Rays 3 Mets 1 (Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL)
Mets record: 16-17
Mets streak: Lost 2
WP - Jason Adam (2-0)
LP - Adam Ottaavino (1-1)
SV - Phil Maton (1)
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.
Christian Scott's debut was about as good as anyone could have reasonably expected on Saturday. Scott went 6 and 2/3's, giving up one run on five hits, striking out six, and throwing 67 strikes in 94 pitches. He took an ND, but it was a very promising beginning to what will hopefully be a long career.
Need to Know
This was Kevin Cash's 755th victory as the manager of the Rays, passing Joe Maddon for first place in Rays history.
Christian Scott allowed the first three batters of his major league career to reach base, then retired the next 13 and 20 of the next 23 hitters.
Tomas Nido made two throwing errors trying to catch runners steal second, but neither error led to a run.
Starling Marte drove in the only Mets run of the game in the first inning with an RBI single, and went two for three on the evening. The rest of the lineup could only muster four hits.
Turning Point
The turning point was quite obviously the 8th inning. But it was a particular point in the 8th. Adam Ottavino led the inning off by striking out Jose Siri, but then gave up a single to Yandy Diaz and walked Richie Palacios. Then Isaac Paredes came up and Ottavino induced soft contact as Parades chopped the ball up in the infield.
But Ottavino instinctively made a leap for it and missed, meaning there was no way for him to cover first base in time, and Pete Alonso had to eat it to load the bases with one out. Then Ottavino had to work extra hard to try to get out of the inning. A six pitch at-bat to Randy Arozarena ended in a way that gave Mets fans hope that he could get out of it.
Francisco Lindor's brilliance could only go so far, as Ottavino was locked in a nine pitch battle with pinch hitter Austin Shenton, and the young Shenton got the better of Ottavino.
Ottavino had retired 31 of the previous 34 batters that he faced, but this inning turned out to be your ballgame. Just for good measure, Sean Reid-Foley walked home another run in the 8th to further seal it.
Three Keys
A Man with A Plan
Mike Tyson once said that everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth. Christian Scott got hit in the mouth by the first three batters he faced, giving up a run while getting nobody out. Then came the plan.
After he struck out Arozarena, he immediately got a double play to end the inning, and then he was off to the races.
What was most impressive about it was that he was pitch sequencing like a veteran. He started to mis up first pitch fastballs with first pitch sweepers, then the sweepers were being thrown off the plate to induce swings and misses the second time through the lineup. By the time he was facing the order for the third time (and kudos to Carlos Mendoza for allowing him to do that in his major league debut), he could do whatever he wanted.
His fastball is going to play in this league. Sits at 95-96, stays high in the zone, spots it well. Loved his makeup too. After the initial inning, he didn't seem nervous. His body language was great, laughing after having a laugh when a break didn't go his way. He oozed confidence, and he let everyone know after the game that this wasn't an accident.
The Other Guys Drive Nice Cars Too
Zack Littell was a bit overshadowed in this game, but he was brilliant as well, shutting down the Mets for six innings, striking out seven while giving up six hits and walking nobody.
Missed Opportunities
The Mets didn't get a hit off the Rays bullpen, but they did walk four times in the three innings that the Rays bullpen was on the mound. Jeff McNeil was stranded at first in the 7th, and in the top of the 8th with the game still tied, J.D. Martinez had a glorious chance with runners on first and third with two outs. But Martinez grounded out harmlessly to short to end th inning right before the Mets imploded in the bottom of the 8th.
D.J. Stewart got a shot as the tying run in the 9th, but he also grounded out to end the game.
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