Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A trip to the Brox is just what the doctor ordered.

Last night, the Mets (19-19) defeated the Yankees (19-19) by the score of 12-7. The loss marked the fourth straight for the yankees and six straight against the Mets. On the other hand, the Mets have won three in a row and took advantage of Yankee Stadium's dimensions to club six home runs in two games. Tonight, the second half of the four game subway series shifts to Citi Field, where runs will be much harder to come by. There's no doubt that beginning with Sundays come-from-behind win, plus the drubbing of the New York yankees, the Mets have a swagger back in them. How long will it last? Who knows. Below are the positives and negatives to take out of the Mets two game sweep in the Bronx:

Positives

Curtis Granderson began hitting as soon as the calendar turned to May, but never did he display the power he did when the Mets entered Yankee Stadium. In two games, Granderson went 4 for seven with two home runs, and five RBIS. For the first time all year Granderson is hitting above 200 at .205.

Lucas Duda deserved the game ball Monday night, helping turn two spectacular double plays and contributing with an game-tying RBI single in the eighth. After battling a virus over the weekend, Duda has returned looking like he is at his physical peak. His movement off first is sensation, and last night he once again contributed with an opposite field RBI hit. With runners in scoring position this year, Lucas is 8 for 19.

David Wright has an eleven game hitting streak, tallying 10 RBI over that span. Wright didn't benefit so much from Yankee Stadium, but overall Wright has gotten hot just when the Mets have as well. He 's become a streaky hitter his entire career, but when he hits, the Mets win.

Daniel Murphy clubbed a 3 run homer off the foul pole in last night's game, putting the game out of reach for good. Like Wright, Murphy has been in a hot streak since returning to his familiar number 2 spot in the lineup. On the other side of the ball, Murphy has made some nice defensive plays to go along with his overall production in a lineup that needs all it can get. Murphy is leading the Mets in batting average this season, sitting at .320.

Negatives

Starting Pitching- Blame it on Yankee Stadium all you want. Just as the lineup hitting is mostly attributed to the hitting haven that is Yankee Stadium, the dreadful starting pitching can also be attributed to Yankee Stadium. The fact is, Bartolo Colon and Zack Wheeler have not been pitching well all season. With a good start thrown in here and there, Colon and Wheeler have struggled. On Monday, Bartolo Colon was roughed up for seven runs in five plus innings. On tuesday night, Zack Wheeler was handed an 11-4 lead and could not get enough outs to qualify for a W. From the first inning, Zack lost command of the strike zone. Overall, Wheeler walked six. The Yankees hit their share of home runs in the series as well. and as the saying goes, "both teams have to play here," when referring to the friendly hitting confines of Yankee Stadium. The positive side is that it's still early. Colon is aging so he scares me, but Wheeler is most likely going through growing pains. If he's still struggling come July 1st, then there may be some concern.

Tonight, Rafael Montero makes his major league debut against Tanaka and the Yankees in Citi Field at 7:10 PM.

No comments:

Post a Comment