The Mets took the Little League Classic and the series with Phillies in a subtle 8-2 bludgeoning.
Subtle, because, though they pounded out 14 hits, 13 of them were singles. The only extra-base knock was a pinch RBI double by forgotten man Dominic Smith in the eighth inning, when the game was basically a foregone conclusion. Jason Vargas was the recipient of this offensive largesse, but he also had one of his better 2018 outings: five-and-a-third innings, six hits, no walks three strikeouts, only two earned runs allowed, those on a homer by Carlos Santana in the sixth, when the Mets had already built a 7-0 lead.
The Mets put four runs on the board in the second inning, with a surfeit of singles. Jose Bautista and Kevin Plawecki each garnered an RBI in the frame, and Amed Rosario knocked in two. With that, the Mets were off to the races. Jeff McNeil added a couple of RBI in the fourth, with — you guessed it — a base hit. He was thrown out trying for more. Rosario singled home another run in the sixth.
Vargas was removed after Santana’s home run and a Wilson Ramos double, so it was up to the bullpen to make this lead stand up — not exactly a given this year. This night, it was up to the task. Seth Lugo bailed Vargas out of the sixth and surrendered a bare single in the seventh. The Mets added a run on Smith’s double, making the lead that much cushier. Drew Smith pitched a clean eighth and Daniel Zamora was flawless in the ninth, freezing Odubel Herrera on a third strike to end the game.
The Mets won’t have a day off until August 30. The San Francisco Giants visit Citi Field next, Derek Holland taking on the resurgent Zack Wheeler on Monday night.
I was thinking at the start of the 5th inning we might see back to back complete games the way Vargas was pitching
Well pitched game by Vargas but all is not forgiven.
Is Dom going back to Vegas today?