The getaway game Wednesday afternoon against the Houston Astros had just begun at a strange start time since 1:20 Central is 2:20 Eastern Standard Time. But the game couldn’t have started better for the New York Mets as Brandon Nimmo started with a walk, the start of so many good Mets games in the past and hopefully future.
He doesn’t take off much but with Starling Marte next at the plate, Nimmo was on the move . But the inside fastball from Cristian Javier first skimmed Marte's left arm elbow-plate, then found his right hand as the umpire awarded him first base. There was a brief pause as the trainer checked Marte over, that his grip was strong enough. Strong enough that he continued the good start against the 26-year old who started the combined no-hitter over Philadelphia last October and has started this season with a 7-1 record.
That’s who Francisco Lindor faced from the 3-hole in the Mets lineup. Swinging from the left side has been an issue for the shortstop. An Anthony DiComo' article posted stats showing how his career numbers are split rather eerily from either side of the plate.
- From 2015 to 2022 as a right-handed hitter: .290 BA/.353 OBP/.474 SLG
- From 2015 to 2022 as a left-handed hitter: .271 BA/.337 OBP/.474 SLG
Lindor's number entering the series against the Astros are slightly different:
- As a right-handed hitter: .250 BA/.299 OBP/.613 SLG
- As a left-handed hitter: .197 BA/.292 OBP/.340 SLG
I watched the Cardinals' switch hitter Tommy Edman bat from the right side against Kodai Senga and his Ghost forkball over the weekend. Ideas started forming in my head about Lindor following suit. Honestly, I just wanted him to follow with a quality at bat. Despite missing his pitch on 3-1, Lindor didn’t chase an outside fastball to set up the matchup that was looming from the start.
Pete Alonso in the cleanup position is intended to force starting pitchers to throw strikes to teammates before him. If not, any free pass means putting targets for last year's RBI leader to find a way to knock in. That’s the difference between an offense hitting .269 with RISP like last year and one hitting .255 like this year. Last year, a moment like this would have set off alerts abound for others to tune in since something big had a chance to happen.
That’s how it is when you’re carrying the big bat around New York. It was like that last year for Aaron Judge, even before he became the AL Home Run champion. Even in this age of everything everywhere all at once, then broken down into 10-15 second bytes of content, the ability to say I saw it live still holds some weight. How many videos are cameras recording someone watching a live event anyway?
Any way it goes, Alonso needed to find a way to score the Mets' first run. That’s what he did last year better than anyone and this situation wouldn’t have generated a thought of it not happening. Not blinded by the 22 (soon to be 23) home runs, I’m seemingly alone in seeing that the Polar Bear has hibernated at the plate all year. Yes, he suffered an injury that sat him down for a week. Yes, his RBI numbers are top 10, but he’s left so many more on base swinging for something instead of taking what’s given.
Alonso’s instincts are elsewhere, something evident from the first pitch. Javier had trouble throwing strikes to the first three batters, walking two and hitting one. The Alonso of last year, the one with a .271 batting average would have taken the first pitch. He would have forced this young starter to throw a first pitch strike instead of swinging wildly at a fastball a good two feet out of the zone. Alonso relinquished the upper hand in the at-bat from the beginning, an advantage he would never get back. Even after not swinging at a slider well out of the zone to even the count at 2-2.
Javier threw another slider, this one slightly closer to the plate but low enough it could never be a strike. Alonso was already starting to swing, but slowed down into a check swing tapper that didn’t get past the pitcher. When reciting the need for one run, the possible ways to do such a thing ran through the mental crawl at the bottom of my visual screen. The most important thing was getting the ball past the pitcher. A ground ball to any infielder starts an attempt for a double play, but only the pitcher's first instinct would be to go home with the ball.
Maybe Alonso realized this as well. He let those missing instincts take over again, obviously running out of the baseline to block the sightline of Astros' catcher Mandy Maldonado’s attempt to complete the 1-2-3 double play. That Alonso was called out for this by the home plate umpire meant the collective umpire group got a chance to pile on and send runners back to first and second, essentially creating the worst possible outcome.
I don't say it proudly, but I've been pounding on this flab of meat from the beginning. While the redemption story is great and can serve as the spark of motivation, there’s something to be learned about what was before. Before the 23rd home run in the sixth inning, there were double plays and runners left on base. There were a lot of bad at-bats that seemingly were allowed to slide because of the 23 good ones. As any Met fan, I’m wishing the best for Alonso since the team’s success is dependent upon his success. He succeeded as a rookie with sheer power, but it never seemed like he was looking to hit home runs.
As much as the home runs helped last year, the threat of Alonso knocking in the runners on base before him in the lineup was always the bigger threat. Looking back in my mind, Alonso hit opposite field sacrifice flies for cheap RBIs that kept the train moving. I picture him using his wrists to push a ground ball through the right side of the infield for an opposite field single. That’s the Alonso I look forward to seeing in the cleanup slot. Not one looking for his next home run and that’s the truth.
Upcoming Series: New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
Friday, June 23 - 7:05 pm
Kodai Senga (6-4, 3.53 ERA) vs. Taijuan Walker (7-3, 4.31 ERA)
Saturday, June 24 - 4:05 pm
Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 6.34 ERA) vs. Cristopher Sanchez (0-0, 3.24 ERA)
Sunday, June 25 - 1:35 pm
Max Scherzer (6-2, 4.04 ERA) vs. Zach Wheeler (6-4, 3.48 ERA)
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