Nevertheless, life goes on and the team played their first game in the post-Lucas Duda era. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned as the Mets dropped their second in a row to the basement-dwelling San Diego Padres by a score of 7-5. A poor Major League debut from Chris Flexen and an offense that didn’t wake up quickly enough were the recipe for last night’s disaster. Here’s how it shook out:

Not Flexen On The Haters

Ravaged by injuries and desperate for depth, the Mets called on 23-year-old Chris Flexen to start last night in San Diego. Flexen was the first player to debut straight from Double-A Binghamton since Michael Conforto did so in 2015. He also joined prestigious company thanks to the first batter he faced, but not in the way he would have liked.  After surrendering a home run to Manuel Margot, Flexen joined Jon Niese and Steven Matz as the only Mets pitchers to give up a homer to the first batter they faced in the majors. Flexen’s night didn’t get any easier and he struggled to the tune of four walks, four runs (three earned), and five hits in only three innings pitched. Flexen took Thursday’s events in stride, calling his debut a “dream” despite the rough outing, but his future in the Mets rotation depends on everyone else.

Don’t Trade Jay

Jay Bruce continued to buoy the Met offense, driving in three runs, two of which came on a two-run home run in the seventh. The blast was Bruce’s 26th of the year, inching him up to 70 RBIs on the season. Bruce is on path to reach 42 home runs and 113 runs, which would set new career highs for the 30-year-old outfielder. I have repeatedly emphasized how important of a piece Jay Bruce could be to the 2018 Mets and he keeps giving Sandy Alderson more cause to extend him. If competing in 2018 is truly the goal, then trading Bruce at the deadline would be a cataclysmic mistake. Pairing Bruce with Yoenis Cespedes in this lineup gives the Mets the formidable and powerful 3-4 they need to contend for a championship. Here’s to hoping Sandy and the braintrust makes the right choice.

Our All-Star Continues To Shine

For those worried about an impeding Michael Conforto slump following the All-Star break, you can put those fears to rest. Conforto continued to solidify his reputation as a reliable, Major League-caliber hitter last night after a two-for-five performance. To open the game, Conforto sliced a ground-rule double down the left field line, followed by a single to right in the fifth. He can bat for average, he can hit to all fields, he can hit for power, and he plays a heck of an outfield. The Mets have a star in the making in Conforto and I personally look forward to watching him play in the orange and blue for the next 10 years. Yes, there are more ideal fits in center field. But at the cost of having Bruce and Cespedes in the lineup, I can live with Conforto patrolling center.

Where is Dom Smith?

The departure of Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays opens up the first base slot for Mets prospect Dom Smith, currently residing in Triple-A Las Vegas. You had to figure that in the wake of the Duda trade, some sort of promotion news would break about Smith. Instead, Sandy Alderson confirmed that there are no immediate plans to promote the 22-year-old. This feels a bit peculiar as the Mets are very much out of the Wild Card race and have openly acknowledged their willingness to sell assets and focus on 2018. There are multiple roster moves coming Friday, including Neil Walker and Brandon Nimmo expected to join the team in Seattle, but as for Smith, I guess we’ll have to continue to wait and see.

Back-End Bullpen Success

When Chris Flexen was removed after the third, Tyler Pill came in to relieve him. Pill faced similar struggles, surrendering three runs, two walks, and two hits in two innings. In what seemed like a game that would be an utterly hopeless performance on the mound, the back-end of the bullpen rallied together to toss three perfect innings to end the game. Josh Edgin, Fernando Salas, and Erik Goeddel pitched a shutdown sixth-seventh-eighth which did allow the Mets to creep back into this game. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done and the effort turned out to be in vain. Any success this ball club receives out of this scrap heap of relievers should be praised, especially if any of them are going to fit into next season’s plans.

The Dads Go Yard

Manuel Margot launched a leadoff home run off Flexen over the left field fence to open the game and Dusty Coleman would later launch a three-run bomb over the right-center field fence off Tyler Pill in the fifth. Said bomb would, in fact, go on to be the difference in the game. The Padres are essentially fielding a team of young, on the rise Triple-A players due to their lack of depth, so its always nice to see the prospects flash their potential.

