Mets manager Luis Rojas had no choice but to go with his pitchers on hand in Game 2 of today’s twin bill versus the Braves. And guess what…
The Mets knew today was coming when the Atlanta Braves would arrive at Citi Field for a doubleheader.
Marcus Stroman took his regular turn to start game one. Stroman turned in five innings of two-run ball a bit shaky, but should have been good enough to earn a win, except the bats went quiet and they were shut out by a final score of 2-0.
With the second game meaning more to the Braves than the Mets, Rojas and his pitching coach Jeremy Hefner looked into an empty basket of starting pitchers, deciding to go with a bullpen game.
Once again, the duo pushed the right button as the Mets escaped with a 1-0 win over the Braves, squashing their hopes of gaining ground on the NL East leaders.
It took seven pitchers to get the job done over seven innings, but once again, a team effort produced a win that was capped by Edwin Diaz‘s striking out the side in the seventh for his 22nd save of the year.
It doesn’t get any better than this for a bullpen game, so it’s worth a look:
Mets: Doing What It Takes To Pick Up A Win
Once again, the team’s offense was absent, but a clutch base hit by Jeff McNeil (again!) that scored Brandon Nimmo was all they needed in a closely contested ballgame.
One run scored, and still, the blue and orange go home with a split in the doubleheader that keeps the Braves a full five games off the Mets’ pace.
Mets: Tomorrow’s Another Day
There’s always another game tomorrow in baseball, and no one knows that more than Luis Rojas (today’s featured image) and Hefner as they scramble to fill nine innings against the same Braves team tomorrow night.
A look at the Mets’ active roster shows a limited number of pitchers available after tonight’s generous usage, including Nick Tropeano, Anthony Banda, Miguel Castro, and Yennsey Diaz – not quite the lineup thrown at the Braves tonight.
Nevertheless, these are the 2021 New York Mets, which somehow seem to come with an answer.
That answer is not likely to come from the Mets Triple-A farm team in Syracuse, although there is an outside chance the Mets will rush along with Carlos Carrasco, who threw three solid innings in a rehab start there on Sunday.
With Acting GM Zack Scott still working the phones, a new face in the clubhouse is also possible. Still, there are only so many hours in a day that even if a deal were consummated for a starting pitcher, the logistics of getting him there in time for the game are almost insurmountable.
Mets In The Driver’s Seat
However, the good news is that the game tomorrow means a lot more to the Braves than the Mets, and while the Mets can’t and won’t “take the night off,” Rojas has no need to panic in filling the innings tomorrow.
A re-awakening of the Mets offense wouldn’t hurt either against a meager one-run scored over two games today.
To wit, the Mets are 42-8 when they score four runs or more in a game, and Citi Field is where they do it best with a record of 31-16.
All together, we’ll take the split today because that’s all the Mets needed to do…
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Michael Daly Excellent job by Rojas. Sometimes he doesn’t get enough credit from Mets fans (including myself) for keeping our team in first place since early May.
More Tomorrow – Time To Rest
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
