Just Mets

The Mets dropped the middle game of their three-game series against the Nationals 3-1 in Washington on Wednesday. Here are some of my takeaways from Wednesday’s game…

Jacob deGrom battled.

Jake looked a tad off early on in this game. The Nationals were making quite a bit of contact, fouling pitches off, and driving up his pitch count early. He appeared to settle in as his outing went on and ultimately pitched really well. He had a really good change-up and his fastball was really moving up and away from lefties.

The homer he allowed to Ryan Zimmerman in the first inning wasn’t even a bad pitch – it was towards the inside part of the plate and Zimmerman just turned on it and popped it over the left field wall. It happens sometimes, but he rebounded nicely to pitch a nice ballgame into the sixth inning. Unfortunately, it was the difference for deGrom and the Mets.

In the end, 92 pitches, 64 strikes, and a tough loss on his line.

Both teams have pitched well.

This seris has gone as advertised so far this week. Both clubs have featured outstanding pitching, and there has been very little margin for error over the first 18 innings of the season. These games have come down to an ability to execute single plays, which is what usually happens when offense is hard to come by.

The turning point.

The turning point of this game actually came in the second inning with two on and two out with a run already in. DeGrom was up in a sac bunt situation, and he popped one up to Zimmerman at first base who made a hell of a play for the catch. Still, his inability to get a bunt down was notable. He not only could he not advance the two runners ahead of an infield single by Wilmer Flores (which would’ve scored a run), but it came with Jake hitting in the eighth spot in the lineup. Ultimately, the Mets left the bases loaded when Curtis Granderson  was caught looking to end the inning.

Sure, another hitter might’ve been equally as ineffective, or might’ve been worse by hitting into a double play. And yes, Granderson did come up with the bases loaded, when he otherwise might not have. None the less, the quirky lineup was a focal point early in Wednesday’s game, and I’m sure will be a topic of discussion in the near-term.

Mets hit the ball hard tonight, but didn’t have anything to show for it.

There’s no consolation prize for losing, but the Mets were victimized by some great defense by the Nationals, and the mere threat of a good throw from Bryce Harper in right field. Lucas Duda in particular hit a couple of balls hard which would have been hits on most other days. It’s frustrating, but sometimes the cap just needs to be tipped to the opposition.

Other notes from Wednesday:

Rafael Montero made his 2015 debut in relief of deGrom, and pitched two scoreless innings.

The Mets bullpen has thrown five scoreless innings over the first two games of the season.

Wright and Curtis Granderson are a combined 1-for-15 with three strikeouts at the top of the order to start the season.

The Mets have scored only one earned run in the first two games of the year.