Mets' Ryan Helsley's woes continue as club is unable to complete sweep of Tigers
Mets' Juan Soto reacts after making the final out against the Tigers on Wednesday in Detroit. Credit: AP/Ryan Sun
DETROIT — Around the trade deadline, David Stearns picked up a bunch of relievers for Carlos Mendoza in an effort to bolster the bullpen for the last two months of the season.
Since he has ’em, Mendoza must figure he might as well use ’em. Except that strategy didn’t work on Wednesday with Gregory Soto and especially Ryan Helsley and it cost the Mets in a 6-2 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Mendoza used an arguably quick hook on starter Clay Holmes to bring in the lefthander Soto in the fifth inning of a game that was tied at 1.
Holmes, who had thrown 85 pitches, had just walked his second batter of the inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, Soto came in to face lefthanded-hitting slugger Riley Greene. Holmes had struck out Greene in his two previous at-bats.
Mendoza got the matchup he wanted. Greene came into the day with a .224 average and .636 OPS against lefties versus .288 and .922, respectively, against righties. Plus, 29 of Greene’s 32 home runs had come against righthanders.
If the problem wasn’t the move, then it was definitely the execution. Soto threw a wild pitch to move both runners up a base, and then gave up a scorching two-run single past shortstop Francisco Lindor to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
“After a couple of walks there against the lefties, third time through [the order], I feel like you’re in a position playing the matchups left on left, especially how Greene is against righties,” Mendoza said. “Took my chance, and it didn’t work.”
Still, the Mets were able to pull within a run on Mark Vientos’ RBI single in the sixth. They had a chance to tie later in the inning with one out and the bases loaded against former Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle, but Starling Marte grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
It was still 3-2 in the seventh when Mendoza called on Helsley, the former St. Louis closer who has done nothing but struggle with the Mets, to face the top of the Detroit lineup.
Helsley gave up a single to Colt Keith. He walked Gleyber Torres. With the three-batter rule in effect, Helsley had to face lefthanded-hitting Kerry Carpenter, who lined a three-run home run over the leaping try of Juan Soto in rightfield.
The fastball from Helsley came in at 100 miles per hour. The home run went out at 106 mph.
“Guys are swinging at 100 like its 91 right now,” Helsley said. “It’s like you’ve got to be perfect out there. It’s not a good thing. So I’m just trying to get back to the basics and start at square one.”
It was 6-2, and two batters later Helsley was removed. He faced five hitters and retired one of them. In 14 appearances as a Met, Helsley has an 11.45 ERA.
“I thought today was a good lane for him,” Mendoza said. “Look, we acquired this guy. We believe in this guy. And I keep saying it: In order for us to get to where we want to be, we’re going to need him. It’s obviously hard for him right now, and for all of us, but we’ve got to get him right.”
There have been concerns that Helsley was tipping his pitches. But Mendoza – while noting the Tigers were laying off his slider – said tipping was not the issue.
“I don’t think it’s tipping-related,” Mendoza said. “He made some adjustments. It’s kind of like, talking to [pitching coach Jeremy Hefner], ‘How do we help this guy?’ Because right now we’re not doing that. When you’ve got that type of stuff and teams keep hitting him like that, something’s going on here.”
Said Helsley: “Just trying anything and everything. Feels like [I] make a good pitch and it gets hit, and the mistakes obviously get hit as well. It seems like everything’s falling. Obviously, can’t walk guys. Got to compete out there and keep trying to get after it when I’m out there.”
The Mets still won the series against one of the AL’s top teams by taking a 10-8 slugfest on Labor Day and a 12-5 laugher on Tuesday. After an off day on Thursday, the Mets begin a three-game series on Friday in Cincinnati against the NL wild-card contending Reds before a four-game series in Philadelphia against the NL East-leading Phillies.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
