Dueling debuts go in opposite directions for Mets and Phillies

Even though neither starting pitcher had any track record in the majors, it was not a complete surprise the way last night’s game unfolded with the Mets coming out on the losing side of the 7-3 score.

While Seth Lugo sat in the bullpen, Drew Gagnon became the latest starter in a string of them that was called up to get the start over Lugo. Gagnon joined Chris Flexen and Corey Oswalt as starters this week and also joined them in not being effective.

It all unraveled in the second inning when he deflected a ground ball off the bat of Nick Williams that went for an infield single. After a groundout, he hit Jorge Alfaro with a pitch, and then Maikel Franco hit a three-run bomb to give the Phillies the early lead.

The Phillies extended the lead the following inning when they loaded the bases with one out. Nick Williams brought home another two runs with a single and the Mets were down by five. It could have been even worse but Wilmer Flores made a nice catch on a short pop up and he quickly turned and threw home for a double play to end the inning. Even with Flores limiting the damage, the lead already felt insurmountable and it was.

Enyel De Los Santos made his debut for the Phillies, and just like Mike Soroka, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez this season, he picked up the win in his first game against the Mets. He did not give up much against this stagnant offense except to Amed Rosario.

Rosario was involved in all of the Met runs. He hit two triples against De Los Santos, scored two runs, and drove in one. Both triples were hit down the left field line and with his speed he made it to third pretty easily both times. The day wasn’t a total loss for Gagnon either who drove in Rosario with a sacrifice fly for his first major league RBI.

As for the rest of the game there were few positives to be found. Tyler Bashlor relieved Gagnon and was ok in over two innings of work. He allowed one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out two. P.J. Conlon pitched the final two innings and didn’t give up a run. He allowed three hits and struck out three.

Scoring three runs at home is kind of a big deal for this team considering they got shut out in their final two games against the Rays. Perhaps if Lugo started, this game would’ve had a different outcome, but in a season where you are drowning in losses another drop won’t make that much of a difference.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: None
Big losers: Drew Gagnon -32.7%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Amed Rosario triple in third
Teh sux0rest play: Maikel Franco home run in second
Total pitcher WPA: -32.4%
Total batter WPA: -17.6%
GWRBI!: Nick Williams