It’s a Long Season
The Mets completed a two-game sweep over the New York Yankees at Citi Field to move back to .500 at 39-39. It is their first time at .500 since May 7th.
After being left to dream about next season and debating who would be traded to contenders at the Trade Deadline, the tone and tenor of the season has drastically changed.
The Mets are currently only 1.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the third Wild Card spot, and are playing with a lot of momentum. After going 15-4 in their last 19 games, and 15-6 during the month of June, the Mets are one of the hottest teams in the league.
It’s funny how baseball works. As fast as the season was written off, the Mets are back at .500 and in the thick of the Wild Card conversation. However, as fast as they got into the conversation, one long streak can bring them back to earth. The season still has a long way to go, with over half the grind left.
For now, the Grimace Army rejoices and enjoys the Mets resurgence.
Game 1: Mets 9, Yankees 7
With a strong offensive showing, highlighted by the continued establishment of Mark Vientos as an everyday power threat, the Mets take game one of the series. They did well against Gerritt Cole (second start of the year coming back from injury), one of the best pitchers in baseball and one they have historically played well against. The Mets bullpen almost gave the lead back, highlighted by a grand slam from the best power hitter in the game.
The Mets hit four home runs against Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. Vientos had two of those shots, along with one each from Brandon Nimmo and former Yankee Harrison Bader. The only starter without a hit was Pete Alonso, though he did contribute an RBI through a sacrifice fly.
On the mound, David Peterson loaded the bases in the first before striking out the next three batters in order to strand all three runners. This set the tone for his start and the series overall. Peterson threw 103 pitches over 4.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits with five walks and eight strikeouts. The only run he gave up was a home run to Juan Soto. Dedniel Nunez came on to relieve Peterson in the fifth and induced an inning ending double play. Nunez went 2.2 total innings to pick up his first career win in his strong rookie season. Adam Ottavino started the eighth and put runners at first and second with one out. Upon manager Carlos Mendoza taking him out of the game, video appeared to show Ottavino cursing out Mendoza (or himself, who knows). Brings back memories of Jorge Lopez. Danny Young relieved Ottavino and gave up a hit to cut the lead to 9-3, got one out and then loaded the bases with Aaron Judge coming to the plate. Reed Garrett came in to face Judge and gave up a grand slam to cut the lead to 9-7. Garrett did take the ball in the ninth to finish the game.
For the Yankees, Judge carried the offense, delivering five RBIs on two hits. Soto and Austin Wells provided the other RBI’s. The vaunted Yankees lineup struck out 12 times on the game, with three by Anthony Volpe, and two each by Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, and former Met J.D. Davis, who was making his first Yankees appearance.
Cole struggled in his second start of the year, giving up six runs on seven hits in four innings. He walked four without any strikeouts. Former Mets Phil Bickford and Michael Tonkin covered the next two innings, responsible for three runs (two earned). Tim Hill and Tommy Kahnle went the final two shutout innings.
Game 2: Mets 12, Yankees 2
Francisco Alvarez, please step forward. It’s your time to shine. The catcher continues to entrench himself as a foundational building block in Queens, delivering offensive fireworks that led to a no-doubt win to complete the sweep in the Subway Series.
Alvarez went three for three with three runs and three RBIs on the day. His average stands at .313 for the season. Multi-hit games were also contributed by Francisco Lindor, who continues to thrive from the leadoff spot, and Bader.
Taking the mound for the Mets was Sean Manaea, who stuck to the five inning formula. Over the five shutout frames, he surrendered only two hits but walked five along with three strikeouts. Switching the order from the previous game, Young came in first out the bullpen. He gave up a two-run home run to Judge and was replaced by Ottavino who went two-thirds of an inning without giving up a hit. Adrian Houser went the rest of the way to pick up a rare three-inning save, his first of the season.
Judge went two for two for the Bronx Bombers, homering for the second time in the Series. Verdugo also had two hits, with the other two hits contributed by D.J. LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera.
Luis Gil, following a tough start against the Orioles, did not fare much better in this matchup. His final stat line was 4.1 innings, with five runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts. The final 3.2 innings were handled by Caleb Ferguson, Yoendrys Gomez, and Tim Hill. They combined to allow seven runs on eight hits with three walks and one strikeout.
Looking Ahead
With the series sweep over the Yankees, the Mets stand at 39-39 which is 13. games behind the first-place Phillies. They have moved past the Washington Nationals for third place in the division. However, they are only one and a half games out of the final NL Wild Card spot. After an off day on Thursday, the Mets are still home at Citi Field to take on the Astros for a three-game series. The 40-40 Astros trail the Mariners in the AL West by four and a half games, and are only three games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. The Mets and Astros have not met yet this year.
Stats by espn.com
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