Game Day - March 31st
New York Mets @ Miami Marlins
What does the Mets’ starting staff have to offer after Scherzer and IL-bound Verlander? Who are the Marlins?
Act I – Strike ‘em Out Hit ‘em Out
Baseball isn’t difficult if you have a starter getting everyone out and someone who can hit a home run. Jesus Luzardo has been the story for the first act of this game with 4Ks, 2BBs, and no runs given up. He is doing his part for the team. Jorge Soler did his part by hitting a home run in the second inning and the Marlins have been playing really good baseball in the field. The defense is getting double plays on the infield and catches in the outfield. The only question I have at this point is about what happened or didn’t happen, in the bottom half of the second inning, after the home run. The Marlins had two men on base and one out. Neither of those runners was converted into the run. Against a team like the Mets, will that lack of runner conversion hurt later in the game?
On the Mets’ side, Peterson is having a decent game. If not for the home run this would be a good pitchers’ duel and a nice indication the Mets starting staff does in fact have the depth to manage the injuries they are currently forced to deal with.
Act II – The Price of Missed Opportunity
The second act of our game starts in the bottom of the fifth. Jon Berti and Luis Arraez have reached base. The Marlins have two runners on and no outs. Peterson gets a strikeout. The chance to extend the lead has not yet passed when Garrett Cooper comes to the plate and gets a single. The Mets get a glove on the rolling ball, but the ball deflects off the glove. Berti rounds third, and darts for home while Jeff McNeil makes the throw for home. The terrible slide helped a lot, but McNeil gets the out at home, and the two-on and no-outs scenario turned into two on and two-outs dud. Jazz Chisholm Jr grounds out to first and the threat is over.
This is the second time this game the Marlins have missed an opportunity to add to their lead. I don’t see their roster as the kind that can afford to let multiple chances pass by. Maybe I’m wrong, but the second act of this game is all about the Marlins’ inability to protect or extend their lead. You might say it’s a positive the story is about the Marlins and not the very expensive Mets. It’s its own brand of win for a team looking to make a mark in a stacked NL East.
Act III – We Shall Meet Again (In the Ninth)
The third act of this game starts with Luzardo being taken out of the game. The bases are loaded and Pete Alonso is coming to the plate. The Marlins pull their starter and ask JT Chargois to preserve the one-run lead. Three pitches later, Alonso grounds out and the lead is safe, for now. The problem is, the Mets have three more at-bats in this game. The top of the Mets’ lineup will get another chance to take the lead in this game, assuming the bottom half of the lineup doesn’t take the lead first.
Top 7th: That was a joy to watch. The Marlins played pretty-looking no-drama baseball. Strike out, ground out, ground out. It still feels like a long way to go to get the win, but seeing an easy three-outs in that fashion would give me some hope.
Top 8th: The bullpen does it again, though, with a little more drama. Daniel Vogelbach gets a towering double. The defense was playing him deep. Chisholm makes a dive for the catch but can’t make the play. A pinch runner comes into the game but never moves off second after two fly-outs. The Top of the 9th is going to feature the best the Mets lineup has to offer. Can the Marlins extend the lead or will the Closer have to get the job done with zero margin of error?
Top 9th: Lindor, Alonso, and Canha will be coming to the plate. Chisholm extended the lead by one with a home run and the Marlins can hear the echoes of “victory high-fives” in the distance. Lindor strikes out but it should be mentioned that AJ Puk was given a gift strike one on what was clearly a ball. Alonso……hits a home run. This was the concern in the top of the 6th inning when Alonso ended that rally with an out. The margin of error had been extended, but it is now back down to zero. Puk gets another no-nonsense strikeout, albeit aided with another gift strike. A ground out ends this game for a Marlins’ win, 2-1.
Such a strange end. The Alonso home run didn’t have the same penalty it felt like it should. Credit to Puk for continuing to throw hard and getting the outs.
For the Mets, losses to the Marlins will hurt but they happen. When the starter has a game like Luzardo’s, you tip your cap and move on. I do think the game tomorrow is important for the Mets to win. In a division with the Braves and Phillies, every win counts.
