Seth Lugo, Mets bullpen shut Yankees out to snap long losing streak

All it took for the Mets to win for the first time in nine games was a shutout. Seth Lugo, who got the start after Noah Syndergaard experienced a setback with a finger injury, was brilliant, and Robert Gsellman and Anthony Swarzak backed him up to combine for a shutout against the vaunted Yankees lineup.

It’s a good thing those pitchers pitched the way they did, too. A Mets lineup that has produced next to nothing over the team’s past few weeks—especially during the eight-game losing streak the team endured—did just about the bare minimum. In this case, they were at least facing a legitimately good starting pitcher in Luis Severino.

Todd Frazier, who was briefly one of Severino’s teammates last year, was the one who got to him. He hit a two-run home run that just cleared the fence in left field in the bottom of the fifth and was the only Mets hitter to collect two hits in the game.

As for Lugo, he struck out eight, didn’t walk anybody, gave up two hits, and lasted six innings without giving up any runs. Gsellman struck out a pair in his pair of scoreless innings, giving up just one hit in the process, and Swarzak struck out one and walked one—looking like he’d completely lost the zone for a minute in the process—before finishing up a scoreless ninth.

Even in a win, though, things couldn’t be perfect for this team. Early in the game, Asdrubal Cabrera slipped coming out of the box and grabbed his left hamstring. Not long after that, he was replaced at second base by Jose Reyes, and the Mets might end up in a spot that they’ll actually put the injured player on the disabled list. And Reyes, who took his place, completely botched an attempted double play in the eighth inning, which could have cost the Mets at least a run, if not the game.

Last but not least, in his final game with the Mets before being released, Adrian Gonzalez went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He made 187 plate appearances for the Mets with a line that was particularly poor for a first baseman: .237/.299/.373 with an 83 wRC+.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Seth Lugo, +33.5% WPA, Todd Frazier, +27.4% WPA, Robert Gsellman, +13.7% WPA
Big losers: none
Teh aw3s0mest play: Todd Frazier hits a two-run home run in the fifth, +26.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Aaron Judge reaches on a fielder’s choice, error in the eighth, -6.8% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +54.1% WPA
Total batter WPA: -4.1% WPA
GWRBI!: Todd Frazier