The Metropolitan: A time to sweep
Suddenly, the New York Mets are a pitching machine
Good Morning,
Happy Jackie Robinson Day!
After last night’s 5-1 victory over the Phillies, the Mets have now won a series for the first time this year, and have built a modest three-game winning streak. Today we’ll preview the final game of the four-game series with the Phillies, as the Mets look to sweep.
Plus, we’ll discuss Michael Conforto’s early offensive struggles, but let’s first recap last night’s exciting 5-1 win.
⚾️ IN SHORT: The Mets put together arguably their most impressive team win this season, by doing everything right: masterful starting pitching from David Peterson, key hits from the top of the order, and rock-solid relief pitching. [Box Score]
🔑 KEY MOMENT: After Jeurys Familia put runners on first and third with one out in the 7th inning of a 2-1 game, manager Luis Rojas called for lefty Aaron Loup to put out the fire. And two pitches later, he did just that: inducing a ground-ball double play off the bat of Didi Gregorius, that ended the threat and resulted in a massive exhale that could have oxygenated the entire tri-state area.
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ SERGEANT PETERSON: David Peterson had the outing of his young career, surrendering just one run on two hits and no walks, while tying his career-high 10 strikeouts — off a Philly lineup that drilled him last time around. He was pulled after six innings, despite throwing just 80 pitches, when his spot in the order came up with runners on base and two outs. Peterson only got one whiff on his slider, but threw it for strikes, and by throwing his sinker with similar spin, slot, and velocity as his 4-seamer, he kept the Phillies guessing all night.
❷ PEN PALS: The much-maligned Mets bullpen was huge. After Familia got into trouble thanks to a leadoff walk, Loup provided five key outs in the 7th and 8th, and looked good doing it, striking out two and allowing no batters to reach base. And Edwin Diaz held onto a 5-1 lead with no drama, also surrendering no runners while striking out a pair to end the game.
❸ TOP OF THE ORDER: The first three hitters in the lineup - Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith - combined for eight hits, showing signs of a potential offensive juggernaut that has not yet materialized. James McCann, who was credited by Peterson for calling his gem, capped off a three-hit evening with a two-run blast that put the game away in the 8th.
🧑🏫 SOUND SMART: The last time a Mets left-hander struck out 10 or more while walking none, was Chris Capuano on August 26, 2011. And Peterson becomes only the 7th Mets southpaw to ever match that pitching line.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Mets go for the sweep early today in a 12:10 matchup that should favor them: Jacob deGrom (0-1) takes on Zach Eflin (0-0) in a getaway day matinee that will need to be squeezed in before (or around) rain, which exclusive weather forecasting experts say has a 100 percent chance of occurring.
“SHOULD”: We say the matchup should favor the Mets, because while deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet, the Mets are just 36-42 in his starts since 2018.
◾️FATAL BERN: Bernie Madoff, who used a Ponzi scheme to swindle thousands of investors — including the Mets’ previous owners — died in prison yesterday at the age of 82.
↪️ RETURNING: Manager Luis Rojas told reporters that J.D. Davis — who took batting practice as he recovers from a hand contusion — will likely return to the lineup when he is eligible to come off the injured list on Saturday.
🤒 GETTING BETTER: Dellin Betances, who is recovering from a shoulder impingement, “is feeling better every day,” according to Luis Rojas: “There’s still some minor pain, soreness, but he’s progressed well.” However, there is still no timeline for his return. (While we wish him the best with his health, perhaps it’s best “not to rush things too much.”)
😳 LUIS KNEW: After The Athletic reported Jed Lowrie was denied a chance to have surgery on his knee while with the Mets in 2019, Luis Rojas told reporters on Wednesday, “I had a few conversations with Jed, I was aware that he wanted to have surgery. But there were some conversations that I really wasn’t a part of. I knew that he needed the brace to play, and that’s what our conversations were more about.”
🥶 BRRR: The Mets head to Colorado tomorrow for a three-game set against the Rockies. As noted on last night’s telecast, the weather in Denver is forecasted to sink to a balmy 19 degrees.
👻 BOO: What did Pete Alonso miss the most about playing the Phillies during the pandemic-impacted season of 2020? “Being booed at Philly? It was awesome...I missed the boos honestly sometimes, too,” Alonso said via Laura Albanese. “It's fun. I really miss the energy and the liveliness that the game can bring...I'm really thankful for it.”
📚 ON THIS DATE IN 1968: The Astros defeat the Mets 1-0 in 24 innings, making it the longest scoreless game in MLB history. The 6 hour, 6 minute game ended when Bob Aspromonte hit a grounder through Al Weis’ legs to score the winning run.
