Sept. 11 – New York Mets bench coach John Gibbons is excited to return to Toronto this week and face the Blue Jays, the team he has coached for 11 years between the two teams.
He’ll be even happier if he can prevail in Wednesday afternoon’s three-game set.
The two teams split the first two games of the series after the Blue Jays defeated the Mets 6-2 on Tuesday night.
The loss moved the Mets (79-66) into a tie with the Braves for the National League’s third wild-card spot. It was New York’s second defeat in 12 games. Atlanta beat the Washington Nationals 12-0 on Tuesday.
It was a welcome win for the Blue Jays (69-77), who had lost six of their previous seven games and were in last place in the AL East.
Gibbons visited many old friends when he returned to the city, having coached the Blue Jays from 2004-08 and 2013-18 and remaining a popular figure. This was his first season as a bench coach with the Mets, by whom he was drafted in 1980.
The Mets have struggled at the plate and were beaten 12-6 by the Blue Jays on Tuesday, but Gibbons has confidence in the New York baseball team.
“From one through nine, this lineup is as good as any lineup I’ve ever seen,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons sees similarities between this year’s Mets team and the Blue Jays teams he coached in 2015 and 2016, which both reached the American League Championship Series.
Led by Josh Donaldson, the Blue Jays had a fantastic season in 2015. New York is currently having a big year thanks to Francisco Lindor.
“Lindo is unbelievable, he plays every inning every day,” Gibbons said. “When I saw him in Cleveland, I knew he was good, but I didn’t expect him to be this great.”
The 2016 Blue Jays didn’t secure an AL wild-card berth until the fall, and the Mets are coming down to the wire this season.
Left-hander Sean Manaea (11-5, 3.43 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday in New York. In six career games (five starts) against the Toronto Raptors, he has a 2-0 record with a 3.50 ERA. He wasn’t thinking about the decision Friday, when he allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings and the Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4.
Toronto will start right-hander Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.72), who will face the Mets for the first time. In his last eight games (seven starts), Francis is 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA.
The Mets on Tuesday lost former teammate right-hander Chris Bassett, who struck out eight and allowed one run in six innings.
“As crazy as it is, I hope they make the playoffs,” Bassett said of the Mets. “I know I didn’t do a good job for them (Tuesday), but I have a lot of friends over there. There are a lot of people over there that I respect a lot. I hope to see them in the playoffs.”
Toronto’s Spencer Horwitz went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI double on Tuesday. Over his past 10 games, he is hitting .444 (16 for 36) with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs.
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