For one afternoon, Rafael Montero looked like he was worthy of the hype. Of course, the woeful Cubs likely had a lot to do with the best start of his young career.
Montero allowed just one earned run over 7 ¹/₃ innings and struck out six, yet was unable to register his first major league victory, as the Mets offense no-showed until he departed in the eighth.
Curtis Granderson’s run-scoring single in the home eighth got Montero off the hook, but closer Jenrry Mejia, pitching in a non-save situation in the ninth, served up an opposite field homer to Starlin Castro, as the Cubs prevailed, 2-1, in front of 27.938 at Citi Field Sunday afternoon.
“I made some adjustments in between starts,” the 23-year-old Montero, who allowed five runs in five innings against the Nationals on Tuesday, said through an interpreter. “It helped me put everything together.”
Mejia (5-6), who revealed last Sunday he has been bothered by a hernia that will need surgery at the end of the season, had now allowed runs in three of his last five outings. The first pitch he threw to Castro, the Cubs’ shortstop — reportedly a player the Mets have interest in to fill their hole on the left side of the infield — laced it over the wall down the right-field line for his 13th home run of the season.
“I tried to throw outside,” said Mejia, who maintained the hernia hasn’t changed his mechanics or impacted his recent up-and-down results. “He got me.”
It was likely Montero’s Mets swan song until September, as Jacob deGrom (right rotator cuff tendinitis) threw a bullpen session Sunday afternoon and reported no problems. If all goes well, deGrom is expected to reclaim his rotation spot Saturday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers and Montero will return to Triple-A Las Vegas.
“No matter what happens here in a few days, certainly he has to be real happy with the way he threw today and his confidence has to be pretty high,” Collins said.
Montero entered Sunday’s start with an ugly 0-3 record and unsightly 6.12 ERA at the major-league level, but the young righty was sharp, enjoying his best day with the Mets to date.
He was economical with his pitches (105, 65 for strikes), displayed solid command (two walks) and recorded three 1-2-3 innings. The Cubs, third to last in the National League in batting average — ahead of only the Mets and Padres — waved at his off-speed stuff much of the afternoon, particularly his darting changeup.
“We had heard his changeup was outstanding and today he showed it,” Collins said. “Great use of it, great location with it. I thought he pitched an outstanding game. It was really good for him to have a game up here where he knows he can be successful.”
In the fourth, Montero allowed his only run, giving up a two-out, run-scoring single to Cubs third baseman Luis Valbuena. It was one mistake too many as the Mets’ anemic lineup — sans David Wright, Wilmer Flores and Travis d’Arnaud — made Cubs starter Jake Arrieta look like a Cy Young candidate, failing to register an extra-base-hit and mustering two hits against the right-hander over seven innings.
It was the fourth straight game the Mets (59-66) produced four hits or fewer — one shy of a team record last set Sept. 3-8, 2004. When asked what he has seen from his team at the plate of late, Collins said: “Not much,” and laughed out loud.
“We’re not swinging very good, that’s pretty much the basics,” Collins said. “Jake was very, very good today, his curveball was tremendous, which we knew he had going into the game. You got to battle him.”
Said Daniel Murphy: “If we had the answer, we would start doing it, get more base hits, score more runs. That would be fun.”