The Mets (51-48) defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers (56-44) by a score of 2-0 this afternoon at Citi Field, and in the process, salvaging the series split.
Jacob deGrom started for the Mets, and he was absolutely phenomenal. The All-Star pitcher and former Rookie of the Year was fired up, and came right at the Dodgers hitters the entire game.
The righty pitched 7.2 very strong innings, holding Los Angeles to only two hits and didn’t allow a run. He also struck out eight hitters and exited the game to a standing ovation from an appreciative Citi Field crowd.
What was most impressive from deGrom was that he out pitched Zack Greinke, who coming into today lead the major league with a 1.30 ERA, and hadn’t allowed a run in his previous six starts.
In the third inning, Greinke lead off the inning by plunking Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who would subsequently advance to third after Kevin Plawecki hit a single to center fielder Joc Pederson, who botched the ball to put runners on the corners with no out for Jacob deGrom.
DeGrom then hit into a fielder’s choice to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who chose to come home on the play, but Captain Kirk beat the throw and just got under the tag to end Greinke’s scoreless streak at 45.2 innings.
In the sixth inning, the Mets tacked on another run, as Curtis Granderson singled to lead off the inning, and stole second after a failed hit-and-run attempt with Ruben Tejada at the plate.
However, Tejada managed to get Granderson to third as he dropped down a sacrifice bunt.
The next batter, Daniel Murphy, was intentionally walked, which was followed by Kelly Johnson hitting into a fielder’s choice which had Curtis Granderson being thrown out at home trying to score.
Lucas Duda was then walked to load the bases, and Michael Conforto was hit by a pitch to force home a run. Conforto became the first Mets rookie to record an RBI in his first three games.
Jacob deGrom was removed with two outs in the eighth for Jeurys Familia, who was looking to earn a four out save.
Familia was able to get out of the eighth, but surrendered two runs to tie the game in the ninth, as he just didn’t seem to have it today.
On a side note, I know a lot of Mets fans are giving Terry Collins flak for pitching him two days in a row, but realistically, he only threw 9 pitches last night, so I don’t think that had an effect on his performance today. Sometimes, you’re just off for whatever reason. Familia has been the Mets MVP this season without a question, and I fully expect him to get back on the right track his next time out.
Jenrry Mejia pitched the tenth inning, and walked Jimmy Rollins to start the frame. The Mets killer then stole second and moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt from Scott Van Slyke.
Mejia got a monumental second out by striking out Joc Pederson, and got Howie Kendrick to fly out to end the inning to strand J-Roll at third.
In the bottom of the tenth, Curtis Granderson got a hustle double to start off the inning. Ruben Tejada then attempted to advance him to third with a sacrifice bunt, but popped it up.
The next batter was Daniel Murphy who was intentionally walked, to put runners on first and second with one out, and Don Mattingly going to the bullpen for closer Kenley Jansen.
The first batter Jansen faced was Juan Uribe, who drove a ball deep to center field which banked off the wall, and scored Granderson from second to end the game and secure the win for the Mets.
Thoughts:
It would have been poetic justice to see Jacob deGrom get his eleventh win of the year, and have Jeurys Familia shut the door, which has been the Mets recipe to success this season, but things don’t always work out the way you plan. Such is life.
For whatever reason, though, I wasn’t infuriated or upset or anxious when the game was tied up, because I just had a feeling the Mets were going to come away with the win.
Then, when Uribe got the game winning hit, it was just perfect. I don’t know what it was that made me feel positive that they were going to win. Maybe it’s the emergence of top prospect Michael Conforto, or the presence of Kelly Johnson and the aforementioned Uribe, but the Mets came back after two tough losses to salvage the series tie.
With Washington and the Cubs losing the Mets now stand at two games back in the division, and three back for the second wild card. This season is far from over, and I have a feeling the Mets are going to make another trade this week for a bat that is going to solidify this lineup and prep us for a run down the stretch.
You gotta believe.
On deck:
The Mets are off tomorrow, but start a three game series against the San Diego Padres Tuesday night with Noah Syndergaard (4-5, 2.97 ERA) taking on James Shields (8-3, 3.77 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 PM.
