The Mets did a little bit of everything tonight and downed the Diamondbacks, 4-2, to earn their fourth straight win.
Tommy Hunter, who pitched two innings last night, got the start as the opener and delivered two shutout innings, backed by a couple of nice defensive plays. He was replaced by Joey Lucchesi, who came in allowing 12 ER in his last 8.2 IP. He may have been pitching for his spot on the roster, if so, he should live to face another day. He pitched three solid innings before running into trouble in his fourth frame. While Lucchesi has two solid MLB campaigns under his belt as a starter, he looks to me to fit best as a 2-3 inning reliever.
Jeurys Familia finished the sixth for Lucchesi and then loaded the bases in the seventh before getting out of it. His backers will point once again to soft hits. But they all look like line drives in the box score. Aaron Loup and Trevor May closed out the game, with May earning the save. The bullpen gave up just 1 ER in 7 IP, a terrific outing under any circumstance and especially impressive given how heavy the pen was used last night and how options for this game were limited.
Jeff McNeil hit a two-run homer to give the Mets a lead they would never relinquish. And for those dudes out there who love speed, Francisco Lindor stole second base and came around to score when the ball got away from the fielder and squirted into the shallow outfield. The Mets’ final run also came thanks to speed, as McNeil reached first on a fielder’s choice and proceeded to swipe second base. He scored on a bloop by Lindor.
The Mets are now 13-2 when they score at least four runs in a game. Let’s try that when Jacob deGrom pitches tomorrow and see what happens.
On the Familia hits allowed in the seventh, the first was 100% an error on Lindor. The ball went into the palm of his glove and as he tried to transfer, having never really squeezed the glove, it flew out. Then, after two broken bat hits, Lindor couldn’t find the handle on a throw that Alonso had to reach way up for and jump into the baseline in order to secure the out with his tippy toes. That is not Familia’s fault at all.
Loup’s mess was his own doing, but he survived it.
The Mets bullpen has a 1.68 the last 14 games and it would be nice to see other people close too. Diaz isn’t light out better than Castro, May, or even Loup and Familia.
Back into first place tie with Philadelphia as they are both two games over .500. The King goes tomorrow in the sunlight; the kingdom has expectations.
Yup even Gary was talking abt 3 of the softest hits you ‘ll evwr see familia has been solid.
I was ready to bury Familia going way back, even to the start of last season. He had lost so many wins for DeGrom and was torture to watch try to find the strike zone… absolutely nothing was secure whenever he entered the game.
So I am gratified to say he looks so much better this season. While his command is still the essential factor, he appears to have some idea of where the plate is located, and does not seem to be hit as hard as in previous seasons. I still do not want to see him in critical situations, but I felt I needed to present this other side of my observations.
Nice to see the Mets expanding their dimensions. Stealing bases? What’s next, a sacrifice bunt? A hit and run? Maybe a safety squeeze? Heaven forbid…