Jeurys Familia earns the rare Condor Win May 28, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Jeurys Familia, Mets game 47
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I thought the story of last night’s game would be Julio Urias, but I was wrong.
Photo: slgckgc on Flickr
May 27 was the worst outing Jeurys Familia has had since 2012. He came into a non-save situation – four runs up, but he hadn’t worked in a few days – and promptly allowed singles to Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick before striking out Joc Pederson. Yasiel Puig singled, followed by Yasmani Grandal walking to force in a run. Trayce Thompson struck out, but Chase Utley squeaked a two-out double to clear the bases. With the game now tied, Familia struck out Corey Seager to end the inning. (Fortunately, Curtis Granderson picked him up with a home run.)
I’ve heard some people describing Jeurys’ win last night as a ‘vulture win,’ but I disagree. A vulture win is granted when a pitcher blows the save but wins the game anyway. Familia didn’t blow the save – he blew a non-save situation. That’s much bigger than a vulture win – it’s a condor win.
The lore around Familia has become that he’s a high-pressure worker – that he pitches well in save situations, but that he can’t manage to bring it home when he just comes in to stay busy. I’m not so sure that’s true.
First, this year’s numbers: Jeurys has had 16 save oppportunities in 2016, over which he’s had 60 plate appearances, held opposing batters to a .207/.233/.224 slash line, and walked 2 batters while striking out 12 for a 6.00 KBB. In 2015, there were only eight relievers (who pitched in 40 games or more and relieved 95% of their games) to keep a KBB above 6; that number will likely come down a bit, although Familia’s pitching style means it’s likely to stay above average. (A list of last year’s relievers sorted by KBB is here.) Meanwhile, in his 8 non-save situations this year, Jeurys has allowed a .371/.421/.486 slash line over 38 plate appearances with 9 strikeouts but 3 walks. Hm – not closer stuff, definitely, but keep in mind that Jeurys’ defense tends to help him out more in save situations. His BAbip in save situations this year has been .261 – below the league average, which hovers around .300, by a bit – but in non-saves it’s been considerably worse, at an even .500. This could indicate that the defense behind Jeurys plays a role in those results.
In fact, last year’s numbers bear out a significantly similar trend:
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | HR | BB | SO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in Sv Situ | 49 | 199 | 185 | 12 | 37 | 5 | 12 | 55 | 4.58 | .200 | .247 | .314 | .561 | .254 |
| in non-Sv | 27 | 109 | 100 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 31 | 4.43 | .220 | .284 | .300 | .584 | .309 |
The results are similar, with a slight nudge upward in non-save situations, but Jeurys gets significantly ‘luckier’ with BAbip when he’s in for the save.
Julio Urias’ debut and a full Mets bullpen (Mets Game 47 Preview) May 27, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Dodgers, Mets, Mets game 47, Previews
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Urias in 2014 spring training. Photo: Dustin Nosler via Wikipedia.
Friday night, the Mets host the Dodgers for the home portion of their season series. The teams split their early May series with wins for Mets starters Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, and the Koufaxian Clayton Kershaw. The Mets will start Jacob deGrom against the debuting Julio Urias.
deGrom started against the Dodgers on May 10; he pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on 8 hits, 4 strikeouts, and no walks. He was lifted after 103 pitches, and a ninth-inning home run by Trayce Thompson off Hansel Robles won the game for Kenley Jansen. In two starts since, deGrom has had a confusing set of numbers – he’s held opponents to a .220 batting average and a .313 OBP, along with a luckier-than-average .233 BAbip, but allowed 7 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings pitched for a 5.56 ERA. Current Dodgers have hit deGrom fairly well; first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has hit a monstrous .375 against deGrom in 18 plate appearances, plus a walk for a .389 OBP; though he’s struck out 8 times, he’s hit two home runs for a .750 slugging average. In 14 plate appearances, Justin Turner (3B) has hit .357/.357/.571 with two doubles. Likely leadoff hitter Chase Utley (2B) is hitting .267/.353/.333, followed up by shortstop Corey Seager at .333/.333/.556. With Gonzalez, and then Turner, following up, there’s a huge chance (about 57%) that Gonzalez will come up with at least one man on base and 0 or 1 out. On the other hand, deGrom tends to strike out opposing hitters at an alarming KBB of 4.33 (13 Ks, 3 walks) the first run through the order. The second time through, the strikeouts stay high but the walks climb (2.00, 12K to 6 BB). In the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, though, deGrom’s ERAs are 1.29, 2.57, and 1.29; deGrom shows the confusing trend of having stronger batting-against stats but allowing more runs in the early innings. As long as he can get through that first run through the Dodgers infield, deGrom can serve as a strong bridge to the bullpen with Hansel Robles, Addison Reed, and Jeurys Familia.
