NEW YORK — The pitching was the issue, Buck Showalter explained.
It wasn’t that the team was clamoring to option Dominic Smith – the move they were forced to make Tuesday to make room for reliever Aroldis Medina – but the bullpen had been taxed beyond what it could reasonably handle. A few hours before their game against the Nationals, they still didn’t know if Drew Smith and his dislocated pinkie were well enough to pitch and, with three-fifths of the rotation on the injured list, Trevor Williams was being called again to make a spot start.
All those concerns, and in the end, not a single one was able to trip up this red-hot Mets team.
