Kirk gets start in left turn
ST. LOUIS — Kirk Nieuwenhuis could not recreate the magic Friday. The outfielder was given a start in left field as the Mets tried to generate some offense by riding his hot bat that stunningly produced three home runs on Sunday, but the four-day All-Star break clearly cooled things off. Nieuwenhuis went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as the Mets fell to the Cardinals, 3-2, at Busch Stadium.
“I just think he deserves to be out there again after that game the other day,” Terry Collins said before the game. “So, I’ve got him out there tonight and hopefully he keeps hitting them out.”
It was Curtis Granderson who hit one out Friday, going deep against Lance Lynn for his fifth leadoff homer of the season, seventh with the Mets and 33rd of his career.
Regular left fielder Michael Cuddyer went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter.
“We’ll play Kirk today and Cuddy hits (Cardinals Saturday starter John) Lackey pretty good, so we’ll get him in there tomorrow,” the manager said. “It looks like we might face a lefty on Sunday, so Michael will be in that game also.
“We’ll see what happens,” Collins said, “but we have no plans on platooning at this moment.”
Cuddyer is playing with a bone bruise in his left knee, which he said he expects to have to manage throughout the second half with anti-inflammatories.
He said the injury had nothing to do with his brutal first half. At the break, Cuddyer was last among qualified National League left fielders in on-base percentage (.294) and OPS (.661). He was also last in batting average (.244).
Perhaps most troublesome for the 36-year-old is his strikeout rate. At the break he led all qualified NL left fielders with 72 strikeouts in 283 at-bats. That is quite an increase from his 2013 batting title season, when he struck out 100 times in 489 at-bats.
Collins said he will use Nieuwenhuis to spell Juan Lagares in center field as well.
OUTTA HERE
Collins was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a low called strike on what Lucas Duda and the Mets dugout felt was ball four. Home plate umpire Chad Fairchild tossed Collins for barking from the dugout, before the manager got in his face on the field. It was Collins’ third ejection of the season.
STAR-STRUCK
When Jacob deGrom arrived at the visitors clubhouse at Busch Stadium Friday afternoon, his teammates, coaches and manager gave him a standing ovation. DeGrom had wowed the nation Tuesday night in a brilliant 10-pitch, three-strikeout performance at the All-Star Game.
His teammates and manager were impressed, but not surprised.
“I watched him strike out eight in a row one night,” Collins said with a laugh, referring to when deGrom struck out the first eight Marlins he faced in a game last September. “I’ve seen it all, nobody needed to call me and tell me how good he is. I know.”
READY FOR PRIME TIME
With the Nationals’ and Mets’ series gaining importance, ESPN is picking up the Aug. 2 game between the two NL East rivals for its “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast. The game originally scheduled for 1:10 at Citi Field will now be played starting at 8:08 p.m.