Stolen bases and clutch defensive plays sprinkled throughout may have just been the difference in the Mets winning Friday’s game over the Pirates.
The Mets, now 4-0 since the trade deadline, have been playing loose since selling some of their major pieces.
Photo Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
They came out running on Friday. They took advantage of a rattled starter in Carmen Mlodzinski, who struggled mightily after a 36-minute rain delay going into the third inning. The Mets stole four bases in the first six innings — and they would have had two more on a double-steal had Bo Bichette not swung at a first-pitch cutter in the third inning. Despite that little blunder, Francisco Lindor‘s third steal of the season set up an opportunity for Carson Benge‘s second RBI single of the game.
A.J. Ewing did the same thing with two outs in the fourth. He stole second, and Lindor drove him in with an RBI hit.
Ewing and Benge have been doing the bulk of the stealing for the Mets. Benge has 18, and Ewing has 15 — that’s good for 33 of the team’s 63 stolen bags on the season.
Lindor’s hit in the fourth inning made it 6-0 Mets.
With a good but abbreviated start from Zac Thornton, it was New York’s defense that proved key in holding on for a 6-4 win.
“We’ve got a ton of great energy in this clubhouse,” Thornton said. “Guys that are hungry for it. Guys that are hungry to win. I think we’re playing for each other, so it’s awesome to see.”
The first key play was Benge’s catch in the third inning. The only negative was that Benge hurt his wrist and had to be taken out, having had a fantastic game thus far on both sides of the ball. But Benge, playing left field because of Pittsburgh’s park dimensions instead of his usual right field, took a likely leadoff double away from Ronny Simón.
Ewing added a nice catch, too, on a 102.4-mph liner to end the fifth inning. It helped Thornton strand two runners.
“They’re amazing. They’re incredible defenders,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said of Benge and Ewing. “They’re not afraid of anything. … [Ewing’s catch] was not easy. It was a phenomenal jump. Great range. A catch we needed there.”
Thornton — another young piece for the Mets getting a chance to shine in this lost season — navigated the rain delay, which cost him nearly an hour between pitches, to pitch five scoreless innings. If not for the delay, he almost certainly would have been kept in to throw more than 63 pitches.
“The way he was pitching is the type of outing you see seven or eight innings from. We would have loved to have been able to do that,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “But with the rain, it just wasn’t right for him.”
The Mets’ bullpen limped to the finish line a little bit.
That’s what made the defense so key.
One of the critical plays came from a pitcher helping his own cause: Jefry Yan, in just his second major-league outing. Yan was called in to clean up Dedniel Núñez‘s mess in the seventh inning. He allowed two inherited runners to score, but was able to avoid further damage by covering the plate as Jared Triolo attempted to score from third base on a wild pitch.
Luis Torrens, who leads MLB catchers in defensive runs saved, retrieved the ball quickly and threw a dart to Yan, who was perfectly positioned in front of the plate to get the tag down. Naturally, Yan brought some of his signature flair to the celebration.
“I wasn’t surprised by some of the emotion that came after,” Green said.
With the Mets’ lead cut to 6-2 and runners on the corners, the combined effort of Torrens and Yan prevented the inning from spiraling. It also kept Yan’s ERA at an even 0.00.
Devin Williams finished it out, but that didn’t go smoothly, either. He gave up a long run-scoring single to Jacob Gonzalez — then was gifted an out as Brett Baty came up with an assist from right field. He gunned down Gonzalez trying to stretch his hit into a double.
And that out proved extra massive as Brandon Lowe ended up hitting a two-out single to make the lead even tighter at 6-4. Without Baty’s assist, it could have been an entirely different ballgame.
Marcus Semien put a bow on the strong overall defensive game with a nice play at second base, for good measure.
“[Benge] sacrificed his body, and that’s all you can ask for in your outfielders,” Semien said. “And then great play by Baty, a guy who’s been playing all over the field. So to play that wall, which is a tough wall in right and make a great throw, was exactly what we needed.”
Though the bullpen wasn’t at its sharpest, the Mets showed some flair on Friday in getting their fourth consecutive win. Stealing bases and going above and beyond defensively were two major keys in separating themselves and holding off the Pittsburgh comeback attempt.