Note that Familia is tied for second in the NL with 16 saves, behind only the Phillies’ Jeanmar Gomez.
The 19-year-old Urias is making his MLB debut. He’s been filthy at AAA this year, with a .780 WHIP, a 1.10 ERA and a 9.7 K9 in 41 innings pitched. Young pitchers have mixed success moving to the majors – you’ll always have your Clayton Buchholz types who take advantage of their unfamiliarity to opposing hitters, but you’ll also have young pitchers who need development to grow into their roles – so it’s tough to predict how Urias will do. When he was bumped from AA to AAA last season, for example, he started two games but allowed 9 runs in only 4 1/3 innings, leading to an unsightly 18.69 ERA. Mets fans can hope Urias has some difficulty adjusting tonight, considering the volume of the Citi Field crowd.
Dodgers numbers against deGrom are below:
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | HBP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.J. Ellis | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .333 | .600 | .333 | .933 | 0 |
| Alex Wood | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 18 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | .375 | .389 | .750 | 1.139 | 0 |
| Justin Turner | 14 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .357 | .357 | .571 | .929 | 0 |
| Chase Utley | 17 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .267 | .353 | .333 | .686 | 0 |
| Joc Pederson | 12 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .111 | .333 | .222 | .556 | 0 |
| Corey Seager | 9 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .333 | .333 | .556 | .889 | 0 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .125 | .222 | .250 | .472 | 0 |
| Yasiel Puig | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .222 | .222 | .556 | .778 | 0 |
| Carl Crawford | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .000 | .182 | .000 | .182 | 0 |
| Howie Kendrick | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .100 | .100 | .100 | .200 | 0 |
| Enrique Hernandez | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 |
| Total | 121 | 109 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 33 | .229 | .298 | .385 | .683 | 0 |
Mets Game 17 Quick Preview April 24, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Mets Game 17
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The Braves have hit terribly against Jacob deGrom. Current Braves’ .209 OBP against deGrom includes pitcher Julo Teheran going 1-3 against him. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and second baseman Kelly Johnson are both hitless; Freddie Freeman is a mighty 2-10 with two walks.
That is all.
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freddie Freeman | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .200 | .333 | .500 | .833 |
| Kelly Johnson | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jace Peterson | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .333 | .429 | .500 | .929 |
| Nick Markakis | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Julio Teheran | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Matt Wisler | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 43 | 40 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | .150 | .209 | .250 | .459 |
Free at last! (Mets Game 16 Preview) April 23, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Braves, Freddie Freeman, Jhoulys Chacin, Matt Harvey, Mets, Mets Game 15, Mets game 16
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Matt Harvey finally notched his first win of the year, going 5 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 1 walk (to Nick Markakis), and 5 strikeouts. That walk came in the fifth inning, when Harvey has traditionally labored; fortunately, a dead-on throw from Yoenis Cespedes to Travis d’Arnaud kept A.J. Pierzynski from bringing Markakis home to end the fifth and get Harvey through the minimum.
Freddie Freeman. Photo: Bruce Tuten via Wikimedia Commons
Cespedes extended his streak of extra-base hits to 7; over those 7 games, he’s hitting .345/.406/.931 with a .400 batting average on balls in play. In the first 8 games of the season, he hit .233/.324/.333 with a .333 BAbip. The Mets were 3-5 during those first 8 games and 5-2 during Cespedes’ streak. Yo left the game after an extended rain delay due to aggravating his leg injury sliding into second for last night’s double; Juan Lagares may make the start in center tonight. Ces has never faced Braves pitcher Jhoulys Chacin, but Lagares is 2-6 lifetime against him with a double.
Curtis Granderson hit two home runs including one grand slam, along with a single, for 9 total bases and 5 RBIs. One of those RBIs came when Harvey made it to first on a throwing error by the pitcher, trying to force Asdrubal Cabrera out at third. On this road trip, Granderson is hitting .353/.476/.941 on a close-to-league-average .300 BAbip. Granderson is 1-2 with a walk against Chacin. Neil Walker is .333/.333/.556 against Chacin in 9 plate appearances.
Freddie Freeman extended his lifetime hitless streak against Matt Harvey to 9 plate appearances with a pop foul, a flyout, and a swinging K. Freeman hasn’t hit well this year (.167/.318/.241, compared to last year’s .276/.370/.471), but he’s been fairly good against current Mets: he has an OPS above 1 against 5 Mets pitchers, including starter Steven Matz(1-3, walk), relievers Addison Reed (1-2) and Jerry Blevins (3-7), and closer Jeurys Familia (5-11, walk, 2 home runs). Freeman hit .246/.317/.509 in his first 15 games last year, so his OBP isn’t too big a surprise – it’s really the last of extra-base hits that’s causing the Braves trouble.
