Executive Summary
Good news all around. Jacob deGrom’s newborn is healthy enough to leave the hospital, and the Mets hit four home runs in support of another Noah Syndergaard gem. Mets 5, Phillies 2.
Discussion and Analysis
Vintage David Wright showed up in Philly tonight, knocking two opposite field dingers where the Budweiser sign lived back at Shea Stadium. Also, with two outs in the fourth:
The new David Wright action figure … glove sold separately. https://t.co/Fo5ZQsqhyD pic.twitter.com/BQMRmJbiT1
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 19, 2016
Wright now has 22 home runs and a nice number of RBI at the Phillies’ home field. There is no truth to the rumor that Wright’s planning to name his first-born son “Citizen.”
Noah Syndergaard continues to be the best unscripted program on television. Although eight strikeouts in seven innings isn’t eye-popping Thor, how about an average 100 mph fastball?
You probably could have gotten great odds that Jerad Eickhoff would better Syndergaard’s strikeout total tonight. Aside from Wright’s first-inning line drive over the fence in right-center, this one looked like another game that would leave us wondering when the Mets would start hitting. The Mets were constantly bailing out against Eickhoff’s curveball — lefties and righties alike.
Eickhoff likes his curveball so much he even threw a first-pitch yakker to Syndergaard. When Eickhoff got in trouble in the seventh, giving up a BABIP four-hop grounder to Asdrubal Cabrera and walking Syndergaard with one out, Eickhoff threw curveballs on three of four pitches to Curtis Granderson, getting a swinging strikeout, then moved ahead of David Wright with a 1-1 curveball and got Wright swinging on the deuce as well. I’m not a scout, but if that’s not a plus-plus hammer, then these aren’t technical difficulties.
Eickhoff went seven strong, allowing only one run after Wright’s first-inning blast. The second run would have been prevented by a better Phillies defense. In the seventh, Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-out line drive over first base. Gary Cohen called it a double off the bat, but Peter Bourjos had a tough time digging it out of the corner, so Cespedes turned on the jets and breezed into third. Lucas Duda hit a fly ball to left, tailing away from David Lough. Lough dove and thought he caught it, but instead the ball bounced off the top of his glove, and Duda had an RBI double. A better and/or more lucky left fielder catches that ball.
Duda also hit a mammoth shot into the upper deck, his first home run of the season. Neil Walker drove one out to left to go back-to-back. As good as the Phillies’ starters have looked so far this season, let’s check back when more games are played in the warm (read: homer-producing) weather we had tonight.
Jeurys Familia looked shaky when brought in to start the ninth up four runs. Cameron Rupp lined a single to center and David Lough doubled to right. Then Familia seemed to right himself, getting Cesar Hernandez to whiff on four pitches. Andres Blanco scorched a grounder right at Duda for the second out, then Familia struck out Darin Ruf to close out the game.
Contemporaneous Thoughts
#SNYWhale needs to become a regular thing.
— Craig Glaser (@sabometrics) April 19, 2016
GKR-isms
“Noah’s stuff is almost unhittable. I know I’m not supposed to say that.” — Keith
“[Curt Schilling] has those shoulders that just go on and on … Phil Jackson shoulders.” — Ron
“He’s like Happy Gilmore.” — Gary, after Odubel Herrera jumped sideways in order to swing at a Syndergaard curveball that almost hit him.
“Sabermetrics don’t apply to Noah when he’s on top of his game.” — Ron
Coda
This is how the Mets plan to win in 2016: Dingers supplying an overwhelming amount of their runs, dominant starting pitching, and a bullpen that strikes out five in the last two innings. Tomorrow, the Mets hope Logan Verrett can hang with Phillies wunderkind Vince Velazquez.
Photo credit: Bill Streicher-USA Today Sports