NATS INCREDIBLE
Ces goes 4-for-5 & homers, but Mets still can’t win:
Of all the unforeseen and even bizarre developments in this Mets’ season, it turns out the hardest to believe were the back-to-back days in Washington, D.C., April 29 and 30, when this team hung losses on Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.
Talk about miracles: At this point the Mets would settle for a lead against the Nats, never mind a win.
Through 27 innings the last three days they’ve yet to own one, which is about as succinct a way as there is to say: This series could hardly be any more discouraging for the home team, after a 7-4 loss on Saturday put the Mets on the verge of getting swept four straight.
And that’s with Yoenis Cespedes wielding a hot bat — 4-for-5 with a home run on Saturday and 11-for-24 since returning from the disabled list.
Usually as Cespedes goes, so go the Mets, but even he can’t get them over the hump against the Nationals these days.
And naturally, in a season defined largely by injuries and how the Mets handle them, he won’t play on Sunday.
Why? Because the Mets have drawn up a plan to rest him every few games, in the hope of avoiding further leg injuries, and no amount of desperation for a win is going to change the plan, according to Terry Collins.
“If something happened tomorrow,’’ Collins said, “the first question would be: ‘why didn’t you follow the plan?’ “
You can understand the caution, with all the criticism they’ve taken, but in truth the Mets have no idea if designated off-days here and there will make a difference in keeping Cespedes healthy.
And he sure looked 100% busting it down the line twice to beat out infield singles on Saturday.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets rethink the plan come Sunday. Hope for the season feels all but lost already, but another loss on Sunday would bury the Mets 12½ games back.
And with the wild-card teams just as far ahead of them, Sandy Alderson could start making phone calls to gauge interest in his veteran players, preparing to be a seller at the trade deadline. As it is, Alderson has to at least start thinking about that possibility now that the Mets have missed out on an opportunity to get back in the race.
Indeed, with three rocking-chair wins the Nationals have rather rudely reminded the Mets who’s boss in the NL East, while making it all but impossible to see how that could change over the next four months.
The Nats, after all, are 6-0 at Citi Field this season, and there’s nothing mysterious about it: They’re just better than the Mets, better in every facet of the game except the bullpen.
And as bad as the pen had been for the Nationals lately, the Mets couldn’t take advantage on Saturday, rallying late but falling short.
Big picture, the difference mostly has been the starting pitching. Though Strasburg ran out of gas in the sixth on Saturday, the Nationals’ starters have dominated the series, as Gio Gonzalez, Max Scherzer, and Strasburg combined to allow five runs over 20 1/3 innings.
Which is not terribly surprising. The problem is that the Mets were supposed to be able to match them pitch for pitch with the best starting rotation in the big leagues.
And we know how that has worked out in 2017.
In these three games their starters, Robert Gsellman, Steven Matz, and on Saturday Seth Lugo, combined to give up 15 runs in 18 2/3 innings.
Worse, each of them gave up early runs, putting the Mets’ offense in a hole while quieting the Citi Field crowds that were dying for a reason to get crazy and create a hostile environment for the visitors.
And because the Mets’ pitching isn’t as dominant as anticipated, their below-average defense continues to be far more of an issue than they anticipated.
In short, then, the series couldn’t have gone much worse for the Mets, dashing those hopes that had materialized with the return from injury of Matz, Lugo, and Cespedes.
Suddenly, then, this feels like the low point of the season for this team. And though it fought its way to a wild-card spot last season with a late run, this year a wild-card spot is miles away from them.
Most significant of all, the Mets are seven games under .500, a bad team by any definition, and probably a bit dumbfounded as to how it has come to this.
As it turned out, in fact, those two wins in Washington, D.C., were not only more the exception than the rule this season, but the last time the Mets looked like contenders.
The next day, remember, Noah Syndergaard walked off the mound with a torn lat muscle, famously sparking controversy over his refusal to get an MRI; the Nationals pounded their way to a 23-8 win, and the Mets pretty much have been wondering what hit them ever since. Just never more so than after these three games.