WASHINGTON — Mets’ right-hander Dominic Leone took the loss Sunday within the first recreation of a doubleheader towards the Washington Nationals due to one unhealthy pitch. He missed up and in with a cutter to CJ Abrams within the seventh inning of a tie recreation. Abrams took it over the fence for the go-ahead homer handy the Mets, and by default Leone, a loss.
It was the 31-year-old right-hander’s first loss with the Mets however it definitely wasn’t the primary of his profession. The veteran reliever has struggled to take care of consistency with management all through his profession. The one factor he doesn’t wrestle with after a decade within the Major Leagues is his confidence.
“Yesterday, I make one bad pitch in two innings and it ends up in a loss,” Leone advised the Daily News on Monday at Nationals Park. “But you have to show up the next day.”
The Mets signed Leone to a one-year contract on May 4. He had pitched so properly in Triple-A with the Texas Rangers to start out the season that he opted out of his contract to see if he might catch on with a Major League crew.
Leone has been an fascinating case examine in year-over-year outcomes. During the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he posted a bloated 8.38 ERA with Cleveland. The following season was one of the best of his profession. He went 4-5 with a 1.51 ERA and a 3.08 FIP with the San Francisco Giants.
“I was in a groove,” Leone mentioned. “I was comfortable in my mechanics and how I was going about my process. It makes the game so much easier so I was just able to go out and do the things I know I can do.”
But final season his ERA was again as much as 4.01 with San Francisco. His stroll fee has additionally been comparatively excessive since 2018. His good seasons have correlated with decrease stroll charges and his unhealthy seasons have correlated with increased charges.
It doesn’t take a baseball genius to know that throwing extra strikes and limiting the variety of free passes issued is the important thing to success on the mound, however even in 2021, Leone was nonetheless strolling almost 4 batters per 9 innings (3.69).
“There are certain situations in which you need to be a little bit more delicate with the hitter and whatnot, but I’ve always been about pitching aggressively and pitching in the zone and trying to attack hitters. In 2021 I did a really good job with that. My confidence was sky-high and I felt really, really good. Like, I’m going right at the guy and it didn’t matter, night in and night out.”
The Mets like this strategy as properly. Leone had some elbow discomfort earlier within the weekend in Washington, however after working previous that he was capable of attain again and get a bit extra velocity on his fastball. His stroll fee has additionally been right down to lower than two batters per 9 innings.
But he’s solely pitched 5 and a pair of/3 innings, so it’s too small of a pattern dimension to know if the decreased stroll fee or the rate are traits, however the Mets like what they’ve seen to date.
“I was watching a lot of his stuff from before he came here, and I don’t want to say that he got overused but he’s working his way back there,” mentioned supervisor Buck Showalter.
The Clemson product who grew up in Norwich, Connecticut, is completely satisfied to be again within the Northeast nearer to family and friends. It’s a great match for him in a veteran clubhouse and he’s hoping to be taught all he can about profession longevity from Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
But the one factor he is aware of the way to do higher than the rest at this stage in his profession is the way to flip the web page.
“I’ve lived the ups and downs,” Leone mentioned. “I’ve had the super highs and the super lows. Just to kind of stay in an even-keel mindset and process is the biggest thing. In this clubhouse, we have a lot of guys who have a tremendous amount of experience, so I’m constantly trying to learn and pick their brains. Even though I’ve done it a while, they’ve done it longer. So it’s nice. You learn.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Right-hander Carlos Carrasco (elbow bone spurs) had a piece day in New York on Monday and is anticipated to be activated off the injured checklist later this week. The Mets are contemplating giving him an additional day of relaxation earlier than his subsequent begin, which is anticipated to return subsequent weekend towards the Cleveland Guardians.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com