Justin Verlander was terrific and the Mets cruised to a 5-1 win over the White Sox Wednesday night at Citi Field. It’s the Mets’ ninth win in their last 13 games and having already clinched a series win, they’ll go for the sweep Thursday afternoon.
Verlander did not allow a baserunner the first three innings and he gave up just one hit thru six. The White Sox finally had some success against him in the seventh, as he gave up a homer and needed 30 pitches to get thru the inning. But his pitch count was low enough that he was able to go out and pitch the eighth, too.
After a 1-2-3 eighth inning, the SNY cameras showed him in the dugout, indicating that he was good to go back out. But with a four-run lead, Buck Showalter decided that was enough and he brought in Adam Ottavino to close it out. Verlander finished at 100 pitches with 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 7 Ks. He lowered his ERA to 3.47 and upped his record to 4-5.
Brett Baty got the Mets on the board with a solo homer in the third inning, the second night in a row he left the park. Baty also had an RBI in the Mets’ four-run fourth and made a couple of nice plays in the field, too. Winning baseball becomes easier if Baty provides a productive bat.
The Mets plated four runs despite managing just two hits, as there were a couple of walks and a HBP, too. Francisco Alvarez had an RBI single as part of a two-hit night and Brandon Nimmo had an RBI double.
Pete Alonso inched closer to the Interstate, as he went 0-3 and saw his AVG fall to .203 for the season. But he walked and scored in the fourth inning.
Nice game. Good D. Enough offense and a stellar performance by Verlander. If not for a 20 plus pitch inning near the end he would have come out for the ninth. Could not have been happier for my first in person game of the year.
You deserved a good game because you are a loyal fan! LGM
Tidy. Another 10 of these by the end of July and things could get interesting. It’s good to see Baty driving the ball again.
Several thoughts:
– Why wouldn’t Showalter allow these two guys to dictate? He lets them call their own pitches but pulls a work horse after only 100 when he wants to go for more?
– If the Mets keep winning and get to .500 by July 31st, do they still sell? It may be an opportunity to stock the farm a bit, but, throw in the towel without giving them a chance?
– Did anyone read Tim Briton’s article in The Athletic chronicling the Mets’ plight this year and being 29th in BABIP? Alonso is a cool .100 lower than his career average. Too, he’s a free agent after next year. If you sell everyone not tied down, do you hang on to a first baseman?
– Next year’s penalty for Cohen will be 110%. When does he reset?
I was ok with Verlander getting pulled when he did. My quibble would be why pitch Ottavino with a four-run lead. But they had their 2-3-4 hitters going so it’s not like I was dying to see Leone in that situation.
People are so eager to sell that they’ve been talking about it for weeks. The front office should absolutely be searching for trade partners, ones that include selling. But that idea shouldn’t be written in pen, much less set in stone.
BABIP issue? I wrote about that at the end of May — https://mets360.com/?p=47512
My best guess is there’s no reset until both the Scherzer and Verlander deals are off the books.
Thanks for the thoughts Brian. I cannot disagree with any of your opinions but I also would not want to sell. I may be creative this winter however.