Flushing, NY- The Mets had no answers for Yu Darvish Friday night at Citi Field. The San Diego Padres Right hander struck out nine and walked one in seven innings in the Padres 4-1 win, though Max Scherzer had another respectable outing on the mound for the Mets .
But the Mets coming out of the All-Star break were lethargic at the plate. The Padres, though, the leading team for the first NL wild card, looked more like the first place team compared to the NL East division leading Mets.
A tale of two teams coming out of the break, and once again showing good pitching will shut down an otherwise Mets team, and for the most part in the first half was able to combat some of the elite NL starting pitchers.
And the Mets are expected to be buyers as the August 2 trade deadline nears. They need another potent bat in the lineup. There is a need for another starter in the rotation, pending also on the comeback of two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.
They also need to reinforce the bullpen. Once Scherzer was lifted after 6.0 innings and two runs, Joley Rodriguez allowed two runs as Trent Grisham went deep in the seventh inning.
Consider the Atlanta Braves cutting another game off the Mets lead, 1-½ games. Consider, also, the Braves are coming on strong and the Mets are pressured to get those reinforcements.
And this opening game of three could also lead to a Mets-Padres meeting in October, that is, if the Mets can hold on to this slim lead and win their first division title since their World Series year of 2015.
General manager Billy Eppler said it would be easier to acquire relief help before the deadline. A possible impact bat for the lineup would be more difficult to obtain and the attitude centers around the Mets not giving up any of their top prospects, in particular catcher Franciso Alvarez who is currently assigned to Triple-A Syracuse and among leaders in average and on base percentage.
Regardless, Eppler went to work Friday and obtained Daniel Vogelbach from the Pirates for rookie reliever Colin Holdernan, a move that will boost some offense in the lineup at the DH spot and occasional role at first base.
Vogelbach is batting .228, with 12 home runs, a .769 OPS and hits for average against righties, also better numbers from those manager Buck Showalter has put in the DH spot.
Friday night was another example of the Mets needing to improve. Vogelbach will arrive at Citi Field tomorrow and is the first of more moves expected to come as the trade deadline approaches.
It was a quiet Mets postgame clubhouse. This is a team that hopes to play deep in October, also realizing the Dodgers and these second place Padres in the NL West are the teams to beat in the NL.
And of course those Atlanta Braves who made their moves in the second half last season with a run to a World Series championship.
Trading deadline is nearing. The Mets are aware of what has to be done.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer with Latinosports.com Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com Watch “Sports with Rich” live on Tuesday Nights at 10pm EST on The SLG Network/Youtube with Robert Rizzo Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify under The SLG Network.
