I Should Have Just Stayed On The Couch

Wayne poses a good question. Down 6 in the 6th but given some of the #Comebacks we've seen from the Mets this season – go to bed or stay up?

— Mets Radio Booth (@MetsBooth) May 25, 2022

I gotta admit, I thought about packing it in at 8-2. I was tired. And I’m usually the one who loves, loves, loves the west coast starts because I could nap out and prepare. I couldn’t do that tonight. So by the time I saw the tweet, a part of me was counting sheep. I figured, and I even joked about it, that I could take a nap and if the Mets did come back, it would seep into my dreams and maybe I would get the go-ahead hit.

So I hit the couch and stretched out. Francisco Lindor hit a home run to make it 8-4 in the 6th. Then Keith Hernandez brought he relatives into the booth and the craziness started. Jeff McNeil and Eduardo Escobar singled to lead off the inning. Then Mark Canha reached on an infield single because they run out everything. Dom Smith bounced a single up the middle to make it 8-6. Then after a fielder’s choice and another infield single by Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte hit one hard off third baseman Kevin Padlo’s chest and a run scored to make it 8-7. Then I had a Keith moment and decided, I was going to stay on the couch because it had hits in it. It did indeed have one more as Francisco Lindor tripled to clear the bases to make it 10-8. Then after a Pete Alonso sac fly made it 11-8, you figured that the Mets were on their way.

But the other team had some fight in them too. Drew Smith got the first two outs in the bottom of the 8th easy peasy. Then Mike Yastrzemski singled to center, and then Smith committed a faux pas: A four pitch walk to send Joc Pederson, who already had two home runs on the evening, to the plate. On a 1-1 count, Smith put a fastball on the inner half and Pederson deposited it into the stands to make it 11-11. You can definitely ask (as many have), why Joely Rodriguez didn’t come in to face Pederson, as he had come in to face Brandon Crawford just one batter later anyway. As it turns out, Rodriguez came in and gave up three soft singles before Adam Ottavino bailed him out by striking out Padlo to end the inning.

(Editor’s note: Buck Showalter reasoned that bringing in Rodriguez would have forced Gabe Kapler to pinch hit with Evan Longoria. In that case, I probably would have gone Smith vs. Pederson instead of Rodriguez vs Longoria too. But who knows.)

Dom Smith tripled to lead off the ninth, and Brandon Nimmo drove him home with a sac fly to make it 12-11. It was then that I got nervous because this was one of those games where last licks was going to win the game whether Edwin Diaz was pitching well or not. After Diaz got a double play from Tommy LaStella to get two outs and nobody on, I breathed a little easier because surely the Mets wouldn’t give up another two out rally, right?

But it was just one of those games. Another walk was the killer, as Diaz walked Yastrzemski with two outs. Then Darin Ruf singled to right to bring up Pederson, because of course Pederson had to be involved. Hell, this is probably going to be known in San Francisco as the “Joc Pederson Game.” But instead of putting one in the cove, he singled to bring home Yastrzemski to tie the game and leave it to Brandon Crawford, who also singled off Diaz to bring home Ruf and end the game. If this game was at Citi Field, maybe it’s the Mets who win. It was just that kind of game. Jesus Himself would have blown this save.

It’s a gut punch, but Eduardo Escobar had four hits, and while everyone else hit the cover off the ball, Escobar needed the knocks the most. And Stephen Nogosek had a couple of good innings which made it possible for the Mets to hang in and come back in the first place. So that’s good? I guess? And more good news: The Mets are 14-0 after their last 14 losses, so … bet the house on the Mets tomorrow? I mean, this whole website has become a gambling website anyway, so I guess I should join in the fun? Because that’s apparently the only reason anyone watches sports anymore? Or so I’m told? Make … it … rain.

Now I’m really tired. And we still lost.

Today’s Hate List

I’ll leave it to Steve Kerr for this one, because nothing else really seems appropriate: