Buck, brains help Mets cover all bases
The Mets' Dominic Smith scores ahead of the tag from Diamondbacks catcher Daulton Varsho during the bottom of the sixth inning of a game on Sunday at Citi Field. Credit: Jessie Alcheh
On any given day, baseball provides the opportunity to see something you’ve never seen before.
On Sunday at Citi Field, many of us were treated to at least two.
Who knew that Mr. Met could remove his cap? But there it was, held over his heart, the giant baseball head bare, during “God Bless America” in the seventh inning.
The other remarkable episode took place during the sixth inning of the Mets’ 5-0 victory over the Diamondbacks, making it three consecutive series wins to start the season. And the only people who weren’t surprised by it were J.D. Davis and everyone else in the home dugout.
Thanks, once again, to Buck Showalter.
The Mets had just broken up a scoreless tie on Eduardo Escobar’s one-out double, another error by the atrocious-fielding Diamondbacks and Pete Alonso sprinting around to score from first base. Davis followed with a pinch-hit RBI single, then watched as Dominic Smith put the Mets ahead 3-0 by scoring on James McCann’s sacrifice fly.
But that was only part of the story. There was some question as to whether Smith left third base too early, and Arizona — with old friend Oliver Perez on the mound — was aiming to appeal.
Showalter suspected as much and put in motion a teaching point from spring training. Rather than wait for the appeal, he had Davis break for second base, with the intent of drawing Perez’s attention and thereby nullifying the appeal. Once Perez makes a move toward Davis and not third base, the appeal is automatically canceled. As Showalter later explained, trade the out for the run.
“Buck takes great pride in having his players know the rules, and kind of the loopholes in the rules,” Davis said. “We talked about that in spring training.”
So the Mets planned for that exact scenario in March — Showalter’s first month in uniform — and on Sunday, it contributed to the difference between winning and losing.
The Mets were fortunate to be in a scoreless tie after Starling Marte’s struggles with the sun turned a pair of fly-ball outs into doubles in two separate innings. But when they got their late opening, the Mets took advantage in the sixth, and Escobar’s wheels helped push rightfielder Pavin Smith to rush a throw he airmailed over second base, allowing Alonso to score and getting Escobar to third.
“I think if we don’t press the issue there, then we don’t score a run,” Alonso said. “Eddie busting out the box right after contact, and I think him hustling the whole way forces the defense to try and make a play. I feel like our aggression paid off on the basepaths.”
Said Showalter: “You hear people say, ‘We’re aggressive.’ Well, are you aggressive or stupid? Not running into outs and making good decisions, that’s part of it, too. Outs are precious in the big leagues. It was there and our guys were looking for it.”
Showalter’s Mets won’t be accused of being stupid. As for the opposing teams, make your own judgment.
When Davis got word from the dugout to take off for second on that appeal attempt, Perez had no clue what to do despite making the 700th appearance of his 20-year career.
Perez initially went toward Davis — appeal nixed — but then swung around and lobbed a pointless throw to third. Davis, who had expected to be thrown out, wound up with the easiest stolen base of his career.
“We’re trying to play the game the right way,” Davis said. “Play with a high baseball IQ. As you guys saw today, the ball wasn’t really flying. So we tried to play solid defense and just be smart on the basepaths. We knew that every run was going to count.”
Alonso provided some breathing room with a rocket two-run homer in the seventh inning. All three of his homers have come as the DH (along with 11 of his National League-leading 14 RBIs in that role). But the takeaway from Sunday’s win had more to do with the Mets’ brains than their brawn, and that’s a tribute to Showalter.
Just for the record, Showalter made sure to point out that his pitchers are schooled to go for the appeal above all else, regardless of the distraction tactics. As for Davis, Showalter made sure to give him a thumbs-up from the dugout for the perfect execution.
“He gave me a high-five, too,” Davis said. “He was pretty jazzed about it.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