Steven Matz is largely unproven against the Braves. His only previous start against Atlanta was in September of last year, allowing 6 hits and 2 walks for 1 run. Current Braves have hit him reasonably well, so it will be good to see whether Matz continues what he started last time out or whether he looks more like his first start against Miami.
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Castro | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | 1.667 | 2.333 |
| Freddie Freeman | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .667 | .500 | 1.167 |
| Adonis Garcia | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Nick Markakis | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Matt Wisler | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 14 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .385 | .429 | .615 | 1.044 |
Off to Atlanta (Mets Game 15 Preview) April 22, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Bud Norris, Matt Harvey, Mets Game 15
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Matt Harvey in 2012. Photo: slgckgc on Flickr
The Mets will start Matt Harvey tonight against the Braves’ Bud Norris.
The Mets have hit Norris at a .257/.382/.392 clip since 2009. The results have been mixed: though Neil Walker has smacked Norris around for .391/.517/.565 in 29 plate appearances, David Wright has hit .091/.333/.091 in 15. (Note, though, that those 15 include 3 walks and a hit by pitch, so Wright still manages to get on base regularly.) Lucas Duda is 1-3 (double) with a walk; Wilmer Flores and Kevin Plawecki are each 1-3. In 11 plate appearances, Yoenis Cespedes is hitting .300 with a home run and a walk against Norris. Cespedes has hit homers in the last two games and four of the last 6; the Cespedes/Walker combination is likely to be dangerous. Norris gave up 4 earned runs including 2 homers to the Marlins last weekend; it’s imperative the Mets are aggressive with him early on to knock him out of the game, as the 4-11 Braves had 5 blown saves in 8 save opportunities.
Meanwhile, this game may be an opportunity for Harvey to get his season on track. In 26 plate appearances, current Braves have hit .080/.115/.120 against Harvey; Jace Peterson and former Mets backup infielder Kelly Johnson are both 1-3 against Harvey, but Harvey has held Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman hitless in 6 plate appearances. Good defense is key, since Harvey seems to get rattled when things don’t quite go his way. The Mets were 5-5 in Turner Field last year, outscoring the Braves 43-36. Three of those wins came from starters and two from the bullpen. In six of those games, the Mets scored 4 or more runs, and they lost only one; providing Harvey with more than his current 3.33 runs per game of support will go a long way toward allowing Harvey to do what he does well.
Are extra-innings contests evenly matched? (Mets Game 14) April 21, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball, Economics.Tags: extra innings, Mets game 14, probability, statistics
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The Mets lost to the Phillies in 11 innings last night. That was a surprising result – based on the run scoring in the first two games, the Pythagorean expectation for the same Mets team facing the same Phillies team would have been around 95.5%. Even going into extra innings seemed to be a stretch with Bartolo Colon pitching. Plus, the Phillies were in the bottom of the league in extra innings last year.
Addison Reed blew his first save of the year when he allowed a single to Peter Bourjos that scored David Lough. Despite strong performances from Antonio Bastardo and Jim Henderson, Hansel Robles allowed a double, a wild pitch, and a single that brought Freddy Galvis home.
Once we hit the tenth inning, it’s evidence that the teams are evenly matched, right? Not necessarily. in 2015, there were 212 extra-innings games. The home team won 111 of them, about 52.4%. That’s obviously higher than expected, but keep in mind that if this were a fifty-fifty coin flip we’d expect at least 111 wins around 22.5% of the time. Where it gets interesting is that the home team has (with the exception of 2014) consistently won over half those games, but that the more games that are played, the better visitors do. Since 2006, 2144 extra-innings games have been played with teams winning 1130 of them for a .527 winning percentage; that’s something that, if this truly is a 50-50 proposal, should only happen by chance 0.6% of the time.
| Year | G | W | L | perc |
| 2006 | 185 | 105 | 80 | 0.568 |
| 2007 | 220 | 117 | 103 | 0.532 |
| 2008 | 208 | 108 | 100 | 0.519 |
| 2009 | 195 | 106 | 89 | 0.544 |
| 2010 | 220 | 116 | 104 | 0.527 |
| 2011 | 237 | 134 | 103 | 0.565 |
| 2012 | 192 | 96 | 96 | 0.500 |
| 2013 | 243 | 125 | 118 | 0.514 |
| 2014 | 232 | 112 | 120 | 0.483 |
| 2015 | 212 | 111 | 101 | 0.524 |
| Total | 2144 | 1130 | 1014 | 0.527 |
One other result gives us pause: from 2006-2015, 24297 games were played and the home team won 13171 of them. That’s a considerable home field advantage, since all teams play half their games on the road and half at home. That corresponds to a .542 win probability for any home team. If that, rather than .500, is the expected win rate for a home team, then teams perform significantly worse in extra innings.
