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Image: USA Today Sports
Welcome back to the Amazins in Astoria, a season long chronicle about my life in relation to the 2022 New York Mets.
For the first installment in this series, click here.
For the previous installment in this series, click here.
May 16th-Rained Out
I'm eating my lunch, staring at the purchase screen for $7 tickets between the Mets and Cards series opener. I'm the one who set a goal for myself to go to 30 games this season, but it's been a lot tougher to adhere to than I thought, considering it's May and I've only been to 3 so far. Before I can figure out who would want to go with me on a random Monday night, I get the notification that the game is rained out, meaning that the Mets will play their 3rd double header of the year.
May 17th-Games 37 (23-13) and 38 (24-13) vs. St. Louis Cardinals
As New York City settles down from the nightmare that Grubhub unleashed with their free lunch promo, the Mets begin their doubleheader with a hot start from Trevor Williams. In just 4 innings pitched, Williams takes down 6 batters at the plate. His slider does a lot of the grunt work, getting guys to chase some pretty whacky stuff low and outside, but even his fastball has just enough wiggle in the middle to tempt any eager batter. He gets Molina with pretty much the same pitch twice, a 4-seam fast ball that he tries to reach for, and both times, Molina heads back to the dugout shaking his head.
Williams and the bullpen really give the offense some cushion with just 1 run allowed in the 8th, and while all of the Mets stop scoring after the 3rd, the bang-bang plays early on secure the 3-1 win. In terms of bats, the best part of this game is seeing Dom Smith break his 2-week+ hitless slump, smacking a double into right to give the Mets their 3rd run of the game.
The Mets ride this high at the plate into Game 2, as Mark Canha crushes one into left field in his 1st at-bat, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning. Escobar follows his lead in the 4th, giving the Mets a 2-1 lead in a game where the Cardinals are really making it hard to keep up. In both games of the doubleheader, the Mets pitching staff's biggest accomplishment was keeping runners in scoring position at bay. Taijuan Walker has a decent start, fanning 4 in 5 innings pitched, but you can only do so much when the Cardinals keep pressing all night. While 5 hits are spread out pretty evenly amongst the Mets lineup, they big boys are not up to par. Alonso and Lindor go a combined 0-6 at the plate. Lindor is the final out of the game, swinging on a fastball that just tickles the outside of the zone.
May 18th-Game 39 vs. St. Louis Cardinals (24-14)
They they are! There are the runs that I'm looking for! In a Wednesday night thriller, the Mets record 11 hits. Luis Guillorme extends his hit streak to 3 games, Jeff McNeil snags 2 RBIs, and Pete Alonso smacks a 3-run beauty into left to give the Mets an 11-4 lead over the Cards. By the end of the season, I really think a psychologist should conduct a study on the relationship between Pete Alonso homers and my mood at the end of the day, because I think they'll find a direct positive correlation.
Of course, the Mets are the team of perfect emotional equilibrium; a monkey's paw franchise if you will. With every big push forward, there must be a slight step back, and tonight, the step back was possibly the worst of them all. After striking out 4 over 5.2 innings, Max Scherzer is walked off the mound by the training staff after experiencing some tightness in his left side. It's not the 1st injury we've had this year, and not the 1st Scherzer injury we've had this season either, but it's a big loss.
May 19th-Game 40 vs. St. Louis Cardinals (25-14)
At around 2:30, I hit a lull at work and think about popping on the radio feed of the game, but then the push notification hits my phone; Max Scherzer, out with an oblique strain, expected to be out 6-8 weeks. I'm sick to my stomach, and the Cardinals are playing well through 4 innings, so I don't even bother. If the trade machine hasn't been started now, it better be firing at full force by now.
On my train ride home, I'm left to nothing but my thoughts, which is never ideal, so I reluctantly pop in to a 6-6 game in the bottom of the 10th. Pete Alonso, on a 1-0 4-Seam, pipes one that has Wayne Randazzo riled up right from contact.
"ALONSO HAMMERS ONE, LEFT FIELD, WAY BACK, IT'S LOOOOOONG GONE."
Again, to the American Psychological Association; look into Mets-induced mood swings. Use this blog as a baseline.
May 20th-Snowed (!?) Out
Look, I get that it's Colorado, but a snow out in late May!? Doesn't the climate of Colorado know that I don't have Friday night plans?
May 21st-Game 41 (26-14) and 42 (27-14) vs. Colorado Rockies
I'm on a weekend trip to Connecticut as the Mets get going in Colorado, but as I cross the Long Island Sound, I'm passively checking the dings I'm getting from the MLB app. Marte Homers, Mazeika doubles for 2 RBIs, and Cookie lets up just 1 run to give the Mets a 5-1 win.
Since the Mets have forgotten how to close out a double header, Game 2 is a blowout from the Rockies, concentrated almost entirely within the 6th inning. The fact that Joely Rodriguez was the best reliever tonight says everything I need to say about the bullpen's overall performance.
May 22nd-Game 43 vs. Colorado Rockies (27-15)
Two starts in a week for Taijuan Walker is a rare treat, especially in today's 2-0 win over the Rockies. Over 7 innings, 67 of the 97 pitches he throws are strikes, and man are some of them dirty. He favors the dirt today, as 3 of the 6 he fans go down swinging on some eccentrically sinking splitters. I like to think that Kris Bryant, who whiffed on one in the 1st, headed back to the dugout wishing he donned the orange and blue in free agency.