Mets' Kickstart Backfires Spectacularly
Lindor and Báez up the middle doesn't provide expected spark, Megill bombed in listless loss to Giants
Image credit: Chris Simon
The Mets welcomed back another key cog on Tuesday night with a couple more on the way if all goes well.
Francisco Lindor, who’s been shelved since mid-July with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, made his return to Flushing in the Mets’ series opener against the San Francisco Giants, even getting a pronounced ovation ahead of his first at-bat.
With the return of Javier Báez (hamstring) on Sunday in Los Angeles paying immediate dividends in New York’s getaway-day win over the Dodgers, the Mets were assuredly looking forward to similar results from their star shortstop’s return.
“It’s huge,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said before the game. “Having [Lindor’s] presence on the field is something that we’ve missed for over a month now. His energy, his bat, his defense, everything that he brings to help the team win games.”
The $341 million man’s return to the diamond wasn’t the only promising news the Mets shared on Tuesday.
Noah Syndergaard is set to begin a rehab assignment this week and Jacob deGrom is set to receive an MRI exam on Wednesday with the hope of restarting a throwing program, per Mets GM Zack Scott, who spoke with the team’s media corps on Tuesday.
Syndergaard, recovering from UCL surgery in 2020, threw 20 pitches in a live bullpen session on Saturday in Los Angeles. Per Scott, the right-hander will pitch out of the bullpen when he returns but could be stretched out as he progresses.
DeGrom, working (resting) his way back from right elbow inflammation, is a more precarious situation.
“The whole point of ramping [deGrom] up is to see if he can get back to where he needs to before he can be activated,” Scott told reporters. “Whether he pitches in a big-league game or not, I think it’s important for us to know where he’s at at the end of the season.”
Jake is a gamer, we know that. And the Mets are still mathematically alive. But at what point does the risk outweigh the reward of the organization knowing “where he’s at” heading into the winter. It’s Jacob freaking deGrom. You know exactly where he’s at.
Something to watch, for sure. Back to the field!
Lindor and Báez were both back in the lineup, finally making the keystone connection the Mets front office envisioned when they traded for the mercurial infielder last month.
Michael Conforto is hitting again (.288/.390/.470, 136 wRC+ over 77 PA in August). Pete Alonso rode an eight-game hitting streak into the night with a .273/.336/.559 line and 11 home runs over 164 second-half plate appearances.
Brandon Nimmo’s .408 on-base percentage came into the evening tied for third-highest in the majors among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances (Juan Soto, .446; wow).
Tylor Megill entered with a 3.21 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over his first 11 MLB starts. Jeff McNeil was making his first start of the season in left field, relegating Dominic Smith to the bench, where he shone in 2019.
All in all, the pieces were in place for a rejuvenating night at Roosevelt and 126th. Until the game began, of course.
Giants 26-year-old left-hander Sammy Long, making a spot start for San Francisco (his sixth in the majors and ninth appearance overall) held the Mets to three hits through five-and-a-third innings of work.
Of course, he did. And he could have spared a few more, actually.
The best-in-baseball Gigantes put up a seven-spot on Megill, chasing him after three-and-two-thirds with 11 hits and four home runs on his ledger, increasing that aforementioned ERA to 4.07 on the year.
Down a touchdown midway through the second quarter is not where this team wanted to be starting off a make-or-break stretch of games that will either seal the Mets’ fate or keep them in the mix for as long as possible.
Six-and-a-half back in the NL East with 37 to play (and the Phils still lurking) isn’t an impossible mountain to climb. Only Everest-like.
Following their 8-0 loss on Tuesday, the Mets would need to go 29-8 just to finish with 90 wins. If Atlanta continues playing as well as they have (16-5 in August, 68-58), it may not make much of a difference.
The Mets could theoretically play .700 baseball down the stretch and likely still miss the dance. They’re well aware of this. They’re also presumably well aware of how they got to this point.
Michael Conforto said last week that the Mets weren’t “going to pack our stuff up and go home,” despite the situation, adding, “we’re going to stay positive and fight”.
Cool, let’s see it. Because this wasn’t it and there’s still baseball left to play. Onward.
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