The Mets defeated the Nationals at Citi Field tonight 5-1 and took two of three games in the series.
- How about that Seth Lugo? The Mets have to be thrilled with what he (and the other rookie starters) have provided to a rotation that’s on the cusp of being in shambles. He struggled in the first and tight-walked out of a bases-loaded jam, but otherwise he was great. He pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run on six hits with four strikeouts. He also hit as high as 97 on the gun. Fantastic.
- When the Mets hit homers, good things tend to happen. Tonight was no different. What was interesting was that both of their homers were of the two-run variety from a couple of players that have been having a hard time in the orange and blue. Curtis Granderson hit his in the third inning (he also had a sac fly in this one) and just may be starting to come around. Maybe. Jay Bruce, who has been disappointing since the Mets acquired him at the deadline, hit his in the sixth to pad the Mets’ lead. Maybe he’s coming around too? The team is going to need both of these guys to pull their weight if they’re going to have a chance to stay in this thing.
- The Mets did well to take this series, their fourth series win in a row, to keep pace with the Cardinals and remain one game back for the second wild card spot. As the ESPN crew reminded us *so* many times tonight, they’ve got the advantage of strength of schedule heading into the stretch. They need to take advantage.
One week ago, who would have thought that Seth Lugo would shut down the Nats and the Mets would win behind the hitting of Granderson and Bruce?
Flores seems to be hitting RHP better. In a non save/hold situation the set up man and closer should not be the pitcher of choice when there is a game the next day. Another series win. Keep the momentum rolling. Lets Go Mets!
The Mets are alive and well.
Granny has been delivering power and walks here lately. In his last 16 games he has an .877 OPS despite a .204 AVG.
One thing I wish ESPN and the talking heads would explain is the reason the Mets have an easy schedule is because they already played the tough part. It’s not like they’ve got an easier overall path than, say, the Marlins. No one was talking about the Mets schedule when 23 of the 26 games they played were against teams above .500 for the year from June 27 – July 27.
5-1 Game—these are all pretty much PLayoff Games now,,,,,I have 100% support for Reed and J in that situation
Why? I am curious to know your thinking on it.
I suspect Jay Bruce getting thrown out (by a lot) trying to advance to third from first on a single to right is again on third base coach Tim Teufel. I could not tell from the camera work what the signal was from the coach, but since the ball was behind Bruce I assume he had to rely on input from the coach, especially since Bruce is no speedster.
Polo grounder, since I hadn’t seen the play myself and you aroused my curiosity, I went back and looked. It’s at the 1:03:20 mark of the broadcast.
It was a base hit to the right field side of center and Trea Turner made the throw. Had Bruce’s slide been better, he was safe as he beat the throw. But, sliding on his right side, his left foot was high off the ground, went over the bag and it was his back foot – the right foot – that actually touched the bag. Further, it reminded me of his slide in San Francisco where he was out at the plate,as the last out of the game, when his front foot was off the ground and his trail foot did not touch the plate in time. Plus, it was a perfect throw: low and on the bag. Rendon caught it just as his trail foot was arriving.
Can’t tell if Tuefel called him over, but he blew it and he knew it as he stood on the bag a long time with a pained look on his face looking up at the sky.
thanx Gus