What’s Next?

The Mets open up a three game set against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Rafael Montero faces Ariel Miranda with a start time of 10:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Jake Roth – USA Today Sports

Do you get it they’re pill jokes because his name is Pill wait where are you going okay I’ll talk about the game now.

Coming off a thorough thrashing Tuesday night, the Mets actually held a lead(!) early in the game. Curtis Granderson went deep in the first at bat of the game for his eighth homer of the season to put the Mets out early. Granderson has really come around at the plate since May and should probably start getting more praise.

Pitching with a 1-0 lead at that point, Tyler Pill carried a perfect game all the way into the third inning before giving up a walk, an error, and a sacrfice fly to tie the game at 1-1. He then promptly lost his no-hit bid in the fourth inning on a Cody Bellinger double. And that double was the start of a big inning for the Dodgers, who wound up putting up a four-spot in that fourth inning, capped off by a three-run dinger by Yasiel Puig that he pimped so hard it made Wilmer Flores become an angry old man.

It was pretty much over after that. The Dodgers added a run in the sixth and two more in the eighth off Neil Ramirez, whose ERA now sits at 6.66, which is probably a sign for something. The Mets did not get a hit with a runner in scoring position until the ninth inning, when Curtis Granderson hit a garbage time RBI double to make it 8-2.

The Mets have now dropped six of their last seven and sit at a paltry 31-40. This is a bad season.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

Zack Wheeler was placed on the 10-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Apparently, Wheeler had pitched through the injury in his last two starts, which had seen him throw a combined 3.2 innings and allow 15 runs.

As humans, we are gifted with the ability to learn, adapt, and change based on our experiences. But most of the basic human instinct we learn is actually taught to us at a young age. We’re taught not to touch hot things or put dirt in our mouths. But imagine what it must’ve been like to be some of the first humans on Earth and not know those things? Imagine having to learn that sharp things hurt through a process of trial and error? I mean, we had to learn somehow that gasoline is bad to ingest or that you shouldn’t try to eat a fire. It must’ve been awful to learn that stuff the hard way. But these humans did learn these things, adapted, took lessons from their experiences, and passed them on to others for their collective benefit.

Apparently, the folks in charge of the Mets must not believe in the process of intellectual evolution, because they do none of those things. Despite repeatedly expecting players to perform through obvious injury or malady of some sort and never once having it work out well—including this pitcher in discussion, who lost two years of his career by pitching through injury himself—they still have not learned that injured players should not play baseball. There is no learning from mistakes here. There is no process of trial and error; there is only error. Constant, incessant error.

Matt Reynolds was also demoted in favor of Erik Goeddel. I am never not shocked to find out Matt Reynolds is or was on the MLB roster.

TODAY

The Mets look to avoid a clean sweep as they face the Dodgers at 10:10 p.m. in Chavez Ravine. Steven Matz gets the start against Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Photo credit: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports

Justin Turner: Any time a former Met moves on to another team and blossoms into a star, it stings. Seeing a position player turn into an offensive force is especially difficult considering the Mets’ struggles at the plate. Turner has posted at least 4 WARP for the Dodgers in his first three seasons with the team and is on pace to eclipse that mark again this year.

Franklin Gutierrez: Gutierrez has been basically league average for the Dodgers this season, but most fans probably remember him for his Mariners days regardless. In his journey to the Mariners, he was part of a three-team trade in 2008 that involved the Mets dispersing seven players between Seattle and Cleveland in order to receive Sean Green, J.J. Putz, and Jeremy Reed.

Draft Connections: The Dodgers’ Alex Wood was drafted in the second round with the 85th overall pick by Atlanta in the 2012 draft. Earlier in the same round, the Mets selected utility man Matt Reynolds (71st).

Campus Connections: The second Matt Reynolds connection of the post comes because he attended the same university as Logan Forsythe (Arkansas). Forsythe (2008) was drafted four years before Reynolds (2012), though, so they did not play there at the same time.

