Hear ye! Hear ye! By royal proclamation, August 13, 2020 shall from now on be known as Tomas Nido Day, as the Mets’ backup catcher cracked two homers, including a grand slam, to lead the Mets to an 8-2 win over the Nationals Thursday afternoon. The win gave the Mets a split of their four-game series.
Nido’s first homer came in the fourth inning and broke a 1-1 tie, putting the Mets up by two runs. His second blast came in the fifth inning, following singles to Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso and a walk to Andres Gimenez.
The day didn’t get off to a good start for Nido, as in the top of the first inning he had an error on a throw to second base, which led both to an unearned run and (very indirectly) to an extended inning that led to an Asdrubal Cabrera AB that resulted in a deep fly to the OF that Jeff McNeil crashed into the wall on while making a catch.
McNeil left the game on a cart. The Mets, probably still smarting from the bad PR they got from some corners while providing in-game updates on Yoenis Cespedes, opted not the release any details until after the game. During the broadcast, Gary Cohen announced that veteran reporter Jon Heyman tweeted that his sources indicated that X-Rays were negative on McNeil’s knee.
David Peterson recovered from a shaky first inning to record the win. He actually carried a no-hitter into the fifth before Yan Gomes got the Nats’ first hit. Curiously, Peterson was removed after just five innings and 74 pitches. The announcers gave no reason for the early hook. Peterson now has a 2.91 ERA.
Dominic Smith homered for the Mets’ first run. He also doubled in the game and now has a 1.020 OPS after 51 PA.
Juan Soto continued to be a one-man wrecking crew. He homered yet again in this game, taking sinkerballer Jared Hughes deep. Soto now has a .414/.452/1.034 slash line. The Mets will be glad to see him gone, although they get to face red-hot Bryce Harper
Nido’s reworked swing looking good and he needs to play more as he’s been impressive while Ramos has stunk it up
Gut Reaction: Tomas Nido had a career day. Maybe John Fox can write his next article on Steven Matz.
If McNeil is out, put Smith in LF , Gimenez at 2B , Rosario SS and Cano DH.
Conforto and Smith are red hot.
Peterson was impressive. Rojas had a golden opportunity to stretch him out. Only Peterson and deGrom are consistent starters and three others have taxed bullpen. For this reason and the score, Peterson should have stayed in.
Haha Metsense.. actually I was thinking about Luis Guillorme for my next one
Peterson said had a little shoulder fatigue. Therefore Rojas made a good call.
Watching ESPN …….Orioles are hitting anybody Girardi put out there ……And almost seems that the O’s are hitting them at will !!!!!! …..(Per ESPN Phillies bullpen combined ERA approaching 10.00).
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My gut reaction is that if Jeff McNeil wasn’t in LF, the score is 3-0 in the first and the Mets lose this game. The euphoria of a great run saving catch made a small 1-0 lead easier to overcome and not press at the plate. For his reward, SportsCenter did not add it to their top ten plays of the day.