After a demoralizing loss on Saturday, the Mets quickly turned things around with a convincing 5-0 victory yesterday over the Phillies. Behind the dominance of Jacob deGrom, who fired a one-hitter, the Mets took the series and head into Chicago with serious momentum.
“We know we’re heading to a place where we’ll be facing a really good team, especially at home,’’ Neil Walker told The Post. “Maybe the last three weeks they haven’t been great, but this is a really good team and we know we have to be tight in all aspects of the game and take advantage of every situation we can.’’ (Kevin Kernan, NY Post)
The Mets lineup will getting a much needed boost as Yoenis Cespedes returned to action yesterday, and Michael Conforto was recalled from Triple-A.
Cespedes’ presence was sorely missed during his week long absence as he’s been the team’s best and most powerful hitter. He’s crushed 21 homeruns this season with a .302 average and 52 RBI in 81 games.
“We need him,’’ Terry Collins said. “[Wrigley] is a great park to hit in. That’s why we’ve been careful with him. Even [Saturday] he said ‘I can pinch hit.’ I said, ‘Listen, I can’t afford to lose you for three weeks.’ ’’
Meanwhile, Conforto seems to have figured out his issues in minors as he’s batting a blistering .344/.420/.623 with three home runs in 70 plate appearances for Las Vegas.
Additionally, Jose Reyes is starting to heat up and looks like a threat once again out of the leadoff spot. He’s hit three homeruns, 6 RBI with two steals in his first nine games back as a Met.
“I’m getting there,’’ said Reyes, who has at least one RBI in each of his last four games.
While the Cubs hold one of the best records in the MLB, the Mets certainly aren’t intimidated. They have beaten them in eight straight games, including their NLCS sweep last October.
The Mets have dealt with a lot of tough breaks with injuries and underperformance this season, but maybe now is the turning point of the season.
They are getting promising news about several key players, and have a great opportunity to gain ground in the playoff race against the Cubs and Marlins this week.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,’’ Collins said of these next two stops. “At least we are going into Chicago with everybody in the bullpen fresh. This road trip has a long way to go yet.’’
