WHO WON:
The red-and-white arched not-Mets
WHAT HAPPENED, ALRIGHT, WHO MESSED WITH THE DIAL ON JACOB DEGROM’S BACK?
That’s a real question, in case you were wondering, because Jacob DeGrom looked rather…uninspiring. When all was said and done, deGrom surrendered five runs across 4.2 innings, but that just scratched the surface. Three of the 12 hits deGrom surrendered left the ballpark, and his command looked shaky all night. We could go into how truly poor of a start it was, but there is really no need to beat a dead horse. You get the gist. Troubles locating plagued deGrom all night, and he was never able to get into a rhythm.
That being said, the right-hander did benefit from a Yadier Molina failed attempt to steal third base, as well as a throw home by Curtis Granderson to nab Randal Grichuk at the plate in the 2nd inning. So while it was bad, it could’ve been worse.
WHAT HAPPENED, METS GONNA MET:
It was another one of those games where the Mets offense went quiet. Jay Bruce led recorded the first base hit of the day for the Mets, and then promptly left the game with a right calf strain. Asdrubal Cabrera and Kelly Johnson would also tac one onto the hit column, and deGrom struck for a single in an attempt to help his own cause. Four hits and three walks isn’t anything to write home about, but some credit has to be given to Carlos Martinez. He wasn’t dominant, but he limited the Mets’ ability to put any sort of run together in eight strong innings of work. The Mets just couldn’t get the ball in the air against him, which is really something that can be said for any opponent Martinez has faced this season. Sure groundballs aren’t all bad, but obviously it is much more difficult to create anything in the form of an extra base hit with them. This helped limit any and all damage, and ultimately was not something the Mets could overcome.
WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:
It was a pretty cut and dry game. Despite a run in the 2nd inning, the Mets fell behind early on the heels of a consecutive outing in which deGrom hasn’t looked quite as deGrominant as we are used to seeing. His velocity was down a little bit, but 1 mph on average shouldn’t raise any alarm bells especially seeing as we’ve reached the end of August. The general problem looked to be command-related, so it’s likely just something the young righty will be able to work through
WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:
The Mets will square-off against the Cardinals in the rubber match of a three-game series and will send Seth Lugo to the mound against Adam Wainwright. Seeing as the Cardinals currently hold the second wildcard slot, a win tonight would be huge—pulling them within 3.5 games of the aforementioned team from St. Louis. Having fallen back to .500 with 36 games left, the Mets have to start formulating some type of run if they hope to reach the playoffs for a second straight season. With two big series against the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals looming after they face the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend, the Mets are entering a crucial point in their season and they can’t continue to just float along. Yesterday was a big loss, but a series clinching win tonight would be a great way to end this road trip on a high note and head into a 10-game homestand with some form of momentum.
Photo credit: Jeff Curry – USA Today Sports