The power came in bunches, and it was all Noah Syndergaard needed as he was once again phenomenal. His assortment of blistering fastballs, knee-buckling curveballs, and an improving changeup had the Washington Nationals on their heels all night. Anthony Rendon took Syndergaard deep in the first, but after that 13 Nationals hitters were retired in a row before Syndergaard showed any further weakness.
One inning of offense was all the Mets would need, as Curtis Granderson blasted a two-run home run in the third that energized the Citi Field faithful. That energy quickly boiled over as Daniel Murphy followed up with a back-to-back homer of his own which travels 426 ft. Then two batters later Lucas Duda hit a near perfect up-and-in pitch from Jordan Zimmermann about a mile in the air and into the right field bleachers to put the Mets up 5-1. This all occurred with two outs. Oh, and Duda is the first Mets player ever to have nine home runs in eight games.
That was all the wiggle room Syndergaard needed as the Mets cruised to a series sweep of the now tied for first Nationals. It was a treat of a game to see on national television. The commentators were raving about this team for a change, instead of trying to find rays of hope in an otherwise cloudy mess. It was an attention grabbing week for the Mets, and an especially attention grabbing game. The Nationals had two of their finest starters go this weekend in Gio Gonzalez and Zimmermann, and the Mets simply beat them flat out. The Mets are now dangerous. That doesn’t mean winning will come easy, but it does make the rest of the year look very, very interesting. And I’ll take interesting any day of the week.
P.S. Syndergaard at home so far in his career has a 10-to-1 K/BB ratio, and he’s keeping hitters to a .196/.225/.270 batting line.
With Noah surging and Kris Bryant and Joc Pederson both falling flat on their faces in July, you have to wonder if he can do what deGrom did and overtake them for the RoY.
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2015/8/2/9086903/travis-darnaud-on-the-division-lets-take-this-shit
It’s nice to have Lucas Duda on fire in the middle of the lineup.
I’m curious to see how often they’ll play Cespedes in CF the rest of the way. If we had a LF who could hit, that would be quite an advantage.
The third inning looked like a Ronda Rousey fight with the three bombs and the knockout in a matter of seconds.
The Mets are back at square 1 with the Nats and their destiny is in their hands.
A first place team takes 4 out of 6 on this Florida trip.
Harvey, Syndergaard and DeGrom should win 2 of 3 every times through the rotation no matter who they are playing. If Niese and Colon can win every other time then that should come to a total .600 winning pct the rest of the way. That is 89 wins, not that reasonable.
Cespedes playing center field was like finding the hidden surprise in the cracker jack box. Conforto now has a little more time to prove that he belongs on the play off roster. TC said he is going to give him the opportunity.
First Place, a sweep, I can’t help but feel giddy!