In today’s newsletter: About as good a start as you’ll see in today’s game, the benefits of another lineup tweak, and an outfield reinforcement.
Hear Sevy Roar
It’s not often that you see a complete game, let alone a shutout, in modern MLB so when a pitcher is able — and is allowed — to go the distance, it feels like a special occasion. That certainly was true for Luis Severino’s gem in the Mets’ 4-0 win over the Marlins on Saturday. Undeterred by almost constant rain for most of the day, Severino was dominant as he threw his first shutout since 2018 and New York’s first since 2021.
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The 34,744 in attendance in Flushing treated it like a playoff game, sensing the rarity of what they were witnessing. The crowd rose near the end of each of the last few innings, going wild when Severino made it through another frame. When Carlos Mendoza went out to the mound to check on him after he hit Jake Burger to start the 9th, he was booed. When he walked back to the dugout with his starter still in the game, he was cheered. Then, as the former Yankee ace struck out Derek Hill to get that all-elusive 27th out, he unleashed a scream that could be heard from the upper deck.
It was just one regular season win over a bad Marlins team but it felt like more, especially to someone like Severino who has gone through so many ups and downs in recent years. It clearly meant a lot to his teammates, who were equally fired up as they celebrated on the field postgame. A special summer afternoon at Citi Field befitting the giveaway: OMG t-shirts.
Severino cruised through the top of the 1st and got all the run support he needed right away as Francisco Lindor smacked a lead-off home run off Max Meyer in the bottom of the frame. He worked the count full until he got a middle-middle fastball that he belted to right-center for his 24th home run. Lindor keeps on trucking.
The Mets added single runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th to give Severino a nice little cushion. Pete Alonso went deep to lead off the 2nd, he too taking advantage of a 3-2 fastball he deposited over the left-field wall. That was Alonso’s 27th round-tripper of the year.
Severino was helped out in the 3rd by a heads-up double play involving three-quarters of the Mets’ infield. With Vidal Bruján at second following a single and errant pickoff throw, Xavier Edwards grounded to Lindor who threw behind a cheating Bruján. That caught Bruján in a rundown and he was tagged by Jeff McNeil after slipping on the moist dirt. McNeil spun around, throwing back to Vientos at second — smartly backing up — to tag out an advancing Edwards. That play summed up Saturday’s contest well.
Jesse Winker made it 3-0 in the bottom of the 3rd, singling home Brandon Nimmo who tripled. A Vientos double in the 4th brought in Lindor all the way from first to give New York an insurmountable four-run lead.
Severino was masterful with runners on base as the the Marlins went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. He let up three doubles and worked out of the jam every time, in large part because he got 10 groundouts. He also was ahead in the count pretty much the entire day, throwing only 35 balls to 78 strikes. And, his velocity stayed high all the way through. He even clipped 99 mph in the 9th inning.
It felt like he may have been running out of juice in the 8th when a nine-pitch at-bat by Nick Fortes resulted in a long double. But, Edwards grounded out to put Mendoza on the clock for a tough decision with Edwin Díaz warming.
Mendoza let Severino go back out for the 9th at 97 pitches. He immediately plunked Burger on the shoulder, prompting a visit from Mendoza himself, not Jeremy Hefner. The longer they chatted, the more it became clear that Severino was getting a pump-up talk, not a “you’re done for the day” talk. As has been the case multiple times this season, Mendoza must have said the magic words because Severino struck out Jesús Sánchez, got Jonah Bride to pop out and struck out Hill to end the game on a high.
What To Note
In the moment, I thought Mendoza should have lifted Severino after the 8th and that it wasn’t smart to leave him in after the Burger hit-by-pitch. But, if Mendoza gets credit for anything this year, it’s that he does seem to have a good feel for when his starters are done and when they can keep going. He was spot-on yesterday.
We have seen Severino either look eminently hittable or dominant at different times and, lately, he has been touched up pretty hard. Sometimes, though, he looks like the Cy Young vote-getting Severino whose velocity and pitch movement are death to hitters, especially righties. I was surprised to learn that his three starts of 8+ innings — yesterday, his April no-hit bid against the Cubs and his June 5th domination in Washington — tied him for the most in the big leagues. When he’s on, he’s on and that could be huge for a potential playoff start.
The Lindor-Vientos 1-2 punch is looking pretty good right now. Lindor continues to rake — he has an 11-game hitting streak — and Vientos has not just been an elite power bat for the Mets since his call-up but one of the best in all of baseball. It goes to show that you can’t give up on prospects before they’ve gotten their fair shake. Remember that when thinking about Brett Baty, who may be back with the Mets when rosters expand for September.
As expected, Starling Marte was activated from the injured list and Ben Gamel was designated for assignment. He’ll bat fifth and play right field this afternoon. Marte’s return complicates an already crowded outfield picture but getting his bat and speed back in the lineup will help. It just makes Mendoza’s job of finding at-bats for Harrison Bader, Tyrone Taylor and Jesse Winker a little more difficult. Taylor starts in center today — his first start since last Saturday — and Winker is at DH to give J.D. Martinez a blow.
Dedniel Nuñez will start a rehab assignment with Syracuse on Tuesday, going right up to Triple-A without any stops in the lower minors. The Mets must be confident he’s almost ready to return to the Majors.
Looking Ahead
The Mets try for a sweep early on Sunday afternoon with Paul Blackburn going up against Miami’s Valente Bellozo. It’s an early first pitch, 12:05 p.m., and will only be available on the Roku app. If you don’t have a Roku device of some kind, you may unfortunately be out of luck. Blame MLB’s craven profit-seeking for that.
Blackburn will aim to bounce back from an ugly start on Tuesday against his old team. He was very good in his first two starts as a Met in Anaheim and Denver. Bellozo is a rookie from Mexico who has been impressive in his first five MLB outings, posting a sub-3.00 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP. He’s working on a 12 2/3 inning scoreless streak.
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