Yoenis Cespedes ghosted the Mets and they improved. Robinson Cano suffered an adductor strain and the Mets improved. Amed Rosario developed a stomachache and the Mets got better.
What didn’t kill them stretched them.
The Mets outclassed the Nationals 8-2 in a Thursday matinee. They did it behind a David Peterson pitcher, who wasn’t even considered one of the six starters for five places in spring training 1.0. Behind a first defense backup catcher in Tomas Nido, who hit two homers and led in six runs. Behind a fourth homer leader of Dom Smith’s team, the biggest beneficiary of Cespedes’ escape deed. And behind the continued all-round excellence of Andres Gimenez and Luis Guillorme in replacing Rosario and Cano.
The Mets’ recent seasons have been disappointing for many reasons. Almost at the top was that they were mined. Their subtitles were poor. The back of their bullpen was hit and Bashlor.
For a third of this season, the Mets are only 9-11, but it would be much worse if their Team B didn’t get As. Depth, of all things, is why they still have a chance in NL East. Two-time division champion Braves is down Ronald Acuna Jr. and much of their rotation. The Phillies bullpen is a circular firing squad. The Nationals (6-9) resemble the club that fought for the first third of the season last year, but in 162 games they rallied to win a championship. The Marlins have had to redo their roster with the current season due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
And unlike the Mets and Braves, the Nationals, Phillies and especially the Marlins have onerous plans to catch up on lost games due to viruses that will expose just what they have in reserve.
It is counterintuitive to think that depth would have been more important than ever in a season of over 100 games shorter than normal. But the virus, patchy preparation and general weirdness are forcing every club to go deep into their own determination and roster. And, so far, the Mets are receiving positive results, having flipped their identity from a club too dependent on their rotation to one that finds strength in the length of their bullpen and formation alternatives.
That rotation is no longer of concern is because Peterson is behaving like Andy Pettitte in 1995-96, offering advanced balance and great throws. Zack Wheeler left for free will, Noah Syndergaard was lost after Tommy John’s surgery, Marcus Stroman gave up, Michael Wacha has a sore shoulder, and Steven Matz is donating. Peterson, therefore, went from the refrain to center stage, from inessential to irreplaceable.
He opened on Thursday with two walks around a two-base Nido mistake to load the bases with no outs and pull up Juan Soto, which he basically calls going from bad to worse. Except Peterson sniffed the best young hitter in the game on three shots, ran off with an unearned point conceded en route to otherwise exclude Nats with one hit for five innings.
Luis Rojas removed his southpaw after five innings and 74 shots because he felt sore in the back of his shoulder which both the coach and starter insisted was normal and not a concern. Let’s see it make its next start before any further downplaying.
The fact that Peterson didn’t give up on multiple runs in the first one was because Jeff McNeil made a fearless and fantastic running catch to rob Asdrubal Cabrera of a two-run double. Being 2020 and the Mets, he slammed into the Northwell Health ad on the left center court wall and crumbled. McNeil was supposed to be taken away, but the Mets said X-rays and an MRI only revealed a knee bruise and that is day to day.
That Billy Hamilton, first in defense, replaced him with an outstanding familiar glove, but also excellent setbacks, accentuated how much the Mets are getting off the bench.
And the four innings Peterson left at the paddock were provided by Jared Hughes and Brad Brach, who have delved into the pen since returning from the COVID-19 replacement casualty list, and Edwin Diaz, who has six goalless strikes. in August and has now scored. out of 17 batters out of 36 faced.
“We have some depth to whatever casualties have happened,” Rojas said.
Rojas will now probably have to sail around without McNeil for a few days. He is expected to take Rosario and Cano back and will have to decide what to do with Gimenez and Guillorme, who injected energy, attack and – in particular – defense. But that’s what managers want: the tough questions posed by having too many quality players.
It’s better than looking from your bench and seeing Keon Broxton and the faded remains of Jose Reyes.
.
