What Happened, In a Sentence
Kelly Johnson scored the only run of the game with a pinch-hit home run in the 11th inning.
Starters Dominate
Jacob deGrom may have walked to the pitcher’s mound last night thinking he had to be perfect to have a chance. Julio Teheran shut the Mets out last week and threw seven scoreless against them in his previous start. Meanwhile, the Mets had only scored two runs in deGrom’s four June starts.
Asdrubal Cabrera showed he was expecting a pitcher’s duel in the first inning by bunting for a hit against a shifted infield. Neil Walker drove a ball to deep right, but Nick Markakis recovered to grab the ball in front of the 390 sign in right-center. The Mets had their best chance against Teheran in the third. Yoenis Cespedes singled up the middle and Curtis Granderson went first to third. Cespedes read the throw and tried to get an extra base himself, but he was slow getting out of the box and didn’t slide in to second as he was tagged out. When Walker flew to left in the next at-bat, it was the third out instead of a potential sacrifice fly. This started a streak of 15 consecutive Mets retired, as Teheran mixed his fastball and slider to all four corners of the plate.
deGrom was shelled on Father’s Day, but he was able to match Teheran last night with some help from his infielders. Atlanta emphasizes contact hitting to such a degree that they cut the grass short and don’t fully water the infield dirt to maximize the speed of grounders scooting through the infield. deGrom did a solid job of keeping the ball on the ground and relied on his infielders to make plays. When the Braves got their first runner to third base, Adonis Garcia grounded right to Wilmer Flores for a 5-4-3 double play. Garcia came up with the bases loaded his next at bat and smashed a ball down the third base line. Flores played near the line for much of the game so he was able to grab the ball and step on third for some déjà vu. Both starters blew through the seventh and eighth.
Or Maybe We Need New Hitters?
Sooner or later someone had to score for the game to end. It didn’t happen until the 11th inning when ex-Brave Kelly Johnson came up to pinch hit. Former Met prospect Dario Alvarez left a fastball on the inside part of the plate and Johnson drove it just over the right field fence for the game’s only extra base hit. The Mets blew an opportunity in the 10th when Alejandro De Aza was asked to bunt after a Flores leadoff single. De Aza popped up a 3-1 bunt and then slammed his bat instead of running to first. Veteran Jim Johnson let the bunt fall, then threw to second for an easy double play.
Bullpen (and Gloves) Keep Shutout
Just like deGrom, the Mets bullpen relied on some good plays to keep the Braves scoreless. Freddie Freeman got a leadoff single off Jerry Blevins but couldn’t advance as Nick Markakis grounded in to a fielder’s choice. Addison Reed came on to get the next two batters, ending the inning on a great sliding catch from Granderson. He came back for an easy 10th, throwing a total of 18 pitches. Jeurys Familia came in for the save and promptly hung a slider to Jace Peterson. Ender Inciarte bunted down the third base line, clearly missing the memo about Mets’ fielders making great plays. Matt Reynolds – who pinch ran for Flores in the 10th – made a great barehanded throw to get the out. Freeman was intentionally walked as the go-ahead run. The gamble paid off as Markakis grounded right to Familia for the game-ending double play.
Mets Sign Jose Reyes
The Colorado Rockies made it clear that Jose Reyes would never play for them again after serving a 51-game suspension under the league’s new domestic violence policy for allegedly shoving his wife into a sliding glass door. The Mets signed Reyes to a minor league deal within hours of his release becoming official. He will report to Single-A Brooklyn to practice playing third base and probably outfield. The current plan is to call him up in 7-10 days, according to Terry Collins. Some Mets fans will look forward to the reunion. BP Mets editor Bryan Grosnick explained earlier this week why he didn’t want the Mets to re-sign Reyes.
Nimmo Finds Majors
Brandon Nimmo was promoted to the big league club today, and Michael Conforto was demoted to clear the roster spot. Nimmo was on the bench Saturday but did not start after playing in Reno last night. After De Aza’s botched bunt and lack of hustle, there will certainly be fans calling for Nimmo to start instead. Baseball Prospectus colleague Jeffrey Paternostro writes he could hit well enough to help the Mets in the short term as part of a platoon with Juan Lagares. For more, see the writeup on the main BP site.
General manager Sandy Alderson said he discussed demoting Conforto around 10 days ago but wanted to keep him on the big league club to face a string of righties. Conforto has hit .148/.217/.303 since the end of April. The young outfielder said he has problems with his swing that go beyond an injured left wrist. He will go to AAA Las Vegas, one of the best offensive parks (and leagues) in the minors.
What’s Next?
The Mets look to take 3 of 4 games from Atlanta. Bartolo Colon is expected to start after a comebacker limited him to four pitches on Tuesday. New York has climbed to within two games of Washington, which has scratched Stephen Strasberg’s start.
Photo credit: Brett Davis – USA Today Sports