There are nights when everything works, right from the start. Tuesday in Arizona was one of those nights for the Mets. Facing Met-Killer, Bronson Arroyo, and wearing number 42 on all of their jerseys in honor of Jackie Robinson, the Mets put three quick runs on the board in the top of the first inning. Eric Young, Daniel Murphy, and David Wright starting the game with successive hits. The tone was set offensively, and Jenrry Mejia added exclamation in the bottom of the inning, with a perfect first on only nine pitches.
The game remained 3-0, with Mejia pitching perfectly through the third inning, when the floodgates opened. After an Andrew Brown single, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, having been called up for Juan Lagares, collected his second hit of the night, this one a home run into the pool in right-center field. The Mets had a 5-0 lead and were on their way to a route. By the time the top of the fourth inning ended, it was 9-0 New York. After Kirk’s home run, six of the next seven batters reached base.
The only point of interest at this point being whether Jenrry Mejia could make history after a perfect start. But after the long delay in the top of the inning, he walked the first batter in the fourth, and then Paul Goldschmidt singled down the left field line to end the no-hit bid. Mejia would end up exiting the game in the sixth due to a blister, but the score could have dictated the precautionary measures.
After an 0-3 start to the season, the Amazins are already back to .500. They are 7-7 with a final away game to finish the nine-game road trip tomorrow afternoon, before they begin a ten-game homestand.
Key Play
The sign of a good team is when one player leaves the lineup, another one enters, and makes the most out of it. Kirk Nieuwenhuis did that tonight, and his home run to make it 5-0 really sent the game in a blow-out direction.
Starter Focus
Jenrry Mejia
Mejia was sharp from the start, pitching five innings of two-hit baseball over 77 pitches. His cutter becoming a dominant pitch. He didn’t quite get the swings-and-misses utilizing the pitch we have seen early in the season (whiff% of 12.98%), but was still effective. He left the game early due to a blister.
Bronson Arroyo
Arroyo entered the night 8-3 with a 3.63 ERA in his career against the Mets. He looked anything but dominant against them tonight. The Mets tagged ten hits and nine earned runs on Arroyo before he was pulled in the fourth.
Game Notes
- Filling in for Juan Lagares, Kirk Nieuwenhuis had an impressive night going 3-5, and flagging down everything in center field.
- The Mets are now 5-3 on their nine-game road trip, which concludes tomorrow afternoon, as they go for the sweep of Arizona.
- The Mets have now scored 12 first inning runs, good for top five in baseball.
- Scoring first had been a bad omen heading into this game, but the Mets improve to 3-6 when they plate the first run.
