2021 New York Mets Week 3 In Review 4/19-4/25
Tuesday Review
After winning the series against the Rockies, the 2021 New York Mets started off this week in the windy city against the Chicago Cubs. Taijuan Walker took on veteran right-hander Jake Arrieta. It didn’t take long for the first runs to go on the board. Willson Contreras scored on a throwing error by J.D. Davis in the bottom of the third. Davis has been having problems with errors this season, and that certainly didn’t stop with this game. Walker had given up no hits and no earned runs at this point in the game.
Walker faced some trouble in the bottom of the fourth though, as Eric Sogard brought in Jason Heyward to give the Cubs a two-run lead. After a couple of walks, the bases were loaded. Walker was clearly annoyed at home plate umpire John Libka’s strike zone. The third and final run for the Cubs came off of a Wilson Contreras walk. When Luis Rojas was taking Walker out of the game, he got ejected by Libka because of his complaints with the strike zone. Rojas would also get ejected later on.
Robert Gsellman came in with the bases loaded and ended the inning with a strikeout. In the next inning, J.D. Davis got the only run for the Mets with a solo home run. The only silver lining for the Mets in this game was the bullpen’s performance. Typically the bullpen struggles, but in this game, they were lights out. Gsellman, Barnes, Familia, and May combined for four and one-third innings pitched giving up only two hits with no earned runs. The final score was 3-1.
Wednesday Review
Coming off of a disappointing loss, the Mets looked to bounce back with David Peterson on the mound. Right-hander Zach Davies was on the hill for the Cubs. Francisco Lindor got a run early with his first home run as a Met in the top of the first. J.D. Davis also helped out with a double in the top of the third to give the Mets a two-run lead.
The bottom of the fourth was when the Cubs put their first runs on the board. Anthony Rizzo started the rally with a single to bring in their first run. Then, J.D. Davis made an error at third that would’ve most likely been an inning-ending double play. Instead, the bases were loaded with one out. Davis’s fielding troubles were now really hurting the team. Matt Duffy walked to bring in the tying run. It all went downhill from there. By the time the inning ended, the Cubs were winning 7-2. The game turned into a blowout because of poor play, and the Cubs won 16-4. Errors are what killed the Mets in this game.
Thursday Review
Trying to avoid the sweep, the Mets sent Joey Lucchesi to the mound to face off against Trevor Williams. One thing to take note of is that Luis Guillorme got the start at third instead of JD. Davis. Guillorme showed everyone his defensive talents in the bottom of the first with an impressive diving play. The first runs of the game didn’t happen till two innings later when Wilson Contreras singled to give the Cubs a one-run lead.
The inning totally blew up for Lucchesi after that, when Kris Bryant doubled to give the Cubs a three-run lead. The Mets started to come back in the next inning with a two-run Pete Alonso homerun. Sean Reid-Foley was brought in for the bottom of the fourth to make his Mets debut. He pitched very well going three innings allowing no hits and no runs. In the top of the seventh, J.D. Davis doubled to tie the game at three. With some good work from the bullpen, this game went to extras tied at three. The Mets nearly got some runs in the top of the 10th, but Dominic Smith hit into a double play to end the inning leaving the bases loaded. Edwin Diaz came into the game for the bottom of the 10th and gave up a walk-off single to end the game. The final score was 4-3.
Friday Review
With ace Jacob deGrom starting the game in the series opener against the Washington Nationals, the 2021 New York Mets were hoping to bounce back from a brutal series against the Cubs. Jake couldn’t have played any better. He cruised through the Nationals lineup striking out 15 and giving up only two hits. He also had a complete game shutout, which is extremely rare nowadays. Not only did he do that, he also had two hits. One of them being an RBI double. The Mets defense didn’t have to do much, and the offense finally gave him some run support with six total runs. This game was certainly the highlight of the week for the Mets, and a game they desperately needed after a rough series at Wrigley.
Saturday Review
Looking to emulate Friday’s game, the Mets sent out number two starter Marcus Stroman to go against Joe Ross and the Nationals. Josh Harrison was the first batter of the game and he hit a ball to right field that bounced right past Michael Conforto to bring Harrison all the way to third on what should have been a single. This error would cost the Mets as Yadiel Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to bring Harrison home for the first run of the game.
Washington would strike again in the top of the second when pitcher Joe Ross singled to give the Nationals a two-run lead. The Nationals started to blow the game open with three more runs over the next two innings to give the Nationals a five-run lead. The Mets would score their only run off of Michael Conforto’s bat with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. The final score was 7-1.
Sunday Review
In the rubber game of the series, the New York Mets sent Taijuan Walker to the hill against Patrick Corbin. J.D. Davis got the Mets some runs early in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer. Walker pitched well, but the Nationals hit the ball hard off of him all day and Walker had to be bailed out by his defense numerous times. This was much needed after the poor defense this week. In the bottom of the fourth, James McCann added to the lead with a single to bring in a run. A Pete Alonso home run in the bottom of the fifth would be the final run for the Mets on Sunday, and it would be all they needed as they defeated the Nationals 4-0. With this win, the Mets won the series and are still in first place with a 9-8 record.
Wrap Up
Undoubtedly the story of the week was Jacob deGrom. People couldn’t stop talking about him on social media after Friday’s game, and rightfully so. Not only was his performance amazing, but the entire team was also hyped up after that game, and the bullpen got the rest they needed. Not everything was so positive though, the errors were a big problem this week that can’t happen if the Mets want to stay on top of this division.
They showed good signs on Sunday, but they have to prove that they are done with the errors on routine plays. Next week starts on Tuesday at Citi Field against the Boston Red Sox. Be sure to keep an eye out for the week in review next Sunday for all you need to know about the 2021 New York Mets. These articles will come out every Sunday for the rest of the 2021 New York Mets season.
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Players Mentioned
Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, Patrick Corbin, James McCann, Pete Alonso, Marcus Stroman, Joe Ross, Josh Harrison, Michael Conforto, Yadiel Hernandez, Joe Ross, Michael Conforto, Joey Lucchesi, Trevor Williams, Luis Guillorme, Kris Bryant, Sean Reid-Foley, Dominic Smith, Edwin Diaz, David Peterson, Zach Davies, Francisco Lindor, Anthony Rizzo, Matt Duffy, Taijuan Walker, Jake Arrieta, Willson Contreras, J.D. Davis, Eric Sogard, Jason Heyward, Luis Rojas, Robert Gsellman, and J.D. Davis.
