Funny how every Mets game involving Jon Lester seems to be a crazy one. Lester pitched in two Cubs wins against the Mets last season that ended up 14-3 and 17-5. And in 2016, Lester lasted an inning and a third while giving up eight runs in a game where Wilmer Flores got six hits. (It was Lester’s only loss against the Mets in his career.)
Monday’s Mets game was a different kind of crazy that directly involved Lester. It looked like Lester was going to lose his lunch again during the second inning after giving up a missile of a home run to Michael Conforto and an RBI single to Amed Rosario. But Noah Syndergaard, who the Cubs were hitting pretty hard, had given a run back in the third to make it 3-2 Mets. Then Mickey Callaway decided to put Kyle Schwarber on base with runners on first and third to put Lester up with the bases loaded. Considering Schwarber can take anybody’s 100 mph fastball and park it onto the blue line, this was a good move.
Unfortunately, Syndergaard gave up a two run single to Lester to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead. Even though Kevin Plawecki hit a home run to tie the game and take Syndergaard off the hook before the Mets went on to lose 7-4, the two run single to an .088 career hitting pitcher is going to haunt him. I love the guy. He’s going to be a star. But we’ve waited on line a combined six hours for his bobbleheads and garden gnomes. The least he could do is strike out Jon Freaking Lester. It’s not asking a whole lot.
In other news, Jose Bautista was claimed by the Phillies on waivers. and the two teams have until tomorrow to work out a deal for him. Bautista went 0-for-3 tonight, bringing his average for the season down to .196 and his average as a Met to .204. The fact that the Mets could actually get something for a .204 hitter (albeit one that walks a lot) makes it all the more head scratching that they wouldn’t give Bautista the day off … just in case. But this is the Mets we’re talking about so we should know by now that logic left town packed away in one of Tony Tarasco’s peanut butter jars a long time ago.
Today’s Hate List
- Jon Lester
- Rick Sutcliffe
- Doug Dascenzo
- Mike Harkey
- Larry Bittner
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