Scott serves up homer to Jazz in 'teaching moment'

MIAMI -- You’ve heard of trouble with the curve. For Florida native Christian Scott, it’s trouble with the long ball that’s plagued him in his first big league season.

Making his ninth start of the year and seeking some better memories at loanDepot park -- where he made his third MLB appearance back in May and allowed four runs on seven hits, including a three-run homer, over four innings -- Scott cruised through three innings Sunday, working out of a couple jams to keep the Marlins scoreless.

But history has a way of repeating itself. With a pair on and one out in the fourth, Scott gave up a three-run homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. New York let Scott complete the inning, inducing a flyout and striking out Josh Bell, but the Mets dropped the contest, 4-2, unable to mount a worthy rally as Chisholm’s homer was all the Marlins needed to win.

“I feel like we were right there and couldn't put anything together,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “And obviously, they got the big hit. … One of those games where you just got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”

Scott has allowed at least one homer in seven of his starts this season. He has solid stuff -- his four-pitch arsenal, when evaluating velocity and movement, is akin to the current dealings from Houston’s Ronel Blanco (2.75 ERA) and Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (3.65 ERA). If Scott was walking more hitters or giving up more hard contact, it would be easier to identify something specific that needs to change. But with homers, the problem is often one or two misplaced pitches.

The thing is, Scott’s offering to Chisholm -- an 86.4 mph slider down and on the inside edge of the zone -- was exactly where Scott wanted it. He said so himself: “If I could throw the pitch 100 times, [I’d] probably get him out most of the times. But he made a good swing. Doesn't really feel like it was a mistake -- it's kind of exactly where I wanted, where I expected that ball to end up.”

So, to Scott, it wasn’t a “missed pitch.” But with a full count and runners on second and third with one out, perhaps that wasn’t the right pitch.

“I think it's the experience here at this level, you know, these are the big leagues,” Mendoza said. “You're gonna be facing really good hitters and just having that understanding [of] when you could pitch around a guy or try to get a ground ball.”

As Mendoza said, Scott is an aggressive pitcher. It has led him to induce more flyouts than most Major Leaguers (his fly ball rate is nearly seven percentage points higher than the MLB average: 30.5% compared to 23.6%). Pitching to contact for quick outs is good. Sometimes, though, it’s OK to walk a batter -- especially when there’s a free base and no forceouts available.

“He's going to be aggressive, he's going to challenge hitters,” Mendoza said. “But you know, just having an understanding where you are in the game. … There's some sort of teaching moment here, that we've been having those discussions with him. But it was one of those where they made him work today.”

Mendoza made a good point: It’s a teaching moment. And that’s how Scott sees it, too. Just a couple of months into his Major League career -- with a stint down at Triple-A Syracuse in between -- Scott is eager to learn and absorb as much information as possible.

“[I’ve learned] a lot of things honestly, probably too much to say on here right now,” Scott said. “But I mean, sometimes it's better to miss out of the zone than in-zone. Sometimes the count control is the biggest thing. These good hitters are gonna make you pay, especially for mistakes in-zone in hitter’s counts, so try to limit that and be smart in those situations.”

Scott has been able to implement some of what he’s learned, but it’s an ongoing process. Mendoza highlighted the third inning, when Scott worked around a single and two walks with one out to strand the bases loaded.

Perhaps Scott’s trouble with the long ball will lead to some tweaks to his approach down the road. No matter what, he’ll continue to get the ball every fifth day -- or every sixth day, once Kodai Senga returns.

“[Scott’s] going to stay on the attack,” Mendoza said. “That's who he is, and he'll learn.”