Andy Green and Christian Scott talk starter's 'learning experience' after losing strike zone in sixth inning
· Yahoo Sports
The Mets lost their third game in a row on Friday, a 3-1 defeat to a Houston Astros team which kept New York's bats cold all night.
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The main story of the game for the Mets was starting pitcher Christian Scott, who had an up-and-down outing in the strangest possible terms.
Scott was spotless through five innings, allowing just one hit and two walks and keeping Houston off the scoreboard.
However, after recording the first out in the fifth inning, Scott issued three straight walks in order to Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, and Jose Altuve. Having lost control of the strike zone, interim manager Andy Green pulled his starter for Nate Lavender, who surrendered two hits which drove in all three baserunners, tagging Scott with three earned runs on his final line.
Speaking with the media postgame, Green expressed no regrets with his decision to let Scott push past the fifth inning.
"Today was a good day to test him," said Green. "He had been efficient through five innings, so I wanted to give him [the chance to face] the third time through [the batting order]."
Both Green and Scott were asked if the right-handed pitcher is feeling any arm fatigue in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, and if so, whether it was a factor in his control issues on Friday night.
"I'm sure he's feeling it more as the season goes on," Green replied. "I think you see it often in their first game back from Tommy John...when he gets further and further from that, the walks will dissipate."
Scott, in contrast, refused to pin the blame on anything but his own performance.
"I wouldn't say I did [feel any arm fatigue] tonight," Scott countered. "I just didn't execute, didn't get a lot of whiffs, didn't throw the ball well in the sixth... need to do a better job filling up the zone."
"Physically, I feel fine," Scott asserted. "I feel like I'm pitching very well right now, but I need to do a better job executing, especially later in the game."
Whatever the case, Green has the 27-year-old's back.
"It was a learning experience today. I have a ton of confidence that the next time he is staring down the middle of the order in the sixth inning, he's going to succeed in that situation."