With the Mets unloading salaries and handing out “Hi, My Name is….” stickers in the clubhouse, opportunity isn’t just knocking on the door for some players. It’s blowing the door off its hinges. So now it’s about seizing opportunity.
Saturday at Citi Field, Rafael Montero and Kevin Plawecki didn’t just seize it. They put a stranglehold on opportunity.
“A lot of circumstances in the past, they can look in the mirror and say, ‘Geez, all I’m doing is filling in,” said manager Terry Collins. “With what’s occurred here, certainly [the] last couple weeks, I think Kevin Plawecki’s said to himself that this is his ultimate opportunity to show that he should stay here. And Raffy, he knows, with what’s happened this summer with our starting pitching, that there’s a possibility of a job here, especially next year.”
Neither guy did anything to diminish themselves in Collins’ eyes. Montero worked six solid innings, for his second straight impressive start, and Plawecki socked a two-run homer as part of the Mets’ seven-run sixth inning that provided an 8-1 drubbing of the Marlins to end a five-game losing streak.
“My sinker was working really well,” said Montero (2-8), who struck out five and walked three while allowing just the one run. “I was able to get a lot of double plays out of that.”
Yup, five double plays, tying a franchise record, qualifies as a lot, four of them on Montero’s watch. The Mets entered having turned 89 double plays — only the Yankees with 78 had fewer in all baseball. But Montero survived early inducing a double play in the second inning. And the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. That made it four straight innings.
“That’s a first time,” Montero said.
Montero exited down 1-0 after six innings, but the Mets responded in a big way in the home half. Wilmer Flores and Plawecki belted two-run homers, Asdrubal Cabrera had a sacrifice fly and two runs scored on a hard smash by Michael Conforto that became an error by Miami shortstop Miguel Rojas. It was one of two errors in the inning by Rojas, one of three by Miami. About the only guy who had a tougher night than Rojas was Tyler Moore, who hit into three double plays.
As the dismantling continued with the trade of Curtis Granderson to the Dodgers and the Cubs’ waiver claim of Rene Rivera, the Mets were without five players, including the traded Lucas Duda, Neil Walker and Jay Bruce, who had accounted for 83 of their 180 homers entering Saturday. So they looked to what was on hand to win. And got responses, including a solo homer from Dominic Smith, his first career hit at Citi Field.
“I’m a true believer in I don’t care whose name is on the uniforms, this is the big leagues and you’ve got to go play,” Collins said.
So they did. Including Plawecki who sees the opportunity before him in the next six weeks.
“It’s obviously important. It’s also important not to think too much about that and limit that as much as possible and just continue to go out there and play the game I’ve always played,” said Plawecki, who just got recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas after Rene Rivera was claimed on waivers by the Cubs. “Hopefully take that work that I’ve put in down there and hopefully see some results up here but I can’t look at it as a huge pressure situation like that. … I’m happy with the work I’ve been able to put in and I’m really looking forward to the last six weeks of the season and hopefully on to next year.”
After Marcell Ozuna’s RBI single off Montero made it 1-0, Cabrera tied it with his sac fly, Conforto’s two-run, one-RBI error smash made it 3-1, Flores made it 5-1 and Plawecki made it 7-1. Starter Vance Worley (2-3) and reliever Drew Streckenrider suffered the bulk of the damage.
And that made a winner of Montero.
“He pitched in, kept the ball down, had good movement on his fastball. That’s why he got all the ground balls,” Collins said. “It’s what we’ve been preaching and preaching with him and that’s pound the strikezone. When he does that, his stuff works up here.”
And opportunity arises.