Good Morning,
The Mets’ bats were cold as usual last night, wasting a strong start from David Peterson, en route to a 2-1 loss to the Red Sox at home. On the plus side, the bullpen was strong and the defense was not atrocious.
In other news, we’ll also discuss the retirement of lefty reliever Jerry Blevins.
But first, let’s recap last night’s action.
⚾️ IN SHORT: In a brisk game lacking offense on both sides, Garrett Richards outlasted David Peterson, and the Red Sox used a Rafael Devers single and Bobby Dalbec home run to beat the Mets 2-1. [Box Score]
🔑 KEY MOMENT: There weren’t many high-leverage plays in this one, but after Jeff McNeil gave the Mets a 1-0 lead on a second deck home run in the bottom of the second, the Red Sox immediately responded with a home run of their own by Dalbec (his first of the season) in the top of the next frame.
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ BATS STILL SLEEPING: Once again, the Mets failed to give their starting pitcher much support, plating a lone run on the McNeil solo blast and going 1-3 with runners in scoring position, to actually raise their average in such situations to .193 (still last in all of baseball).
Coming into the game, opposing pitcher Garrett Richards had a 6.48 ERA and 12/13 K/BB ratio, but fanned ten with no walks last night, getting 19 swing-and-misses for a 42% CSW (called strikes + whiff rate). Richards hadn’t gotten double digits in strikeouts in over three years.
❷ STARTING STRENGTH: Left-hander David Peterson had control of his fastball early, getting through the first inning in 7 pitches while hitting all of his spots. Besides the long ball to Dalbec, he limited damage to only 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out three and allowing two earned runs. His slider didn’t have quite the same bite it has had in his previous starts, only eliciting one swinging strike on 18 pitches.
❸ ON THE BASES: The Mets ran themselves into two outs on the bases when James McCann tried to stretch a single into a double in the 5th, and Kevin Pillar was caught stealing in the same inning. It’s been hard enough for both players to reach base in the early going, so it’s not ideal to get thrown out.
That said, Pillar was running on two strikes, after the Mets batted the pitcher 8th in hopes of creating this exact situation where Francisco Lindor (batting lead-off) would see more fastballs, which he did, but swung through one and fouled off another before Pillar was caught.
🧑🏫 SOUND SMART: There are 254 players with at least 50 plate appearances this season, and James McCann is one of eleven who still hasn’t “barreled” a ball. The catcher does have a home run on the season, but it fell just outside of barrel classification.
⏭ NEXT UP: Momentum is all about your next day’s starter, so the saying goes. And the Mets will send Jacob deGrom to the mound tonight, making them the hottest team in baseball (see what we did there?). deGrom will look to build off his amazing performance from last week against former Phillies starter, RHP Nick Pivetta, who is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA on the young season.
🍎 ROSTER MOVES: Before Tuesday’s game, the Mets optioned left-hander Stephen Tarpley to their alternate site in Brooklyn recalled infielder Jose Peraza. The move gives the Mets a sixth bench piece for the first time this season.
👋 BLEVINS RETIRES: As noted earlier, former Mets reliever Jerry Blevins announced his retirement yesterday on Twitter. The popular lefty pitched for the club from 2015-2018 and had been trying to make a comeback this season, before making his announcement (more on this in a minute).
👻 BOOO: After grounding out softly in his final plate appearance, Francisco Lindor heard a smattering of boos at Citi Field. He’s currently hitting .212/.321/.272 with 1 HR, 3 RBI and no steals.
🤕 HIP PROBLEMS: Brandon Nimmo was held out of the starting lineup last night after receiving an injection on Monday to treat a mild impingement in his hip. The Mets expect him to return to the lineup tonight.
⚾️ GETTING BETTER: Meanwhile, RHP Drew Smith — who was activated from the IL earlier this week — pitched an inning at the alternate site yesterday and Manager Luis Rojas expects he should be available to help the team, as needed.
🌡 VACCINATED: Mets players and Tier 1 staff will receive their second COVID-19 shot after the game on Thursday, but Rojas says “it’s still a work in progress” reaching the 85 percent threshold that would loosen team restrictions.
🍿 30 FOR 30: ESPN plans to release a four-part mini-series on the 1986 Mets titled “Once Upon a Time in Queens” later this year. The series will appear on both ESPN and ESPN Plus. It is produced by by Jimmy Kimmel, Sal “Cousin Sal” Iacono, Kimmelot’s Scott Lonker, and MLB’s Nick Trotta.
Goodbye, Jerry
🧓 by Blake Zeff
As far as I know, Jerry Blevins is the only Major League Baseball player I’ve randomly run into twice in New York City. The first time was waiting for the subway at the 23rd Street station, and he seemed like a normal (albeit very tall) guy, with a black backpack — not much different from the hordes of writers, restaurant workers and startup employees you see on the train listening to music or reading on their phone every day.
