Wilmer Flores cracked a solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Mets to a 6-5 win over the A’s Saturday night. The win leaves the Mets once again looking to complete a sweep on a Sunday.
- While Flores delivered the big hit, the Mets’ offense had plenty of stars, as they rallied back from an early 5-0 deficit. Flores started the initial rally with a double to deep center leading off the sixth inning. Jay Bruce followed with a homer to center to get the Mets on the board. Jose Reyes delivered a one-out triple and scored on a single to right by Travis d’Arnaud. Michael Conforto followed with an RBI double to bring the Mets within a run.
- The Mets tied it in the eighth as d’Arnaud delivered a two-out double to center. Lucas Duda came off the bench and while the A’s brought in a lefty to face him, Duda knotted the game with an RBI single.
- The unsung heroes in the game were in the Mets’ bullpen. After Zack Wheeler had another disappointing outing, Josh Smoker, Josh Edgin and Hansel Robles contributed four scoreless innings, with Edgin going two frames. Flores’ homer made a winner out of Robles for the second straight game, bringing his record to 6-1 on the season.
Was at the game – getting two ‘Syndergaard as Thor’ bobbleheads and a walk off made for a great night.
Couple of extra thoughts. In the first inning there was a fly ball over Bruce’s head. I was watching him as soon as the ball was hit – he took a step in, froze and then couldn’t recover (to be fair the hits right at you are the hardest to judge).
Cabrera had limited action at 3rd in his audition to be a part of the Red Sox.
Nice to see Duda deliver against a lefty and Wilmer deliver against a righty.
-ever since I declared Jose Done…… wow
-Cashman has done a hell of a job in the bronx
-Let the Trading begin!
Yay Wilmer!
Wilmer Flores is a good bench player. He is experienced at all four infield positions (but can’t play averagely any of them) and he is a power bat off the bench. When he gets extended playing time as a starter he gets exposed at just average offensively. There are places in the majors for players like his as a starter for a second division team. On a playoff team he would suit his current role just fine. I like Wilmer because he maximizes his limited ability by playing with passion and a positive attitude.
Wheeler’s body of work over his short career, 66 games, shows that he can’t go the distance consistently as a starter and walks too many batters. Based on this and his 2017 season, the Mets should plan to replace him in the rotation for 2018.
Three players I would want to keep through the trade deadline, if they are willing to take an extension, are Reed, Bruce and Walker.
Bruce and Reed have both already said they are excited about being a free agent.
I agree on Walker. Could be the answer at third base. Good contact hitter, good leader. A real pro from what I’ve seen of him these past two seasons.