One night after being on the wrong end of a 4-1 score, Jacob deGrom and the Mets flipped the table, as they downed the Royals by the same 4-1 score. The series is tied 1-1 with the rubber match happening tomorrow afternoon in Kansas City.
deGrom looked like he had no-hit stuff as he set the Royals down in order the first three innings. It was a different story in the fourth, as a walk, a broken bat single and an error led to the Royals taking a 1-0 lead.
But the Mets tied the score in the fifth inning and took the lead in the seventh on a two-run infield single by Pete Alonso, who finished the night with three hits, including a hustle double in the ninth. Juan Lagares also had a three-hit day, although his RBI triple in the eighth inning came on a ball where the right fielder broke in on initially that ended up beyond his outstretched arms.
The Royals had another good scoring opportunity in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the first two batters singled. But deGrom got a double play grounder, thanks to a nice turn by Luis Guillorme, and after a walk put runners on the corners, deGrom finished his night with a strikeout.
Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo finished up with a scoreless inning apiece, with Lugo earning his third save.
Like the way Alonso came back with the ball up the middle after the near HR. Jake sure did his part. Lagares stepping up? BP did not fail. Good win. Let’s go for the sweep tomorrow and build some momentum for the trip into a Cleveland.
Nice win, but I did t get to see a single pitch tonight.
After such a long stretch where many things went right, it’s expected that there would be some adversity. However, making your own adversity like Mickey taking Matz out for no reason, is just stupidity. Period.
The Mets aren’t built for the wildcard, they are built for the division. Meaning, in a one game playoff they wouldn’t have the advantage they would have in a series. Depending on the opponent, the Mets may have a disadvantage. In a one game playoff, it’s two good pitchers facing each other and the Mets have a disadvantage in having a bad bullpen and an inconsistent lineup. In a series, there isn’t a team out there that can match up with the Mets rotation. I know that I’m reaching, but the Mets better start reach new heights. The Nationals are good too, but their bullpen is quite weak, the Phillies don’t have the pitching. The Braves have multiple superstars in their lineup and so do the Nats. Mets need to kick it in gear and stop overthinking.
If the Mets can cut three or four games off the Braves lead going into September and getting their players back healthy, it might be a very fun September.
This was a game the Mets absolutely had to have, so kudos to pulling it out under pressure. Yes, it is KC, but every win counts the same.
Gut reaction: the Degrominator was the Degrominator, the Polar Bear was the Polar Bear and the bullpen was not the cow pen that was waiting to be slaughtered. We need this series. Gus is right, don’t over-think this Mickey. LFGM
since the start of the Nats series. 4 W 4 L.