Max Scherzer had a weird night. He went back and forth from being brilliant and getting eight pitch innings to being wild in and out of the strike zone. In back to back at bats, for example, Scherzer came back from down 3-0 to strike out Josh Donaldson, and then lost Oswaldo Cabrera after being ahead 1-2. Sharp to flat, sniper to chucker. Scherzer was a bit all over the place tonight. And it started early as he hit Andrew Benintendi to start the game only to see him come around to score on a sac fly. Then he was wild in the zone when he gave up a home run to Aaron Judge to make it 2-0 in the third.
Then Benintendi doubled off Scherzer in the fifth to bring home a run on a slider that wound up on a tee for him. Then after Chen Zhen hit a two run HR to bring the Mets within one, it was Bentintendi again off Scherzer, thsi time on a pitch that was at his ankles and not at all Scherzer’s mistake, for a single which brought in the fourth run and broke the Mets’ backs. I mean, yeah … sure. Hit .211 in your Yankee career and wait until Max Scherzer comes to town for you to stop your Joey Gallo impression. No no no, it’s fine.
On the offensive side, aside from the Vogelback home run, the Mets uncharacterisically wasted opportunities. It started with Starling Marte hitting a hard ground ball for a 5-4-3 double play after Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch to start the game. The fourth inning was probably the Mets’ best chance to do some real damage as they had runners on first and second with one out and Pete Alonso up. But he shaved one to the second baseman who tagged the bag and then threw to first to end the threat. Alonso has apparently seen less strikes per at-bat than anyone in baseball. It’s no wonder he’s pressing. But he’s pressing. The beauty of Alonso is that he never lets these slumps get too far to the point where he is completely useless. As such, he always seems this close to going on a run where he runs roughshod throughout the entire league. I want to believe it’s coming, but who knows when.
Other than those chances and the Vogelback home run in the 7th, the Mets couldn’t touch Domingo German, Ron Marinaccio, and Jonathan Loasiaga. That isn’t going to get it done. Not when Andrew Benintendi is deciding that now is the time to start producing, and the Yankees have decided that that a fugazi table slam is a legitimate motivational tool.
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The Mets have pushed back Jacob deGrom to Thursday or Friday against the Rockies, and Taijuan Walker will start the second game against New York (AL) on Tuesday. I wondered if the Mets would push back Jake after his last outing against the Braves. Though it seems that they’re making this move more for Walker’s well being than for deGrom’s. But if a couple of extra days off for deGrom gets him to October in one piece, then I’m all for it. And although it seems silly that the Mets would trade a deGrom start against the Yankees for a deGrom start against the Rockies, it’s not the case at all.
If deGrom pitches against the Yankees on the 23rd, then his next start is probably on Sunday the 28th against the Rockies if they keep him on turn and they skip the fifth spot on the off day. That would mean that he would miss the Dodgers. So he’s not trading a Yankee start for a Rockie start because he’s pitching against the Rockies one way or another. But he’s trading a Yankee start for a Dodger start and quite frankly, the games against the Dodgers are more important if the Mets feel they have any chance to catch them for the one seen. But even if they don’t care about the one seed (if they did, then they wouldn’t have Scherzer miss the Dodger series), getting deGrom to October … and getting rest of the team to October in one piece … is way more important than having deGrom pitch against the Yankees.
Today’s Hate List
Anthony Rizzo.
In the first inning, the Yankees tried to sabotage an appeal play at third base on a sac fly, much like the Mets did with J.D. Davis on first base earlier this season. And it worked, except that Max Scherzer stepped on the rubber before the umpire gave him the green light to start play, so none of what you’re going to see below, counted.
The Mets tried to appeal that Andrew Benintendi left early at 3rd base, Anthony Rizzo took off before time was "in", and we have confusion in the Bronx. pic.twitter.com/utsZ8eMI0h
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2022
Rizzo, who was whining about it just like Gerrit Cole whined about Alek Manoah and Aaron Boone whined and went fugazi on a table, then told Francisco Lindor to shut the f*** up.
https://twitter.com/genymets/status/1561861869194944513
Obviously still mad at Lindor from last year. Boo hoo. Go get motivated by your manager banging a table in a move so fake that Vince McMahon wrote it for him.
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