Injuries Strike Again, Mets Scratch Out Win in ATL
Taijuan Walker leaves with side tightness, Kevin Pillar walks off under his own power after frightening HBP
Turns out Taijuan Walker hasn’t been swinging the bat when at the plate for a reason. He left Monday’s start after three one-hit innings with what the Mets announced as left-side tightness.
Ah, well that makes sense.
You’ve certainly got to be encouraged by Walker going out there, but why chance it? If he ends up missing 10 days, now the team’s in an even deeper hole than they were in, to begin with.
I didn’t even mind Walker not taking the bat off his shoulder. A sure out is tough to swallow, especially from the eight-hole, but there was clearly reasoning behind it. It’s a net positive when he’s pitching at the level he has.
Why he was hitting eighth without the ability to swing the bat is beyond my grasp, but what have you…
Sean Reid-Foley entered in Walker’s departure and absolutely dealt, going three perfect innings with five strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 0.96 on the season.
If they’re so inclined to use him in that manner, the Mets may have found their next bullpen day long-man in Reid-Foley.
The Mets finally broke through in the seventh (after managing just four hits up until that point) on James McCann’s pinch-hit RBI double, scoring Tomas Nido who chased Braves lefty, Max Fried, with a two-base hit of his own to lead off the frame.
Francisco Lindor — hitting just .190/.301/.281 heading into the evening — still doesn’t look quite right at the plate.
His homer Saturday was a nice sign, as was the six-game hitting streak he’d put together heading into the weekend, but he’s still having trouble with the curve (and the slider, for that matter).
Traditionally, he’s struggled against breaking pitches, putting up whiff rates of around 30 percent annually on those offerings, per Statcast.
Monday night was no different. Lindor took his 16th oh-fer of the season (two walks) and was fooled badly early on by a Fried curve in the dirt.
This season, he’s hitting just .186 with a .212 slugging percentage against breaking stuff. That would be a bit more palatable if he was hitting .280/.340/.480, but alas…
With a third of the roster currently on the shelf and a couple of key cogs in Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil just beginning their hamstring-induced IL stints, the Mets are going to need Lindor to walk that walk in addition to talking that talk.
Lindor spoke with the Mets’ media corps on Monday about the adversity this team has faced early on and what must be done to get things back on track, with or without a full ensemble cast.
Conforto spoke about his injury, as well. Second opinions are being gathered, which is never a great sign. Conforto’s demeanor wasn’t all that enthralling either. Just gotta hope for the best at this point.
Check it out.
We’re confident in the player the Mets signed to a $341 million deal this spring showing up soon. Hang tight.
Back to the field.
As if the Mets didn’t have enough on their plate, injury-wise, Kevin Pillar left the game in a most terrifying fashion after being struck directly in the face with a 94.5 MPH fastball via right-hander Jacob Webb with two outs in the seventh.
Gruesome stuff. No video link here. Just praying he’s OK.
The silver lining of that frightening moment was McCann scoring on the bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, putting the Mets ahead, 2-0.
The Mets really needed this one, so they went right to their big guns with a slim lead late. Funny, where was that sense of urgency this weekend in Tampa? Sheesh.
Jeurys Familia worked a perfect seventh and the Mets pounced again in the eighth.
Johneshwy Fargas (selected to the active roster on Monday) notched his first major league hit — an RBI double to score Nido after his third hit of the evening — to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0.
The shutdown inning from Familia followed by the insurance run changed the entire dynamic of the game.
Remember what we were saying about making the right decisions and how they can lead to more favorable results? That sequence was proof positive. Protect the lead then reinforce it.
And it’s a good thing they did. Trevor May allowed his first home run of the season, a solo shot to Austin Riley, to make it a 3-1 game. The tying run came to the plate twice in the inning but May avoided any further damage.
Again, a little extra cushion (as well as not turning a one-run deficit into a five-run hole) is a great thing.
Edwin Diaz grounded out Ronald Acuna, issued a one-out walk to Freddie Freeman, and flew out Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies to snap their three-game losing streak and keep the train moving despite an uphill climb.
LFGM, my friends.
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