Game of the Week: Sept. 20: NYM vs. COL

[Grubs - Philly]

New York Mets (77-72) at Colorado Rockies (81-69)

Andre Stinson (13-7, 3.15) is scheduled to take the mound against Michael Fulmer (0-1, 9.58) in a critical game for both teams. The Mets’ postseason hopes are flickering, as a .500 September has them looking up at two teams they must pass to grab the final Wild Card berth. One of those teams is Colorado, which is looking to build on a 1½ game lead over the Nationals and to put some distance between the Rockies and Mets.

Key numbers for New York

9: The number of wins (and losses) the Mets sport in the season’s final full month. After neutralizing a rough start with a hot May, New York has been just three games over .500 since the start of June.

397: Batting walks. New York’s offense is dead last in free passes, as the Mets’ anemic offense has had to rely on timely hitting to provide runs.

3.37: The Mets’ team ERA; good enough for second in the NL. A well-balanced rotation and bullpen sets New York apart and places them among the PBA’s elite pitching squads.

28: The number of one-run losses the Mets have suffered this year. Against 24 wins, the disappointing mark is made more miserable by the fact that the Mets lead the PBA with 52 one-run contests.

11: The number of wins Andre Stinson has chalked up since early June. He’s been terrific for New York, and with the possible exception of Ryan Beyer, there’s no one the Mets would rather have on the mound in a key game.

Key numbers for Colorado

5: The number of starts Michael Fulmer has made since returning from a ruptured UCL. Injured almost exactly a year ago, Fulmer was rehabbing in AAA by August.

2: Key injuries to the Rockies last sim. Alec Sanchez will be out through the rest of the regular season and maybe the playoffs with a high ankle sprain. He hits leadoff for the Rockies against righties. David Dahl is day-to-day with tendinitis in his wrist. It primarily affects his throwing, so the league leader in batting average might get a turn at DH.

3-4: Weeks until star catcher Rogelio Mendizabal can return from an abdominal strain. The 28-year-old backstop is having a career-best campaign. Sam McMillan is having a solid year in support, but he’s exhausted, and the Rockies have turned to Slade Heggen to try to give McMillan a breather.

29.50: The average age of the Rockies’ roster. It’s a middling mark, but it’s also notably younger than the team’s average age at AAA. The Rockies might be dinged up, but they have veteran talent that might help patch the squad in the season’s final stretch.

29: One-run wins for Colorado, which leads the league and is paired with just 9 one-run losses. A stunning record, it’s made 2027 a fun one for fans and team ownership. With 17 of those wins coming at home, it’s also led to "Cardiac Coors" and "Shockpile" nicknames for the team’s home field and bleacher section. Monday’s game features a purple and silver stethoscope giveaway to the first 12,000 fans ages 14 and younger.

Questions for Dave Gutierrez:

Your enviable pitching depth is balanced against an offense that just can’t put up enough runs to get you over the hump. Do you plan on trying something new down the stretch, or will you let it ride and hope someone lucks into a hot streak at the plate?

Shohei Otani hasn’t panned out as you’d hoped when you slotted him into the lineup at DH. What’s keeping him there?

It’s hard to imagine your pitching staff being better, but have you given any thought to bringing up Luis Ortiz or bringing back Luis Ceja for the stretch run?

BONUS: How badly do you wish Joe DeCarlo were on your team?

Questions for Erick Blasco:

The injury bug has bitten you hard the last few weeks. Which player do you miss most and who has done the best job in a replacement role?

You’ve mentioned Michael Fulmer’s less-than-typical results. His AAA performance didn’t indicate anything to worry about, but seeing him competing now, are you worried he came back too soon?

Your lineup has mashed righties; how do you plan to deploy Dahl with his injury and how will you replace Sanchez at the top of the lineup?

BONUS: You’ve had an historic season for one-run victories. What’s it like to roll into tight games this year with that kind of experience?

[Commissioner Erick]

The injury bug has bitten you hard the last few weeks. Which player do you miss most and who has done the best job in a replacement role?

Good question. I definitely miss Rogelio Mendizibal the most. I've lost some good players, but Mendizibal was a downballot MVP candidate. He's such a powerful and patient hitter that he really elevates my offense, and keeps Sam McMillian is a backup role. With him out, McMillian has to be a starter. He's been good, and he may even be a starting-caliber player, but he's not a Silver Slugger candidate. I have decent replacements for my other injured guys, but Mendizibal is irreplaceable.

You’ve mentioned Michael Fulmer’s less-than-typical results. His AAA performance didn’t indicate anything to worry about, but seeing him competing now, are you worried he came back too soon?

It's possible, but he wasn't striking players out in Triple-A either. The fastball is there, but the changeup isn't there and is offspeed pitches have lost their bite. He'll probably need to rely on guts and guile until the offseason comes and he'll have more time to adjust to his rebuilt UCL. The saving grace is that New York's offense may not be good enough to take advantage, especially if Fulmer can avoid home runs.

Your lineup has mashed righties; how do you plan to deploy Dahl with his injury and how will you replace Sanchez at the top of the lineup?

Dahl will have to play the rest of the way. Too many injuries makes him more important than usual to my team's approach. I face a lot of righties this week, plus his injury is more of an issue in the field. Sanchez is a tricky one. Against lefties, Luis Picon will play, and today Aramis Ademin will move to Second and Michael Perez will play short. It's a bummer, but not catastrophic. Ademin has hit this year, especially in the second half. He's hitting .299 against righties, and his worst OPS by month since May is .785. Range is his defensive issue, and he'll be better served at Second. Perez at least provides a strong glove and he's hit .300 against righties.

