The Mets’ ebullient recent narrative showed a couple of cracks Friday night against the Reds.
Francisco Lindor continued his hitting streak and made a nifty play at shortstop, but he didn’t walk off the Reds or solve the Middle East conflict in an idle moment between innings, somewhere between surprising and shocking given how he’s been playing. In the bottom of the ninth, with Tyrone Taylor on first and one out, Lindor popped out on the first pitch he saw against Alexis Diaz (appearing opposite his brother for the first time in a big-league game), and it somehow felt mildly sitcommy, like seeing the protagonist slip and fall off a gantry two strides before disarming the armed nuclear device at the heart of the villain’s secret lair.
Similarly, Sean Manaea was good but not quite his dominating self of late, missing just a tad on the edges and corners. Manaea only made two truly regrettable pitches all night, but the first became a two-run homer for Elly De La Cruz and the second became a two-run homer for TJ Friedl. Both tied the game; the latter pushed Manaea to a slightly earlier than expected exit in the seventh.
But these are pinch-yourself times for the Mets — they haven’t been behind on the scoreboard since Game 1 against the White Sox a week ago, and that deficit lasted a couple of eye blinks. So after Manaea wasn’t quite indomitable, Reed Garrett stepped in to retire four batters, Edwin Diaz struck out the side in the ninth and Jose Butto shrugged off the Manfred Man to work a 1-2-3 10th.
Mark Vientos started the scoring in the first with a sizzling two-run homer off opener Fernando Cruz; the Mets regained the lead following De La Cruz’s homer thanks to an odd sequence in the sixth. With two outs, Pete Alonso hit a drive down the right-field line that spent a considerable amount of time in Jake Fraley‘s glove, only to come free after Fraley tumbled to the ground. Looked odd but that’s the rule; Jose Iglesias followed Alonso with a sharp single to left, with Alonso beating a not particularly good throw from Spencer Steer, and then Iglesias came home on a single by J.D. Martinez. Destiny stuff, until Friedl barged into the story with a twist of his own and made all that supplementary material.
One thing that is fairly predictable in post-modern baseball, however: The team that fails to convert its Manfred Man in the top of the 10th is up against it in the bottom of the 10th. With Brandon Nimmo handed second via let’s-get-this-over-with rulebook largesse, Vientos’ job was to advance him to third so that Alonso could hit a walkoff homer or a drive over the no-deeper-than-they-can-throw outfielders or a clean single or a ground ball with eyes or pretty much anything. Not a guarantee, not with the Polar Bear’s heartbeat accelerating to unwise tempos in RBI situations, but time-honored.
Vientos, of course, entered the season looking like he’d been nudged out of the prospect column and into the suspect one, sent to Syracuse after Brett Baty was given third base and Martinez arrived to designate-hit hit designatedly DH. Instead it’s Baty whose scouting report has turned into the stuff of sighs and shrugs: Given another chance, Vientos has mashed at the plate and looked surprisingly adequate bordering on actually just fine in the field.
The 10th-inning AB was a tidy little made-for-video showcase of his growth: Vientos went to work against old friend Justin Wilson, looking cool and controlled in fighting off alternating cutters and four-seamers. Wilson’s eighth pitch was better than most of the ones that had preceded it, on the inside corner and designed to yield a swing and a miss or be pulled to the left side, ahead of Nimmo’s station.
And the latter did, in fact, happen — except Vientos pulled Wilson’s pitch 401 feet into the seats for a walkoff win capped by a joyous home-plate scrum, baths of Grimace-colored Gatorade, and curious Mets fans Googling tattooed Hebrew. (“Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”)
Request heard and answered — and in discussing his turnaround, Vientos did indeed thank his celestial skipper. Asked about magic, our drenched protagonist replied, “I don’t know if I believe in magic, but we have the energy and the right mindset going into this month because we’re hungry. September is the right time to get hot.”
No lie detected, as the kids possibly still say. Magic is an excellent tactic to deploy, should it be available to you; failing that, energy and the right mindset make for a pretty good Plan B.
They say baseball is a game of failure, so I guess you could call the Manfred Man the “Last Guy To Fail Man.” The guy who just short-circuited your rally in the last half inning gets to be on base! What’s odd about that?
It occurs to me that the way Vientos is hitting, reminds me of the season that another Mets third baseman had 25 years ago. And his last name also began with the letter V. Mr. Mojo Risin indeed.
Funny Game, baseball. “Lindor popped out on the first pitch he saw against Alexis Diaz (appearing opposite his brother for the first time in a big-league game), and it somehow felt mildly sitcommy, like seeing the protagonist slip and fall off a gantry two strides before disarming the armed nuclear device at the heart of the villain’s secret lair.”
Not only that but there was the GIDP earlier with men on 1st and 2nd. But on those rare nights when Lindor isn’t The Hero of the Day someone has been picking him up. Not Alonso who grounded out with runners on 1st and 3rd in the 7th which has become commonplace. A few days back it was Winker filling in. Last night it was Vientos’ turn.
Not trailing for 63 straight innings is a different sort of stat – I don’t even know what it means other than you can’t lose if you’re never behind. Sounds cool though.
It’s a long season and during it probably every team – except the 2024 White Sox – has a stretch where it seems that Providence is smiling down upon it. So last night McNeil gets hit on the wrist and comes out. If he doesn’t, does Iglesias take over for Vientos at 3rd at some point for defense, maybe when we’re up 4-2 in the 7th? Vientos had just hit in the 6th. I found myself wondering this after the game.
I hadn’t thought of that, but yes, I think there is a strong likelihood that Iglesias would have come in for Vientos on defense like Bader did for Winker. That’s been Mendoza’s SOP, which he might reconsider now.
With Nimmo at 2nd, game tied, having Iglesias up in the 10th in place of Vientos isn’t a bad alternative, though.
Bader would have been batting in that spot. Iglesias hit for Winker and would have batted there but played 3rd. Bader came in for defense and would have hit in Vientos’ spot instead of McNeil as he would have still been playing 2nd.
All what-if stuff anyway.
You’re right. The question is if the McNeil injury compelled Mendoza to bring in Iglesias earlier, for McNeil instead of Vientos, than he would have otherwise, and that’s why he pinch-hit for Winker in that spot. It was late enough in the game, Mendoza is consistent with his defensive substitutions and makes left-right moves, and Bader is slumping badly, so it’s realistic that Mendoza would have pinch hit for Winker with Iglesias there even if McNeil hadn’t been hurt by Williamson.
“Wilson’s eighth pitch was better than most of the ones that had preceded it”
That’s what I liked best about Vientos’s game winner. He got his pitch to hit earlier in the bat, fouled it off, and looked like he knew it. Yet he stayed in the at-bat and hit a better pitch for the home run.
Garrett looks like he’s found it again. That’s big. I’m still leery about Butto’s recent control issues, but I guess if Mendoza trusts him enough to back up Diaz, at least when Maton’s resting, I should, too. I was nervous about the top of the 10th. Yet short of strikeouts, Butto did exactly what he needed to do.
I’m surprised McNeil’s wrist swelled up given that the ball hit his wrist guard. I hope he’s okay. I assume DJ Stewart will be called back up if he’s not. More playing time for Iglesias is a good thing, though, and maybe Reyes will get to show us why he was called up instead of Acuna.
Productive night. In front of them, the Mets (and Braves) are now 1 behind the Diamondbacks in the loss column. Behind them, the Cubs (thank you, Yankees), Cardinals, and Giants lost, so now 5, 6, 9 behind the Mets in the loss column. It would have been better for the Giants to beat the Padres, but the Giants’ tie-breaker over the Mets going away is good, too.
If McNeil goes to the IL we could see Acuna. Natural 2nd baseman who also plays outfield. And in this situation he’d actually get playing time.
Just in: MRI results back. The Williamson pitch fractured McNeil’s wrist, and McNeil’s season is over. I haven’t seen who the Mets are calling up.
That’s a bad look for whoever manufactured the wrist guard McNeil was wearing.
“designate-hit hit designatedly DH.”
It’s the creation of phrases like these that makes us love you, Jason.
And regarding old friend Justin Wilson:
“I Garontee! you will lose that game!”
Sorry to hear about McNeil (thanks Eric, I saw it first in your post). But he’s probably the guy they have covered for the best, and although his numbers have been good since the All Star break, he never seemed to be in the Middle of Things like he used to be.
Hopefully Iglesias will not come fully back down to earth now that he’ll be a full-on regular, and this new Reyes guy contributes whatever it is he’s supposed to contribute.
But, please, no more DJ Stewart.
“But, please, no more DJ Stewart.”
Think you may be disappointed. Checked the Syracuse box score (19-0 loss – yikes!). Acuna played, DJ did not. So I can guess who was on a flight to NY.