DENVER — One would hope, this late in the season, we’re not still discussing questionable managerial decisions that had an impact on the outcome of a Mets game. Alas, with the season on the line, manager Mickey Callaway again made some head-scratching moves during the Mets’ 9-4 loss to the Rockies in the series opener on Monday.
The Mets (77-73) dropped five games behind the last Wild Card spot with their third loss in four days. The Cubs (82-68) beat the Reds, 8-2, and the Brewers (81-69) downed the Padres, 5-1. With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Mets have have limited opportunities to make up ground.
“We can’t worry about what it feels like,” Callaway said. “We have to take the same approach we’ve taken all season and focus on the next game and we’ll continue to do that. That’s really all we can ever do.”
New York had its best shot at overcoming a three-run deficit in the sixth inning when Pete Alonso led off with a double to right field. Amed Rosario put runners on the corners with one out when he drilled a single up the middle. But this was where it became tricky for Callaway when it should have been very simple.
A handful of useful pinch hitters were available to Callaway to substitute for Tomas Nido, New York’s backup catcher due up after Rosario. On the bench sat Wilson Ramos, the National League’s best hitter since Aug. 1; Jed Lowrie, a switch-hitter who’s still due for his first Mets hit; Todd Frazier, a veteran hitter who’s been clutch for the Mets of late; Joe Panik, who’s hitting .429 (9-for-21) against Antonio Senzatela.
Callaway looked over those viable options and, instead, went to left-hander Luis Guillorme for the critical at-bat. Guillorme, if one can believe it, struck out on the sixth pitch from Senzatela. With two outs, Callaway finally went to Panik but he grounded out to end the inning.
“They were all available,” Callaway said of the aforementioned pinch hitters. “The one thing that we knew was that lefties hit Senzatela really well and we ended up getting two lefties hitting off of him and we just didn’t come through.
“But right there, we loved the matchup. We still have Frazier and Ramos with four or five innings left to try and do some damage and help you out later.”
Callaway said he was surprised the offense didn’t tack on more runs, especially at Coors Field. After that chance was blown, it was like someone took the air out of the Mets lineup. The Amazin’s did not record a hit again until the ninth inning, when they were already in a five-run hole. Frazier or Ramos were never presented with the opportunity to make it a closer game.
Despite traveling to Denver days in advance of his start on Monday, Steven Matz was hardly the sharpest version of himself. But pitching in a higher altitude bloated his final line in a way that only Coors Field can. Matz gave up a solo home run to Ian Desmond in the second, but looked solid until he imploded two innings later.
Nine batters came up to the plate and six scored in a tumultuous fourth frame for Matz. It was obvious from the beginning of the fourth inning that the left-hander was off his game. Instead of pulling him out midway through, Callaway kept Matz in to finish the inning. A three-run home run to Trevor Story put seven earned runs on Matz’s final line.
It’s possible Callaway did not want to chance going to the Mets’ sub-par bullpen too early in fear his long-relief options would struggle to pitch better than Matz. But, with the season on the line and the starting pitcher visibly drained, it’s a gamble the skipper should have taken.
“We can’t really think about that too much. We’re just going to keep our focus,” Matz said on the Mets’ season slipping away. “We’ve been in a hole in the season before and we just gotta go and play our best baseball and let the rest of the numbers and the standings take care of themselves. We just gotta play our best, that’s all.”
