This was a very listless September game. For losing teams, games in the month of September have a knack for being, um, not exactly must-see television. And look, it’s probably my job to spice up bad games and find narratives to talk about somewhere. It’s probably poor form for me to just tell you this game was boring and sucked and leave it at that.

But this game was boring and sucked.

Noah Syndergaard wasn’t his best self. He was out of sync from the start, and only last four innings after throwing 89 pitches, walking three and allowing three runs on four hits and two home runs. He struck out six, but that was about the only positive for Syndergaard last night.

On offense, the Mets couldn’t figure out Zack Eflin, or any of five relievers Gabe Kapler sent out there after he was done. The team mustered six hits all night, and three of them came from Amed Rosario, who raised his wRC+ to a respectable 88 on the season and has already turned into a very useful player.

Jerry Blevins gave up a run in an inning of relief, and he was followed by Paul Sewald and Tim Peterson, who both handled the last three innings and did not allow any more damage.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

The Mets announced that Zack Wheeler will be shut down, which is probably for the best. At 182.1 innings for the season, Wheeler has thrown 96 more innings than he did last year, and obviously has not thrown this many innings since his 2014 season. Pumping the breaks is probably a good decision.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Mets will try to help Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young case when they head to DC to take on Max Scherzer and the Nationals on Friday night. Scherzer gets the ball against Jason Vargas at 7:10 p.m.

The Mets are already eliminated from postseason contention. The Phillies are mathematically still in it but realistically out of the race. For this game, the most important thing for the Mets would be getting to Aaron Nola, so that they can actually help Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young resume in a roundabout way. Steven Matz would lead that effort, coming off a solid start against Miami and looking to close out a solid, albeit unspectacular, season strong.

Game Recap

Matz was very clearly off in this game from the get-go. In the first, he walked three Phillies, consistently missing off the plate inside to righties. Despite walking the bases loaded, Matz worked out of the jam without allowing a run. He gave up a single and another walk in the second, but worked around that jam too. Still, with Matz seemingly off his game and one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound for the Phillies, things weren’t looking good.

That is, until Matz came to the plate with one out in the top of the third. After homering in his last start, Matz set his sights on Aaron Nola, got a hanging curveball over the plate and lined it into the flowers on top of the left field wall. It was a significant home run for multiple reasons (see below), but most importantly, the Mets had a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, they’d stretch the lead to 2-0. After Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier struck out swinging to start the inning, a single from Brandon Nimmo and a weakly hit, poorly played (by Rhys Hoskins in left field) double led to another run. In two innings, the Mets had built a lead and seriously damaged the Cy Young candidacy of one of deGrom’s biggest opponents — giving up a home run to a pitcher is bad enough, and anyone who allows an extra-base hit to Dom Smith (.219/.252/.321, 2.5% BB, 32.8% K) should be immediately disqualified.

Handed a two-run lead, Matz settled in. He started hitting his spots a bit more, working around a single in the third and setting down the Phillies in order in the fourth. Unfortunately, his pitch count was elevated from his early-inning command problems, and the fifth inning looked like it was probably his last. That issue was compounded by a one out walk to Hoskins. Undeterred, Matz capped his outing in spectacular fashion, making what might be the web-gem of the year to catch a ball behind his back and turn an inning-ending double play. He departed after five innings in line for the win.

The 2018 Mets team being what it is — that is to say, bad — Matz wouldn’t get the win. After the Mets left the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith managed to give up five runs without recording an out in the bottom half of the inning. The Mets found themselves in a three-run hole 18 pitches after they had a two-run lead.

Watching the rest of the game as very much an exercise in futility. The Mets managed only one more run, while a cavalcade of unremarkable relievers worked around a couple Philly baserunners to keep things close enough to be interesting but not actually matter. Amed Rosario ended things with a weak bounce out to first, and the Mets had their 81st loss of the year.

Thoughts from the Game

Here are some fun facts about Steven Matz’s home run:

• He dedicated it to Jacob deGrom in his Cy Young battle
• Matz became only the third Met pitcher to homer in back-to-back starts, joining Tom Seaver and Ron Darling.
• This was the first time the Mets have lost a game in which their starting pitcher went deep since 7/24/96, when Jason Isringhausen went deep and lost, breaking a 19-game winning streak.

