New York– A win on Saturday set the New York Mets up in a situation that has been quite challenging for them over the past month: trying to close out a series victory. The Mets went 0-for-June in series wins and had a challenging task ahead with David Peterson set to take on a San Francisco Giants’ team that hammered him for seven runs back in April. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Mets (38-46) did enough to beat the Giants (46-38) 8-4 to secure their first series victory in over a month.
Things looked bad early for the Mets as a few key mistakes allowed the Giants to grab an early lead. Peterson walked Bryce Johnson to lead off the third inning and allowed him to advance to second on a wild pitch. Johnson then stole third after Brett Baty failed to properly apply the tag on a good throw from Francisco Alvarez, freeing him up to score on a fielder’s choice. Things did take a turn in the bottom of the inning for the Mets when Alex Wood entered as part of a bullpen day for the Giants.
Wood (L, 3-3) was sloppy from the jump, loading the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. The Mets almost let him escape the inning but Wood walked newly-minted All-Star Pete Alonso to force in the tying run. Jeff McNeil followed up with an infield single to second base that was misplayed by Brandon Crawford, allowing both Brandon Nimmo and Tommy Pham to race home and make it 3-1.
The Mets got to Wood again in the bottom of the fourth when Mark Canha launched a solo shot (6) to lead off the frame. Tommy Pham drove in another run with a double off of Tristan Beck, making it 5-1 with all of the runs being the responsibility of Wood.
Manager Buck Showalter took advantage of his newly expanded lead to make a curious choice to pull Peterson after just four innings and 61 pitches, turning the rest of the game over to the Mets’ bullpen. Grant Hartwig did his job, tossing two scoreless innings, but Jeff Brigham got into trouble in the seventh.
Brigham walked the leadoff man and pinch-hitter Blake Sabol got him for a two-run homer (8) to make it 5-3. A one-out single by Thairo Estrada chased Brigham and former Met J.D. Davis greeted Dominic Leone rudely with an RBI double to make it a one-run game. Leone did strike out Patrick Bailey and intentionally walked Lamonte Wade Jr to allow the Mets to set up a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Brooks Raley and Crawford. Raley did his job, inducing a grounder to shortstop to end the threat, and the Mets even gave him an insurance run with an RBI single from Starling Marte in the bottom of the inning.
Things got dicey again in the eighth after Raley sandwiched a hit batsman between two strikeouts. With a group of righties coming up, Showalter went to Adam Ottavino to try and finish the eighth. Ottavino was wild out of the gate, walking and hitting a batter to load the bases, but he struck out Davis to strand all three runners.
Pete Alonso gave the Mets even more insurance in the bottom of the inning with a two-run bomb (25) off Ryan Walker to give David Robertson some breathing room. Robertson quickly atoned for his blown save on Friday night by working a perfect ninth inning to seal a critical series win for the Mets.
This victory was a potentially big swing for the Mets, who now have a series win under their belts ahead of an off-day to travel to the West Coast for a six-game road trip. While the difference between being eight games under .500 as opposed to 10 may not seem like much, it is an important step forward for a team that had lost its way in June. If the Mets simply play five games above .500 for the rest of the month they will hit the deadline just three games below the break-even point, creating a much more interesting path forward for them. This series could well be a mirage in the midst of a lot of losing, much like the Mets’ five-game winning streak over Tampa Bay and Cleveland in May was, but if they do manage to turn things around this game could be a key turning point.
Player Of The Game:
Today’s Player of the Game award goes to Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso, who celebrated his return to the All-Star Game by going 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a two-run homer in the eighth to provide much-needed insurance for the beleaguered Mets’ bullpen.
Post-Game Notes:
Hartwig (W, 1-1) earned his first big-league win by tossing two scoreless innings of relief.
Pham paced all regulars with three hits and has now raised his batting average to .295 on the season.
Alonso, who was the Mets’ lone All-Star selection, announced during an in-game interview that he will be participating in his fourth consecutive Home Run Derby.
This is the Mets’ first series victory since sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series from May 30-June 1.
The Mets won their season series with the Giants 4-3.
The Mets went 3-4 on their seven-game home stand to finish the first half with a 20-19 record at Citi Field.
What’s Next:
The Mets are off tomorrow as they fly to Phoenix to begin a six-game road trip against the National League West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks (50-35). RHP Kodai Senga (6-5, 3.53 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets. The Diamondbacks will counter with RHP Zach Davies (1-4, 6.54 ERA). First pitch for the Independence Day matinee is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. at Chase Field.
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