For the Marlins, great win. Great job by the pitching staff. Home Runs are fun but I would like to see some hits strung together. I want to feel like the offense is clicking rather than hoping for the big hit.
Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Can the Diamondback play well enough to be part of the game story? Does the last Spring Training start version of Dustin May show up?
Wake Me When The Game Gets Going
Looking at the game stats, this game was lost by the Dodger bats won by the Diamondback pitchers. I’m sure the Dodgers are aware, but it’s worth repeating, the NL West is not going to be the same playground it has been. However, as I write that, the Padres’ highlights play on my other screen and they lost to the Rockies at home. 7 of the 9 Dodger hitters had negative game scores and the team managed 5 hits. That just isn’t good enough. The games against the D-Backs are games that need to be won. With apologies to Arizona, the Dodgers were the story in this game and the series so far. I came away from this game and I have some questions I will be thinking about for the next week or two.
-This was asked last game as well, but when does slow start Muncy become “drag on the offense” Muncy? Two games, I get it, but last season was below the Mendoza line, and this year starting 1 for 10, and half of those at-bats ended in strikeouts. Again, small sample size, but to me, the sample size includes last season and comes with a short leash.
-On the team level, how long can the Dodgers put up with Muncy and Martinez clogging up the middle of the lineup? Small sample size unfairness? Sure, but 2 for 18 from the 4 & 5 hitters with 9 strikeouts and 0 walks. I want better from the heart of my lineup.
-What happens when the Mets and Cardinals come to town this month? Looking at 8 of the Dodgers’ first 10 games being against the D-Backs; I would say a successful start to the season would be winning 6 of those 8 and splitting the two-game series against the Rockies. That makes for a 7-3 opening record to be successful. These are wins the Dodgers want to bank now and watching the offense sputter causes the shine of the new season to wear away just a little more than I’d want it to after two games.
Cleveland Guardians @ Seattle Mariners
Will the offense show up now that the Aces have had their turn?
Act I – Three’s Company
This game got off to a much better start for those more interested in batters running the bases. Seattle opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff double followed by a single. After last night when runs production was shut down but the starters, this was a nice change of pace. Cleveland keeps the score at 0-1 after the first and goes on to score 3 of their own in the top of the second. I remember when Robbie ray was pitching with the Blue Jays, there were some games where he was up in the zone and he just couldn’t find the zone. I feel like those were few and far between, but he came over from the D-Backs with wild games being a potential outcome. Unfortunately, in the first act of this game, the wild version of Ray was on the mound. Cleveland had their own pitching issues as Seattle was able to score two in the bottom of the third inning and this game is now tied. So closes the first Act of this game.
Act II – Cleveland Rocks
The story in Act II was the awakening of Cleveland bats and Steven Kwan taking over the game. By the time the fifth inning was over, Kwan had 5 rbi and a .341 WPA. Cleveland really looks like they are in control of the game. The Mariners pitchers are not fooling anyone. The one positive thing for the Mariners is that the lineup has been getting base runners and hits, but Cleveland is getting more and more timely hits with runners in scoring position. By the time the Guardians finished their half of the sixth inning, they are ahead 8-4. Do they have enough bats and time to make the comeback?
Act III – Echoes of Problems Past
The Mariners traded away some of their pitching depth to get a big bat in the offseason. Last year’s offense needed some added thump. The thump missing from last year was missing from the rest of this game. No drama closer innings are great, it’s what you want. No drama repeated scoreless innings is not great when you’re down by 4 in the fourth inning and the other team is adding to that lead. The game would end in a Cleveland 9-5 win and some questions.
-How worried should Seattle fans be about the slow start for the offense?
-Cleveland has seen both extremes on offense. Is this another year of middle-of-the-pack offense or have they taken a step into the top third in the league?
It’s the second game of the season so these questions being asked here tend to sit in the back of your mind rather than becoming something you talk about at the water cooler. The hope is they don’t become questions you feel the need to ask and more blips on the timeline of the full season.
