For the third straight day, the Mets played an extra-inning game. For the third straight day, the visitors put up a big crooked number to win. And for the second day in a row it was the Mets, who scored five runs and emerged with a 7-2 win over the Nationals. The victory upped their record this year against the Nats to 5-0 and it put the club above .500 at 42-41.
Jose Iglesias and Brandon Nimmo had RBI doubles in the 10th inning, while Francisco Lindor delivered a run-scoring single. Pete Alonso capped the scoring with a two-run homer, his 18th of the year.
As much fun as the offense was in extra innings, the story of this game was the pitching. Sean Manaea went seven innings and allowed two runs. The first run came in an inning with two infield hits and the other run was unearned. How good was Manaea this game? He allowed a hit in the sixth inning and Carlos Mendoza didn’t reflexively remove him from the game. And he had a 1-2-3 seventh, too.
Jose Butto came on to pitch two scoreless innings and picked up the win. It was a bit of a surprise that Mendoza didn’t have Butto finish the game. But it’s possible that pitching on 3-days rest limited what Butto could give the team. Dedniel Nunez retired all three batters he faced in the 10th. Neither pitcher will likely be available on Wednesday.
Lindor got the Mets on the board in the sixth inning with a leadoff homer. The visitors tied things up in the eighth when Lindor cracked a one-out double and Nimmo followed with an RBI single. Nimmo didn’t start the game, sitting out as a precaution from his fainting incident the day before, but ended up with two hits, a run and two RBIS. His OPS now sits at .824 for the year.
Nimmo replaced Harrison Bader, who crashed into the wall while trying to catch a fly ball.
In their last 27 games, the Mets have scored 179 runs, a 6.6 runs per game average. They’re 19-8 in that span.
Gut Reaction: this was the third straight game that the starter gave the Mets length. Manaea pitched a gem. The new multi-inning reliever, Butto, was the bridge to Nunez. Lindor, Nimmo and Alonso delivers as they are expected to and are paid to do. Two players that didn’t break camp are contributing this season and last night. Vientos had two hits and a RBI. Iglesias delivered the go ahead double in in the 10th. He is been hitting and McNeil has not. Iglesias should get more playing time. They are now in position to win the series.
This was a nicely played game, and unless my eyes were deceiving me, there were some stolen bases. Kudos to Manaea for bringing his A game and limiting the pen use. Kudos to Nimmo for jumping in twice. Lindor, Nimmo, Vientos and Alonso each with two hits. Iggy with a big double and batting .388. Scott for the series win tomorrow. Keep the faith!
Although it took extra time, the Mets are winning the games they need to win. Boy have the Nats come in handy for them.