T.J. Salvages What Montero Destroys

The Mets took a first inning lead when T.J. Rivera jumped all over a Tom Koehler pitch to make it 1-0. That was fun while it lasted. 

Rafael Montero took the mound and was Rafael Montero. By some minor miracle, he had two scoreless before the Marlins scratched a run across in the third. Then the fourth inning happened. The 1-1 game became 6-1 in an inning Montero had just one on with two outs. 
He then allowed singles to Martin Prado and Christian Yelich to load the bases. To be fair to Montero, the Prado ball was probably a ball Jose Reyes, who was playing shortstop for the injured Asdrubal Cabrera, should have gotten. Instead of getting out of the inning, the bases were loaded, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a two RBI double. 

With the score 3-1, Terry Collins, like most of us, had enough of Montero. His final line was 3.2 innings, seven hits, five runs, five earned, three walks, and four strikeouts. The line looked a little uglier because Josh Smoker imploded as well allowing the inherited runners to score along with two of his own.  

At that point, it was 7-1, and it appeared like the Mets were just playing out the string. Instead, they fought back. 

It started with Curtis Granderson hitting a two run homer in the bottom of the fourth. The homer put the Mets within reach and made the ensuing comeback more manageable. 

Part of that comeback was some terrific bullpen work. Fernando SalasHansel RoblesJerry BlevinsAddison Reed, and Jeurys Familia combined to pitch 4.1 innings allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out three. This outstanding work allowed the five run seventh inning rally to matter. 

It all started with Wilmer Flores hitting an opposite field single that dropped just in front of Stanton in right. Reyes doubled him to third, and Rene Rivera singled him home setting up first and third with no outs. 

Cabrera then pinch hit for Blevins and knocked home Reyes. Michael Conforto loaded the bases with a single up the middle. T.J. would then tie the game with a two RBI double:

That was it for Brad Ziegler. He allowed the Mets to tie the score and put the go ahead run on third without recording an out. 

Kyle Barraclough came on and almost bailed the Marlins out of the jam. He got back-to-back strikeouts of Jay Bruce and Neil Walker. From there, he lost control of the strike zone, and the Mets would break the 7-7 tie. 
In the three pitches he did throw to Granderson, they weren’t particularly close. After Granderson was intentionally walked (thank the Lord we were saved from that one pitch), Barraclough threw four straight balls to Flores to make it 8-7. 

With the Flores walk, a terrific comeback was complete. Just like they did last year, Reed and Familia combined to slam the door shut. 

It was a terrific night where everyone pitched in to help the Mets win. Both Rivera’s really stood out. T.J. was 2-4 with a run, double, homer, and three RBI. Rene was 2-4 with a run, dlubke, and 

With the win, the Mets are now just two games under .500, and they are now in third place in the East.

Game Notes: Travis d’Arnaud was put on the 10 day DL to make room for Montero.