Maton and Mets’ Offense Fail to Close Out Brewers

If there’s one thing we all know about the New York Mets, success doesn’t come easy. 

That is for sure.

After pulling ahead to an early 3-1 lead in game two of the National League Wild Card Series against the Brewers on Wednesday evening, the roof came crashing down.

Multiple innings of missed opportunities from the Mets offense, followed by a Phil Maton meltdown in the eighth, saw the Brew Crew take the lead and hold on for a 5-3 victory. 

The Milwaukee win evened the series at one-a-piece, with the rubber game set to occur tonight at 7:08 p.m. EST.

Now, there were a few things that went wrong last night for the Mets. Let’s discuss two pertinent topics.

Pete Alonso and the Offense

At the heart of the loss, sitting at the fifth spot in the batting order, was first baseman Pete Alonso.

Alonso started the game off in a clumsy fashion. The 29-year-old came up with runners on the corners and one out in the first, with the Mets already up 1-0. He grounded a ball hard up the middle, which was smothered in a dive by Brewers shortstop Willy Adames. Adames flipped to second for the first out, but turning two would be challenging, as the diving stop wasted precious time. If Alonso was running hard down the line, he would have had a shot at beating the throw to first.

Instead, Alonso tripped over his own bat while exiting the box, falling flat onto his stomach in what could only be referred to as a Polar Bear Plunge. 

The Brewers turned two, and Mark Vientos, who was running home on contact, was rendered irrelevant as the inning came to a close. Just like that, a 2-0 lead in the first was squashed.

Alonso’s second at-bat was a grounder to third base, easily handled for the second out of the third. The Polar Bear had another opportunity with a runner in scoring position and two down in the fifth, but he struck out swinging. 

In the seventh, Alonso found a stride, shooting a Jared Koenig pitch the other way for a two-out broken-bat single. That base hit, which proved futile as the half-inning ended shortly after, marked Pete’s final at-bat. 

Now, is it fair to say that Pete was why the Mets lost last night? Of course not.

The offense as a whole went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine runners on base.

However, Alonso’s power absence over the last few weeks has certainly been felt.

His last home run came in Philadelphia on September 19th. He slugged just four home runs in the entire final month of the season and only slotted six extra-base hits. His slugging percentage over the last month is the lowest it’s been all year. His OBP has still sat at a respectable .343 during that time frame, but the power numbers have been lower than expected from the thunderous bat he is known to be.

Unfortunately, what the Mets need right now is an elite power-bat who can put together quality at-bats with runners on. If the Mets are to move forward, the Polar Bear needs to be a big part of that.

“Pete is a power hitter and he’s just one swing away from [hitting] a big one,” Mendoza said after the game. “He’s got another opportunity tomorrow. He’ll step up.”

Phil Maton and the Bullpen

The biggest question for us Mets fans after the game came to a close on Tuesday evening was one for manager Carlos Mendoza:

Was Phil Maton the right move in the eighth?

The question is a complex one.

On one hand, Maton has been a successful part of the Mets pen this year. Picked up by the Mets in July, Maton pitched to a 2.36 ERA in 26 2/3 innings pitched after the All-Star Break.

On the other hand, Maton did pitch in each of the last three days of the season. And, although he didn’t throw on Tuesday evening, his last outing in Atlanta was subpar, as he was charged with two earned runs and only recorded one out. 

Now, if you were to ask whether going with Maton in the eighth was a mistake, I’d tell you no. 

Yes, Ryne Stanek was effective the inning prior with a low pitch count, but he pitched on Tuesday, and it’s understandable not to stretch him past his norm.

Since joining the Mets, Maton has been an elite reliever, so going to him with a one-run lead was an understandable option.

Now, the exit velocities after the first three batters of the eighth inning tell us that perhaps sticking with Maton to try and finish out the inning was the true mistake.

Let’s take a look at Maton’s first three batters. First, we’ll list the at-bat outcome and, next to it, the exit velocity off the Brewers’ bat.

1. Home Run – 105.7 MPH
2. Single – 103.2 MPH
3. Double Play – 101.7 MPH

Are you picking up a pattern here?

In a tied playoff game, three straight 100+ MPH batted balls, even with two outs, should probably be enough to move to another pitcher. 

Now, do you want to burn Edwin Diaz in a tie game? That’s an arguable question. But the matter of fact is, the Brewers were seeing Maton’s pitches like they were beach balls.

We have seen Mendoza throughout the year –even very recently with Luis Severino and Díaz– stick with his pitchers through rough spots. 

Unfortunately, it bit them in the behind on Wednesday night. 

It’s baseball, that happens. And, if you’re Carlos Mendoza or anyone else in the Mets clubhouse, you don’t dwell on it.

“We’ve shown it the whole year,” Mendoza said post-game. “We’ve been knocked down and we have the ability to get back up, and here we are. Got punched today, we’ll get right back.”

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