BRAND’ NEW START!
Cano still adjusting to unfamiliar NL arms
ATLANTA — When Robinson Canó switched from the American League to the National League for the first time in his 15-year career, he was prepared to face a slew of unfamiliar pitchers.
The problem is, even when an experienced hitter like Canó studies notes and scouting reports before digging into the box, he can be surprised by opposing-pitcher strategies.
The 36-year-old entered Friday night’s game against the Twins hitting .180 across his first 50 at-bats. Canó is undeniably slumping to start the season, and one of the reasons is his unfamiliarity with the NL
division hurlers on the mound.
He found success against three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer on Opening Day against the Nationals. Canó parked his second homer off Scherzer in the 1st inning on March 28. He’s batting .167 (4-for-24) lifetime against Washington’s ace.
Most other pitchers he’s faced so far with the Mets, though, are new to Canó. He faced Nationals hurlers Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin for the first time in the Mets opening series in Washington. Same goes for Marlins pitchers Caleb Smith, José Ureña and Trevor Richards.
By the time Canó faced Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi – a pair of familiar Twins pitchers Canó has a combined 50 atbats against – for the fourth series of the Mets’ season, he was already in a funk.
Canó was batting .267 (3for-30) lifetime against Gibson, before going 0for-3 on Tuesday. He was even more impressive against Odorizzi, entering Wednesday hitting .333 (5for-15) with a double and an
RBI in his career against the right-handed pitcher. But, with the Mets, Canó went 0for-2 with a strikeout against him.
The veteran second baseman added to his April downfall on Thursday against the Braves, going 0-for-5 with a two strikeouts. One of the swings-and-misses arrived against Kevin Gausman, a righty pitcher Canó batted .400 against before Thursday.
“Knowing a guy and knowing what he does definitely helps,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “Especially a veteran hitter like Canó – who's super prepared and understands what guys have done to him in the past. It makes it more comfortable to know who they are.”
Canó is the type of intelligent hitter who isn't worried about his plate production just 13 days into the regular season.
The 36-year-old is acutely aware of his early April slump and he's working with Mets hitting coach Chili Davis to get to the bottom of it.
“There's a little bit of pitchers throwing around me,” Canó said. “I'm definitely chasing pitches more than before.”
The Mets skipper compared Canó's initial 2019 plate production to that of Brandon Nimmo's early struggles. Nimmo enters Friday leading the league in strikeouts with 23. He's batting .150 with one home run and four RBI across his first 40 at-bats.
The Mets moved Nimmo from batting leadoff to the eight-hole in the lineup for the team's second game against the Braves on Friday.
“I think it's a little bit like Nim,” Callaway said. “They're executing pitches. And (Canó) is just not hitting the few mistakes he's getting. He's not getting a ton of mistakes. The pitchers know who's around him. He's probably, just because who he is and the reputation, getting pitched around more than other guys.”