In perhaps his last game as a Met, Justin Verlander recorded his 250th lifetime win, pitching the Mets to a 5-2 win over the Nationals Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. The Mets took three of four in this series of the two bottom teams in the NL East.
It wasn’t an easy day for Verlander, who needed 103 pitches to go 5.1 innings. But he got the job done and didn’t give up a gopher ball, so that was nice. Verlander had five strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 3.15 for the season.
Francisco Lindor continued to swing a hot bat, as he notched a three-hit game, including a double and a homer. Pete Alonso also drove in two runs.
This was the last game before the trade deadline for the Mets. Here’s how other trade candidates besides Verlander did:
Mark Canha: 1-3 with a walk
Omar Narvaez: 0-3 with a SF
Tommy Pham: Strikeout as a pinch-hitter
Adam Ottavino: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K
Brooks Raley: IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks
It was the third game in four days for Raley, an unusual move for Buck Showalter. The manager had David Peterson relieve Verlander and my hope was that Showalter would have him attempt to close the game as a move towards getting him stretched back out as a starter to replace Max Scherzer in the rotation. Instead, he lifted him to get Ottavino in the game for the platoon advantage.
The Mets are now 50-55 and they finish July with a 14-9 record, their best month of the year so far.
Gut Reaction: when Lindor, Alonso and the bullpen perform then the Mets usually win. They did and they won.
Verlander lower his ERA and is now in the top 20 starting pitchers in MLB.
Raley got the save. Both of them should be on the 2024 roster.
Verlander after his 250th win was asked about being traded: “I’m committed to trying to win a championship here, but if the organization decides that that’s not the direction that best fit for next year, I’d be open to it.”
Now that’s a respectful answer.