In other words, though the home team still has an advantage, that advantage shrinks once we hit the tenth inning.
The Mets are idle tonight. They’ll pick up in Atlanta on Friday.
Vince Velasquez Really Didn’t Pitch That Badly (Mets Game 13) April 20, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Mets, Mets game 13, Phillies, Phillies bullpen
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Or, back to that wretched Phillies bullpen
![Brett Oberholtzer as an Astro. Photo: Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as "Brett Oberholtzer") [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://heureusementici.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/266px-brett_oberholtzer_on_july_31_2013.jpg)
Brett Oberholtzer as an Astro. Photo: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons
- Verrett out at first
- Curtis Granderson flied out to left
- David Wright lined out to center.
However, because Verrett was safe at first, he was on base for Michael Conforto to single him over to second, and then for Yoenis Cespedes to bring them home on a home run. Although Conforto had already hit a wind-aided homer off Velasquez in the first, it’s debatable whether those hits would still have come at the beginning of an inning with a fresh pitcher. Since Conforto has been so problematic for pitchers, it’s likely he’d have made it to base in the phantom fourth inning, but Cespedes had struck out in the first, and the wind was certainly a factor in his homer; it’s plausible the fourth inning would have gone:
- Conforto singled
- Cespedes flied out to center
- Neil Walker flied out to right
- Asdrubal Cabrera grounded out to short
Then we enter the fifth inning with Velasquez down 2-0, rather than 5-0. That inning may have looked like this:
- Travis d’Arnaud grounded out to shortstop
- Verrett doubled.
- Granderson hit by pitch
- Wright struck out looking.
Now it’s the fifth inning, you have Conforto on deck, men on first and second, but the lead runner is a pitcher. Verrett is unlikely to score on a single. Even though Conforto beat Velasquez up pretty badly that evening, Velasquez is one out away from his fifth inning, making him eligible for a win if the Phillies turn it around. Additionally, entering last night’s game, Velasquez’ platoon splits were all in favor of having him face the lefty: he doesn’t strike lefties out as often, but they hit significantly worse. Bringing left-handed specialist Elvis Araujo in to face Conforto was a move that made sense if Velasquez was being beat up, but in this case I’d have been likely to leave him in as a development move. It’s not a given that Conforto would have hit him. Then, we have a totally different game.
Fortunately, the Phillies bullpen is terrible.
Araujo was perfect for two outs and Dariel Hinojosa pitched a perfect ninth, but Brett Oberholtzer allowed four runs on four hits and two walks in two innings; three (!) of those hits were home runs. James Russell allowed another two runs on three hits (one homer) and a walk. Russell was visibly shaken, although his ERA dropped .21 to 18.69. Meanwhile, Verrett gave us six scoreless innings; a rested Jim Henderson was perfect, and although Rafael Montero pitched relatively poorly (gave up one run, with at least one more saved by a killer catch by Juan Lagares in center), Hansel Robles got three outs on one hit. He was visibly pitching around Cameron Rupp (double) and Darin Ruf (struck out looking), both of whom handled the fact that Robles had attempted to murder them with grace and aplomb.
I’m not saying that last night’s game was a fluke. Conforto’s development has come at an alarming pace. Still, the two key plays last night that knocked Vince Velasquez out of the game boiled down to Logan Verrett reaching base twice. Pete Mackanin waved the white flag by leaving Brett Oberholtzer and James Russell out to eat innings, when an extra inning from Vince Velasquez may well have made this one a nailbiter. (Seriously, three and two thirds innings pitched by three different lefties?)
The Mets close out their series against the Phillies tonight. Bartolo Colon took a tough loss against the Phillies in his first start; Jeremy Hellickson has allowed a .256/.316/.430 slash line to current Mets. Yoenis Cespedes has hit .444 in 10 plate appearances against Hellickson; David Wright is .600 in five plate appearances. Juan Lagares, Wilmer Flores and Eric Campbell are each 1 for 3, while Granderson and Lucas Duda are both below the Mendoza line in 23 and 8 plate appearances, respectively.
