On Tuesday night, Jose Butto gave the New York Mets a much-needed reprieve, albeit a short-lived one. Recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to replace recently optioned reliever Tyson Miller, Butto provided two and two-thirds innings of solid relief for starting pitcher David Patterson – until his performance abruptly deteriorated in the seventh inning. His pitching was good enough to earn high praise from manager Buck Showalter – who admitted that the loss “overshadowed what a great outing Butto had.”
The right-hander struck out five batters over his two-plus innings of work, but his three walks ultimately came back to haunt him. However, by that point in the game the score was tied and the bases were loaded, which is a testament to how well he was pitching: “He was the reason we were still in that game,” Showalter said. Sadly, Butto’s good performance wasn’t quite enough to keep the Mets afloat, as the Pirates scored six runs against him in the seventh inning en route to their 7-4 victory.
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor showcased his undeniable talent this week, becoming the first Met in history to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season. The four-time All Star achieved this feat by pilfering the 20th base of the year during Monday’s win over the Pirates. This is the third time he’s accomplished this incredible milestone in his career, and he is also the first Met at any position to do so since Carlos Beltran back in 2008.
As an admirer of Beltran (a fellow Puerto Rico native), Lindor expressed his joy at matching such high caliber play. “It’s really cool whenever I get to be next to one of my role models growing up, someone I try to be like,” Lindor said. “It’s special for sure. I’m blessed to be in this position.” After hitting a single during Tuesday’s game, Lindor is now sitting with 22 home runs on the year. What’s more impressive is he had no idea he’d accomplished such a feat until informed by teammate Daniel Voxelbach after the game!