In terms of lineup, we'll move Brandon Boisierre up to the top of the lineup. He's hitting .390 at Coors, so we expect he'll produce today. If he sees a lefty, we'll likely get T.J. Lunsford or Erik Nigro pinch hitting for him. Perez will hit ninth against the righty.

BONUS: You’ve had an historic season for one-run victories. What’s it like to roll into tight games this year with that kind of experience?

It's been a thrill. These guys have been able to produce with their backs against the wall all year. Coors helps with the offense naturally, but the team is filled with supremely confident hitters and our manager bot has pushed the right buttons most of the time. It's allowed us to stay in games we've had no business being in. Also, the bullpen has generally been good late in games, which has helped. Also, our terrible starting pitching has forced us to need a lot of comebacks leading to one-run wins. It's funny, the way we've played usually is a result of a tight clubhouse and players playing for one another, but we haven't had clubhouse harmony all season. We just have confident players and they've produced.

[Dave G - ChiSox]

Your enviable pitching depth is balanced against an offense that just can’t put up enough runs to get you over the hump. Do you plan on trying something new down the stretch, or will you let it ride and hope someone lucks into a hot streak at the plate?

It’s a bit of a puzzle, because when you look at this lineup on paper there are hitters here who should be putting up numbers but just aren’t getting the job done. We might shake the lineup up a bit, but honestly the guys just have to start making things happen if we want to win anything. 

Shohei Otani hasn’t panned out as you’d hoped when you slotted him into the lineup at DH. What’s keeping him there?

To be frank, it’s lack of options. Otani is one of those guys I am talking about above, the guys who should be putting the bat to the ball and making things happen. 

It’s hard to imagine your pitching staff being better, but have you given any thought to bringing up Luis Ortiz or bringing back Luis Ceja for the stretch run?

It’s really going to depend on where we finish this week. Ortiz especially—I’d like to get him some work if he can help, but l also don’t want to overreach and bring him up too soon, both to keep from hurting the team here and too keep from damaging his confidence. 

BONUS: How badly do you wish Joe DeCarlo were on your team?

Man, what could have been. We needed that bat down the stretch. 

[Grubs - Philly]

Rockies Roll to 13-3 Win Over Mets

Yeong-seon Khang helped his team muscle past the New York Mets, 13-3. In the game, the Colorado designated hitter hit 2 home runs, while adding 4 RBI and scoring twice. Michael Fulmer earned the win for Colorado. He lasted 8 innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, while striking out 2. With the win, he raised his record to 1-1. Colorado is now riding a 4-game win streak.

Khang contributed a big hit, a 3-run home run, for Colorado in the bottom of the first. With his team trailing 1-0, Khang took a fastball from Andre Stinson and stroked the home run to right. His 21st home run of the season allowed the Rockies to leap in front, 3-1.

Khang told a Colorado Times reporter that he was "satisfied" with the win, and that he was pleased the league was feeling his wrath.

Questions for Dave Gutierrez

This was not Andre Stinson's day out there. Any sense that anything's wrong enough to shut him down for the year?

It would take a minor miracle to make the playoffs now. That said, how do you feel about your team this season in what was a tougher-than-expected division?

What are your priorities for the offseason? 

Questions for Erick Blasco

Your sim was Dickensian in terms of your successes and failures. How do you feel about your 1/2 game lead going into the final week?

Fulmer was all guts out there today. He'll keep his rotation spot?

Same question as Dave, what are your priorities for the offseason?


TRIVIA: Which two teams lead the PBA in percentage of attendance capacity this year?

[Commissioner Erick]

Your sim was Dickensian in terms of your successes and failures. How do you feel about your 1/2 game lead going into the final week?

Not great. We've really struggled in San Francisco historically, plus the Brewers, even if they play their B squad, are incredibly good. I do feel like a day off on Monday will really help. We'll have a club that will be fresh for the final week, and that's generally been a huge help for us. Also, our defense should be good, and actually facing a few lefties will help us with all our right-handed backups. Still, it will be hard to have a winning sim, so we'll be relying a lot on Philadelphia and Cleveland this week.

Fulmer was all guts out there today. He'll keep his rotation spot?

Yes, but mainly because we don't have great options. Fulmer was still giving up hard hit balls throughout the game. I think the Mets just don't have the most powerful offense to really punish him. Our other options are Chandler Newman who has pitched a full season with an ERA close to 7, Roland Lemon, who walks everything, or a bunch of career minor leaguers who have been...okay?...in Triple-A. Fulmer will at least battle and throw strikes. With Alec Sanchez out, our defense is decent and may be able to grab some balls in play he gives up.

Same question as Dave, what are your priorities for the offseason?

We haven't really thought too hard about the offseason, and so much will depend on our budget. If it increases a lot, we'd like to sign a free agent starter to add to our rotation. If it doesn't, we may need to trade Aramis Ademan to save money and trade Gunning for an ace. Our lineup and bullpen is pretty solid though, and we have some of our depth starters returning, and Fulmer will be back with his contract. We'd still need to add a pair of frontline pitchers to really be a championship contender though.

[Commissioner Erick]

Trivia: Daniel correctly guessed Kansas City. Luke correctly guessed Cleveland