06/11/21 san diego padres vs NY Mets at Citifield Queens NY Neil Miller The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com copyright 2021 New York Mets manager Luis Rojas #19 at batting practice today
For the Mets it was a brutal weekend in that they lost 2 key players-Francisco Lindor and Jacob deGrom-to the injured list and they lost the first 2 games of the series culminating with an Edwin Diaz meltdown followed by a first inning today in the Steel City in which they surrendered 6 first inning runs highlighted by a terrible defensive play that scored 3 runs for the Pirates
That play was a swinging roller that Taijuan Walker thought was foul and he swiped at it in what he thought was foul territory allowing additional runs to score. Met manager Luis Rojas was ejected from the game. After the game Rojas said, “We deserve a chance for the umpires to meet and talk about it. We were denied that and that got me fired up.”
But the Mets did not quit getting a 3 run homer from Travis Blackenhorn to cut the deficit to 6 to 4 and pulled to within one run on a Dominic Smith RBI double as they entered the ninth inning against down 6-5. And in that final frame, Michael Conforto launched a 2 run homer to give the Mets a 7-6 lead which was preserved by Trevor May to earn a save. Aaron Loup also did a great job getting out of a bases loaded no out situation giving up no runs and Drew Smith gave the Mets 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to give the Met offense time to mount a comeback.
Today should prove to all of us quit is simply not in this team’s vocabulary. This team reminds me so much of the 2015 team They might lose a game but never quit and as teammates win lose or draw they all support each other ALWAYS. They never make excuses as injuries are mounting again as they just perform they best they can with effort every waking moment. BTW that 2015 team was the last NY team to make it to a World Series and there is still so many games to play but don’t be surprised by anything this team does this year. They have a focus and resolve few teams possess and even after a brutal loss last night coupled with an awful start today they know they love playing this game and decided to have fun doing what they love to do. Losing 2 of 3 to Pirates is not acceptable and they know that. But there is a reason this team has stayed in first for over 2 months and it is not just because of the NL East. It is because the Mets deal with obstacles the only way you can–Never look for excuses look for solutions–and Luis Rojas and his staff do that every single day.
They had a rough weekend–losing 2 stars to injuries but got a getaway game that they desperately needed. And they continue to lead the Phils by 2 games in the NL East but as I have been saying all year, their loss column lead is very sigificant. They lead the Phils by 3 in the loss column, the Braves by 5 in the loss column and they lead the Nats by 7 in the loss column
They continue to take body shots but keep punching their way to the NL East penthouse. They continue to only concern themselves with the things they CAN control and that is the hidden weapon of this Luis Rojas led team. And on this day,they gave their manager a great gift after he was ejected from this contest. That is what winning teams do.