Other than that, I don’t have much to say about this game. Much like you, most of us have checked out at this point of the year. I spent most of this game doing work stuff and making babka (chocolate, because Jerry could not be more wrong about cinnamon in this context). Out of the three activities, only the babka wasn’t a total disaster. Then again, hitting 1-for-3 puts me in the hall of fame, so I can’t really complain.

Other Met News

The Mets are leaning towards shutting Zack Wheeler down for the rest of the season. Wheeler has been brilliant for much of this season after a slow start, and he’s now tossed 182.1 innings with a 3.31 ERA.It’s tough to describe how big an improvement that is for the former top prospect, who missed two whole season with Tommy John before tossing only 86.1 innings last season. With some struggles in his past two starts, shutting Wheeler down now makes sense, as he’s fully established his place in the Mets rotation for 2019.

Syndergaard went seven scoreless innings, holding baseball’s best team to only three hits, and the visitors were able to take the series opener 8-0.

The Mets offensive attack got off to a fast start in the top of the first, as Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce rocketed back-to-back two out doubles against William Cuevas to hand Syndergaard a lead before he even took the mound; he never let go of it.

In the top of the it, after New York’s starter had retired the first six Boston hitters, the offense came alive again to extend the lead. Scorching hot Amed Rosario led off with an infield single that chased Cuevas from the game in favor of southpaw Robbie Scott, a move that did not pay dividends for Boston manager Alex Cora. Scott was able to get Jeff McNeil to fly out, but he then hit Conforto and allowed Bruce to launch a three-run homer to right to push the lead to 4-0. McNeil would add a homer of his own against Brian Johnson the next inning, and the way Syndergaard was cruising through the Red Sox lineup (even picking a baserunner off first base!) you got the impression this one might be over.

The Mets added some icing in the 8th inning when Austin Jackson and Rosario both launched long home runs over the green monster against struggling righty Tyler Thornburg, and at 8-0 the rout was officially on. Jerry Blevins and Tyler Bashlor tossed a scoreless inning each to complete the victory and get the Mets to within nine games of .500.

Today, New York will send Corey Oswalt to the bump in hopes of securing an exciting series victory against an incredibly good team.

Photo credit: Greg M. Cooper – USA Today Sports

Marlins 2, Mets 5 [Game 2]

It was a day where the games mattered even less than usual; Mets captain David Wright announced that this season would be his last, and the collective wail from Mets fans meant the doubleheader sweep of the Marlins was a joyless one.

On any other day, Game One would have been a thriller, ending on back-to-back home runs for the first time in franchise history, with Michael Conforto homering to tie the game with two outs in the ninth, his 25th, and Todd Frazier following with a walk-off home run, his 18th. Steven Matz surrendered two home runs (three runs overall) and hit a two-run homer himself in the second inning. Jerry Blevins, who had come in in the ninth, got the win, his third.

In the nightcap, a makeup, Jason Vargas pitched six innings for his sixth win of the year, and Robert Gsellman picked up his 11th save. Tomas Nido homered, and Conforto continued his heroics, driving in three of the Mets runs, which was the winning difference.

But it was all an afterthought, as the 2018 season, long a lost cause, managed to find a new, devastating way to break our hearts.

The Mets travel to Boston to face the Red Sox tonight. Noah Syndergaard (11-3, 3.44) will take on Hector Velasquez (7-2 3.29); first pitch is at 7:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

The former top prospect has battled injuries in his brief career, clearing the 20-start plateau only once since making his debut in 2015. He hasn’t escaped the usual nicks and dings in 2018, but he’s avoided major injury and looks primed to set a career high in innings.

Matz showed what he’s fully capable of Saturday, allowing just four base runners on the afternoon while striking out 11. He was efficient too, walking just one Giant and using only 93 pitches to get through seven. Health in the rotation is always a question mark for this organization and 2019 figures to be no different. A healthy Matz is almost a must, as the internal starting pitching depth looks pretty thin at this point.

Old friend Tomas Nido collected his first two hits since being recalled from Binghamton last week. He went 2-4 on the afternoon, including an RBI double that scored Brandon Nimmo to tie things up at one apiece. Nido will compete for the backup job in spring training but it’d admittedly be a mild surprise if he were to begin the 2019 season on the Opening Day roster.

Swiss Army Pitching Knife Seth Lugo gave the orange and blue two scoreless innings to force extras in San Francisco. His 2019 role is to be determined — by whom I’m unsure —  but he could fill a variety of different roles depending on how the offseason goes. I’m still of the belief that he belongs in the rotation, but I’ll acknowledge that there’s an argument to be made that he remain in the pen.

Jerry Blevins, a free agent to be, picked up his second win of the season. He was a candidate to be traded before the waiver deadline, but the Mets decided against it for an unknown reason. Daniel Zamora will likely fill the Blevins role in the bullpen next year unless the Mets decide to re-sign the lefty, in which I could then envision a scenario where Zamora is DFA’d off the 40-man instead.

After pledging to use his proven relievers less in an effort to get a look at the new guys, Mickey Callaway instead turned to Robert Gsellman for a second straight day. There’s no good reason to overwork a reliever who figures to begin 2019 as the closer, especially in a lost season, but a master of strategy Callaway is not. With Tyler Bashlor, Drew Smith and now Eric Hanhold in the bullpen, it’s time for Callaway to experiment with the young guys.

Photo credit: Neville E. Guard – USA Today Sports

The Mets’ offense was present, knocking Jon Lester out of the game after six ‘eh’ innings pitched and keeping the pressure on the Cubs’ bullpen throughout the game. However, it was not enough to make up for the combination of Thor and Jerry Blevins’ poor performances.

New York started off the scoring with an Austin Jackson RBI single where Amed Rosario crossed the plate for the first run of this game. I will say it until I’m blue in the face – Rosario needs to be a 35-40 stolen base guy as he advances his game. He is a key cog in the machine. Obviously, the promising shortstop needs to improve his eye but the stolen bases appear to be coming. (A rare occasion) I commend Mickey Callaway for sending Rosario more on the basepaths.

Of course, professional hitter Daniel Murphy led off the game with a hit and eventually scored on an Anthony Rizzo double. In the third, Michael Conforto then answered with one of the loudest home runs ever hit, followed by a Rosario RBI single later in the inning.

Following the theme of up-and-down, the Cubs scored three in the bottom of the frame including a 2-RBI single from none other than one of the worst hitters in MLB history, Lester himself.

In the seventh inning, Kevin Plawecki homered to tie the game at four. While I don’t like him as a player, Plawecki should be playing everyday games at catcher considering Devin Mesoraco should not be a Met next year. Whoever the general manager is next year should grab a veteran catcher, but that likely will not happen.

The full momentum shift to Chicago came in the bottom of the seventh when Blevins, who had not allowed a run in August, gave up two without recording an out.

The Mets did threaten in the ninth with bases loaded, but Jesse Chavez was able to clean up the mess made by Pedro Strop and Justin Wilson, strikimg out Rosario and Jackson to close the book on an exciting contest.

In his postgame interview, Syndergaard was noticeably disappointed in how batters have been able to get to him; the Texan allowed nine hits and three walks in six innings pitched. There is clear frustration from the should-be ace who knows he is good enough to get anyone out, but is not executing as of late. Look for some mechanical adjustments to be made and the ball to be located higher in the strike zone his next time out.

The Mets should be looking forward to the Sept. 1 roster expansion as a look to the future, but who knows how they will handle it.

FINAL

NYM – 4
CHC – 7

Photo credit:  Patrick Gorsk – USA Today Sports

Wheeler carved through a very unspectacular San Francisco Giants’ lineup with ease. The only problem: Derek Holland and a plethora of Giant relievers were able to mow down the Mets without much resistance.

But hey, it’s not the 10-strikeout performance from one of the hottest pitchers in all of baseball everyone is talking about – it’s the embarrassing mishap in the 13th and final inning.

Dom Smith, an (I guess) serviceable first baseman, is playing left field for the Mets now. In what may be the funniest combination of left field from start to finish in Jack Reinheimer and Smith – Mickey Callaway really doesn’t have much to work with.

There were a lot of impressive pitching performances by the combo of Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, Jerry Blevins and others who have really been hot as of late for New York. But the lack of experience from Smith did the Mets in and gave the Giants an undeserved 2-1 lead in the top of the final inning, only to be closed out by a 7.43 ERA reliever in Derek Law who shut the Mets out in the last two frames of the game.

The everyday shortstop, Rosario, had circled under the ball, signaled and waited to get out of a jam Tyler Bashlor was in – and while some can argue it’s the outfielder’s ball coming in – you leave it to the guy who has you called off and with a lifetime more experience at his position.

It was as bad as a loss as you could suffer going through the season that Callaway’s squad has gone through.

Unfortunately for the Mets, an ice cold Steven Matz takes the mound today for Game 2 in the series against San Francisco. Matz has allowed an eye-popping 20 earned runs in his last four starts.

New York needs to rebound from this loss because games simply cannot be decided the way they were last night.

Yikes.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Game Two: Phillies 9, Mets 6

Just over two weeks after an epic drubbing by Washington — where they lost by 21 runs on July 31 — the Mets saw things from the other side of the equation as they scored the most runs in franchise history, which included a 10-run fifth inning capped off by a Jose Bautista grand slam.

The lowlight of the afternoon came when Brandon Nimmo took a ball off his hand with the bases loaded in the top of the third. It rolled into fair territory, and the ignominy of a rally-killing dribbler paled in comparison to the sight of Nimmo lying face-down in the batter’s box. This horror show came almost a year to the day after Michael Conforto ended last season on a swing that injured his shoulder. Nimmo came out of the game, and initial reports were that x-rays were negative for a fracture. Given that past reports of a player’s robust health have proven grossly exaggerated (stay off those heels, Yoenis!), Mets fans will be forgiven for still living in dread.

That existential terror aside, the offense exploded for the second game in a row, plating 24 runs on 25 hits, helped by some execrable Philadelphia defense: third baseman Maikel Franco committed two of the Phillies’ four errors. The Mets feasted on the Phillies pitching, both when facing professional pitchers and after Philadelphia skipper (and ice cream enthusiast) Gabe Kapler waved the white flag and sent out position players to toss the final three innings.

Six Mets had at least three hits; Conforto, Amed Rosario and Bautista (who replaced Nimmo in the outfield) homered. Bautista’s seven runs batted in were a franchise record for a player coming off the bench. Kevin Plawecki had another outstanding game, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three runs batted in.

Corey Oswalt went six innings for his second win of the season. Thanks to those errors, only half of his counterpart’s eight runs allowed were earned; Ranger Suarez is now 1-1 in two career starts. Jerry Blevins pitched an inning of relief and collected his first major league hit.

In the nightcap, the Ballad of Steven Matz continued its doleful tune. The Mets southpaw lasted two innings, surrendering two home runs and six runs overall (four earned). Zach Eflin pitched 6.2 innings for Philadelphia, allowing four runs and striking out five.

Rosario collected another pair of hits in the second game, and was the bright spot in an otherwise lackluster Mets offense — although, to be fair, six runs is a pretty above-average showing for this year’s Mets team, especially if you ignore the 24 runs they scored a few hours before.

Trailing from Matz’s early exit by as much as six runs over the course of the game, the Mets did mount a rally in the ninth, managing to bring the tying run to the plate to make things interesting. After six-plus hours of baseball and a combined forty-three runs scored, there was only so much interest to go around.

The series continues at Citizens Bank Park at 6:05 p.m. Friday, as Noah Syndergaard (8-2, 3.22) faces Aaron Nola (13-3, 2.28).

Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports

Amed Rosario opened the game with his first career lead-off home run, followed by your (hopefully) 2019 starting second baseman Jeff McNeil, who singled home Brandon Nimmo.

deGrom wavered a bit in the third after a McNeil error allowed Giancarlo Stanton to reach base and eventually score on an Aaron Hicks single.

Despite this, deGrom entered into his coveted “get everybody out mode” and proceeded to mow down the Yankee lineup with total ease. He eventually stuck out 12 in 6.2 innings pitched and allowed just seven batters to reach via a hit or walk.

Though he probably should have been dealt at the deadline, Jose Bautista’s home run in the fourth to “deep right” against Sevy allowed the should-be Cy Young to enter in cruise control. Bautista had entered the game two for his last 32.

For the Mets, a win against the Yankees is always welcome – but last night the players played the way we all thought they would back in March. Jerry Blevins did the job against a lefty in Brett Gardner, Todd Frazier crushed a hanging slider from AJ Cole for a crucial round-tripper in the sixth, the young core of Michael Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario and McNeil all showed out – and perhaps most importantly, the run support was there.

Eventually, the score after the final out was 8-5, and incredibly the Mets’ have now scored eight runs in each of deGrom’s last two starts after combining for a total of eights runs in his previous three before that.

It is these types of games that show us the potential of what Sandy Alderson and staff were trying to do. However (and obviously), there is no real consistency. I touched on it last week – and maybe it just happens to be a coincidence when I write these recaps – but these are the types of games that show what could be, but in reality what truly isn’t.

Regardless, a Subway Series victory is certainly a boost of confidence all the way from the front office to the players to the fans watching at home.

Photo credit: Amed Rosario – USA Today Sports

On Friday night, the 28-year-old turned in his latest masterpiece, holding the Marlins to just two runs across seven innings, while allowing only four hits and racking up eight punch outs. While his rotation mate Jacob deGrom’s inability to earn consistent victories (through no fault of his own) has generated quite a bit of press, Wheeler won his fifth straight start on Friday, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

The game started out uneventful, with both sides going quietly in the first two frames, but New York used some two-out magic in the third to open the scoring. Jeff McNeil singled to start the rally, and then scampered to 3rd on an opposite field single from Wilmer Flores. Aided by some slick body contorting from Flores to avoid the inning ending with a runner being hit by a batted ball, Michael Conforto then snuck a ground ball up the middle to score McNeil and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Wheeler, meanwhile, was cruising, zipping through the first four innings without allowing a hit. Just when your mind started drifting a few innings ahead of itself and fantasizing about a special kind of night, Martin Prado brought you back to earth with a leadoff single in the fifth, but Wheeler easily navigated his way through the mini threat.

In the sixth, the Mets were able to bust the game open, and knock Miami starter Jose Urena out of the game in the process. Conforto led off the inning with a walk, and two batters later reached third on a hit from Todd Frazier. Somewhat surprisingly productive pick-up Austin Jackson then plated Conforto with a run scoring single up the middle, a hit that sent Urena to the showers. On came Drew Rucinski out of the Marlins’ bullpen, and he was unable to put out the fire. His first pitch hit Kevin Plawecki to load the bases, and, two batters later, Amed Rosario drove in two with his third hit of the night, completing a three-run frame that put the Mets up 4-0.

Wheeler kept dominating into the seventh, where he struck out the first two batters, but then a brief blip put a damper on his night. Rafael Ortega singled to center, an at-bat that pushed Wheeler over the 100-pitch mark, and Miguel Rojas followed with a long two-run homer to break up the shutout attempt and end Wheeler’s 23-inning scoreless streak. The blast cut the New York lead in half, and while Wheeler did strike out J.T. Riddle to end the inning, he looked visibly irritated as he walked off the mound.

While the Marlins temporarily had climbed back into the game, that development was exceptionally short lived.

In the next half inning, the Mets were able to get those two runs right back when Todd Frazier and Jackson both singled and then scored on a Plawecki hit against Miami righty Javy Guerra.

Seth Lugo pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for New York before Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith combined to finish off the 6-2 victory in the ninth.

Tonight the Mets will look to win for the fourth time in five contests, when they send righty Corey Oswalt to the mound against Dan Straily.

Photo credit: Jason Linlove – USA Today Sports