Three Homers, Verlander Lead Mets To 4-1 Win

June was a forgettable month for the Mets. After not collecting a single series win, the Mets looked to turn the page and start the month of July on the right foot with a win. They opened the month with game two of their series against former teammates J.D. Davis and Michael Conforto, and the San Francisco Giants.

The Mets did what they needed and came out on top on Saturday. Fourth of July came early for New York, and the fire works started in the third inning. Francisco Álvarez, Brandon Nimmo, and Francisco Lindor all hit home runs in the third to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. In the fourth it was Tommy Pham who delivered. He hit an RBI double to give the Mets a commanding 4-0 lead over the Giants.

The Mets never looked back on that lead as Justin Verlander threw seven phenomenal innings of work and the bullpen closed it out to put the Mets in the win column with a 4-1 win over the Giants to start off the month of July. That win evened the series 1-1.

The Giants took game one on Friday night after coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Mets looked to start off July by taking game two.

Saturday’s pitching matchup featured right-handed pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (4-7, 4.44 ERA) for the visiting Giants against the veteran righty Verlander (2-4, 3.77 ERA) for the Mets.

Verlander pitched a strong top of the first giving up just one hit in the inning, a single to left field by the former Met, Davis. That was Davis’ first hit of the series in his return to Citi Field.

DeSclafani followed with a strong inning of his own as he retired the Mets in order to quickly bring the Giants back to the plate.

Verlander sailed through the second retiring the Giants in order and then DeSclafani retired two of three he faced to keep the game scoreless through two innings.

Verlander retired the Giants in order again in the third as well. He had three strikeouts through three scoreless innings.

New York struck and never looked back in the bottom of the third. With one out Álvarez went deep to give the Mets the 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Nimmo said, “I want in,” and he crushed one to deep right field to make it 2-0. Lindor was next up, and in third inning fashion, crushed the Mets’ third home run of the third to make it a 3-0 game before DeSclafani got out of the inning.

Verlander came back out in the fourth and supported his offense. For the third inning in a row he retired the side in order. He had retired the last 10 batters he faced as he really settled in.

The Giants went to their bullpen in the fourth. After DeSclafani had given up three home runs in the third, Sean Manaea came on to replace DeSclafani.

The Mets extended their lead in the bottom of the fourth off of Manaea. He walked the lead-off batter Pete Alonso to start the inning, and then two batters later, Tommy Pham hit a one-out double to left field to score Alonso and extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0 over the Giants. Manaea then retired the next two he faced to end the inning.

Verlander gave up just his second hit of the game in the fifth as the lead-off hitter Thairo Estrada singled to right field to open the top of the fifth. However, that was all for the Giants as Verlander retired the next two he faced to leave the runner stranded and bring the Mets back to bat.

Verlander gave up just his third hit of the day, a one-out single to Luis Matos. But a strikeout and a lineout left Matos stranded and the Giants out of the score column. The Mets held their 4-0 lead over the Giants through six innings.

Manaea continued to pitch well in the sixth. He shut down the Mets in order for the second inning in a row on a line-out, strikeout, and a groundout.

The Giants got on the board in the seventh as Verlander showed his first signs of fatigue. Davis recorded his second hit of the afternoon to lead-off the inning. Patrick Bailey then reached on a fielder’s choice. Davis advanced to third on a throwing error by Alonso, and then Estrada grounded into a double play that scored Davis to give the Giants their first run of the game.

With two outs, Blake Sabol doubled and Austin Slater walked to put two more on for the Giants as Verlander continued to labor through the inning. But a strikeout of Brandon Crawford finally got Verlander out of the inning before any further damage was done.

After seven innings the Mets led the Giants 4-1.

The Giants went to their bullpen again in the seventh. Jakob Junis came on to replace Manaea on the mound, who retired the Mets in order.

The Mets went to their bullpen in the top of the eighth after a phenomenal performance for Verlander. He pitched seven very solid innings and left with the Mets leading 4-1. Drew Smith came on to pitch for the Mets in the eighth. Verlander gave the Mets the start they were looking for, striking out six Giants across seven innings.

Smith came in and retired the Giants in order in the eighth, continuing a great day of pitching for New York.

Adam Ottavino came on to pitch the ninth for the Mets to close it out. He gave up a walk, but retired the other two he faced to end the inning and solidifying the Mets first win of July.

Player of the Game

After a phenomenal seven innings pitched, Justin Verlander is Saturday night’s Metsmerized Player of the Game. Verlander pitched seven innings, and gave up just five hits, one un-earned run while striking out six. Verlander threw 102 pitches (69 strikes) before turning the ball over to the bullpen in the eighth.

The Mets needed a long outing from their starters and he gave them just late allowing the bullpen to rest some and pitch a minimal amount on Saturday.

On Deck

The Mets and Giants close out their series under the lights on Sunday Night Baseball at 7:10 PM. David Peterson (2-6, 7.00) will get the ball for the Mets for the second time this homestand. Peterson’s last appearance was June 27 against the Brewers. He threw six scoreless innings in his return from Triple-A Syracuse. He struck out five and walked three in a successful outing. Peterson will look to keep that going on Sunday night against the Giants.