Seth Lugo rebounded from a dismal start last time out to go 6.1 strong innings and the Mets’ offense showed more than they did on Monday, leading to a 5-2 win Tuesday over the Rays.
Lugo fanned seven, ending the Mets’ streak of starters with 10 or more Ks at three. But he allowed just one walk and four hits en route to evening his record to 3-3 on the year, 2-1 as a starter.
Robinson Cano, Pete Alonso and Guillermo Heredia each homered for the Mets. Cano and Alonso each had two-hit games. Cano is now hitting .320 for the season. And Alonso is up to .209 in his quest to stay above the Mendoza Line.
Chasen Shreve struck out the side in the eighth inning and Edwin Diaz allowed an infield hit but had a relatively easy time to pick up his fifth save of the year.
Gut Reaction: It should be a no-brainer that Lugo will be in the 2021 rotation with deGrom and Peterson especially since Diaz has rebounded in the closers role. That still leaves two starter positions to fill at the beginning of the season. Is the primary problem that should be addressed in the off-season.
Cano is having a good season, in fact, he would make the all star team if he had a few more at bats. (148 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR)
It was nice to see to Heredia get that HR; that helped a lot. I think he might just be a stop-gap though. A good CF next year would help. Nimmo could then move back to LF. I’m ok with seeing Porcello stay another year in the rotation too.
Nice win. If we run the table and win our last 5 we can finish at .500 on a good note, however we’ll probably still miss the playoffs.