No defense for Mets’ pathetic execution
THE METS breathed a sigh of relief early Wednesday when they learned Michael Cuddyer shouldn’t be out very long with an injured knee. The bad news is the Mets are still stuck with an offense that’s already on the disabled list.
Another night at Citi Field reaped another wasted pitching performance as the Cubs claimed a 20 victory in 11 innings despite a strong outing by Mets starter Bartolo Colon.
Cuddyer could return to the lineup by the weekend after pulling himself out of Tuesday’s loss where the Mets burned a solid pitching performance by Jonathon Niese in losing 10. But the way Cuddyer is hitting — .243 for the season and .125 over his last 15 games — a speedy recovery doesn’t ensure he’ll be able to help the Mets’ beleaguered offense that on Wednesday was 1for11 with runners in scoring position.
More troubling is the Mets are beginning to look like a team that’s being hurt not just by inefficiency at the plate, but by costly mental and physical mistakes that only compound their lack of offense. Hitting just .232 as a team, the Mets need to take advantage of just about every opportunity to score. They haven’t done that in playing 20 scoreless innings against the Cubs.
“There’s a little pressing going on in this clubhouse, but that’s baseball,” said first baseman Lucas Duda, who was hitless in five atbats.
The Mets could have made things easier for themselves but didn’t. After neither Colon nor Cubs starter Jon Lester gave up a run through seven innings, the Mets blew a golden chance in the eighth when Ruben Tejada reached on an error and advanced to third on a oneout double by Daniel Murphy.
Darrell Ceciliani was brought in to pinch hit for John Mayberry Jr. With a 01 count, Terry Collins called for a squeeze play.
“We had to do something outside the box,” the Mets manager said.
Tejada got the sign and charged toward the plate just as Lester was throwing his pitch. But Ceciliani couldn’t handle the lowoutside pitch, leaving Tejada caught halfway down the line.
Tejada ultimately was called out at third base, where Murphy had advanced while Tejada was in a rundown. Ceciliani then struck out to end the inning. Poor execution.
The Mets also nearly gave up a goahead run in the ninth when Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo somehow evaded a tag by Murphy at third base during a double steal. Murphy had placed his glove in front of the bag expecting Rizzo to slide into it. But the savvy Rizzo raised his leg, prompting Murphy to tag him on his shoulders. By that time, Rizzo’s foot had reached the bag and he was called safe. Poor execution.
Fortunately for the Mets, closer Jeurys Familia got the final two outs to escape further damage. But the lack of execution and mental lapses at critical moments are compounded by the lack of hitting that continues to plague the Mets, who had seven hits.
The Cubs weren’t much better with their own baserunning blun ders, helping to extend the game until the 11th inning when Starlin Castro slapped a roller down the thirdbase line and beat Murphy’s throw to first. That allowed Rizzo to score the game’s first run. Miguel Montero added a runscoring single.
The Mets never made much noise at the plate. Murphy, playing in only his second game since returning from the disabled list, had two hits, while Mayberry doubled in the second and Juan Lagares doubled in the fifth. They had the potential winning running at the plate in the 11th when Kevin Palwecki was caught looking at a third strike to end the game.
“We need to think about what we need to do to get out of this,” Collins said.
The Mets play the final game of threegame series against the Cubs on Thursday before heading on a West Coast trip for games against the Dodgers and Giants. The Mets will have no chance if their execution continues to slump like their hitting.