Matz is masterful against Marlins
Mets starter allows six hits in seven innings
MIAMI — The hardest-hit ball all night Wednesday at Marlins Park, where the Miami Marlins lost to the New York Mets, 8-0, came off the bat of Christian Yelich.
It was the first inning, the Marlins already down by three, on a 2-0 sinker up in the zone from Mets lefty Steven Matz. Yelich nailed it, 108.8 mph, according to MLBAM’s Statcast, but on the ground. Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera made a diving stop on what could have and should have been a hit, but instead looks in the box score like a routine ground out.
An hour later and a half later, with Matz still sailing along and the Marlins still down by three, Yelich did it again: a bullet, 101.6 mph, to Cabrera at second. Double play.
That’s sort of the way this season of gone for Yelich, who hasn’t been spectacular but hasn’t been terrible. With a .270 average and an OPS hovering in the mid-.700s, he has been just OK. He has, in his own words after his hit helped seal a win Tuesday, “not been playing the way I think I’m capable of.”
One area in which Yelich has
regressed in 2017 — one area that reared its head Wednesday — is the frequency with which he hits balls on the ground.
During his power-surge half second half last year, he had a 53.8 percent ground-ball rate and 23.8 percent fly-ball rate, according to FanGraphs, some of the best marks of his career.
This year, entering Wednesday, those numbers were up to 57.5 percent and down to 21.7 percent, respectively.
More batted balls on the ground and fewer in the air makes for less success.
The Mets didn’t have much of a problem with fly balls Wednesday. Curtis Granderson’s homer in the seventh inning highlighted the Mets’ beating up of the Miami bullpen, which allowed five runs in 3 1⁄ innings. 3
Lefty Justin Nicolino, making his first relief appearance of the season, allowed the homer. Dustin McGowan and Junichi Tazawa gave up two runs each.
Matz stymied the Marlins, scattering six hits and one walk over seven innings.
Left-hander Jeff Locke’s night was seem- ingly split in two: the first inning, which went poorly, and everything after the first inning, which went much better.
The Mets scored twice before making an out, Asdrubal Cabrera following Curtis Granderson’s ninepitch walk to lead off the game with a home run to left field.
They added a third run in the inning when Jose Reyes sent a ground-ball single through the left side, plating Jay Bruce. Travis d’Arnaud was caught trying to advance to third on the play, ending the inning.
Andthen, as if flipping a switch, Locke cruised. After throwing 32 pitches in the first, Locke didn’t throw more than 14 in any other inning. He retired 14 of his final 15 batters. The lone hit was Cabrera’s single to a diving JT Riddle at shortstop.
In 5 2⁄3 innings, Locke struck out four and walked two.
Manager Don Mattingly lifted Locke, at 88 pitches, in favor of McGowan with two outs in the sixth, leaving Locke tied for his longest outing of the season. With one more out, Locke would have completed six innings for the first time since June 25, 2016.