2021 New York Mets Week 4 In Review 4/26-5/2
Tuesday Review
On Tuesday, the 2021 New York Mets started a two-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field. David Peterson faced off against the veteran Garrett Richards. The Mets struck first with a Jeff McNeil home run in the bottom of the second. However, it didn’t take long for the Red Sox to tie it up.
Bobby Dalbec hit a home run in the top of the third. The game stayed tied at one for the next few innings, as both pitchers seemed to be fairly locked in. Peterson was the first one to blink though when Rafael Devers singled in Kiké Hernández to give Boston a one-run lead in the sixth. There would be no more scoring by both teams for the rest of the night, the final score was 2-1. The lack of offense is what defined this game for the Metropolitans, a story all too familiar to the team this season. The only positive in this game was the pitching, the bullpen was lights out and Peterson had a good outing despite getting the loss.
Wednesday Review
Jacob deGrom took the hill for the final game in this short series against Nick Pivetta. The first and only run of the game came in the top of the second off of a Christian Vazquez double. The offense was nonexistent again tonight, with the Mets only getting two hits and leaving 13 men on base. Keep in mind that Nick Pivetta has a 5.31 career ERA, and the Mets got one hit off of him. They were swinging at pitches way out of the zone and most of the time weren’t even having competitive at-bats. If this team wants to make the playoffs, they have to capitalize on nights like these where the pitching is excellent. The final score was 1-0.
Friday Review
The Mets were hoping to wake the bats up for the start of a three-game series in Philadelphia. Marcus Stroman started against Chase Anderson. The first runs of the game came from a passed ball in the bottom of the second, giving the Phillies a two-run lead. Catcher James McCann confirmed after the game that it was a cross-up that caused the passed ball. Stroman came out of the game just three innings later due to a tight hamstring. It’s unclear as of right now if this will affect his next start. The only run the Mets got was in the top of the sixth from a Dominic Smith RBI single. The bullpen was flawless, but yet again it wasn’t enough for a win because of horrendous hitting. The final score was 2-1.
Saturday Review
With the start of a new month, the Mets were trying to prove that the dead bats in April were just a fluke. Taijuan Walker took on Zack Wheeler. Pete Alonso got the hitting started early with a ground-rule double in the top of the first to give the Mets a one-run lead. Michael Conforto brought in the remaining runners with a double to extend the lead to three. The inning wasn’t over yet though, as the red hot J.D. Davis singled to bring in the final run of the inning. This inning was obviously huge for this team.
It wouldn’t be smooth sailing for the Mets on Saturday though, as in the bottom of the second the Phillies tacked on two runs to shorten the Mets lead. The Mets wouldn’t score for the next few innings, and it would cost them. Alec Bohm tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. Aaron Loup and Trevor May would keep the game tied going for the next two innings, and in the top of the ninth Michael Conforto hit a solo home run to give the Mets the lead. Edwin Diaz then closed out the game to give the Mets a much-needed win, with a final score of 5-4. Also, Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis was taken out of this game due to injury. It’s unclear how long they will be out.
Sunday Review
For the rubber game of the series, David Peterson took the mound against Zach Eflin. The Phillies struck quickly with an Andrew McCutchen solo home run in the bottom of the first. In the top of the third Michael Conforto tied the game back up with an RBI single. Most of the game had back and forth scoring in what turned out to be a slugfest.
David Peterson kept the game tied until he was taken out after five innings, and in the top of the sixth, the Mets nearly broke the game open. They did get a run off of a throwing error by Eflin, but Francisco Lindor came up with the bases loaded and two outs. He failed to drive anyone home and got the Phillies out of the inning. While it is still early, Lindor’s struggles are concerning. He has yet to have his break-out moment as a Met. The Phillies capitalized on this with a Didi Gregorius three-run home run in the bottom half of that inning. This home run came off of Miguel Castro, who has been having a good year so far.
Mets Big Inning
The top of the eighth was a huge inning for the Mets that got started by a solo home run hit by Kevin Pillar. This was not only big for the game but big for Pillar too as he’s been struggling this year. Because of the short bench, Jose Peraza made his Mets debut in a big spot. With the tying run on first, Peraza got a single that brought in Jonathan Villar all the way from first. This happened because of some lackadaisical fielding by the Phillies, which Villar wisely noticed and took advantage of.
In one of the biggest moments of the game, Jose Alvarado was brought in with two Mets on base. Jeff McNeil singled to load the bases and Francisco Lindor walked to tie the game. Next up was Michael Conforto who has a history with Alvarado. Alvarado was wild and the Mets got their revenge when he walked Conforto giving the Mets the lead. After Alvarado got taken out, Pete Alonso hit a bases-clearing double to extend the lead to 8-4.
Questionable Decision
Edwin Diaz came in for the bottom of the ninth, which is a very questionable decision for many reasons. Roman Quinn quickly hit an RBI triple to shorten the Mets lead. After this, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner came out to the mound and Diaz told him that his back was getting tight but he wanted to pitch through it. Rojas said. “He got tight throughout the outing, and after [Hoskins] doubled, when they were checking the replay, I noticed that [Diaz looked] tight.
Diaz almost blew the game when Rhys Hoskins nearly hit a home run. It was called a home run on the field, but a replay showed that the ball hit the top of the railing which is still considered in play. Hoskins was placed on second by the umpires after the review. Diaz was finally taken out of the game after this, and Jeurys Familia closed the game out. The final score was 8-7.
Wrap Up
The first few games of this week were nearly identical, the hitting was never there and the pitching was excellent. However, this narrative quickly changed on Saturday. If the 2021 New York Mets can keep up the hitting they showed this weekend, they might have what it takes to make a run for the playoffs. It’s hard to ignore the poor hitting that’s occurred the rest of the year though, as each game was predictable once you saw that nobody was hitting the ball.
Something else that is concerning is Edwin Diaz and Luis Rojas’s bullpen management. There was no reason for Diaz to come into a game where the Mets had a four-run lead, especially considering he pitched the previous day. Not only that, as described earlier, Rojas left Diaz in after he made him aware of an injury. Diaz came out of the game because of the tight back, which could potentially be serious. Regardless, the Mets won the series after an abysmal short series against Boston, which is a positive. Be sure to look out for the next week in review article for all the information you need about the 2021 New York Mets. These reviews will come out each week for the rest of the 2021 New York Mets season.
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Players Mentioned
David Peterson, Garrett Richards, Jeff McNeil, Bobby Dalbec, Rafael Devers, Kiké Hernández, Jacob deGrom, Nick Pivetta, Christian Vazquez, Marcus Stroman, Chase Anderson, James McCann, Dominic Smith, Taijuan Walker, Zack Wheeler, Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Alec Bohm, Aaron Loup, Trevor May, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Davis, Zach Eflin, Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Lindor, Didi Gregorius, Miguel Castro, Kevin Pillar, Jose Peraza, Jonathan Villar, Jose Alvarado, Roman Quinn, Jeremy Hefner, Rhys Hoskins, and Jeurys Familia.
