Jeremy Hefner’s Strong Start Wasted By New York Mets in Series Finale


Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

You would have thought the New York Mets would be riding high after their extra inning comeback the night before and carry some momentum into the next game. Even better for them, was getting a surprisingly strong start from the inconsistent Jeremy Hefner. However, they were not able to help the young pitcher out on Thursday, as they dropped the series finale and the series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hefner has had control problems and issues giving up home runs so far for the Mets, but he was able to turn in seven strong innings for them, allowing one run on three hits and striking out four. Unfortunately, the Mets could not figure out Hyun-Jin Ryu, who allowed one run while fanning eight batters.

The real problem is that the Mets were unable to capitalize on a nice performance by a pitcher not named Matt Harvey. When another pitcher steps up, the Mets are unable to complement that with their offense. The bullpen remains a serious issue for them. After tying the game in the sixth inning, reliever Scott Rice went on to give up two runs in the ninth, which proved to be the deciding factor of the game.

Th Mets flirted with more late inning heroics as the struggling Ike Davis led off the bottom of the 9th with a home run, but that is all they would get, as they fell 3-2. And so they dropped the game and the series to the Dodgers.

Hefner plunked the first batter of the game, who later scored on a Matt Kemp single. Hefner then settles in and was virtually unhittable after that. It is a little reassuring to see Hefner turn in such an outing, since he has struggled as a starter for the Mets. However, a loss is still a loss. And when strong starts are wasted by lack of hitting and continuous bullpen meltdowns, it can start to wear a team down.

After Jordany Valdespin’s walk-off grand slam the night before, the Mets were in great position to carry over that excitement and win another home series. Now they have had their momentum deflated right before the division rival Philadelphia Phillies come to town for a weekend series.

The good thing is that the Mets are aware of their faults and know what they need to do better. Now, fixing those problems is a whole different issue that they obviously have yet to figure out.

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