A Nice Beantown Surprise

After Rick Porcello’s less than stellar debut, the worry going into tonight (not counting the worry that this season isn’t going to last much longer) was that Brodie’s other acquisition for the rotation to help replace Zack Wheeler was also going to stumble out of the gate.

But Michael Wacha was a nice surprise. One run in five innings with four strikeouts doesn’t sound all that spectacular, but for what was expected of Wacha, and for what happened yesterday, it’s a very important outing. Add to that how good his changeup looked, and it’s something to get a little bit excited about.

Here's a look at the Michael Wacha changeup that Gary, Keith and Ron keep raving about. He threw it 24 percent of the time last year, one of the highest rates in MLB.

Already three swings and misses on seven changeups tonight. pic.twitter.com/UpVzy4Kjlg

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 28, 2020

Wacha got into trouble a couple of times and, to be fair, Mark Carlson was extremely generous to Wacha in the fifth, giving him strikes off the inside and outside corner to J.D. Martinez with two outs and two runners on in a 7-1 game as if it was 1993 and a seven run first inning was the furthest thing from Tom Glavine’s mind. Martinez would wind up flying to right field to end the threat and end Wacha’s night on a good note.

Offensively, the Mets took advantage of a Red Sox bullpen game. Michael Conforto smacked a long 2 run HR homer in the second off Josh Osich, who only lasted two innings. Jeffrey Springs then came in and took the brunt of the damage, giving up a seed to Pete Alonso over the Monster to make it 4-0, and then a three run bomb to DH Dom Smith to make it 7-0 and give the Mets enough cushion to get through.

Jeurys Familia got into some trouble in the 8th, giving up a couple of runs and more importantly forcing Seth Lugo to come in for a four out save to preserve the 7-4 victory, This is a key development as, for the moment, the immortal TBD is still slated to pitch for the Mets on Tuesday. It will probably be David Peterson making his first major league start, which means that it could wind up being a bullpen game anyway. They should be all right with Justin Wilson (Chasen Shreve gave the Mets two good innings tonight), Dellin Betances and Edwin Diaz available, with perhaps a cameo by Familia to make things right. But it’s something to remember for tomorrow.

Today’s Hate List

1. The Marlins might have contracted COVID-19 in Atlanta when they played the Braves, who then came to New York to play the Mets, who then went to Boston.
2. The Marlins also played the Phillies, whose game against the Yankees was cancelled, along with the Marlins’ games against the Orioles.
3. That’s seven teams that could possibly be impacted by this. But even if they’re not, which is possible, it’s a reminder of how fragile this whole season is.
4. I really want this baseball season to happen. But one more outbreak might end it, especially if the tentacles really take hold among multiple teams.
5. On an unrelated note, the Braves designated Mike Foltynewicz for assignment? This is stunning, and I’d be all over it if I was Brodie (then again, if I was Brodie, I never would have traded Jarred Kelenic.) I wouldn’t be surprised if the Marlins and Red Sox would all over him as well.