Scott Hairston Hits For The Cycle But Mets Pitching And Defense Implode In Blowout Loss To Rockies

This was a loathsome and offensive game, filled with Rockies home runs, Mets errors, and generally poorly-played baseball. But it was also a game in which Scott Hairston hit for the cycle. The cycle is a rare enough occurrence -- it happens only a handful of times per season in all of MLB -- that it warrants immediate Wikipedia updating; it's worth celebrating at least through the start of the next game. The cycle provided a nice diversion from the 11(!) runs the Rockies scored in the fifth inning and the 6 errors the Mets committed in the game.

There was a point in the game where it looked like the Mets might pull off a fun win on the backs of Hairston, Chris Schwinden, and Mike Nickeas. Our heroes were leading 6-2 following the top of the fifth after putting up a four spot in the inning. Hairston had tripled home a run, and Lucas Duda, Nickeas, and Schwinden tallied RBI singles of their own. However, the strikeout-less Schwinden couldn't keep his voodoo working, and he combined with Manny Acosta to give up all 11 runs the bottom half of the frame. Schwinden's final opponent was Carlos Gonzalez, who crushed a three-run home run 438 feet over the right center field wall to tie the game 6-6. Acosta relieved Schwinden and was a total wreck. He gave up seven runs in relief while recording just one out, exploding his ERA to 9.31 in the process.

The Mets' defense did Schwinden and Acosta no favors in the inning, committing four errors. Simply throwing the ball to one another became a problem on errors by Schwinden, Nickeas, Ruben Tejada, and Zach Lutz. It was 13-6 when the inning ended. The Rockies' chance of winning the game at the start of the inning (per win expectancy) was just 14.5%. By the end, it was all the way up to 98.0%.

Hairston completed the cycle with a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning but any hopes of a Mets comeback disappeared when Bobby Parnell allowed a grand slam to Ramon Hernandez in the seventh to make the score 18-9. This game was a hot mess. Here are some further bullet notes:

• Hairston raised his OPS from .536 to .865 in just five plate appearances. It's still early enough in the season that one big game can turn an ugly stat line into a pretty one.
• Hairston was called out after being struck by a batted ball in fair play hit by Nickeas in the second inning. Hairston was stealing second base on the pitch and did not pick up the ball off the bat. Consistent with the applicable rule, bizarre as it may be, Nickeas was awarded a single. The play resulted in the third out of the inning.
• Schwinden gave up two runs in the first inning, one on a solo home run by Troy Tulowitzki, then voodoo'd his way through three scoreless frames. He wasn't generating swinging strikes and didn't seem to be fooling anyone. He might be useful as a long man out of the bullpen but is probably not good enough to make it as a major league starter.
• Lutz notched his first hit in the big leagues, a single of Esmil Rogers in the fifth inning. Congrats to Zach!
• This is what it looks like when 5-foot-9 Terry Collins argues with 6-foot-5 umpire Lance Barrett:
  
  
  
• The SNY trivia question tonight asked who the first Met to get a hit off Jamie Moyer was. ***SPOILER ALERT*** The answer was Mookie Wilson, during a 5-3 Cubs victory at Shea Stadium on July 29, 1986. It's wild that Moyer faced the 1986 Mets.

Game two of the series is Saturday night at 8:10 pm. The pitching matchup is Dillon Gee vs. Jeremy Guthrie* Guillermo Moscoso.

* - Guthrie landed on the disabled list late Friday after injuring his shoulder in a biking accident earlier in the day.

SB Nation Coverage

* Traditional Recap
* Box score
* Amazin' Avenue Gamethread
* Purple Row Gamethread

Win Probability Added

Big winners: Scott Hairston +30.2%, Lucas Duda +15.6%
Big losers: Manny Acosta -41.4%, Chris Schwinden -39.6%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Scott Hairston RBI triple +14.7%
Teh sux0rest play: Carlos Gonzalez three-run home run -23.9%
Total pitcher WPA: -82.5%
Total batter WPA: +32.5%
GWRBI!: Dexter Fowler

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the game thread embiggens us all.