The Mets defeated the Nationals, 12-6, in their series opener but while the score may appear lop-sided, it wasn't always. In fact, the defense of the Mets could have cost them this matchup and a chance to keep their ground in the wild-card race.
With youngster Brandon Sproat on the mound in the third inning, the right-hander was struggling. His throwing allowed the tying run to score and he had runners on first and second with no outs. Sproat, however, induced a clutch double play before allowing a double to give the Nationals the lead. Then going up against Josh Bell, Sproat threw a 1-0 sinker that Bell lined into left-center field but Jose Siri seemed to have a beat on it. Siri got to his spot on the run and reached out for the ball. The ball hit the inside of his glove and popped out, allowing another run to score.
The very next hitter, Daylen Lile, hit a grounder into center field and Siri took a bad route to the ball, allowing it to go to the wall and Lile ended up on third with a triple and scored the fourth Nationals run of the inning.
Siri didn't help himself at the plate either, going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. The Citi Field crowd booed the first-year Met as he struck out in the fourth when the Mets tried to retake the lead.
"He didn’t have a good day, obviously," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. "All I was telling him was to keep your head up. Mistakes happen, he went a long ways for that ball got there and dropped it, and then a poor route on the grounder in the gap. I know it could get hard, but not putting your head down and keep competing, that was my messaging to him. They’re going to make errors; it’s going to happen. What I don’t like is guys putting their head down, that was my messaging to him."
Sproat was a lot more forgiving of Siri's attempt in the outfield.
"Props to Siri for running after that ball," he said. "It was a long run, heck of an effort for it."
Since his return to the team on Sept. 9 after fracturing his leg back in April, Siri has only appeared in four games and is 1-for-12 with nine strikeouts over that span.
The return of Helsley?
Aside from the win, Ryan Helsley's performance on Friday was encouraging. The big trade deadline acquisition has struggled mightily since coming to Queens, but has strung together some good outings of late.
Over his last three appearances, he's allowed just one hit and one walk across three innings with one strikeout. Friday was extra impressive as he came in in a high-leverage situation. With the Mets only up 8-6 in the seventh, Mendoza called on Helsley and the veteran delivered, getting a ground out, a strikeout looking and a line out to finish the 1-2-3 frame.
"There’s a lot to like. The way the slider, below the strike zone, getting chases and swings and misses there," Mendoza said of Helsley's outing. "Tried a few times to elevate the fastball, even though he didn’t get swing and miss on the nine-hole hitter, it was effective enough with the fastball. Throwing strikes but executing when he needs to.
"I’ve been saying, we need him. This is a guy that’s proven before in this league. It’s good to see him out there in that situation, up two in the seventh in high-leverage for him to get three outs was huge."
Raley continues to give Mets options
Speaking of the Mets' bullpen, they used six relievers, including Brooks Raley, who continues to give New York exactly what they need whenever they call upon him.
Raley got three outs, two in the fifth after Huascar Brazoban struggled and then one to start the sixth. His performance helped him pick up his second win of the season.
"This is a guy who is coming off Tommy John surgery," Mendoza said of Raley. We’re using him for two ups, multiple innings. As early as the fifth inning, sixth, seventh, eighth. He’s a total pro. He’s very honest with us in letting us know how he’s feeling every day. To have a guy like that in that bullpen where you can shoot him anywhere is a luxury. We’re going to continue to need him, but we have to continue to take care of him as well."
Raley returned to the Mets in mid-July and has been great. He's pitched to a 2.42 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP across 25 games (22.1 IP).
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