Less than 24 hours after taking the night off because Jacob deGrom was on the mound, the Mets offense roared back, banging out 14 hits, with eight of those going for extra-bases. They raced out to a 9-0 lead and held on for a 9-5 win over the Nationals, taking the rubber match of the series Wednesday afternoon in Washington D.C.
Pete Alonso got the scoring going with a two-run blast, giving him 88 RBIs for the season. Then Daniel Vogelbach delivered his first RBIs for the Mets with a grand slam to make it 6-0. Vogelbach is now slashing .308/.471/.500 as a Met, continuing the hot hitting he’s done all season versus RHP.
Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil each had three hits, with Nimmo adding a walk and McNeil having all three of his hits being doubles.
Chris Bassitt got the start and continued his recent stretch of strong outings, posting seven scoreless innings. In the three-game set versus the Nats, Mets’ SP allowed just 3 ER in 18.2 IP.
Trevor May made his return from the IL and pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Mychal Givens made his Mets debut in the ninth and it didn’t go well at all for him, as he allowed five hits and five runs in 0.2 IP, necessitating Buck Showalter to make a pitching change in an inning that started with a 9-run lead.
Next up is a five-game series versus the Braves, who will come to Citi Field down 3.5 games in the standings. The Mets answered the challenge in Atlanta the last time the two teams met, winning two of the three games. Taking this series as well would be an excellent result.
Gut Reaction: the Mets returned to their usual selves and won the game, and the series, with excellent starting pitching and hitting. Vogelbach had a grand slam after Alonso was intentionally walk. Vogelbach did what he was obtained for, hitting homeruns and protecting Alonso. May had nice return but Givens didn’t in his Met debut. Let’s win the Atlanta series and increase our division leading lead. LGM
The team hasnt lost consecutive games in a division series all season. Their ability to move on from a loss is extraordinary.
I couldn’t believe Alonso hit that ball out to dead center when he had to reach down and across the plate to get to that pitch. Not only did he pick up the pitch and track it well, but we need to start realizing how special he can be when he uses the whole field and lays off the low and away sliders.
Great win and Givens got his nerves out of the way. Atlanta is coming to Citifield, and the Mets are rolling at the right time. I’m expecting good times this weekend. I can’t recall getting more pumped up for a series this year than this series. Not quite like the 1985 series going to St. Louis, but certainly in the realm of the 2015 series when Washington came to town at the end of July.