Executive Summary
Steven Matz started strong but faltered in the sixth. A rare and spectacular Noah Syndergaard relief appearance could not prevent a Hansel Robles implosion. White Sox 6, Mets 4.
Discussion and Analysis
Like a pre-diagnosis Matt Harvey, Steven Matz was unable to get through the sixth inning. Which is a shame, because Matz’s first five innings (5 2 0 0 1 3) appeared to presage a complete game. In retrospect, those five innings were less than dominant. Two of Matz’s three strikeouts were courtesy of White Sox starter Mat Latos and his career 147:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The other came against Dioner Navarro, who is bad at baseball. Matz’s .166 BABIP-against was predictably unsustainable.
Yet the Mets were ahead 4-0 after five innings, thanks to unearned runs driven in by sacrifice fly in each of the first two innings, combined with Neil Walker’s 13th dinger of the season. Walker’s blast was his second in two days. His 13th home run last year didn’t arrive until August 20: Sandy Alderson can take comfort in trading a replacement-level starter for a second baseman who’s second in the league in home runs at the end of May.
The Mets dugout was all grins when Matz tried to lead off the fifth inning in the cleanup spot belonging to Yoenis Cespedes. It was not clear if Matz believed his butcher-boy single in the second qualified him for additional at-bats, or whether he wanted to take an automatic out for batting out-of-order to increase the degree of difficulty on tonight’s start. If the latter, the plan was misguided because the subsequent inning was the team’s undoing.
In the sixth inning, Jose Abreu reached on an infield single that might have been handled by a Gold Glove first baseman. We were led to believe that new Met James Loney was a defensive wizard that would make Keith Hernandez blush. In Loney’s first Met start, however, he couldn’t field an Avisail Garcia grounder in the second nor Abreu’s hot shot in the sixth. (Loney deserves some credit for one fine scoop on a short-hopped Wilmer Flores throw). In any event, the next White Sox batter, Todd Frazier, launched a rocket over the Great Wall of Flushing to bring the Sox within two runs.
Frazier’s bomb wasn’t the end for Matz. After the homer, he allowed a single to Melky Cabrera. Following a double play grounder, Matz issued his second walk of the day to Tyler Saladino, who promptly stole second and third base. Dioner Navarro singled to plate Saladino, and the Sox had pulled within one.
Matz leaving after 5 2/3 is also a shame because the Mets’ bullpen was not up to the task of recording 13 outs without allowing runs. The reliever parade started with Jim Henderson, who retired the one batter he faced. Big Hendo gave way to Bigger Thor, in his first career regular-season relief appearance. Noah Syndergaard, who had thrown fewer than 40 pitches on Sunday before getting ejected for throwing behind Chase Utley, knew he’d be in for just the one inning. So his typical 98 mph fastball was bumped up to 101. A 1-2-3 inning was ruined by an Asdrubal Cabrera error, but that merely meant Syndergaard could rack up an additional strikeout victim.
Last night’s bullpen misadventure was brought to you by Hansel Robles. From Opening Day through May 21, Robles looked like a future relief ace, with 23 strikeouts and 5 walks in 19.2 IP, meriting a 1.37 ERA. Possibly, the Mets sacrificed Robles’s skill at the altar to resurrect Matt Harvey, because the last 13 batters Robles faced have five walks and four home runs. Robles started the seventh inning by walking Melky Cabrera, striking out Avisail Garcia, and allowing a no-doubt home run to Tyler Saladino to give the White Sox a lead they would not relinquish. Pitchers should not endeavor to achieve the Three True Outcomes.
Watching the Mets bullpen self-destruct was especially painful in light of the four scoreless innings thrown by a White Sox bullpen that had been the team’s scourge. Bullpens, you know?
Contemporaneous Thoughts
Mystery #Mets Theatre 3000 pic.twitter.com/iZs43yij81
— Scott D. Simon (@scottdsimon) June 1, 2016
GKR-isms
“You can smell the food out here!” — Keith, from the al fresco broadcast area in the 300-level behind home plate
“That’s a pretty funky mustache … reminds me of one of the villains in Get Smart.” — Keith, on Tyler Saladino
“Of all the young Mets pitchers, do you ever get the feeling that Matz throws with the least amount of fury? It’s very controlled, easy gas.” — Ron
Coda
When the Mets lose due to Tyler Saladino and wounds self-inflicted by Hansel Robles, there’s nothing to do but write it off and wait for the next one. Jacob deGrom looks to finish out the homestand on a high note this afternoon against Miguel Gonzalez.
Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports