Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Jacob deGrom was brilliant once again and the Mets still somehow found a new and excruciating way to lose. The Mets ace worked in and out of trouble all night, allowing seven hits, none of which were hard hit, and one earned run while striking out a career high-tying 13 Cubs. It was a masterful performance by deGrom, who loaded the bases in the first before striking out two to end the inning, but the offense that’s failed him time and time again was up to the same old tricks Saturday. The only Met run came on a Michael Conforto solo shot off Cubs starter Mike Montgomery in the sixth inning.

In an attempt to win what sure seemed like a must-win game for the Mets, Mickey Callaway burned through his entire bullpen minus Paul Sewald. He was rewarded with clean innings by all of them, minus Buddy Baumann and Gerson Bautista. Baumann was added to the roster as Jerry Blevins insurance, a valid move in theory considering Blevins’ struggles thus far, except for the fact that he’s much worse than Jerry Blevins. Bautista throws a 100 mph fastball and, well, that’s about it. His secondary offerings leave a lot to be desired and while the young flamethrower deserved a chance, it’s apparent he’ll require some more seasoning in the minors. The Mets need to work with the 23-year-old on his slider and changeup if they ever plan for him to be a bullpen mainstay.

Kevin Plawecki got his first career start at first base and it went just as well poorly as one might’ve imagined. In an attempt to hide Adrian Gonzalez against left-handed pitching, the Mets chose to call-up old friend Jose Lobaton in order for Plawecki to get starts at first. Yes, the same Plawecki who owns reverse splits (.228/.321/.311 vs RHP, .196/.277/.290 vs LHP) and whose only value to the organization comes from his work behind the plate is now part of a platoon at first base. Plawecki was 0-5 while the Mets still chose to pinch hit Gonzalez and Jay Bruce against left-handers. It’s not like the Mets have a right-handed hitting first baseman in the minors who destroys left-handed pitching, so the move at least makes some sense. What was that?  You mean to tell me they do have a righty first baseman prospect who tees off on lefties and is close to major league ready? Yet they still somehow believe this current roster configuration gives them the best chance to win? Welcome to the Mets, my friends.

OTHER METS NEWS

Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Braves, the Mets announced a flurry of moves, the most controversial of which was the stunning decision to designate P.J Conlon for assignment. Now, Conlon’s no world-beater, but he’s flashed potential as a bullpen piece in the Jerry Blevins mold and surely could have provided some value as some much-needed depth. With a fastball that barely touches 90 mph, Conlon relies on a good changeup and a funky delivery that has proven effective once through the order. Although he had minor league options, the Mets chose to designate him to free up a 40-man spot for Scott Copeland, a 30-year-old reliever who was on turn at Binghamton.

It was a puzzling move that lacked comprehension: teams don’t cut pitchers with minor league options who can provide value in the big leagues, especially when said team is in constant need of pitchers. Except that’s inexplicably exactly what the Mets did. I theorized in Week Five of the Prospect Watch that the Mets had no idea what they had in Conlon and apparently they didn’t have any interest in finding out.

The corresponding move for Conlon was Copeland, who threw all of 22 pitches Thursday before he himself was designated for assignment. He struck out two in one inning of relief and was a fresh arm for a bullpen in dire need of one. Mets brass somehow concluded that Jose Lobaton’s presence was again required on the active roster, so the only logical move was to designate Copeland. So they could carry three catchers. Who all can’t hit.

Did you think it couldn’t get any worse? Because it’s about to get worse. Mickey Callaway told reporters Friday night that the Mets had only three available relievers in the bullpen: Paul Sewald, Tim Peterson and Jeurys Familia. If the Mets didn’t need Lobaton to complete the Jose, Jose, Jose bench, they could’ve held on to Copeland, who’s been stretched out as a starter with Binghamton. It simply would’ve made too much sense though, so Copeland was sent packing while Callaway overworked Sewald, Friday night’s losing pitcher.

I’m assuming you thought that this was the end of the rant. Well guess what, I’m here to tell you this isn’t the end of the rant. What could possibly be worse than this you might ask? Well by designating Conlon, the Mets ensured he’d have to pass through waivers in order to remain with the organization. The Dodgers, an organization seemingly always in need of pitchers, claimed Conlon Saturday. Which means the Mets gave up on an intriguing 24-year-old left-handed pitcher for 22 pitches from Scott Copeland. Not 22 starts from Copeland, nor 22 innings. 22 measly pitches!

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

Belfast Blur Struggles

Strapped for starting pitching, the Mets turned to P.J. Conlon to take the ball in Game 2 of their Memorial Day doubleheader. Let’s just say that Conlon’s second major league start went a little worse than his last one. The Belfast Blur (trademark pending) was only able to last two innings on 46 pitches. The Mets desperately needed length out of their starter and did not get it. The good news: Conlon did not surrender a walk. The bad news: the left-hander got tagged for eight hits and four runs. Conlon is not a particularly hard thrower, with a fastball that tops out in the high 80s, so it’s a long shot to believe he’ll carve out a long-term position in this rotation even with how thin their depth is.

Fear the Plaw

A lot has happened since the last time we saw Kevin Plawecki on April 11. In the 39 games since, the Mets have gone from a dominant force to a barely .500 team. Acquiring Devin Mesoraco stopped the bleeding at catcher, but the return of Plawecki from a broken bone in his left hand should provide depth and make for a decent platoon behind the plate.

Plaw returned to action last night after going 3-13 with a home run in his Las Vegas rehab stint and boy did he not disappoint. The Mets’ backstop was on base five times Monday, recording a walk, three singles, an RBI and a run scored. He reached on an error in the first inning after he hit a comebacker to Brandon McCarthy that the hurler simply just threw away. I should also note that his infield single in the sixth should have been scored an error as Johan Camargo blatantly dropped the ball. The Mets need production at the catcher position and whether it’s Mesoraco or Plawecki doesn’t matter as long as it helps this team turn around.

Everybody Getting Involved

Despite how inept they were during the afternoon, the Mets were able to post eight runs on 15 hits in the nightcap. Adrian Gonzalez opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single and the Mets jumped to 2-0 after Plawecki reached on an error, scoring Jay Bruce. Brandon Nimmo blasted a homer in the third, but this lead wouldn’t stand up long.

The Mets gave it back to the Braves but regained the lead after Amed Rosario singled home Plawecki and Jose Reyes in the sixth. The Mets were able to dismantle Atlanta’s Brandon McCarthy, who finished with a line of 5.1 innings pitched, nine hits, five runs and two strikeouts.

Unfortunately, that lead didn’t last very long either, but the Mets rallied back quickly. Singles from Luis Guillorme and Rosario netted three runs in the seventh, giving the Mets the 8-5 lead that went final.

Overall, every Mets starting position player netted at hit tonight. Michael Conforto and Plawecki finished with three-hit games, Guillorme and Rosario each had a total of four hits and five RBIs between them, and Nimmo, Gonzalez and Plawecki each recorded an RBI.

The Pen Rebounds

Watching Seth Lugo surrender a walk-off home run to Charlie Culberson cannot be defined as anything other than a gut punch. Thankfully, things went much better for the Mets’ relief unit in the nightcap. Hansel Robles came out with one of his best performances of 2018, keeping the Braves off the board for three innings.

Robert Gsellman did not have one of his better games but limited the damage to one run that the Mets were able to regain it the following inning. Jacob Rhame pitched an impressive seventh, netting a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Jeurys Familia came up big too. After a long day, Familia shut the door in the eighth, pitching a clean inning. He returned for the ninth, where he completed a six-out save (his first this year), grabbing his 14th save of the season. Combined, the bullpen ate seven innings, surrendered five hits, one run, two walks and struck out nine. Gsellman winds up the winning pitcher of record, his fifth victory of 2018.

Fun fact: Braves prospect Dustin Peterson made his major league debut as a pinch hitter on the last out of the game. Technically, he made his debut on May 29 because the game ran past midnight, but the official record will pencil him in for the day prior. He also walked to first base after three balls thinking he walked before eventually striking out. Embarrassing.

The Mets and Braves pick up where they left off at 7:35 p.m. Game 3 of the series pits Steven Matz against Anibal Sanchez.

Photo credit: Dale Zanine – USA Today Sports

The Belfast Blur

After hyperextending his elbow last Wednesday, many feared that Jacob deGrom would have to miss an extended period of time (no pun intended). Instead, the Mets announced that the injury was not serious and he would, in fact, start today against the Reds. But wait, then they ended up backtracking on this sentiment and placed deGrom on the disabled list retroactive to May 3. With a potential bullpen game behind Seth Lugo on the table, the Mets opted to call up P.J. Conlon from Triple-A to make his major league debut.

Conlon toeing the rubber was, in fact, far more significant than just his first major league game: the former University of San Diego standout would became the first Irish-born player to appear in a major league game since 1945. Conlon was born in Belfast, Ireland and relocated to California with his family at the age of 2.

The 24-year-old left-hander did not have the picture-perfect MLB debut that every pitcher dreams but battled nevertheless. After tossing two scoreless innings, Conlon surrendered his first major league hit in third — a home run off the bat of Billy Hamilton. He would run into more trouble in the fourth, giving up three doubles and a walk that would eventually spell his exit from tonight’s contest.

Even when you consider that he was facing the lowly Reds, Conlon did demonstrate an ability to locate his pitches and induce non-threatening fly balls. The Belfast Blur (patent pending) did not light up the radar gun, sitting in the mid- to high-80s), but still fooled hitters enough to get through. With a little more experience, he could potentially fine-tune his crafty abilities and contribute to a Mets rotation that is desperately looking for starting pitching help right now.

Bats Bats Bats

It’s important to note that entering last night’s game Michael Conforto, Jay Bruce and Amed Rosario were all visibly slumping. Our editor-in-chief, Kate Feldman, put it best when she tweeted, “Honestly god bless Cincinnati.” It’s important to use games against lower tier to find a rhythm offensively and that’s just what this trio did. Conforto led off the game with an opposite-field home run and finished 2-for-5. Bruce launched a two-run homer in the third (second all-time in home runs at Great American Ball Park behind Joey Votto), as well as grabbing another base hit and two walks. Rosario launched two doubles, one of which was only a few feet away from being his first home run of the 2018 season. He also recorded a sacrifice fly in the second. Yoenis Cespedes remains on a tear, smacking two more doubles. Even automatic out Jose Lobaton got involved in the action, lacing a double in the second.

Gonzo Goes Yatzo (Twice)

But the salt and pepper shaker for Monday night’s game belongs to Adrian Gonzalez. Under tremendous scrutiny about his age and slipping play, A-Gon silenced all the haters, at least for a night, with a 3-for-4 performance. After knocking a single in the second, Gonzalez launched homers into the cheap seats in the third and fifth innings. Before he stepped in the box Monday, Gonzalez already had six home runs off of Reds’ starter and Christian Bale look-alike Homer Bailey; his third-inning blast would be his seventh. There has a been a lot of talk about whether Gonzalez should remain the everyday first baseman going forward. With Jay Bruce’s ability to play first, Brandon Nimmo’s hot bat and Peter Alonso tearing up Double-A, it almost felt like Gonzalez’s days were numbered. If he can continue to produce at this current rate, he should be safe to buy a good amount of time in the major leagues.

Bullpen Wraps It Up

After Conlon departed in the fourth, Paul Sewald replaced him and labored through 1.2 innings. After surrendering three hits and two runs, Robert Gsellman was called upon to follow him in the sixth. Gsellman would also allow a run, making it a one-run game, but Jeurys Familia shut the door on a surprisingly clean inning in the ninth. Gsellman would record the victory and now sits at 4-0 on the season.

The Mets are back at it again tonight in Cincinnati at 7:10. Jason Vargas (*gulp*) will attempt to rebound from two awful starts as he faces Reds right-hander Luis Castillo.

Photo credit: David Kohl – USA Today Sports