Laura Albanese: How Mets young pitchers attack (or evade) Houston's Yordan Alvarez will be fun to watch
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez swings while waiting on deck during the first inning against the Mets at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Brad Penner
The Arizona Diamondbacks faced the San Francisco Giants 19 times in 2004 — the year Barry Bonds broke the major-league record for intentional walks, amassing a patently absurd 120 of them.
Which means that Mets interim manager Andy Green, whom the Diamondbacks called up in mid-June of that year, had a front row (bench) seat to a whole bunch of them.
That team alone was responsible for 15 of Bonds’ intentional walks, including a game on July 10 in which Brandon Webb faced Bonds four times and said “no thank you” to three of them. Green even saw Randy Johnson intentionally walk Bonds, something he did twice that season.
“You know the stove is hot,” Green said Friday before the Mets lost to the Astros, 3-1, at Citi Field. “I don’t know that you need to touch it certain times.”
Green wasn’t talking about Bonds, though. He was talking about Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, who is the overwhelming favorite to be named the American League MVP.
Though hardly at Bonds’ level — Alvarez entered Friday with a franchise-record 28 intentional walks this year — he’s a Triple Crown threat and currently leads the AL in all three categories.
Which gives Green an interesting developmental tool this series.
The Mets are trotting out three young pitchers to face the Astros: Christian Scott, who kicked things off Friday, followed by Nolan McLean and Zac Thornton. And since taking over for Carlos Mendoza, Green hasn’t been shy about challenging his players — whether it’s calling out Scott’s need to pitch deeper into games, as he did in July, or telling Carson Benge to do something against the Padres earlier this month.
(Scott responded to that first challenge by putting together one of the best outings of the season against a stacked Phillies lineup. Benge homered in the at-bat immediately following Green’s light ribbing.)
Alvarez, who entered Friday slashing .319/.434/.609, is a challenge in human form, particularly against righthanded pitchers. Green, though, is managing to win games — not necessarily because the standings matter but because that’s how to build a winning culture. So the needle needs to be threaded.
“I think you’re playing to win a baseball game and you do what is smart to win the baseball game,” Green said. “There are moments where you’d be willing to stretch a pitcher to give him an opportunity to experience certain things . . . The prudent path is if there’s a base open, you put him on and get the next guy. You’ve got to learn how to handle that situation. It’s not [about] how do I stare down the barrel of a gun and hope it doesn’t go off.”
Still, these three games should be a good gauge and a chance for an already gritty trio to prove something more to itself. While needlessly challenging Alvarez is a fool’s errand, allowing the young pitchers a slightly longer leash can create the type of contained pressure that helps build confidence and hone troubleshooting abilities.
All three have shown an element of fearlessness, but there’s something different about staring down the very best and refusing to blink. And given where the Mets are in the standings, facing Alvarez right now is akin to walking straight into the fire wearing Kevlar — uncomfortable but not deadly.
On Friday, Scott faced Alvarez with the bases clear in the first and got him to ground out in an eight-pitch at-bat, then took him on with a runner on first in the third and got him to fly out on an 0-and-1 cutter (but not before a potential extra-base hit went just foul).
Protecting a one-run lead in the sixth with the bases empty and one out, the righty pitched around Alvarez, walking him on four pitches. He ended up walking the next two, ending his night. Scott allowed three runs, one hit and five walks with two strikeouts in 5 1⁄3 innings.
“I always want to face the best,” said Scott, whose velocity was two ticks lower than usual, requiring some in-game adapting. “Growing up watching a guy like that and being able to come in and find different ways to get him out, using the stuff that I’m confident in” is helpful.
Sure, it might be more interesting if the kids get to go out there and always have at Alvarez. But there are layers to development, and some go beyond the immediate return.
And hey, if it was occasionally a good enough strategy for The Big Unit in 2004, it’s plenty good enough for these young pitchers.
Notes & quotes: Devin Williams (shoulder) is getting closer to throwing and the Mets still hope he’ll pitch again this year . . . Jorge Polanco underwent successful surgery on his ankle on Wednesday, Green said. He’s expected to begin spring training in a baseball progression.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
