The Metropolitan: Mets get clutch hit... from elbow guard
Lucky win follows big games from Walker, McNeil, Nimmo & pen
Good Morning,
Today we’ll talk about yesterday’s most unusual Mets victory, and go deep on Taijuan Walker’s impressive outing. But first: If you enjoy this free newsletter, please consider sharing it with others:
And with that, let’s recap last night’s action.
⚾️ IN SHORT: After a very sharp performance from Taijuan Walker in his Mets’ debut, and three shutdown innings from the bullpen, birthday boy Jeff McNeil hit a clutch home run to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th… before a very controversial play involving Michael Conforto gifted the Mets a 3-2 victory in their 2021 home opener. [Box Score]
Let’s start with the controversial final play…
🔸 WHAT HAPPENED: After McNeil’s home run tied the game to start the inning, the Mets loaded the bases for Michael Conforto, who leaned into an Anthony Bass slider that would have been a called third strike, but instead, skimmed Conforto’s elbow guard, resulting in a “Hit-by-Pitch” walk-off win for the Mets.
🔸 WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED: Home plate ump Ron Kulpa sums it up best: “The guy was hit by the pitch in the strike zone. I should have called him out.” According to MLB Rule 5.05(b)(2), strikes supersede hit-by-pitches, so if the ump rules the pitch is in the strike zone, the HBP should have been nullified.
🔸 WHAT ABOUT REPLAY? The replay supervisor confirmed the ball hit Conforto, but whether it hit him in the strike zone is a judgment made by the home plate ump in the moment (as explained above), and is therefore not reviewable.
🔸 WHAT DOES CONFORTO THINK? “Obviously not the way that I wanted to win the ballgame. ... I knew there was going to be some controversy,” Conforto told reporters after the game. “From my point of view, it was a slider. It felt like it was coming back to me. I turned. There may have been a little lift to my elbow just out of habit, out of reaction, and it barely skimmed the edge of my elbow guard.”
INTENTIONAL? “I don’t think he leaned,” manager Luis Rojas said after the game. “That’s not his instinct. That’s kind of how he moves his hands. Even throwing to him in batting practice, he will do that on pitches in.”
🔸 WHAT DO THE MARLINS THINK? “He didn’t get hit by a pitch,” manager Don Mattingly told reporters. “He got hit by a strike.”
🤬 Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara:
What about that McNeil home run?
🍎 CLUTCH: Ah, yes. Before the awkward ending, Jeff McNeil became the first Mets player to hit a game-tying HR in the 9th inning on his birthday. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, he turned a 3-1 sinker into a tie game.
🎉 And he celebrated with an epic bat flip…
🤔 DEJA VU: Some fans might be reminded of a similar bat-toss by Asdrubal Cabrera after his game-winning extra innings homer against Philadelphia in 2016.
3 MORE TAKEAWAYS
❶ GREAT DEBUT: Pitching in his first regular season game as a Met, Taijuan Walker was impressive. His fastball was electric, averaging its highest speed (95.4) since 2016 and hitting 97 MPH on the gun as late as the 4th inning. He took a no-hitter into the 5th, before giving up two runs in the sixth. Overall, his command was crisp, and he allowed only those two runs on four hits, striking out four and walking two across 6 innings.
❷ RISP: If you can’t get a hit with runners in scoring position, I suppose you just let the pitch hit you. Kidding aside: It may be fitting that the winning run scored on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, as the Mets continue to struggle with men on base. They finished the game 0-6 with RISP — and are now 6-35 in that situation on the season.
❸ THE BULLPEN WAS… GOOD? For the first time this season, the bullpen put up zeroes across three innings of work. Miguel Castro pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, hitting 100 MPH with his fastball. Trevor May gave up a hit, but settled in for an easy frame. And Edwin Díaz made his 2021 debut, kissing 100 MPH on several pitches, and earning the win after a scoreless 9th.
🔥 NIMMO ON FIRE: Leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo continued to cause trouble to opposing pitchers, going 3-5 with a big hit in the 9th that brought the winning run to 3rd. He’s now batting .429 with a 1.150 OPS.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS:
⏭ NEXT UP: The Mets have an off day today, before continuing their series with the Marlins over the weekend.
🎆 FIREWORKS? After McNeil’s emphatic bat flip and Conforto’s controversial hit-by-pitch, could there be some bad blood between the teams on display tomorrow?
📅 LOOKING AHEAD: Jacob deGrom returns to the hill for the Mets tomorrow (maybe he’ll get to throw more than 77 pitches). And Marcus Stroman will make his home debut on Sunday. The Mets will host the Phillies starting on Monday.
🎙 CALLING IT FAIR: Credit to both the Mets’ TV and radio broadcasts, who immediately called the game-ending play for what it was. The TV booth repeatedly showed the replay and unanimously panned the hit-by-pitch call that handed the Mets the win.
📣 OPENING CEREMONIES: The customary player introductions before the home opener were modified this season due to COVID-19. Instead of radio legend Howie Rose announcing the players on the field, it was done over the PA system by stadium announcer Marysol Castro. And pitchers and reserves did not receive introductions.
💉 SHOT IN THE ARM: Asked if he plans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Pete Alonso, who appears in a pro-vaccination PSA, told reporters, “I’ll put it to you this way: I’m in a vaccine commercial." Late last night, the Mets released a photo of Francisco Lindor and others getting their shots.
🏥 BETANCES: Before yesterday’s game, reliever Dellin Betances was placed on the 10-day IL with what’s being called a right shoulder impingement. Sidearmer Trevor Hildenberger was called up in his place.
👖 LOCKER ROOM TALK: Francisco Lindor has been given the locker space formerly assigned to David Wright. It’s a double-cubby setup in the corner of the clubhouse, near the door leading to the field.
