he will stay on the roster, but according to StatMuse, Baty is only batting .200 against left-handed starters, and the Phillies are sending LHP Ranger Suarez to the hill tomorrow.
Joey Wendle has been a disappointment in the big apple. Now, to be fair, in 112 games for the Marlins last season his slash line was .212/.248/.306. The Mets took a $2MM 1 year contract on him, and it did not work out as his line in New York was similar to his Miami line .222/.243/.250. That was based off of his 37 trips to the plate with only one extra base hit and only one walk as compared to 9 strike outs.
Now, the Mets will have a week to either trade or waive both Wendle and Ramirez, when these reported announcements become official. No matter what happens to Wendle, he has more than enough MLB service time to reject an assignment to Triple A while still retaining all of the money on his current contract.
Written by: Jason Krom
Stats by espn.com and mlbtraderumors.com
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