NEW YORK _ For a change, the Mets entered a night with a real reason to look forward to tomorrow. They had the tangible, positive prospect of Noah Syndergaard finally getting a start. Then again, there was, is and possibly will be the problem of figuring out how their relievers can finish a game.
On the eve of getting a shot in the arm, with Syndergaard's return from the disabled list scheduled for Friday, the club took another kick in the teeth from its own bullpen. Steven Matz kept the Mets in the game, lasting into the seventh, but Jerry Blevins allowed a massive two-run homer to Bryce Harper in that same inning that helped the Nationals to a 5-4 win at Citi Field.
The blast to right field gave Washington a 5-2 lead and gave the night a more-of-the-same feeling. That malaise is what makes the Mets eager to see Syndergaard and to consider what a healthy rotation might mean _ even if it is just to add a chip or two before the non-waiver trading deadline.
For another night, though, it was a matter of seeing the bullpen fail and settling for tiny bits of progress. For instance, there were late home runs by Kevin Plawecki and Asdrubal Cabrera that cut the margin to one run. And there is no denying that Matz is a different pitcher than he was last year, or even three months ago.
"He has made some significant adjustments in the way he handles adversity in the game," Mickey Callaway said Thursday afternoon. "You see it on his face, you see it in the results, you see it in his pitches. There's better break to the curveball, there's better depth to the changeup, there's more life to the fastball because he's not tensing up and he's not losing his focus."
Adversity arrived this time in the person of Anthony Rendon. The Nationals third baseman homered to left field on Matz's fifth pitch, putting the Mets in an immediate 2-0 hole. Then, in the third inning after the Mets had cut the deficit in half, Rendon hit a solo home run to left for a 3-1 lead. At least Matz did not crumble against the non-Rendon portion of the Washington lineup.
Jose Bautista, playing third base so the Mets could get as many potential hitters in the lineup as they could, drove home a run with a single in the first and made it 3-2 with a homer in the fourth.
Those hits did not come cheaply, either. They occurred against the possible All-Star starter Max Scherzer, such a formidable force that Callaway chose to sit Amed Rosario out of concern that Rosario's recent (and fragile) successful batting patterns could be thrown out of whack.
"Not that Rosario couldn't hit Max Scherzer, but Max Scherzer is one of the toughest guys in the big leagues against righties," the manager said. "That's just a fact. Rather than make it a little harder on him today, we figure we can get some good work in today before the game, keep on focusing on the things he needs to do to continue to get better and give him a day off and play the next three."
What matters most to the Mets and their ability to someday work out of the morass is their own pitching. Who knows if a healthy rotation can make a bit of difference this season? Maybe the best thing the starters can do is prove themselves marketable. In any case, Callaway is looking forward to Syndergaard's return and beyond.
"That's going to be big. That's what we want our rotation to be," said the manager who would not divulge the pitching plans for the post-All-Star break trip to the Bronx. "We're obviously playing a big series when we get back. That will be nice to have our big horses lined up and try to get the second half in the direction we want it to go."
