First not last
Bruce expects to be back in infield despite rough start
Jay Bruce was thrown into the fire Thursday night.
With Lucas Duda unavailable after leaving Wednesday’s game with a hyperextended left elbow, the veteran outfielder Bruce was inserted as the first baseman in the Mets’ 6-4 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field.
Bruce later indicated he expects to remain at the position for at least another day or two as the Mets await word on Duda and Wilmer Flores (knee infection).
Bruce was charged with a throwing error that led to an unearned run in the second inning, but Noah Syndergaard was late breaking to cover first base on the play, leading to a miscommunication as Neil Walker also converged on the base.
“It went OK,” Bruce said of his fourth career appearance at the position and first since 2014. “Kind of what I found out is fielding the ball is the easiest part of the whole thing.”
Duda underwent testing on the elbow, according to Mets manager Collins, but how long he’ll be sidelined is still unclear. The injury occurred during a collision at first base.
Flores was unavailable because of a knee infection that could keep him sidelined for an additional day or two, according to Collins. Flores has begun taking an antibiotic, but the Mets were left without a backup infielder.
Collins said he would use Juan Lagares at shortstop if needed. Lagares began his minor-league career in the infield.
David Wright was shifted to the 60-day disabled list to give the Mets flexibility with the 40-man roster. The move ensures that Wright will not rejoin the Mets before early June, in a best-case scenario. Wright recently resumed baseball activities after missing most of spring training with a shoulder impingement following surgery last June for a herniated disk in his neck.
Kevin Plawecki was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to give the Mets depth at catcher with Travis d’Arnaud’s hand sore from a night earlier when he clipped a bat on a throw to second.
Noah Syndergaard was good, not great. And good by Syndergaard’s standards are still pretty impressive.
He gave the Mets desperately needed length — seven innings, and 114 pitches. He struck out 10. His fastball hit triple-digits. He didn’t walk anybody — again. But he still came out the loser in the Mets’ 6-4 defeat to the Phillies on Thursday at Citi Field.
“For the most part, I thought I threw pretty good. Except for that second inning [when] things got a little fluky,” Syndergaard said.
Actually, in that second inning things got a lot fluky — three runs scored against Syndergaard which is simply not normal. The defense certainly didn’t help Syndergaard, who besides those three runs in the second, surrendered two in the third, with one unearned run in each inning.
“The fact we didn’t make two plays really turned the tide of the game,” said manager Terry Collins who stressed, “the guy was still throwing 98 miles per hour in the seventh inning. He certainly had strength.” Just not a win. “You just have to have a short-term memory and forget about it and get back on the mound,” Syndergaard said of a tough error charged to Jay Bruce at first and another by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera that helped sabotage his night.
Syndergaard, who went from a microscopic 0.95 ERA to a “bloated” 1.73, had those typical Thor-like events — the strikeouts that including fanning the side in the first inning on 14 pitches — with just one ball. So in his 58th career start, Syndergaard recorded his 11th double-digit strikeout game and first this year. And walks remained nonexistent.
“I felt great. I thought tonight was the best my mechanics have been in a long time,” said Syndergaard. who claimed he found his slider in the later innings.”
Syndergaard (1-1) still has not walked a batter this season in 26 innings while striking out 30. So those 30-to-zip strikeout-to-walk numbers are believed to be matched only by residents of Olympus. Or in this case, Valhalla. And he has not surrendered a homer.
“When you see the kind of pitcher he is and to put up those kind of numbers, it’s truly remarkable. Unbelievable,” Collins said. “This guy has been in the major leagues for a year and a half. He came up with the reputation certainly of having a great arm where the command needed a lot of work. And he put that work in and look where he’s at.”