New York Mets manager addresses late-game bullpen struggles
New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Jose Butto (70) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent
After jumping out to a 7-1 lead, the New York Mets surrendered seven runs in the final three frames to lose to the Washington Nationals. Relief pitchers Jose Butto (three hits, three earned runs) and Ryne Stanek (two hits, one earned run, loss) were at the center of this late-game collapse.
After the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza addressed the pair’s struggles.
“[He] couldn’t finish hitters,” Mendoza said of Butto’s poor performance. “Sinkers got too much of the plate… got a ground ball that found a hole, got behind the nine-hole hitter 3-1 and left a four-seamer there on a guy who’s a very good fastball hitter.”
Butto entered the game in relief of Tylor Megill, who had an excellent outing, surrendering just three hits through 6.1 innings and striking out nine batters. After the game, Megill stated that he told Mendoza he wanted to stay in the game.
“Yeah, I wanted to go back out,” Megill said. “[I threw] 92 pitches, and I know the bullpen’s been working. So I wanted to go back out and give another inning, and save the bullpen arms.”
In hindsight, it would have been wise to leave Megill in the game; shortly after Butto came in, the righty allowed a three-run home run to Riley Adams that cut the Mets lead down to one. Huascar Brazobán got New York out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the lead, but Stanek’s two earned runs in the bottom of the ninth gave Washington the walk-off victory.
Similarly to his assessment of Butto’s performance, Mendoza attributed Stanek’s struggles to an inability to finish off hitters; New York’s skipper noted that Stanek maintained good velocity on his pitches and was getting ahead in counts, only to eventually lose the batter.
Although his relievers failed to execute on Sunday,Mendoza wants to “turn the page” on the brutal loss. The Mets have a strong hold on the NL East, but will need better production from the bullpen moving forward.
