Terry Collins reacts to Jon Niese's rough outing for Mets
Jon Niese experienced another rough start for the New York Mets on Tuesday, in which he surrendered eight earned runs on 11 hits in five innings in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
"The biggest [reason] is that he didn't have his two-seam fastball," manager Terry Collins explained of Niese's performance. "Every time it was called for, it either went straight or he cut it. … He struggled with it all night long. Reck said it just wasn't moving. Now, you're talking about nothing to counter the cutter."
Niese was hammered all game by the Cardinals, who scored a run in each of the first four innings off of him, and then piled on an additional four runs for which he was responsible in the sixth.
The eight earned runs he gave up on Tuesday were the most he had given up since a May 11, 2013 outing against the Pirates at Citi Field.
"[It was] one of those nights where he just didn't have his stuff," Collins said.
After getting off to a great start in the 2015 season, notching three wins and holding a 1.95 earned run average after six starts, Niese has experienced two consecutive disappointing outings.
"I don't know if it's mechanics. That's [pitching coach] Dan's [Warthen] job," Collins said when asked if he thinks a mechanical flaw has brought on Niese's struggles. " … Dan will be on the video tomorrow trying to pick up something."
With a potential logjam hitting the Mets' rotation soon, Niese's status as a starter could be in jeopardy, although Collins insisted Tuesday that he doesn't foresee him pitching out of the bullpen.
(h/t MLB.com)
