The Mets stormed in and out of Cincinnati with a series win driven by eleven home runs. Alas, now it’s the pitching needing attention…
The Mets have a team batting average for July of .264, well above the league average of .240. That mark also represents a dramatic improvement from the team’s .222 posting in June.
Additionally, the Mets have already eclipsed the 88 runs they scored in June with the 105 and counting runs in July. ESPN has all the stats and splits, and you can delight in seeing how the team’s offense is now in gear.
In baseball, there are few well-kept secrets, and certainly, one of the most widely known secrets is that the Mets can’t score runs, and if not for their pitching and the rest of the NL East teams shooting themselves in the foot, the Mets would not (still) have a hold onto first place.
Mets: Where Did The Pitching Go?
But wouldn’t you know it? Just as the team gets whole with the return of Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, and JD Davis, the pitching has fallen apart.
Always the most reliable pitching stat, the Mets month to month team ERA looks like this:
- April – 2.90
- May – 3.18
- June – 3.71
- July – 4.59
Obviously, this is an alarming trend that reverses and neutralizes the Mets improving offense.
To illustrate beyond the rising team ERA, the Mets have a doubleheader scheduled on Monday against the Braves, and if you ask Luis Rojas who’s going to start either of those games, all you’ll get is a blank stare.
Presumably, Acting Mets GM Zack Scott is tethered to his phone in search of pitching help, and Sandy Alderson remains huddled with Steve Cohen about the financial implications of acquiring the starters the team has their sights set on.
A lot depends, of course, on the return of Jacob deGrom and Carlos Carrasco, but neither has a definite path to return to the team. deGrom was seen by Mets radio announcers tossing in the outfield today at Citi Field, but again, tossing is not bulleting 101mph four-seamers in a game.
No one is even talking about Noah Syndergaard anymore, and if he returns at all it’ll be mid-September.
The team received a boost today from Marcus Stroman, who tossed eight nearly perfect innings, allowing only one hit while throwing two of every three of his efficient 90 pitches for strikes.
Jeurys Familia struck out the side in the ninth to close out a 7-0 win for the Mets (50-43). With the win on the board, the outcome of the Phillies game with the Yankees tonight will determine if the Mets increase their lead from three to four games.
Stroman’s performance today has the Mets embarking on a joyous plane trip home, where after an off-day Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. await them at Citi Field and the beginning of a ten-game homestand.
Mets: There’s No Bench Mob To Replace Pitching
But when it comes to pitching, there is no Bench Mob on the ready-to-go as replacements for injured players.
Although the Mets Triple-A Team in Syracuse is all but tapped out, Jake Scott will continue to juggle the ball as he did yesterday in calling up Robert Stock to start last night’s loss to the Reds, and wouldn’t you know it – Stock lasted only one inning and is now on the Mets IL.
The one positive aspect of the Mets is the spirited style in which they play baseball. Nimmo and McNeil are both throwbacks, and Pete Alonso is on a mission this year, even if he doesn’t hit 50+ home runs.
Their enthusiasm and all-out “we can do this” approach is generated by Mets manager Luis Rojas, and the players in the clubhouse are responding accordingly.
But with all that, the Mets need guys who can pitch in this league now, not tomorrow.
It’ll be ironic if the Mets continue their trend to average two runs over their scoring average in the first half from here on in while the pitching continues to surrender more.
Mets: Help Can Only Come From The Top
In the meantime with nine days before the trade deadline, Mets Nation turns its lonely eyes to you – Scott, Alderson, and Cohen – to get us a couple of starters to fortify the rotation.
And yes, even if this means forfeiting on Kris Bryant for now due to luxury tax constraints for this year, and waiting for the offseason to sign him as a free agent.
The Mets’ good-pitching no-hit “strategy” worked in the first half, but in the upcoming crunch in the second half, the Mets will need both, acting in concert with each other.
The bats have come around but now it’s time to focus on the pitching…while considering deGrom a bonus.
Here’s What Readers Are Saying…
Pete Za We will find a way like paul did when yoko got involved.
Edward Drennan That’s the Royals in the pic Author’s Reply: I don’t know but I hope Edward is talking about Danny Duffy.
Kurt Hennessy Jon Tessler a good start from two of our guys doesn’t mean our pitching isn’t still in shambles. So many injuries. And Stroman looked very average his two prior games leading up to today. I was thinking the same thing.
Stuart Byhoff Let’s do it. Everyone knows they need pitching. Let’s get it.
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.
