Rick Porcello’s first game for the Mets at Citi Field went smoothly until he hung a slider on the fourth inning Saturday.
The masked Clint Frazier pushed it onto the second deck in the left field, a thundering explosion that essentially determined Porcello’s night. The right-hander held out the fifth inning and was the loser in the Mets’ 9-3 loss to the Yankees.
Porcello’s night consisted of 68 pitches over five innings, in which he allowed three deserved runs with six goals, three strikeouts and one walk. Porcello later threw 20 additional pitches in the bullpen to increase its number for the season.
In the fourth round, Porcello made a lead-off double to Giancarlo Stanton and recorded two outs before Frazier smashed a slider on the first pitch of his at-bat, which quickly disappeared on the second deck on the left.
“I was able to cover five innings relatively efficiently, obviously the slider for Frazier was not where I wanted it, so definitely a pitch that I would like to have back there,” said Porcello. “I think for the most part I felt pretty solid. A few things that I can do a little better, be a little bit better at, get more benefits early, but besides seeing boys in a new uniform for the first time in a few months, it is it felt pretty good. “
Porcello allowed 31 Homer for the Red Sox last season, a significant factor in the 5.52 ERA, which was the worst of his career. He came to the Mets last winter with a $ 10 million one-year contract and, along with another newcomer, Michael Wacha, will anchor the middle end of the rotation.
Where Porcello is used in the rotation is unclear. Apart from the fact that manager Luis Rojas Jacob deGrom wants to line up against the Braves on Friday on the opening day, he has no plans yet. DeGrom is expected to host a simulated game on Sunday that will determine its availability to the opener after leaving its last intrasquad scrimmage launch after just one inning due to back constriction.
Rojas said that it is possible that Porcello will make one last preseason vote on Thursday.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” said Rojas.
Porcello’s slider was effective early on because he used it on strike places for Gio Urshela, Frazier and Mike Ford. The Yankees had run against Porcello in the first inning on Gleyber Torres’ RBI single from Robinson Cano’s glove.
“I think we may have got into a pattern tonight, but [the slider] is a place that I need, ”said Porcello. “This is a place I struggled with a bit last year. So to go out and throw it and get the results you want and throw it further and trust it, I have to do that.
“I definitely have other weapons that I can mix in, but for the most part besides the ones I threw Frazier, I felt pretty good with them and got good swing and misses and poor contact.”
Jeurys Familia was sharp over 1 ² / ₃ innings, in which he allowed only one inexperienced run after two misses by third baseman Max Moroff. Edwin Diaz was indicted for two runs (one of which was not earned due to a Luis Guillorme mistake), and the Yankees competed against left-wing Daniel Zamora, who allowed three runs with four goals.
Porcello said he adapted to the serenity as the fans were out of the stadium due to coronavirus restrictions.
“It was definitely different just going to the bullpen and there are no fans in the stands and it is quiet,” said Porcello. “We are simply not used to it. After the first few minutes you roll with it. “
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