As nights go this is one the New York Mets likely want to forget as they got swept in a twin bill getting shutout by 2 Marlin pitchers who barely have any service time in the major leagues. But that was not the worst part about this night.
With Jeurys Familia on the mound in the final inning of the nightcap of the 7 inning twin bill last night, Jon Berti proceeded to walk and then steal both second and third and at that point the unthinkable occurred.
Berti made a dash to the plate as catcher Ali Sanchez lobbed the ball back to Familia in slow speed giving Berti the opening he needed to steal home even though 20 feet from the plate he lost his balance and had to crawl part of the way as Familia’s throw could not be handled by Sanchez.
Manager Luis Rojas made no excuses after the game telling us in his Zoom call that they should have been aware this Marlins team runs the bases aggressively and even called it “at times reckless” and they should have seen the huge leads Berti was taking making this an inexcusable moment.
So where does this Met team go from here? Jacob deGrom takes the hill tonight and I hate to use the term “must win” but this contest fits that category because they really need to win the next 2 from Marlins before they enter a weekend in which they play 5 games in 3 days at Yankee Stadium. This is a 5 day stretch that can either salvage their season or it could very well put them in a position that will be very difficult to recover from in this truncated season.
While the focus this morning is on that embarrassing steal of home, the Met offense continues to make me scratch my head. They continue to struggle with runners in scoring position which had been a malady for them since the season began. They have shown flashes but can never keep their offensive game going. They continue to swing at pitches out of the strike zone and take pitches that is in their hitting zone. You also get the sense they may be pressing at the plate knowing that games are slipping away.
I have covered the Mets since 1984 and it is hard for me to remember many games that provided this overall level of embarrassment. But there is no time here for this team to feel sorry for themselves as the season is dwindling right before their eyes. They need to wash the stench of the night away and it might help if they score runs for their ace pitcher tonight.
Please listen to Zoom audio after the games last night from the Mets.