After a disappointing loss to the Miami Marlins, the New York Mets rebounded nicely by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0.
After the late innings collapse that the Mets suffered last night, it was up to Steven Matz to deliver a performance that would help the Mets rebound. He delivered for the Mets. A rarity for the Mets this season, Matz was able to deliver six innings of work in his start. Although he only struck out three and he walked three, Matz proved that he has the ability to make it through a lineup a couple of times without significant damage. His pitch count reached 94, and he allowed only four hits on the way to lowering his ERA to 3.80. My Gut Reaction is that this start will help to propel Matz into more successful starts like he pitched tonight.
For the second night in a row, the offensive star of the Mets wore the number nine and a big smile on the field. This of course is a reference to Brandon Nimmo, the on base wizard of the Mets. Nimmo was able to reach base five times against the Brewers, walking once, striking two singles, a double and a triple. His impeccable ability to get on base for this team and provide offense in a way that isn’t the long ball is crucial to the success of this team, and he’s showing why he deserves to be the leadoff hitter on this team.
Besides Nimmo, there were other Mets that provided offense for the team. The Mets compiled 13 hits on the evening, with every starting position player registering at least one hit. Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores each contributed two RBIs, while Mesoraco piled on another RBI. The Mets that struck extra base hits besides Nimmo were Cabrera, Mesoraco, and Jay Bruce.
The bullpen for the Mets contributed three strong innings this evening. Paul Sewald pitched the seventh and eighth innings, striking out two. Jacob Rhame then came in for his eighth appearance of the season, and he tossed a scoreless frame as well.
With the victory, the Mets improved to 25-21 on the season. Tomorrow night, they will be back in action in Miller Park, and Noah Syndergaard will take on Junior Guerra at 8:10 pm.
The Mets are now 17-15 this season against teams over .500 – that seems like a lot of games against good teams. But there are only 5 teams in the NL currently who are under .500 on the season.
Brian, the NL definitely appears to be more competitive than the AL at this point. Overall there are 8 teams with zero playoff aspirations and a good chance to be sellers at the deadline – 5 are in the AL. And that number could easily become 6 or 7 if Tampa and Oakland stop playing over their heads.
In the NL Cinci, Miami and SD are the only cellar dwellers. SF is just under .500 and LA, while off to a bad start, is certainly not going to throw in the towel with that roster and payroll.