NEW YORK – The Mets took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning against the Pirates tonight, with Noah Syndergaard taking on Jeff Locke. Syndergaard was consistently hitting 100 MPH or higher in the first, making easy work of the Pirates offense. Jeff Locke started the game with two hits and a walk allowed, and ended up giving three runs in the frame, throwing 22 pitches in the process.
Despite this, the Mets and Pirates decided to play out the remainder of the game, and things only got worse for the Pirates, while getting better for Syndergaard. The right-hander shut the offense down for 8.1 innings, before two runs scored in the ninth. Meanwhile, Locke gave up seven earned runs in four innings, getting pulled in the fifth after giving up three straight hits to start the inning. Arquimedes Caminero came on and allowed both of his inherited runners to score, giving the Mets a 7-0 lead after five innings. They ended up winning 11-2.
It was the second horrible outing in a row for Locke, who gave up seven runs on nine hits in 4+ innings, following his last start when he gave up 11 runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. Prior to that, Locke was having better results, with a 3.52 ERA and a 4.71 xFIP in his previous eight starts.
“I think we’ve got to be realistic about it,” Clint Hurdle said after the game. “Why is he giving up hits? Look at the execution. There was inconsistent execution tonight. There was inconsistent execution in Denver. The five starts before that, we were all talking about how well he was pitching. I think we’ve just got to be realistic with it. Just slow it down, look at the tape, look if there’s an area we can tweak or improve, find a way to get the ball back down, execute in the spots we want to go to. Better down action, better down command.”
Locke didn’t have any answers for why his last two outings have been so much different than the previous results, noting that he didn’t notice anything different with the mechanics. With Gerrit Cole on the disabled list, Locke might have a start or two to figure things out. But if he keeps pitching like this, he will have a hard time keeping his spot in the rotation when Cole returns.
Game Notes
**Starling Marte was removed from the game after diving for a ball, missing it, and it bouncing up and hitting him in the face. The ball appeared to hit Marte in the cheekbone area. Hurdle didn’t have any updates after the game. Marte was smiling and talking with Hurdle and Head Athletic Trainer Todd Tomczyk as he left.
**Andrew McCutchen moved to the third spot in the order for the first time tonight, with Hurdle wanting to try something different with McCutchen and Polanco. McCutchen was later removed in a double switch after striking out against Noah Syndergaard.
**Gerrit Cole is still day-to-day with his right triceps issue, and there was no word prior to the game on how long he would be out, with both Cole and Tomczyk avoiding a specific number.
**Chris Stewart got the night off after getting beat up in the last week from head to toe.
**John Jaso was the only person who seemed to have success against Syndergaard, picking up three of the four hits tonight. Jaso also went 2-for-4 with a double last week against Syndergaard.
**The Pirates will play the Mets tomorrow night in the rubber match for this series, with Juan Nicasio on the mound against Bartolo Colon.
