Feltner done in by Alonso's 'back-breaker'

NEW YORK -- Ryan Feltner didn’t watch. He didn’t have to. Pete Alonso had been given the green light -- and he floored it. The Mets’ first baseman walloped Feltner’s 3-0 down-the-pipe fastball to left field, bounced it off the front of the second deck a projected 409 feet away and buried the Rockies in a decisive three-run hole in the third inning.

“That was the back-breaker for sure,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.

Colorado created chances at Citi Field on Thursday night, but not enough to scrape back against Jacob deGrom. José Iglesias’ infield single in the fifth ended deGrom’s bid at perfection, and Ryan McMahon’s monster solo shot in the sixth tacked a few digits onto his ERA, but the Mets’ ace retired the first 13 Rockies he faced and struck out nine over six innings before the three main pieces of New York’s bullpen held the edge in Colorado’s 3-1 loss.

Look beyond the final result, though, and that tide-turning homer by Alonso was a moment for Feltner. He wanted the pitch low and away. It leaked middle-up. Worse than getting punished for missing his spot were the circumstances that led him there.

“I didn't throw a lot of first-pitch strikes tonight in the first place,” said Feltner, who got ahead on the first pitch against only nine of the 21 batters he faced. “So getting ahead in the count earlier doesn't really put me in that situation to begin with. That's a really good hitter at the plate, and I got to be better with execution in that count and know what he's trying to do.”

Black has stressed that every outing is a chance to learn, and sometimes the lesson is as simple as hitting your spot -- “It just comes down to landing it more,” Feltner said. That might be obvious after he was tagged for six hits and issued two walks. But he admitted he didn’t have the feel required to set his stuff up. Without that foundation, at-bats dragged on longer than was ideal.

“The efficiency factor I think has to come into play here,” Black said. “4 2/3 innings, [92] pitches. Too many big misses. Conversely, if you look at deGrom, his misses are close. Too many big misses from Feltner. We'll address that. We'll talk to him about it. He knows that's part of what he has to grow.”

Both of Feltner’s free passes came in the fifth, putting a pair on for Alonso again. Instead of giving Feltner a rematch, Black opted for reliever Jake Bird, who induced a flyout to right to escape the jam.

Was there a consideration of letting Feltner learn on his own there?

“I think there's certain times when a pitcher is throwing the ball a certain way, that yes, he faces a guy or two,” Black said. “But in this case, I didn't like the two walks that inning. That was a red flag. If he’d thrown strikes that inning and maybe they got a couple hits via their own talent, maybe.”

The lack of command was likely signaled by Feltner’s start amid a raucous Queens crowd of 37,377. In his 22-pitch 1-2-3 first inning, all five of his offerings came out hotter than his season averages. His slider, thrown seven times, averaged 86.4 mph, up from 84 mph. His curveball, tossed once that frame at 80.4 mph, blew away its usual velocity of 77.4 mph. His fastball maxed at 96.6 mph, 2 mph more than his season average.

Settling down is all part of the learning curve for Feltner. His last time out, Black was impressed with how he stuck to his game plan over six innings of one-run ball against the Giants. The numbers were not as pretty on Thursday, but Feltner has now built some momentum in the late stages of a season that began with him shuttling between the Majors and Triple-A. That’s worth noting as the Rockies weigh their options while charting future rotation plans.

“A night like tonight, that's a good example of something that pops up that's unexpected that you learn,” Feltner said. “There have been a lot of those this year for me, but I think I haven't really made the same mistakes twice. So I'm definitely learning and feeling more comfortable.”