Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have made seamless transitions from starters to relievers this season.
Yet, situations arose that forced Seth Lugo back into starter’s duty Thursday night. He was very good. The problem is there wasn’t a Seth Lugo in the bullpen to pitch after the 4th inning.
As he wasn’t completely stretched out, he could only give the Mets 4 innings. He did his job. 4 scoreless innings against a potent though inconsistent Cubs lineup. He gave up 3 hits and didn’t walk a batter, while striking out 3.
Ok. 15 outs to record. Hansel Robles, the 2018 version of Jerry Blevins, Buddy Baumann, Scott Copeland, and Gerson Bautista are tasked with recording those outs. Do we even need to do a recap?
Hansel Robles had a bit of bad luck in the 5th. He got Kyle Schwarber to pop up but the ball fell between Mesoraco and Guillorme as the Mets were in an infield shift. Robles wound up walking Schwarber. He then surrendered a 2 run homerun to Ben Zobrist. 2-0 Cubs. Yes, he pointed.
Jerry Blevins nightmare season continued in the 6th. He actually got the first two batters of the inning, but a Javier Baez double followed by a Kyle Schwarber single gave extended the Chicago lead to 3-0.
Buddy Baumann was no better in the 7th. Ben Zobrist kept his big night going with a double. He came around to score on a Jason Heyward groundout. 4-0.
Scott Copeland actually went an inning and a third without giving up a run. Gerson Bautista made up for it in the 9th by allowing Chicago’s 5th and final run.
The Met offense was nonexistent aside from a Brandon Nimmo solo home run in the 8th inning. They had no answer for Cub starter Jose Quintana who kept them off the scoreboard for 6 innings. The Mets did load the bases in the 3rd but couldn’t capitalize.
Mets lose 5-1. No offense. Awful bullpen.
Steven Matz has been encouraging lately but underwhelming overall. Jason Vargas has been atrocious aside from two outings. Zack Wheeler has been inconsistent at best.
I can see why fans are clamoring for Seth Lugo to join the rotation. He’s been great in the bullpen though! And the bullpen isn’t exactly an area of strength where we can move resources from.
The argument is that Anthony Swarzak will replace Seth Lugo in the bullpen. So, best case scenario we can rely on Swarzak, Gsellman and Familia. (Like I said, BEST-CASE scenario.) What happens when a starter doesn’t go 6 innings? And if you are just tuning in…our starters don’t go 6 very often.
Maybe AJ Ramos’ struggles can be attributed to his injury. Maybe Blevins will right the ship.
Do you want a definite? Anytime we need an arm, Hansel Robles will get the call. Furthermore, he’ll be thrust into high leverage situations. If it wasn’t for a torn UCL, Rafael Montero would have been pitching last night. The Mets just refuse to cut ties.
I’m praying Gerson Bautista pans out. His 100 MPH fastball will ensure he’ll be given a million chances no matter what.
Zack Wheeler will pitch the second game of the series. Tyler Chatwood gets the call for Chicago.