Justin Turner (2006) and Tyler Pill (2011) both attended Cal State Fullerton.

Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA Today Sports

It’s barely June, so the Mets are not in dire straits yet, but one thing I continue to preach is the need to avoid playing themselves into a deep hole. And that hole continue to get deeper. The Mets are six games under .500 and sit 10 games back from the division leading Nationals. They also face an 8.5-game deficit in the Wild Card, with the NL West continuing to boast three of the best teams in baseball right now.

The good news is that here the Mets are handed another golden opportunity to right the ship. Three weekend games with the Pirates, who currently occupy the basement of the NL Central, could jump start another winning streak. Coupled with the imminent return of Steven Matz and Seth Lugo, the Mets could presumably battle back to .500 by next weekend if they handle their business against Pittsburgh. The fact of the matter is that the Amazins need to find a way to settle down in all facets of the game if they’re going to remain competitive over the summer.

WHEN AND WHERE

Game 1: Friday at 7:10 p.m. EST (TV: SNY; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes) (Free Shirt Friday)

Game 2: Saturday at 7:15 p.m. EST (TV: FOX; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes) (Fireworks Night)

Game 3: Sunday at 1:10 p.m. EST (TV: SNY; RADIO: 710 WOR, ESPN Deportes) (Play Ball Bat & Ball Set)

BASEBALL WEATHER

Friday: Sunny with a few afternoon clouds. High of 75 degrees. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 MPH. (20% chance of rain)

Saturday: Intermittent clouds. High of 75 degrees. Winds NW at 10 to 20 MPH. (10% chance of rain)

Sunday: Overcast with periods of showers later in the day. Possible thunderstorms. High of 72 degrees. Winds SE at 10 to 20 MPH. (60% chance of rain)

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday: RHP Matt Harvey (4-3, 4.95 ERA, 4.55 DRA, .280 TAv, 0.6 WARP) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (2-5,  3.65 ERA, 3.91 DRA, .274 TAv, 1.1 WARP)

Saturday: RHP Robert Gsellman (3-3, 5.75 ERA, 6.24 DRA, .306 TAv, -0.5 WARP) vs. RHP Tyler Glasnow (2-4,  6.95 ERA, 8.96 DRA, .334 TAv, -1.8 WARP)

Sunday: RHP Tyler Pill (0-1, 3.00 ERA, 8.68 DRA, .325 TAv, -0.2 WARP) vs. RHP Trevor Williams (2-3,  5.20 ERA, 4.50 DRA, .275 TAv, 0.3 WARP)

WHO’S HOT?

Jordy Mercer: .357 batting average, 1 home run, 3 RBIs over his last seven games.

Wilmer Flores: .385 batting average, 1 home run, 1 RBI over his last seven games.

Lucas Duda: .300 batting average, 4 rome runs, 8 RBIs over his last seven games.

WHO’S NOT?

Josh Bell: .087 batting average, 0 home runs, 1 RBI, 9 strikeouts over his last seven games.

Jose Reyes: .107 batting average, 4 strikeouts, 0 home runs, .138 OBP over his last seven games.

Josh Harrison: .231 batting average, 6 strikeouts, 0 home runs, 0 RBIs over his last seven games.

WHEN WE LAST MET

The Mets took two of three from the Pirates last weekend in Pittsburgh and look to build on that success. New York saw strong outings from Harvey, Wheeler, and deGrom; the latter became being the first Mets starter to pitch into the ninth inning in 2017.

IT’S LITERALLY A 10-DAY DL

By some miracle, the Mets managed to go an entire series without sustaining an injury. Plus, Seth Lugo and Steven Matz are expected to return next after each completing a final rehab start. Sandy Alderson recently expressed his hope that Yoenis Cespedes would be able to be activated next week for a two-game set with the Texas Rangers. While the DH makes it an ideal situation, Cespedes is unlikely to return that quickly.

Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon is scheduled to make his next rehab start on Friday at Triple-A Indianapolis. Taillon struck out six over three scoreless innings in his first rehab outing with Double-A Altoona last Sunday. He had been recovering from surgery to treat testicular cancer. Left fielder Gregory Polanco had to be carted off the field after suffering a sprained ankle on Monday and is expected to avoid the disabled list. Being that he is day-to-day, he may see limited time this weekend against the Mets.

NOTABLE QUOTABLES

Zack Wheeler, on the team’s persisting struggles: “We got a really good team in here. We’ve been like that all season, we’ve been sort of streaky here and there and it’s a long season and we still got a few more months left and it’s still somewhat early. Once our pitchers really get rolling and out bats heat up, we’re one of the best teams in baseball.”

Photo credit: Jason Getz – USA Today Sports

The Brewers got three scoreless innings from their two best relievers. Meanwhile, Terry Collins turned to Josh Edgin and the struggling Addison Reed. After they both threw scoreless innings, it was Josh Smoker’s time for extra innings. He started off shaky but got stronger as he pitched after serving as a starter during his minor league stint. The Brewers turned to failed starter Wily Peralta for the 12th. T.J. Rivera singled, Michael Conforto walked, and Jay Bruce hit a line drive single past the shift for the game winning run.

With all of the Mets’ young pitching prospects over the last few years, it’s hard to get excited about the starting debut of Tyler Pill. He’s 27 years old – too old to be a prospect. He started the year in Double-A after failing his first time in Triple-A. Pill is a deception and command pitcher who rarely tops 90 miles an hour. He doesn’t have a crazy spin rate like Seth Lugo’s curveball. At best, the Mets hope he’s a perfectly cromulent number 5 starter. After watching Tommy Milone and Rafael Montero try to hold down the last rotation spot, Pill feels like a genuine improvement. If he’s bad, he’ll put fans to sleep instead of aggravating them with walks and drawn out innings!

Pill must have missed the “boring command pitcher” memo, since he drilled Keon Broxton with the second pitch of the game. Thankfully, Broxton and the Brewers realized this was a first-time starter facing nerves, not a Bryce Harper-level beef that required benches clearing or beanball retaliation. Pill kept missing with too much running movement in the first. Travis Shaw pulled a two out bloop just over a leaping Lucas Duda for the first run. Then Pill fooled Domingo Santana on a 3-2 curveball for his first big league strikeout.

A closer look at Pill’s minor league stats tells us why we shouldn’t read too much in to a pitcher’s minor league ERA right now. Pill posted a career-best ERA to start this season but every advanced metric points to trouble ahead. The Brewers got runners on second and third in back-to-back innings before Pill worked out of the jam. Eric Thames got a leadoff “triple” in the fifth as Bruce misplayed a single and let it bounce to the wall. The rookie started pitching in a lot more, getting out of the jam without allowing another run. Kyle Hendricks’ success may suggest that some command pitchers may be able to sustain high rates of stranding runners, but Pill hasn’t shown that before 2017.

The Mets got on the board quickly in the fifth when Curtis Granderson doubled to left-center and Asdrubal Cabrera doubled the very next pitch to right center. Travis d’Arnaud singled to tie the game and bring up Pill. The rookie was a two-way player in college and hit over .350 in the minors, but he failed to bunt or even drive the ball deep enough for a sacrifice. Conforto and Jose Reyes both walked – Reyes getting a go-ahead RBI – but Bruce bounced in the shift for a double play. Duda’s two-run homer in the sixth looked like it could be enough for the Mets before the bad fielding came crashing down.

Oddities

In the sixth inning, Fernando Salas got to bat on his birthday. It’s been four years since he last swung the bat, but he managed to get his first big league hit.

Fernando Salas lines a base hit to right, the first of his eight-year career, in the bottom of the 6th inning as the Mets lead 4-1!!! #LGM pic.twitter.com/n3YYrB105F

— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) May 31, 2017

What’s Next?

Jacob deGrom takes the mound as the Mets look to win the first three games in the four-game series.

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports