Mets' Todd Frazier initially believes homer is a mere pop-up
Todd Frazier is a little sheepish as he takes some abuse from teammates on his way back to the dugout following his third-inning home run, which he initially thought was only a pop-up. The homer gave the Mets a 5-0 lead on the way to their 10-2 victory Saturday, June 22, 2019, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Credit: TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
CHICAGO — Todd Frazier’s home run trot began with a shake of his head and a disgusted toss of his bat. He had watched a 3-and-0 fastball down the middle for a called strike, then barely missed another for a pop-up — or so he thought.
As he approached first base, he looked up and realized it had gone over the leftfield wall for his eighth homer of the year.
“I put my head up and looked in the dugout and they’re all laughing at me,” Frazier said with a laugh of his own after the Mets’ 10-2 win over the Cubs. “To be honest with you, I was frustrated. I should have swung at the 3-0. Then I hit it, I looked at [Michael Conforto on deck] . . . Basically I’m like, aw, just missed it. Then I looked up, and it went out. Fortunate for me. I’ll take it.”
Said Pete Alonso: “You hit 200 of them, you figure you know what a home run feels like. But that was cool that the ball went for him. It was kind of funny. Baseball is a funny game sometimes.”
Yes, Frazier has 201 long balls in his career, but homers in 2019 might not feel the same as homers in years past. Hitters are going deep at an all-time- high rate this season — 1.36 per team per game — leading many to assume the ball is in some way different. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged this past week that there is less “drag” on this year’s baseballs, but the league says it doesn’t know why.
Frazier, a frequent razzer himself, took plenty of light-hearted criticism from teammates for getting fooled by his own home run. He couldn’t complete a 90-second interview without taking barbs from Dominic Smith and Carlos Gomez.
Gomez shouted across the clubhouse at Frazier: “Hey, a position player got you out!” Cubs catcher/first baseman Victor Caratini, pitching the ninth inning of the blowout, got Frazier to line out to left.
“Just Carlos being Carlos. Love him to death,” Frazier said. “I’ll take it every day. If we’re going to win like this, I’ll take it every day.”
Lowrie apparently has hip problem
The slow drip on Jed Lowrie injury information continued Saturday with manager Mickey Callaway noting that the infielder’s hip also is causing him problems.
That’s more specific than general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was last week when he said Lowrie was rehabbing his “left side.”
“It sounds like they’re treating the left leg, from the hip all the way down to the knee,” Callaway said. “But it is improving, he is doing baseball activities. We just don’t have a timeline on anything.”
Callaway said Lowrie is doing baseball activities “as tolerated” and his workload changes every day.
Lowrie has been hurt since mid-February, initially with a knee injury and then a strained hamstring. The Mets say they expect him to play this season.
Extra bases
Noah Syndergaard (strained right hamstring) threw a bullpen session Saturday and “felt great,” Callaway said. The Mets plan to make a plan for Syndergaard on Sunday. He is eligible to return from the injured list Wednesday . . . Walker Lockett will start Tuesday in Philadelphia, Callaway said. The rookie righthander will get a second turn through the rotation in place of Syndergaard, with Wilmer Font sticking in the bullpen. Font has been very good as a reliever — 0.69 ERA in 13 innings the past month — so the Mets don’t want to take him out of that role . . . The Mets have won at Wrigley Field on consecutive days for the first time since April 10-11, 2002.
