Who would start Tuesday’s game against Boston?
The Mets answered that question in the short term by giving the ball to their 2017 first round pick, David Peterson.
Is the young lefty the permanent answer to that question?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but Peterson had a terrific debut tonight against a deep Boston lineup.
5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 78 pitches.
Efficient!
Peterson showed a lot of poise tonight, working out of some tough spots. He touched 94 frequently and really did a good job of keeping Boston’s hitters off balance tonight.
Fantastic debut! Well done, David!
David Peterson probably had better defense playing behind him in AA
— Phill (@MeekPhill_) July 29, 2020
Well, yeah. Balls flying over J.D Davis’ head in left field have become a nightly occurrence. Surprisingly, Jeff McNeil has looked shaky after a strong 2019 campaign.
Let’s table that discussion for now.
The Mets opened the scoring in the second inning with a Robinson Canó double, scoring J.D Davis.
Amed Rosario singled home Céspedes and Canó and the Mets gave their young pitcher a 3 run cushion.
Boston got a run back in the bottom of the third. Old friend, Kevin Plawecki hit a ball over Davis’ head. (No surprise there.) Plawecki scored when Canó caught a line drive that the umpire ruled a ground ball. The Mets turned a double play, but Boston would have been kept off the scoreboard if Amed Rosario simply threw to first instead of chasing the runner who was on second, eventually tagging him to end the inning.
The Mets replay department was asleep at the switch there. Amed Rosario’s baseball instincts seem to disappear sometimes. That’s another discussion we’ll save for another time.
Davis is frustrating at times in the field. But then he comes up to the plate in the fifth and does this…
Davis has been robbed of home runs twice this year. Once at Citi Field by Ender Inciarte. Then last night when an umpire mistakenly called his ball foul. (Hello, Mets replay department?!) Tonight’s ball hit off the Pesky Pole and the Mets had a 5-1 lead.
David Peterson allowed another run and was removed in the sixth inning. Drew Smith stranded a runner at second and we hold out hope that the 2017 salary dumps will pay dividends at some point.
Justin Wilson and Dellin Betances pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, and their season ERA’s remain 0.00.
Hunter Strickland allowed a run in the ninth, and really should not be on a major league roster. Luckily, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil provided some insurance runs in the eighth with a pair of RBI doubles, and the Mets won 8-3.
The Mets sweep the Red Sox at Fenway, and welcome Boston to Citi Field tomorrow for another two games.
So, about those discussions we swept under the rug.
J.D Davis is a legitimate hitter. Is he our everyday left fielder? He was born to be our DH. How patient will they be with Céspedes? Can Céspedes play left field?
Rosario shows flashes of being a star. He had an at-bat tonight reminiscent of 2018, flailing at 3 pitches out of the zone. But I believe he’s going to put it all together and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. A LOT of fun.
That brings up another topic of discussion. Should Amed stay in the leadoff spot? Nimmo is clearly superior at getting on base. Are they just going to switch back and forth depending on if the starter they face is a lefty or righty?
We will see tomorrow.
Two doubles from Robinson Canó tonight! More of that please!
deGrom tomorrow!
DISCLAIMER: We are well aware what’s going on around the league. We don’t mean to downplay the outbreak of Covid19 among the Miami Marlins right now. We certainly aren’t ignoring it. We wish everyone well, and would certainly understand if this season was brought to a halt.
