The New York Mets and these four game series. They looked awful in the first two games in St. Louis before taking the final pair, and they looked sleepy in the first couple against the San Diego Padres before storming back to even the series. Sunday, The Mets won on Sunday, 6-2, with terrific pitching and timely hitting. Resiliency, thy name is Mets.
New York got their first taste of the southern California baseball powerhouses this season, splitting the series 2-2. The Mets held the Padres to 1 run over the weekend off the backs of their number one and two starters Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman.
Stroman concluded the series against San Diego starter Chris Paddack.
The Mets were set down in order to open the game. Jake Cronenworth tagged Stroman for the first hit of the afternoon in the bottom of the inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out on a check swing. Home plate umpire Tripp Gibson neglected to call for help and said he went around
In the top of the second Dominic Smith walked on a 3-2 count. Smith checked his swing on the final pitch of the at-bat. Gibson called toward the third-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt to make the decision. Padres manager Jayce Tingler expressed his displeasure with the call and was ejected.
The Mets wouldn’t score in the second after a strike him out, throw him out, involving Smith and James McCann.
New York collected the first run in the third. Jose Peraza hit a ground-rule double to center with inexperienced outfielder Jurickson Profar patrolling the area. Stroman bunted Peraza to third and with two outs Billy McKinney recorded his first single for the Mets to drive in the run.
The Mets tacked on another run with Smith’s solo home run in the fourth. His fourth long ball of the year and second this road trip.
San Diego loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning. Eric Hosmer singled, Wil Myers walked, and Ha-Seong Kim singled to put runners on with one out. Catcher Webster Rivas smoked a ball down the third-base line. Brandon Drury snagged it, tagged third with his glove, and threw it to first from his knees for the double play.
2019 April rookie of the month and eventual rookie of the year Pete Alonso stepped up against Paddack with a runner on second in the sixth. Alonso singled on a line drive to center, scoring the run and putting the Mets up three.
New York had two errors on one play in the sixth, allowing San Diego’s lone run to score. Tatis Jr. reached first on a poor toss to first from Stroman, while going to second Alonso missed the throw, putting the shortstop on third base. Hosmer grounded out and Tatis Jr. crossed home.
Stroman made up for his mistake in the seventh. Against reliever Craig Stammen, Peraza singled on a perfect bunt with two outs. With plans to pitch the bottom of the inning, Stroman came up to bat. He laced a ball into the left-field corner for his second double this season. Peraza easily scoring from first.
Stroman’s day ended in the seventh. Tommy Pham hit a ground-rule double and was the last batter he faced. He went six and two-thirds, allowing four hits, striking out seven. He was unusually wild, walking four batters. Miguel Castro entered in relief getting Profar to fly out in three pitches.
The Mets scored again in the eighth. Alonso reached base on a hit by pitch. McCann launched a two-run home run, his sixth, to center and put New York up five.
Castro shut down the Padres in the eighth. Trevor May entered for the ninth, allowing one run on two hits. The Mets bullpen allowed two runs in 10 and two-thirds innings during the series.
New York is off Monday. They start a two-game series at Camden Yards against the Orioles on Tuesday.
