New York Mets Are Winning Even When They Lose

By Steve Contursi | Sep 13, 2016

Sep 12, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; New York Mets third baseman Jose Reyes (7) speaks with starting pitcher Rafael Montero (50) during the first inning against the Washington Nationals on the pitcher /

The New York Mets could not survive a disastrous Monday but the good news is that all of their rivals in the chase for a Wild Card also lost.

The New York Mets have been on a winning roll lately. It continued on Monday night in our nation’s capital even though they were trounced by the Washington Nationals 8-1. Oddly, though, nothing changed in the Wild Card standings because all of their rivals also lost. How fortunate is that?

The Mets were bitterly reminded last night why Rafael Montero hasn’t ever seriously been in their pitching plans. Managing only 1.2 innings, he surrendered six runs, all of them earned. He couldn’t throw strikes, and when he did manage to hit the plate he caught the fat part with line drives being scattered across the outfield. Not surprisingly and maybe a tad too late, the Mets announced after the game that Montero will not be making any more starts for them this year and probably for forever.

Not surprisingly and maybe a tad too late, the Mets announced after the game that Montero will not be making any more starts for them this year and probably for forever.

Nevertheless, the gods of baseball seem to be watching over the Mets these days. Because while Montero was self-combusting, the San Diego Padres played spoilers in San Francisco, shutting out the recently hot Giants 4-0.

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Meanwhile, over in St. Louis, the Cardinals could manage only one hit and were beaten by the Chicago Cubs. As a bonus for the Mets, the Miami Marlins and the Pittsburgh Pirates also lost, burying them even deeper in their chances to steal a playoff spot.

Obviously, the Mets can not afford to think their luck will stretch out with another loss tonight. And the start by Montero proves how much the Mets miss Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz in the rotation. Therefore, they’ll be counting heavily on their ace, Noah Syndergaard, to come through for them tonight. Syndergaard has allowed only three runs in his last 27 innings and even when he’s been off, he’s managed to hold off any serious damage.

It was excruciatingly painful to watch Terry Collins in the dugout last night during the early innings. It was like he threw his line in the water with no bait attached to it, hoping against hope that maybe some stupid fish would take a bite anyway. It doesn’t happen that way against major league hitters of course and the Mets took a whooping.

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But tonight, he shouldn’t have to deal with that problem because he has a major league pitcher facing those same major league hitters. The Mets need every game they play now. But they really need to bounce back and get this one. They were fortunate last night, but it would not be a good bet to think it’s going to happen again.

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