🎩 HAT TRICK: During yesterday’s game, Miguel Castro seemed to be wearing a different cap from everyone else, with the pitcher’s hat featuring a white trim around the “NY” insignia. It appeared to be the alternate blues that go with the Mets’ home blue jersey.
Taijuan Walker catches the Marlins looking
🧓 by Jeffrey Bellone
It was interesting that Corey Dickerson was standing in the batter’s box as the first hitter Taijuan Walker faced as a New York Met. Way back in 2016, Dickerson owned the right-hander, taking him deep twice and hitting a triple against him over a four-week span.
Amazingly, Walker has only started 55 Major League games since their last match-up. And while time changes everything but the name on the back of these players’ jerseys, after firing three straight fastballs for two whiffs and a called third strike at 97 MPH, Dickerson (and Mets fans) got an early clue that the 2021 Taijuan Walker might be a different pitcher than he has been in the recent past.
Walker built off his game-opening strikeout by carrying a no-hit bid into the 5th inning. But the way he got there was interesting. He used his sinker — a pitch he hasn’t always been able to command — to pound the strike zone, earning nine called strikes.
Why does this matter? For as good as Walker pitched, the Marlins helped him out by taking so many strikes. In fact, Walker had never received more than three called strikes in the eight games he used his sinker last season. Overall, 21.8% of his pitches were called strikes, which is the highest percentage he has received since 2018, and tied for the 7th most of his career.
And he needed to catch the Marlins looking on this day for two reasons: first, when they did swing the bat, they often made hard contact (7 of the 17 balls put in play were hit > 95 MPH); and second, he must have come out of warm-ups without a great feel for his split-change, because he shied away from using his best put-away pitch until late in the game. This partly explains why he struggled to retire batters on 2-strike counts, on which 4 of those 7 hard hit balls came.
In fact, Dickerson ultimately proved he still could handle the 2021 version of Taijuan Walker by lacing a game-tying double in the sixth inning on a 1-2 count after Walker failed to get him out with his split-change or slider. Two batters later, Jesus Aguilar turned an 0-2 count into his own RBI base hit, ignoring two sliders below the strike zone, before connecting on a sinker.
Ironically, Walker finally got the feel for his split-change against the final batter he faced (Brian Anderson), using the pitch to get two swinging strikes.
BOTTOM LINE: I suppose it was opposite week here at Mets Fix. Yesterday, we highlighted the hidden positives in David Peterson’s rocky outing, and today, we are focusing on the less flattering aspects of Taijuan Walker’s otherwise extremely impressive debut. We definitely try to keep you covered from all angles 😉
⚾️ “Multiple” suspicious baseballs thrown by Dodger Trevor Bauer were sent to MLB for inspection of foreign substances, after they were “sticky” and had “markings,” reports Ken Rosenthal ($). In response, Bauer tweeted that the report was “desperate and misleading clickbait.”
⚾️ Orioles #2 starter Matt Harvey allowed four runs over five innings, to collect the loss against Boston yesterday. He walked one and struck out five.
⚾️ An MRI revealed that Toronto’s George Springer has a low-grade strain of his right quad, which could sideline him for most of the month.
⚾️ Seattle pitcher James Paxton appears headed for Tommy John surgery, according to Jon Heyman. He was already placed on the injured list with a left forearm strain, but now looks likely to miss the entire season.
⚾️ Oakland closer Trevor Rosenthal had thoracic outlet surgery, and will be out for several months at the earliest.
🔗 “Michael Conforto drama wasn’t biggest clutch moment in Mets’ home opener,” by Joel Sherman, NY Post: “What McNeil knew before the ball even landed 409 feet away beyond the right-field fence was that the score was tied 2-2. Like with his earlier foul pop out to Anderson, McNeil did not need to watch the ball land to know the outcome, and so he sailed his bat in a high arc as he faced the Met dugout and exalted. McNeil said he had never bat flipped before, but was recognizing “one of my biggest moments as a Met.”
🔗 “Michael Conforto not to blame for Mets' controversial ending Thursday,” by John Harper, SNY: “[Y]es, Conforto should have been called out. But, no, it doesn’t mean he’s any less classy because of his role in the mess. Let’s not forget that Derek Jeter once over-acted like he broke his wrist to get a hit-by-pitch call when replays showed the ball hit the knob of his bat. The Marlins and their fans had a right to be outraged, but their beef should be with home plate umpire Ron Kulpa, who publicly admitted he blew the call.”
And… we leave you with this video of the Mets celebrating as they won the home opener…
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The Metropolitan: Mets get clutch hit... from elbow guard
On an unrelated note....with all of the talk about extending Conforto perhaps the Mets should pivot to Nimmo. Conforto has never had an elite season maxing out at a 3.7 WAR a few years ago and a solid 54 game season last year. Nimmo on the other hand has a 5WAR season under his belt is around the same age and I wouldn't bet against him to put up a more productive season than Conforto this year.
Seems like you could get more value for your money extending Nimmo than paying 25m a year to Conforto simply because of an uninspiring FA OF crop next winter. If Conforto can actually do for a full season what he did in 2020 he would earn his $ but I don't think that is a sure thing. If he puts up close to the 6WAR he was projected for over a full season last year then the Mets are destined for good things in 2021. I would prefer to see more talk about extending guys like Pete/Smith/Nimmo/McNeil personally and it has nothing to do with Conforto's early season struggle than it does with locking up young stars you could get more value from.
a win is a win is a win - As a fan for 52 years The Mets have been jobbed coutless times - this one thing doesnt even come close to making up for those ! First you show Conforto getting the "little guys" grazed and then today its his Elbow LOL