Max Scherzer showed no major issues coming back from his hamstring injury as he pitched six solid innings among the various delays and got the win in his first start as a Met, as they downed the Nationals, 7-3, Friday night in Washington.
The game started late due to issues with the lights in the park. And there was another delay after benches cleared when yet another Met was hit by a pitch near the face, this time it was Francisco Lindor who was on the receiving end of chin music. And while Scherzer was gone at this point, there was also a rain delay in the ninth inning.
It wasn’t prime Scherzer, as he seemed to scuffle early and he also gave up a gopher ball to Josh Bell. But you could see hints of what’s to come. Few, if any, pitchers are better than Scherzer on getting strikeouts on balls outside the zone and he finished with six whiffs against one walk and three hits.
And while the storyline coming into the game was Scherzer’s return to Washington, the real story was the Mets’ offense again being productive, this time rapping out 13 hits. And this time we saw some sock, as the Mets had five extra-base hits, including a solo homer from Jeff McNeil. It was a 3-hit night for McNeil, who also drew a walk in the game. After last year’s poor production, it’s great to see McNeil hitting the way he has the first two games.
Three other Mets contributed two hits apiece. Brandon Nimmo had a single and a triple, while Starling Marte had a single, double and three RBIs. Overall, the Mets were 5-14 with RISP. The Mets will put up a lot of crooked numbers this year if they hit like that with runners in scoring position.
It’s a very deep lineup 1-9 that will wear down an opposing staff. Strong bench too. 2nd and 3rd time through the order is gonna be tough on a lot of pitchers.
Bullpen also showing off its depth tonight and we haven’t even seen the two lefties or Williams. Drew Smith is a future closer and he s 5th or 6th on the depth chart out there.
Just 2 games of course…but seemed like stringing even 2 in a row together last season was rare even with all the time in 1st place.
Oh yeah and I think Buck just became every Mets fans favorite manager charging out there like that. Great leader.
I didn’t see clearly but was Buck the first one on the field?
I believe so
The 5-14 with ducks on the pond is very nice, but more so when it’s a two out knock. That base hit to drive in two runs by Marte and make a 4-3 game into 6-3, had to be deflating for the Nationals. While I would love to say McNeil’s birthday homerun was my most favorite play, it wasn’t; it was Marte’s two-out two-run single that took my admiration.
Two games, two Mets cut down at the plate; and while I thought Alonso was safe, Cano was out by a mile. Boy he is slow if he cannot make it home with two outs on a base hit to CF, and he was out by ten feet.
Gut Reaction : Apple TV was horrible because the announcers didn’t know that there was a game going on. They just talked about dribble. Then they talked about the highlights around MLB when their game had the bases loaded. Horrible !!!
The bullpen, Smith, Lugo, and Reid-Foley pitched 3 scoreless innings and threw 33 pitches for 27 strikes. Impressive.
Don’t have Apple TV, didn’t see the game, and evidently lucky I avoided the new era announcing. Maybe Apple would be better suited to do with a Manning cast style of broadcast, done along side of the conventional GKR broadcast. Ah, what do I know. It looks like a nice win, 6 IP from Scherzer. Nice to start the season in Washington.
Apple TV broadcast was nearly unwatchable at times. Cool stat graphics though.
The problem was that the stats they showed didn’t make any sense. At one point it said it was based on Spring Training numbers, which is absurd. I think it’s a good idea to have the numbers that they showed. They just needed a better sample size. Individual career rates would have been ok. 2021 rates for the entire league, maybe.
Yeah I was more commenting on the graphics themselves and how they looked. Agree that the info wasnt great. Although I liked the stat abt Max being 10-0 vs his former teams. 11-0 now.
The only batter I feel concerned about is whomever is catching. Unlike last year, I feel that good at bats will come most of the time from the other eight batters. They’re all professional hitters, and the bench is deep with some more of these types. Good job, Billy!