High heat is burning Conforto
🧓 by Jeffrey Bellone
I have hesitated writing about Michael Conforto’s early struggles, because it is exactly that, early. While it’s possible he isn’t the .322/.412/.515 hitter we saw over 54 games last season, it’s reasonable to presume he probably won’t remain a .120/.313/.160 hitter either. Perhaps Scott Boras has him seeing dollar signs instead of red dots on baseballs, causing him to play a little tight to start the season.
That said, there is one thing from his early results that is worth pointing out: Conforto is having an impossible time trying to hit fastballs, a pitch he clobbered to the tune of a .600 slugging percentage last year. While he has only seen 48 four-seamers over the first few weeks of April, he has only put two of them in play (both for an out), and has whiffed on an eye-popping 25% of them.
The soon-to-be free agent has particularly struggled against high fastballs, swinging through seven of the nine located in the upper third of the strike zone. It’s not that pitchers have found a new way to approach Conforto — he is seeing the same percentage of high fastballs — he just can’t hit them.
Again, some of this could be from focusing on such a small piece of the season. One game can skew the results. Last week, left-hander Trevor Rogers had a game plan against Conforto to pound him up in the zone, and whether he found the current hole in his swing and capitalized, or Conforto just had trouble seeing the ball out of Rogers’ hand that day, it’s hard to say, but Rogers blew four high four-seamers right by him. That accounts for over 50% of our sample size.
However, if we look at his swing against other pitchers this season, there is a recognizable difference in his approach compared to last season. Almost imperceptible in real-time, below is a freeze frame of Conforto facing a high fastball—one he whiffs on; and the other he drives for a hit.
In the 2021 frame (left image), he is slow to move his hands after he loads to swing. You can see the bat is still angled above his shoulder as he prepares to enter the zone and try to hit the pitch. Focusing on the 2020 frame (right image), when he plants his foot and begins to launch, he moves his hands in sequence, which allows him to release the barrel and enter the zone at an angle where he can drive ball. You can see how the barrel cuts his back arm in the 2020 frame, but instead of dragging his swing, he is speeding it up by keeping everything timed as he creates an optimal plane to hit the high pitch.
You probably guessed which swing resulted in a whiff versus a hit.
BOTTOM LINE: I’m not a hitting coach, and it’s still very early in the season. There is plenty of time for Conforto to find his rhythm against fastballs and punish them the way he did last season. But if you’re looking for something to focus on when watching Conforto’s at-bats, pay attention to those high fastballs and whether he makes solid contact, as a sign things could be getting better.
⚾️ White Sox LHP Carlos Rodón pitched a no-hitter, coming within two outs of throwing a perfect game (when he hit a batter).
⚾️ Major League Baseball will test moving the mound back a foot in the Atlantic League.
⚾️ Pete Rose announced Wednesday that he has joined UpickTrade, a pick-selling website based out of Mexico, to sell baseball predictions for $89/month.
⚾️ Red Sox top pitching prospect Bryan Mata underwent Tommy John surgery in Los Angeles yesterday.
🔗 Miracle Met Cleon Jones honors Jackie Robinson, by Larry McShane, NY Daily News: “My grandmother and great-grandmother, they were baseball fans,” recounts Jones, who grew up in segregated Mobile. “They used to sit around their radio and pull for Jackie Robinson. I idolized and worshipped him as a kid.”
🔗 Madoff Nearly Ruined the Mets. The Team Has Moved On, by David Waldstein, NY Times: “There was a high-flying, if brief, period in Mets history when virtually every available dollar was cycled through investment accounts managed by Bernard L. Madoff. If the team signed a deal for radio rights, the station was asked for much of the money up front and it was handed over to Madoff, who made it multiply, seemingly without fail.”
🔗 Mets are flushing away Jacob deGrom’s greatness, by Joel Sherman, NY Post: “DeGrom is scheduled for a matinee outing Thursday, weather permitting. The Mets are 0-2 this year when he starts. DeGrom threw six scoreless innings in his first start. Going into Wednesday, teams that got a start of at least six innings and no runs were 31-7 — and one of the losses came when two starters did it in the same game. DeGrom yielded one run in eight innings in his second start. There were six games this year in which a starter pitched at least eight innings and gave up one or no runs. The Mets, in deGrom’s start, are the only team with a loss.”
And we leave you with the full highlights from last night’s game…
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Happy Jackie Robinson Day!