Blackout in the Ravine

Morning Dose: Tuesday, June 3

☀️ GOOD MORNING:

It’s not supposed to work this way.

You’re not supposed to enter the season with an uninspiring rotation, immediately lose two players from that group, and become the best starting five in baseball.

You certainty aren’t supposed to sneak a depth starter into the mix, after he missed nine months due to injuries, and expect him to shutdown the most explosive offense in baseball, the same one that Max Fried couldn’t finish off a few days ago and scored 18 runs off the Yankees this past weekend.

None of this is supposed to happen, but it’s happening for the Mets. If David Stearns can turn this ragtag bunch of pitchers into top performers, maybe Leon Rose should ask him if he has any ideas for improving KAT’s defense next season.

The Mets rewarded east-coast fans who stayed awake past 1:00 AM NYC time with a thrilling 4–3 victory in 10 innings behind a shutdown debut by Paul Blackburn, more leadoff heroics from Francisco Lindor and some late-night magic from Francisco Álvarez.

🔻 We will talk about why Edwin Díaz picked the right night to cough up a late lead, but failing to close the game out in the ninth proved costly beyond the scoreboard. Forced to play an extra frame, Mark Vientos pulled up lame with an injured hamstring. The Mets are still awaiting test results. Could this be an opportunity for Ronny Mauricio?

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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Box Score | Full Standings

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👓 BLACKOUT IN THE RAVINE

A day after Ryan Yarbrough used a mix of speeds to keep the Dodgers off balance, Paul Blackburn showcased a revamped repertoire that includes seemingly everything but a high-velocity four-seamer to hold Los Angeles in check for five shutout innings.

Facing a lefty-heavy lineup, Blackburn leaned mostly on a cutter/changeup combination that generated plenty of contact, but none that was damaging. In fact, of LA’s 14 batted balls, only two were classified as hard-hit. He induced nine ground balls (seven turning into outs) and earned his three strikeouts, two of them getting Shohei Ohtani swinging.

Despite falling behind the majority of batters, Blackburn looked totally in command, showing off a high-spin curveball that left Ohtani completely fooled. Blackburn also threw a sinker and slider that both had extra bite on them based on tweaks he worked on with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner during the offseason.

This was a classic example of Blackburn pitching well. He didn’t need velocity, he didn’t throw many first-pitch strikes, but he knew exactly what he wanted to throw, when he wanted to throw it and executed on his locations.

⏭️ WHAT’S NEXT? The Mets avoided making a rotation decision by using Blackburn as a sixth starter in a stretch of 10 games in as many days. They optioned reliever Chris Devenski to make the requisite roster space. The most likely candidate for Blackburn to possibly replace gets the ball tonight in Tylor Megill. Of course, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are making their way back to the rotation as well. Manaea threw 29 pitches in live BP on Monday.

“There’s a good chance he goes back to the bullpen for now, and we’ll go from there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game.