JUPITER, Fla. (April 21, 2018) – The Jupiter Hammerheads won for the 12th time in 13 games with a 3-2 victory over the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The Mets outhit the Hammerheads 8-5, but the Mets went just 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded six.
A trio of Hammerheads relievers blanked the Mets over the final four innings. Closer Kyle Keller worked a perfect ninth for his third save in three chances.
The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the third and jumped ahead 2-1 in the fifth but could not hold either lead.
Martin Prado, on a MLB rehab assignment for the Marlins, ripped a game-tying RBI double off of Mets starter Blake Taylor in the sixth to make it 2-2.
Joe Dunand came up next and grounded out on the infield. The ball in play was good enough to bring home Brian Miller for the go-ahead run.
Gene Cone went 2 for 2 with two singles, a walk, a run and a RBI for the Mets.
Ryder Ryan worked two perfect innings of relief with four strikeouts. He has not allowed a run in 9.2 innings this year.
Taylor allowed three run in five innings. He scattered four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out seven in taking the tough-luck loss.
Jupiter starter Sean Guenther held the Mets to two runs in five innings.
The Mets (7-8) and Hammerheads (13-3) wrap up their three-game series at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.
A problems I am starting to see here with the design of this current 2018 NY Mets 25-man...
ReplyDelete1. Set-up and Closer.
Mets sorely lack a true left-handed set-up man. A set-up that can also spell Jeurys Familia when needed as well, so that Jeurys does not have to pitch in every single game they play.
Ramos looked kind of awful lately. All the gyrations and yoga stretches before he pitches on the mound is starting to frustrate me. Maybe that's the true purpose with it, to irritate opposing hitters? It's working I'd bet. But if he could just then throw a strike after all that yoga fanfare, it would be fine. But he does not always.
How long do we have to wait for Tim Peterson to get up here? Good question.
I think Oswalt may be coming up to eventually start in the rotation, first see how he does facing MLB batting from the pen. Maybe too, the rotation will extend out to six soon too.
2. Jay Bruce.
He is obviously hurting with the foot thing. Why put him out there everyday (risking more injury to it) when you have both Nimmo and Lagares available at 100%? Maybe let Jay rest the thing, is good advice? It really is the only way to probably heal this plantar fasceitous injury.
3. Yoenis Cespedes. May need more down time. Mets can cover. No one is a machine, except Larry King. Remember this!
4. Jose Reyes. No problem here. He's back fans! It is tremendous to see because we all love the guy.
5. Matt Harvey. In today's game a starter needs more than just two really good pitches. Matt lived and died by his fastball through now. But he has to learn how to add two more really effective pitches to start, or be a reliever the rest of his career.
Believe it or not, Matt's personality may be better suited to relieving. He's that fiery. He easily could excel at this new role. Do not be at all surprised. But in adding two more really effective pitches, it will be his greatest challenge in baseball if first he can accept it. I never count Harvey out! The Dark Knight still lurks in the soul of the man.
The good stuff...
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Beautiful start again by Jake deGrom Saturday. That game's home ump was something else. Home plate badly needs to go computer sensory calling of all the pitches. It's becoming a major problem to MLB and the fans don't like the ever changing strikezones anymore than the batters do. It could ruin things, I've seen many team's batters going spastic with the ankle high strikezone.
Went from letters to knees for a hundred years, to three inches under the letters and two-three inches below the knees. There is not much consistency umpire to umpire anymore either. All the MLB pitchers have to study each umpire's own special strikezone now, prior to their start. It's crazy!
The good stuff...
OF Zach Borenstein still hitting well at Vegas. 1B Peter Alonso needs a call-up to Vegas very soon, hitting like .246 BA at Bing.
The Mets hitters need to understand that when you are in a slight to major batting slump, the best way to climb out of it is with contact hitting and not a ridiculous attempt at a homerun swing. Contact first, get comfortable hitting singles to repair the slump, then slowly add-in the power if you have some to add. Crawl then walk, so to speak.
Mets Batting Coach/Bench Coach needs to plot each opposing teams starters probability to throw first pitch strikes. I have noticed that often starting pitchers are dropping in for a first pitch strike the easiest strike that batter may face in their at bat against him. Why watch it go by for a strike? Attack it. Hellickson was obvious, but most good starters do this trying to get ahead in the count.
The 2018 NY Mets are 14-6 overall I think, and it's still a fabulous start to this new season for these Mets. Manager Mickey Callaway and his troops have done a great job getting everyone into the games. It's a wonderful chemistry of players now.
Meant .346 BA for Peter Alonso. My bad!
ReplyDeleteA trade rumor making the rounds on the Internet right now...
ReplyDeleteHouston Astro catcher Max Stassi (age 27) currently hitting .303 and with some power ability to him. 'Stros have the two veterans in McCann and Gattis ahead of him. 'Stros are playing well like the Mets are, but they do have two possible positions that they could bolster namely LF and 1B. Both of these positions the Mets have trade depth for a trade.
Could work out. Maybe a nice six player deal here Sandy? Mets need a lefty set-up too. Just talking outloud.