We’re all depressed about what’s going on in the world regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, and baseball has become collateral damage. We all need to escape, and now you can read this blog in the alternate: the one where global pandemics were a myth and baseball was around no matter what. We’re imagining the 2020 Mets season as if everything was normal. Enjoy these works of fiction.
Rick Porcello made his Mets debut tonight, and going up against Aaron Nola you would think that he would have had his work cut out for him. But the Mets remained on the side of common sense regarding the lineup construction, and it continued to pay dividends against one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Brandon Nimmo jumped on a Nola 3-1 fastball and sent it into the gap for a triple to lead off the game. Jeff McNeil followed with a sac fly to make it 1-0. The rout was on from there. Pete Alonso sent a bullet down the left field line for a double, J.D. Davis followed with a double of his own to make it 2-0, and then Wilson Ramos singled home Davis to make it 3-0 in the first for the second game in a row. Then in the second, Alonso doubled home Nimmo and McNeil after they both walked to make it 5-0 and knock Nola out of the game.
Porcello was as advertised. a guy who is going to eat innings in situations like this without killing you. He gave up a dinger to Bryce Harper in the third (his 7th of the season) to make it 5-1, and then after Amed Rosario’s two run homer made it 7-1 a two run shot to Harper in the fifth (Harper’s 8th) to bring his final line to 5 and 2/3’s, three runs, 5 strikeouts and two walks. It’s just what you want from your fifth starter when you get a little bit of run support.
Alonso added a two run single in the eighth to bring the final score to 9-3 as the Mets now stand at 3-2, and are feeling really good going into one of the most anticipated April games in recent Mets history: Jacob deGrom vs. Zack Wheeler. Wheeler, for his part, steered clear of taking the bait from New York reporters about sticking it to Brodie Von Monorail in his first career start against the Mets, instead deflecting all credit to deGrom for helping Wheeler’s career just by watching him. Tomorrow afternoon should be a lot of fun.
Today’s Hate List
- Bryce Harper (yes, again)
- Rhys Hoskins
- Shane Victorino
- Greg Gross
- Don Carman
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