First is the worst for Jerry
With Sunday's scheduled starter Jason Vargas landing on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained right calf, the Mets turned to reliever and lefty specialist Jerry Blevins in their series finale against the Dodgers.
It was the first start of Blevins' 12-year majorleague career. It did not go well.
Blevins allowed back-to- back home runs to open the game before eventually settling in to retire the next six batters he faced, including a 1-2-3 second inning. Right-hander Tim Peterson replaced Blevins to start the third. Blevins said Mickey Callaway approached him Sunday morning to ask him to start the game. Initially, Blevins thought Callaway was joking.
“He explained to me the situation, and I said, ‘I'd love to, man,'” Blevins said. “Whatever helps the team.”
The Mets re-called righthander Chris Flexen from Triple-A to take Vargas' roster spot, but Callaway opted to start Blevins instead to “maximize how we use everybody.”
“The hardest part for me of the day was figuring out timing — when to throw, the anthem, the first pitch,” Blevins said. “But you adapt and you do what you can.”
Vargas said he's capable of pitching but unable to perform the movements necessary to field his position without feeling pain.
TIME OFF FOR ROSARIO
Callaway said before the game that he plans to give Amed Rosario “the next couple days off” to “work on some things.” Rosario did not start Sunday's loss to the Dodgers. He entered the game in the 11th inning and grounded out to second in his only at-bat.
The Mets want Rosario, who is hitting .197 with a putrid .500 OPS over his last 21 games, to re-evaluate his plate approach. He's walked just twice in his last 73 plate appearances, striking out 16 times over that span. He often expands the zone, offering at pitches well off the plate, and rarely goes deep into counts.
RAMOS RELIEVED
Reliever A.J. Ramos, who underwent season-ending surgery earlier in the week to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, said he'd been dealing with the shoulder pain since spring training and was battling it on a “daily' basis.
INJURY NOTES
Noah Syndergaard, who hasn't pitched since May 25 because of a strained finger ligament in his pitching hand, threw off a mound Sunday. Outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, out since May 14 with a strained hip flexor, remains “day to day,” according to Callaway,