The Rule 5 Draft and Daniel Stumpf’s Problem April 18, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball, Economics.2 comments
Rookie lefthander Daniel Stumpf was suspended for 80 games following a positive test for steroids. He had appeared in three games and allowed three runs in his first appearance but then made two one-out appearances as a left-handed specialist. Stumpf was a rule 5 draftee.
The Rule 5 draft allows teams to poach players who have been signed for five years (if the player originally signed when he was younger than 18) or four years (if the player signed as an adult) and who are not on any 40-man roster. It was designed to keep teams from signing prospects they had no plan to use in the near future, and to protect those prospects’ chances to make the majors. Current Blue Jay Jose Bautista and financial professional Bobby Bonilla were both rule 5 draftees early in their careers, for example, who may not have made the majors had their progress continued to be blocked.
Stumpf’s positive drug test amounts to a windfall for the team, however: part of the cost of drafting a player under rule 5 is that the player must remain on the team’s 25-man roster, the disabled list, or the restricted list for the entire season, accruing at least 90 days’ service time. The 25-man roster provision is designed to force a team to carry the player all year; if the team trades the rule 5 draftee, he must remain on the new team’s 25-man roster all season as well. Similarly, if he is waived, he must be offered back to his old team. This is designed to make it costly for a team to draft a young prospect: in order to make sense, the team’s expected value over the player’s career must be greater than the expected development value of the marginal player who the draftee will displace.
In Stumpf’s case, 24-year-old lefty Elvis Araujo has been called up to replace him. Araujo pitched 34 2/3 innings in 40 games last year – substantially less than one inning per game – last year, making him a close comparison to how Stumpf was being used. Araujo had a 3.38 ERA, so in order to make it rational to keep Stumpf on the roster over Araujo, the Phillies must have expected Stumpf to develop considerably more than Araujo over the course of the season and to remain valuable for at least a few more years. Stumpf will likely continue baseball activities over the course of the suspension, so his coaching and development will continue albeit without the pressure of major league appearances. Meanwhile, Araujo, a slightly more seasoned player, will make the appearances in the majors that Stumpf would have, allowing the Phillies to accrue the benefit of Stumpf’s rule 5 status with less of the cost. That is: Araujo is a better player now, and the Phillies would ordinarily need to sacrifice that benefit to have Stumpf, the better player in the future.
The disabled list exemption from the 25-man roster rule is sensible, but this rule allows the Phillies a windfall. Major League Baseball should consider a rule that pauses accrual of not only service time but also credit for time on the roster while a player is suspended. This would require Stumpf to spend at least 80 additional games on the Phillies 25-man roster at the beginning of next season, forcing the Phillies to make a tough choice about Stumpf and Araujo again in 2017.
Mets Weekend Roundup: Hot in Cleveland! (Mets Games 9, 10, 11) April 18, 2016
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball.Tags: Indians, Mets
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On Friday, Bartolo Colon started against his old Cleveland Indians team. Colon snagged the win on 5.1 innings pitched with 8 hits, 2 runs (both earned), 1 walk and 5 strikeouts for a game score of 48. This is Colon’s first win of the season and his first cheap win since May of last year. Bart has had exactly one cheap win each season as a Met.
On Saturday, Matt Harvey took his third loss of the season in a non-quality start. Harvey has raised concerns over the past several starts; though the Mets scored 5 runs in the game, Harvey’s run support has been 3.33 runs per game this year. Last year, the Mets averaged 4.37 runs per game behind Harvey; that’s the difference between above- and below-league-average support. On the bright side, that means the trend is unlikely to persist. Meanwhile, Corey Kluber – the Indians’ ace – is also 0-3 on a 6.16 ERA. Kluber took a tough loss to the Rays on April 12th but has otherwise pitched pretty poorly. He averages one run of support per game, with high hit totals and lots of extra-base hits.
On Sunday, Steven Matz bounced back from a difficult first start and grabbed a brilliant 78 game score in 7 innings of 3-hit baseball. Matz walked 2 and struck out 9.
As DH in Cleveland, Yoenis Cespedes hit a monstrous .417/.462/1.083; this included a .600 batting average on balls in play, indicating that he got lucky on a few of those hits. Meanwhile, honorary Met Juan Uribe had a .444/.545/.546 weekend against the Mets, starting all three games at third base.
The Mets bullpen allowed 5 earned runs in 8 innings for a 5.63 ERA, but inherited six runners with none scoring. Hansel Robles, Antonio Bastardo, and Jim Henderson all looked like strong options coming out of thrower jail, with Jeurys Familia notching an ugly but effective one-out save to bail out Addison Reed on Friday.
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