Game 19 of 162
Mets 5 - Dodgers 3 (Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles)
Mets record: 12-7
Mets streak: Won 1
WP - Jimmy Yacabonis (2-0)
LP - Noah Syndergaard (0-3)
SV - Adam Ottavino (3)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Jimmy Yacabonis was pressed into service after Max Scherzer's ejection, and performed admirably in a seemingly no-win situation. After giving up a run on a sac fly in the fourth, he went 2 and 2/3's innings in relief and never let the game get away from him, giving the Mets a chance to come back and win.
Need to Know
Scherzer started out a little shaky in the first, throwing 28 pitches. But he didn't give up a run and settled down for the rest of his outing, which was brief.
Before the third inning, home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi checked Scherzer's glove on his way to the mound, which is different from the usual check on the way off the field after an inning. It was determined that there was a sticky substance in his glove, and that Scherzer needed to change his mitt before inning.
Before the fourth inning, they check Scherzer again with the second mitt, and determined that there was still a sticky substance on his left hand. Scherzer was ejected even as he claimed that it was just the rosin that Major League Baseball provides.
Scherzer explained after the game that he washed his hand after the first check in front of an MLB official, and that he would have to be an "absolute idiot" to try something nefarious before the fourth inning.
Yacabonis mentioned after the game that while he had all the time he needed to warm up, he felt a little pressure to get warmed up quickly. Showalter went a step further in the post game, and said that after an injury or ejection, a pitcher should warm up in the bullpen and not on the mound in front of all the fans while the umpires keep asking you if you're ready.
The Scherzer ejection overshadowed what was the previous storyline, which was Noah Syndergaard's first start against the Mets. He was the losing pitcher, but he pitched very well, giving up two runs in six innings. He walked two, and only struck out two as he doesn't depend on a high octane fastball since arm surgery. Of his 18 outs, all but two came on sinkers or changeups.
Starling Marte left the game in the fifth inning. Buck Showalter said after the game that his neck had stiffened up on him, a call back to the injury he suffered against Oakland.
Turning Point
Syndergaard had been effortlessly setting the Mets down through four, and with Scherzer out of the game, the road seemed to be clear for Syndergaard to get the W today. But Brandon Nimmo went off the exit ramp.
Nimmo, who you could really invite to Kiner's Korner every day because of something he's done, went 5-for-5 with a home run off Noah Syndergaard. His average is up to .349 for the season as he is hitting at a 13-for-26 clip on the road trip so far.
Three Keys
The ejection was a shame, because after the shaky first inning, Scherzer actually looked good after the extra rest in the second and third innings. A six inning outing for Scherzer was a distinct possibility, with perhaps an opportunity to start the 7th.
Yacabonis, Jeff Brigham and Drew Smith were huge in providing middle relief, as they held the Dodgers to just the one run through the 7th, setting up the back end of the pen. Brigham got Miguel Vargas to fly out to end the 6th to rescue Yacabonis, and Smith pitched a 1-2-3 inning to get it to Robertson/Ottavino.
Robertson and Ottavino each gave up a run in their innings. Robertson walked Freddie Freeman on four pitches with one out in the 8th, and he would come around to score. Ottavino would give up a home run to David Peralta in the 9th. But it was okay because the Mets got two big insurance runs in the top of the 9th. After a walk to Luis Guillorme and Nimmo's fifth hit of the day, Mark Canha drove them both home on a two run double to put the game away.