“Results matter. At this point, I think we’ve played pretty well. I don’t believe that we’re looking at anything as a lost season. We have talent. We have heart. And we have a group of people that believe in each other, and will pick each other up.”
These the words of New York Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen uttered before Saturday’s game against the St.Louis Cardinals. The Mets indeed picked each other up as they defeated the stubborn Cards, 8-7 on Saturday to win their first game of the four game set. (box score)
The game will be remembered for a few issues and a potential debilitating injury.
First, the Cardinals ran wild against the Mets, stealing six bases. The Mets franchise record for steals allowed in a game is eight.
Next, three Mets batters were hit by pitches in the game to raise their league lead to 40 HPBs.
Finally, and most importantly, Mets starter Noah Syndergaard had to leave the game in the top of the seventh with a right hamstring strain. He will be evaluated again on Sunday. It is unknown as of this writing how long Syndergaard will be out.
Offense
The New York Mets managed ten hits against the Cardinals on Saturday.
The Mets were facing Michael Wacha, a pitcher who has given New York some problems in the past. Wacha has struggled lately and was even relegated to the bullpen. He made his second start on Saturday against the Mets after a victory against the Miami Marlins. The Amazins wasted little time in getting to him.
The Mets sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and scored five runs. Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch to begin the frame. It was the 38th time this year a Met was plunked which leads the National League.
J.D. Davis singled to put runner on first and second. After Michael Conforto struck-out, Pete Alonso stepped to the plate and slugged a monster three-run home run off the facing of the third level in left field.
The ball traveled 458 feet which represents the longest home run of Alonso’s short career. It was his 23rd homer, only three shy of Darryl Strawberry’s record for four-baggers by a rookie (1983). Pete now has 53 RBIs. The Mets led 3-1 at this point in the game.
Todd Frazier kept the line-up moving with a base-hit to left. He was promptly driven in by a double by Wilson Ramos who collected his 38th RBI. Amed Rosario then reached on an error by Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong to put runner on first and third . Ramos was driven in by Carlos Gomez who hit a sacrifice fly to right. The Mets had a 5-1 lead and it was the fourth time this year the Mets have scored four or more runs in the first inning of a game.
The Mets extended their lead to 6-1 in the second. J.D. Davis hit a solo home run to make the score 6-1. It was the eighth homer of the year for Davis.
The Cardinals chipped away at the Mets lead with single runs in the third and fifth to make the score 6-3.
The Mets answered back in the sixth scoring a pair of runs to make the score 8-3. Gomez led off with a walk. After two were out, J.D. Davis swatted his fourth hit of the night, this a single. Michael Conforto followed with a single to right to score Gomez. It was Conforto’s 33rd RBI of the year. After Alonso was hit by a pitch (his ninth HBP of the year) the bases were loaded. Frazier followed with a four pitch walk to score Davis and make the score 8-3.
J.D. Davis swatted four hits on the night and was a triple short of the cycle. It was Davis’ first career four hit game. Pete Alonso, with two hits on the evening, was the only other Met with multiple hits in the game.
Pitching
The Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead as the second batter of the game, Dexter Fowler, hit a solo home run. Syndergaard escaped further damage even though Met-killer Paul DeJong got another hit against the Mets. DeJong has a .789 slugging percentage lifetime against New York.
Syndergaard allowed three singles in the third allowing the Cards to plate their second run. Wacha led off with a single followed by another hit by DeJong, his fifth hit of the series. Marcell Ozuna drove in Wacha with a single to make the score 6-2. It was Ozuna’s 56th RBI of the year.
St. Louis added another run in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. Tommy Edman was hit by a pitch to lead off. He promptly stole second and advanced to third on a poor throw by Ramos. He was driven in by Fowler on a sacrifice fly to right, his second RBI of the game and 21st of the year.
After the Mets made the score 8-3 in bottom of the sixth, the pesky Cards scored three runs in the seventh on RBIs by Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler and Paul DeJong. The inning was more concerning for Mets fans not because of the three run outburst to get the Cards back in the game, but due to a right hamstring strain to Syndergaard. He’ll be re-evaluated on Sunday. Noah grabbed the back of his right leg after he allowed a lead-off single to Yairo Munoz.
Robert Gsellman entered the game and allowed a walk, two singles and a sacrifice fly.
Noah’s final line was: 6+ IP, five runs (four earned), two BBs and five strikeouts. He now has a 4.55 ERA.
Seth Lugo pitched around a lot of trouble in the eighth inning as the Cardinals loaded the bases on a single and two walks. But he managed to strike out Carpenter to end the threat. Lugo struck out the side in a nerve wracking but effective inning.
Edwin Diaz came for the third straight night to try for his 15th save. He gave up one run and had the final out thrown out at the plate, but managed to earn his 15th save. A perfect throw by McNeil gunned down Jack Flaherty at the plate to preserve the win.
On Deck
The Mets conclude their series with St. Louis with an afternoon tilt at 1:10 PM. Jason Vargas (3-3) starts for the Mets, and it is safe to say he’s been the Mets best pitcher over the last month. In his last eight outings, Vargas owns a 2.20 ERA and a .215 opponents’ batting average. He’s managed to go at least 7.1 innings in his last three starts.
Vargas will face Dakota Hudson (5-3). Hudson is coming off a victory against the Marlins where he pitched a career-high seven innings. The Cardinals right-hander has six straight quality starts with St. Louis winning five of those games.
The game will be telecast on WPIX and broadcast on WCBS-880.
