Carlos Carrasco threw eight shutout innings and Francisco Lindor had a 5-hit game to lead the Mets to a 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks and a sweep of the three-game series in Arizona. The Mets have now won five straight games, tying their longest winning streak of the season. It’s the third time this year the Mets have won five in a row.
Lindor hit a first inning triple to get his night started and came home on a Pete Alonso homer. The home run was a line drive, one with a launch angle of just 17 degrees. Lindor tripled and scored in the third inning, too. He singled in the fourth inning, hit his 18th home run of the year in the sixth and added another single in the eighth. Lindor’s spot was in the on-deck circle in the ninth but Buck Showalter had a pinch-hitter out, instead. But Tommy Pham ended the inning, making it moot.
Meanwhile, Carrasco was terrific. Gary Cohen relayed that Carrasco found a new slider grip, copying what he saw Pablo Lopez do in an online video. Not only was his slider working, Carrasco had a good fastball, too, topping out at 95 with his four-seamer. And to complete the good news, Carrasco was incredibly efficient. He was on pace for a nine-inning game with fewer than 100 pitches before running into some minor trouble in the eighth. Carrasco’s final line was 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB and 4 Ks in 96 pitches.
Trevor Gott made his Mets debut with a scoreless ninth inning.
While Lindor had the big night, there were five other batters with multi-hit games, as the Mets pounded out 17 hits. Francisco Alvarez had two hits and joined Alonso and Lindor with a home run. Daniel Vogelbach, Starling Marte and Luis Guillorme also had two hits apiece. Jeff McNeil had a double and two walks.
The Mets scored nine runs despite Brandon Nimmo and Pham going a combined 1-11 in the top two spots in the order. Nimmo was the only starter without a hit.
The best Ted Lasso episode of all time was “It’s the Hope That Kills You”. Let’s hope this isn’t just a simple hot streak that even bad teams find their way into once or twice a season. It seems like every time I’m looking up the Mets have scored 6 or 8 or 9 runs lately. Consistent length from the starters is obviously the key to supporting the offenses contributions. If that happens, we could add another chapter to the NL East bad start/strong finish narrative of the past several seasons from the Nats, Braves, and Phillies. All about the wild card now of course.
All Star Note: If Carroll can’t go because of injury, maybe Nimmo gets a replacement look?
Gut Reaction: Carrasco was sensational and I hoped the he would have a chance to the complete game shutout, a rare commodity. He wasn’t going to pitch again until 12-13 days because of the All-Star break.
The fourth place Mets swept the first place Diamondbacks and moved past the Cubs and tied with the Padres in the standings. In a disappointing season but this Padres series is very important to
win to give them hope. They are 6.5 games and three teams behind to make the playoffs. They can’t afford to lose the series. Let Go Mets !
I wondered in a recent comment which Cookie we would get last night and we got one over the top. Is Lindor finally breaking out? As Keith Hernandez points out that Alonso is “off” he rockets a line drive HR. When you look at the stats of the DBacks starters, their ERAs are not great but they score a lot of runs. Not this series as the Mets got shut down pitching from Senga and Carrasco. Can anyone explain why Alvarez is still hitting at or near the bottom of the lineup when his HR bat could get another AB a game if he was batting 5th? Great catch on a foul pop as he was taught to take the mask off immediately. Remember when the story was his D wasn’t ready? There ares still flaws but he is learning and improving as he goes. Hope Baty’s hamstring improves quickly as he has been upping his game with each passing week. Two hits for Vogelbach and two for Guillorme! If that’s not a sign that we are starting our move, then what is? Verlander – Peterson – Scherzer against the struggling Padres. One game at a time! No only behind three teams for the last wildcard spot. Ya Gotta Believe!
I love that Alvarez is ditching the mask. He’s a beast. McNeil needs to get hot now. Too bad there is an All-Star break happening just as we are putting things together.
They needed a laugher and boy do they like to play in Arizona. They really really really need to have a strong weekend and win this series. Yeah, Peterson is going, but the two HOFers are going, the pen is pretty rested, and there is plenty of rest on the horizon so go get ‘em.
I also liked the way Alvarez rounded the bases after his HR…it looks like Lindor gave him some advice and he took it, which is good for both players.
If Carrasco can just be decent, 3.75ish ERA and 6ish innings, things could get interesting.