The Mets’ bats were on fire and Jenrry Mejia was dominant in his debut today as the Mets took the first game of the doubleheader, 11-0, and crept even closer to the .500 mark, as well as a second place spot in the standings.
The Amazins struck just seven pitches into the game when Daniel Murphy hit an absolute bomb to right field to go up 1-0. The Nats would threaten in the bottom, but Mejia battled out of trouble to escape unharmed.
After a quiet second frame, Juan Lagares smoked a two-out double to left in the third to keep the inning alive. Murphy followed with his second dinger of the day, a 3-2 hung breaking ball from Jordan Zimmerman.
After both starters traded zeroes for three innings, the Mets were back at it in the seventh. Anthony Recker hit a leadoff double and was driven in by Lagares with a two-out single. The hit would knock Zimmerman out of the game. His final line: 6.2IP, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 8K.
Fernando Abad, who came in to relieve Zimmerman, didn’t fare much better. Murphy drove in Lagares with a single after Lagares swiped second (for the second time). David Wright followed Murphy with another single up the middle.
Mejia would exit after a scoreless seventh. His final line: 7IP, 7H, 0ER, 0BB, 7K.
Scott Rice pitched a scoreless eighth, and the Mets tacked on six more in the ninth with RBI singles by Wright and Murphy and a double by Marlon Byrd. Ike Davis (finally!!!!!!) then parked one to left field for his first home run since returning to the major league lineup.
Gonzalez Germen put the cherry on top with a scoreless ninth as the Mets creep closer to the .500 mark and second place in the division.
The second game of the doubleheader will be tonight at 7:05, when Matt Harvey will face off against Ross Ohlendorf.
Notes:
-Mejia’s stuff was absolutely filthy today. He had impeccable command of three plus pitches in his cutter, changeup, and slider. I honestly lost count of how many swings and misses he got on that slider in the dirt. His stuff looked better than anything Zach Wheeler has put forth this season. Also, let’s not forget that Mejia is just 23. If what he showed today was his true stuff, he could be a very dangerous weapon for us in the future.
-This was Murphy’s second career 2-homer game. He also did it against the Cubs on June 27th, 2012. He’s batting .464 over his last 28 at bats. His four hit, five RBI performance today is a prime example of what he’s capable of when he’s hot.
-Lagares continues to knock the cover off the ball. He finished the day 3-4 with a walk and an RBI, as well as two stolen bases. The center fielder is batting .391 in July.
-Every Met in the starting lineup besides Andrew Brown finished the day with at least one hit.
