The heart of the order came up big for the Mets, hitting three homers and driving in all eight runs, leading the Mets to an 8-5 win Saturday night over the Marlins at Citi Field. The Mets’ win snapped a six-game winning streak for the Marlins.
Michael Conforto got in the act first, smacking a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. Pete Alonso followed with another two-run shot in the third, a line shot with an exit velocity of 116. J.D. Davis hit a sac fly for the Mets’ fifth run and then cracked a three-run homer in the seventh inning, an opposite field shot. Davis also made a very nice backhand play at third base, complete with a strong, accurate throw to first.
David Peterson picked up the win, as he struggled through five innings. It would have been nice to send him back out there for the sixth but if you’re carrying 10 relievers, you’ve got to give them work. Jeurys Familia came out in the sixth and had trouble throwing strikes and allowed two runs. Drew Smith cleaned up the damage for Familia. Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo and Justin Wilson closed out the game, each throwing a scoreless inning.
Lugo was warming up with the Mets holding a one-run lead. But the Davis homer extended the advantage to four runs. So, Lugo only pitched one inning, potentially leaving him available to pitch on Sunday. Wilson had only faced one batter since July 29, so he needed the work.
The Mets go for the series win tomorrow afternoon, with Jacob deGrom on the mound. May they get him eight runs of support while he’s in the game.
For all the irrational hate he gets; Conforto has had a monster start to the season getting on base , making hard contact and even clobbering lefties. Davis looks great at third base and should have been there from opening day if only the Mets looked at his statcast numbers last year. Davis continues to kill it with the bat. Familia has three good outings this year and three bad outings; keep him away from his leverage spots. Gsellman finally throwing his high spin curve regularity could be a game changer. Oh and more Drew Smith please. Pete coming out of the doldrums could turn around the season. Davis obviously is nowhere near the player Wright was from ‘04-13 but he had a Wright type of day with good defense and the way he goes to the opposite field with power reminds me of Wright.
Had Céspedes not been available, it’s possible Davis would have been at 3B and McNeil in LF to start the year. But, to keep McNeil a full-timer he was put at 3B. Time to make the necessary adjustment and leave McNeil in LF. Brandon Nimmo’s stats are skewing in the right direction and a breakout is imminent. He needs that because his defense in CF statistically is by far the worse it’s ever been. Still, a better LF than Davis (who looks like Todd Huntley out there) will make Nimmo look better.
Gut Reaction: Peterson should stay in the rotation. He earned it. He also was capable to pitch the 6th.
JD is better at 3B than LF.
Drew Smith should move past Familia in the pecking order of the bullpen.
Hamilton should to used as the defensive replacement and pinch runner. He should use the practice of social distancing with his bats, you know, keeping them six feet away.