No Place I’d Rather Be

Heading into the 2017 season the New York Mets were looking for their third consecutive playoff appearance. Their season peaked early, April 13th in fact, at 4 games above .500. The season unraveled from there as injuries piled up to both their lineup and starting rotation. The Mets ended April six and a half games behind the Washington Nationals after allowing 23 runs to their Eastern division rival on April 30th. They ended the 2017 season with a 70-92 record however despite the disappointing season there is no place I would rather be during the baseball season than Citi Field. It’s become a tradition of mine to attend a baseball game on the first Sunday of the NFL season. When I was in elementary school I would listen to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN in New York. To express their disinterest in a sporting event one of them would say “They could be playing this game in my backyard and I would draw the blinds.” This is why with the Reds and Mets wrapping up their four game series on September 9th I made the long journey to Citi Field. (The $14 Promenade Box tickets helped as well) rather than sit home and watch football. It was also an opportunity to watch Mets ace Jacob deGrom take the mound in person for the first time. He’s become my favorite Mets pitcher since joining the team during the 2014 season. For all the media attention and self-promotion fellow pitchers Matt Harvey and Noah Syndegaard receive I’d take deGrom with the season on the line. How can you not like a pitcher who comes to the mound to Lynard Skynyrd’s Simple Man?

The Mets home plate gate is named in honor of Jackie Robinson, as fans make their way up to the Field level poster sized Topps baseball cards introduce the Mets lineup. On this day the Mets had two blank cards for starting outfielders Travis Taijeron and Nori Aoki. It was a spot on representation of their 2017 season. Come to Citi Field; we have so many injuries maybe we will ask a fan to play left field!

With deGrom making his way to the mound I was anticipating a win for the Mets however his first inning was a rough one, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. One of those walks was to Reds first baseman Joey Votto who despite falling behind 0-2 kept the line moving. Votto has the best eye in baseball and puts on a hitting clinic throughout the season. Reds rookie starting pitcher and local product Sal Romano allowed the Mets to chip away with runs in the first and third innings. deGrom settled down after the first inning finishing the sixth inning with two strikeouts and the game tied. Mets rookie first baseman Dominic Smith led off the 6th with a solo home run to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Two additional runs scored on a Scott Schebler misplay allowing the Mets to take a 5-2 lead.

The Reds high-powered offense was held in check throughout the series until the Mets bullpen took over for deGrom in the seventh inning. Coming off four hitless innings on Saturday night the bullpen was torched for eight runs in three innings. Reds shortstop Zack Cozart tied the game in the seventh at 5 with a three-run home run while Gold Glove catcher Tucker Barnhart showed off his power with 5 RBI in the eighth and ninth innings to give the Reds a 10-5 win, avoiding the four game sweep.

Despite the horrendous showing from the Mets bullpen and the three hours and thirty-eight minutes it took to play it’s tough to have a bad day at Citi Field. The concessions alone would keep anyone happy plus I had Gee to keep me company throughout the afternoon. Some say baseball takes too long but the speed, or lack thereof, makes every game unique.

Nerd Notes

Not only was game played on first Sunday of NFL season, but the Men’s U.S. Open Championship was played across the street at the U.S. Tennis Center.
The Reds had scored 4 runs in the previous three games in the series.
Despite not having a Topps card to announce his spot in the lineup Nori Aoki extended his hitting streak to 8 games.
The Mets had an opportunity to sweep a series at Citi Field for the first time in 2017. They ended their home schedule sweepless.
Jacob deGrom’s performance added to his stellar statistics during day games, 17-8 1.99 ERA in 38 starts along with 271 strikeouts in 248.1 innings. deGrom’s strike out of Adam Duvall to end the 6th inning marked his tenth double digit strikeout performance of 2017; the Mets ace would finish the season with eleven.
After striking out looking to end the top half of the 7th inning Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett was thrown out by home plate umpire John Smith. Reds Manager Bryan Price came out to argue as the 7th Inning Stretch was about to begin. Upon hearing the first few notes of God Bless America Price took off his cap and saluted the flag avoiding his own ejection.