The Mets (30-25) defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks (25-28) by a score of 6-2 tonight at Chase Field.
With the Nationals losing in Chicago, the Mets now have sole possession of first place in the National League East.
Offense:
The Mets were losing 1-0 until the sixth inning, when Kevin Plawecki hit a two-run double to score Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares to put the Mets in front for good. A much needed hit for Plawecki, who has only hit .194 (19-for-98) the past month.
Ruben Tejada added another run for the Mets in the sixth with a sacrifice fly to score Plawecki.
Paul Goldschmidt hit a solo home run in the bottom half of the frame to cut the deficit to 3-2, but it’s the closest the Diamondbacks would get for the rest of the night.
Curtis Granderson had an RBI single in the top of the eighth to put the Mets up 4-2, and John Mayberry (!!!) who went 4-for-5 with three extra base hits tonight, put the nail in the coffin for the Amazin’s in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer.
Mayberry, in his best game as a Met, is another Met who has vastly struggled (11-for-56). Hopefully, this game will give Mayberry the boost he needs and he can be a valuable asset to our bench going forward. (Fingers crossed)
Unfortunately, Daniel Murphy left tonight’s game with tightness in his quadriceps. It’s not definite, but it’s a possibility Murphy ends up on the disabled list. Losing Murphy would be a huge blow, and would force Sandy Alderson’s hand to make a trade, and very soon. Again, this is just speculation. Nothing definite has been announced in regards to Murphy.
Pitching:
Matt Harvey pitched for the Mets, and had a much needed bounce back performance that saw him pitch seven strong innings, allowing two runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out nine. He did allow two home runs, but it didn’t matter much, as he improves to 6-3 on the season.
Sean Gilmartin allowed a hit to the only batter he faced in the eighth inning and was replaced by Hansel Robles who retired one batter before handing the ball off to Jeurys Familia, who despite throwing three wild pitches, recorded the last five outs of the game and earned his 16th save of the season.
Game ball:
The game ball for tonight goes to both Matt Harvey for his nine strikeout performance, and John Mayberry who exploded offensively, going 4-for-5.
On deck:
Jon Niese (3-5; 4.42 ERA) takes on Jeremy Hellickson (3-3; 5.08 ERA) for the second game of the series tomorrow night. First pitch is at 9:40 PM.