The second time was at a sushi place with his wife. Again, no fanfare. It was a normal couple that no one else seemed to notice. If you weren’t the type of fanatical weirdo to start something called Mets Fix, you would have no idea you were dining next to a professional athlete on one of your city’s biggest teams.
I guess what I’m getting at is that — even before he announced his retirement yesterday — Jerry Blevins physically looked like a pretty ordinary guy. He’s listed at 6’6” and 175 pounds. And if you assume the media guide added a few pounds to make him seem a bit more menacing, you’re talking about an underweight — let’s just say it: skinny — guy, with the appearance of an accountant. For years, my friends and I called Jerry “the dentist” because he looked like he could easily have been one.
But Jerry Blevins wasn’t an accountant. Or a dentist. And he was no ordinary guy.
For 13 seasons, he put together a career line of 30-13 with a 3.54 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 0.9 HR/9 as a left-handed relief pitcher, holding lefties to a .213/.270/.313 slash line. But those numbers only tell part of the story. Blevins was one of the few human beings alive whom a major league manager would entrust to come into a game to get left-handed megastars like Bryce Harper out with the tying run on base in the late innings of a must-win game.
As Anthony DiComo of MLB.com noted yesterday, Blevins made “his career neutralizing Robinson Canó (1-for-11), Joe Mauer (1-for-9), Daniel Murphy (2-for-19) and some of the game’s other top left-handed hitters.” Harper was 4-20 against him, with 6 strikeouts (though two of the hits left the yard).
In recent months, Blevins has tried his hand at commentary, appearing on SNY and podcasts, and it’s not hard to imagine him staying in the game in some sort of broadcasting capacity. In the meantime, he’s connected with fans by treating them to premium Twitter content like Noah Syndergaard gifs and a merciless mockery of Field of Dreams.
But I don’t think the only reason Jerry connected with fans was his sense of humor. When he was at his best, you saw this skinny guy who didn’t throw exceptionally hard, come in and strike out some of the best hitters on the planet in tight spots… and almost dream that you could do it, too. If this Hemingway-esque everyman could fool Anthony Rizzo late in a tie-game with runners in scoring position, maybe we could, too.
In the end, Jerry Blevins was not a dentist; he was a very solid major leaguer. And the fact that he looked like a regular guy doing it may be the greatest gift he gave us.
⚾️ The Pioneer League announced that it will institute a sudden death home run derby to replace extra innings “to avoid the excessive strain of our pitching staffs.”
⚾️ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit three home runs (including a grand slam) to help the Blue Jays defeat the Nationals 9-5 in Dunedin, Florida.
⚾️ The Dodgers have lost three straight for the first time since 2019.
⚾️ The struggling Yankees traded OF Mike Tauchman to the Giants for left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later.
🔗 Jacob deGrom’s Hall of Fame Odds Are Long—but Also Impossible to Ignore, by Michael Baumann, The Ringer: “The Mets pitcher’s recent dominance has us asking all kinds of legacy-related questions. And now one that once seemed completely out of the question doesn’t look so far-fetched.”
🔗 Every 5 days, deGrom is 'a must-watch guy', by Mike Lupica, MLB.com: “deGrom pitches against the Red Sox on Wednesday night at Citi Field. It means that is the main event in baseball on Wednesday night. If you love baseball, you want to know what deGrom is doing when it is his turn to pitch as much as you want to know what Shohei Ohtani is doing when he gets the ball.”
🔗 Friendship, memories and a year with the 1969 New York Mets, by Elizabeth Merrill, ESPN: “The '69 Mets were heroes who transcended sports, but for the past year, they've been like everyone else who falls on the wrong end of statistical categories, grappling with their mortality in a time when staying alive and healthy is deemed a victory. They share that victory together, because when you're part of something special, bonds never break. Friendship can keep you going during the darkest year of your life.”
🔗 Q&A: Dwight Gooden Can’t Get Enough of Jacob deGrom, by Gary Phillis, Baseball Prospectus ($): “You’ve been watching a lot of Jacob deGrom starts lately, correct? Dwight Gooden: ‘Oh yeah. He’s must-see TV now. I put my schedule around when he’s pitching. It’s almost like I’m pitching that same day… I pretty much watch everything he does.’”
🔗 MMO Exclusive: Q&A with Former Utility Infielder, T.J. Rivera, by Matthew Brownstein: “Man, I love [Luis] Rojas. I’ve been saying that for years. I’m glad he’s got the opportunity up there and I think he’s going to be great. Great personality, an easy guy to play for, and I played well for him in the first half, so I know it’s a little easier when you’re playing well for a coach. But he’s not the type of guy that you have to play well for to feel comfortable with. He is just very even keel, very down-to-earth, very mellow, he’s an easy guy to play for.”
And… check out this impressive play by rapidly improving first baseman Pete Alonso, as he shows off leather, range and quickness to make the unassisted putout in the 5th:
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for regular updates until tomorrow’s newsletter.
And please check out our newsletter about the Knicks, too.