Executive Summary
Pitching through a fine mist like the nebulized tears of Mets fans everywhere, Matt Harvey was unable to complete six innings against the worst offense in baseball. Matt Wisler allowed the Mets one hit over eight innings. Braves 3, Mets 0.
Discussion and Analysis
The question of when Matt Harvey will find what he lost remains open. It’s not so much that Harvey gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings, it’s that he needed 100 pitches just to reach that point. Harvey gave up eight hits and two walks against a Braves team that entered the game with a .235 TAv that was the lowest in baseball. Once again, Harvey missed few bats, garnering only eight whiffs all night — merely two against his breaking stuff.
By contrast, Braves starter Matt Wisler posted excellent results, even if enlightened analysis would argue his .167 BABIP portends less-than-stellar future outcomes. Wisler did not allow a hit until Asdrubal Cabrera blooped a single over second base with one out in the fifth, followed immediately by a Kevin Plawecki hot ground ball tailor-made for a double play. That was the only hit Wisler allowed in eight innings of work. Although Wisler was not consistently dominant, he threw wicked-sharp sliders to Neil Walker and David Wright for two of his four punchouts. On a rebuilding Braves team, Wisler has every opportunity to hone his repertoire and become a thorn in the Mets’ side for years to come.
Harvey and Wisler both posted a 4:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio this evening. That Harvey allowed eight hits compared to Wisler’s one was no fluke. The Braves’ hitters, particularly the lefties, were repeatedly driving Harvey pitches the other way. Indeed, Michael Conforto was forced to make five putouts in the first four innings. When Mallex Lydell Smith, he of the two dingers in 206 games across three minor-league levels, hits his first MLB home run — and it goes to the opposite field — you know Harvey’s toast.
Smith’s home run was in doubt for a few seconds longer than the outcome of this game. He hit a long fly ball to the left-field corner, which appeared to hit off the top of the wall and bound back toward the infield. By the time Conforto fielded it, Smith and his 80 speed were sliding into third with an apparent triple. What may have been the fastest replay review in MLB this season revealed that Smith’s drive had actually cleared the orange line on top of the Citi Field wall. That was all the scoring Atlanta needed tonight.
Contemporaneous Thoughts
GKR talking about pitchers batting 8th. Understood that pitchers get more PAs but not that middle of the order get more PAs with runners on.
— Scott D. Simon (@scottdsimon) May 3, 2016
GKR-isms
“Batting the pitcher eighth has a negligible effect on overall run production. … The pitcher will have incrementally more at-bats over the course of the season.” — Gary
“When you get to the third time through the order, and you don’t have a dependable third pitch, they will sit on one pitch and one point.” — Ron
“If you don’t have a breaking ball at this level, that you can throw for a strike and throw out of the strike zone for a strike, it’s very hard to compete at this level, even against a team with six wins.” — Ron
Coda
Stay tuned to find out whether May 3, 2016 marks the date Matt Harvey became the most famous fifth starter in baseball. All of a sudden, the Mets need tomorrow’s hurler, Steven Matz, to prevent the team from losing three of four.
Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports