Only one thing could spoil a 14-2 win, and that’s another injury to Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes stole second in the third, then got frisky with Jay Bruce behind him (that sentence looks weird) and stole third in the front end of the double steal. They were his first stolen bases since 2016, which is the last season that his legs actually worked. So it was good to see that Cespedes could steal bases again without messing up his hamstrings.
Instead, he messed up his thumb and left the game.
X-rays on Cespedes’ thumb were negative. Callaway said he’ll get checked out again in NY.
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 29, 2018
Kevin Plawecki’s x-rays were negative too, and then they found a broken bone. So let’s all hold our breath through tomorrow’s off day and pray to whatever god or God that you choose that Cespedes only has a mild sprain and not three bones broken in 75 places. (Editor’s note: My left thumb hit a tree a couple of years ago and it hasn’t felt right since.)
Other than that, it was a phenomenal day under the cloud cover and amidst the seagulls in San Diego. Adrian Gonzalez went three-for-six with five RBI including an oppo taco home run in his former home. It makes for a great story, Gonzalez seeing Jay Bruce taking grounders at first base (or at least seeing the reports) and all of a sudden saying “not so fast my friend” with a productive play at the plate. It’s probably why many of us think that everything that happens in baseball is a result of motivation and attitude and “fire in the belly”. We can easily explain everything from Gonzalez’s five RBI to Matt Harvey’s demotion to the bullpen with things that go on in your head. But facing Padres pitching (next to last in the N.L. in total WAR) probably had a little something to do with it too.
It wasn’t just Gonzalez. The Mets batted around and scored five runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. All eight starting position players, plus Brandon Nimmo who took over for Cespedes, had at least two hits each. That’s the whole philosophy behind the salt and pepper shaker. Spread them around. (See, it’s not just a spice spreader.) The Mets got so many runs that even Harvey could come in for the ninth and not scare the fan base under the covers.
Zack Wheeler was okay. He gave up two runs in five innings and his pitch count was high at 95. But he didn’t let his one tough inning turn into a nightmare inning and limited the damage in the third. I don’t get my hopes up for Wheeler anymore but if he can just do this, and perhaps be a little more efficient … enough to go six innings instead of five every once in a while… I think we would all be more than happy with that.
Today’s Hate List
- Ozzie Albies
- Johan Camargo
- Aaron Altherr
- Angel Hernandez
- Freddy Galvis
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