Game Recap

Rosario, Syndergaard, Mets Breaking Out

Before this series against the Diamondbacks, much of the discussion surrounding this Mets team was about what was wrong with this team.  There were many, many answers, but two of the more surprising ones were Amed Rosario and Noah Syndergaard.

With Rosario, he was struggling at the plate.  He was swinging at too much, and he was not hitting for any power whatsoever.  This also prevented him from using his game breaking speed, and when he tried, he was inevitably caught stealing.

With respect to Syndergaard, he hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t been Thor.  Considering how this team and pitching staff has been assembled, for this team to have a shot at competing, they needed Thor to be Thor.  Yesterday, Syndergaard made a huge step getting back to that point.

At first, it didn’t seem that way.  Syndergaard got himself into a bit of trouble in the first, but he managed his way out of it.  He would not be as lucky in the second allowing back-to-back hits to Jarrod Dyson and Nick Ahmed, i.e. the soft spot of the Diamondbacks lineup, before yielding an RBI groundout to Jeff Mathis to give the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 lead.

Through those first two innings, he had thrown 44 pitches, and it looked like it was going to be another one of those short five inning starts Syndergaard has made this year.

Then, something clicked . . . finally, and it began with a 1-2-3 third, and it also helped that Syndergaard got some help in the fifth.

After Mathis led off the inning reaching on a Wilmer Flores error, Buchholz sacrificed him to second.  David Peralta hit what initially looked like an RBI single, but Jay Bruce made a perfect throw to nail Mathis at the plate.

This was really the last time all game the Diamondbacks threatened.  Part of the reason for that is in the sixth Syndergaard actually picked Paul Goldschmidt off of first:

https://twitter.com/MLBReplays/status/998278928501358592

Syndergaard’s final line was a very Thor like 7.0 innings, six hits, one run, one earned, on walk, and seven strikeouts.

The only problem is with the Mets offense being stymied by a Clay Buchholz, who had not pitched in over a year, and the strong Diamondbacks bullpen, Syndergaard was not in line for the win.

Fortunately, he was not in line for a loss because in the sixth inning, Rosario hit his first home run of the year off of Buchholz to tie the score at 1-1:

In the seventh inning, it was apparent Syndergaard was done for the day, and with two quick outs, it seemed as if he was destined for a no decision.  However, Tomas Nido, who took the place of the recently designated for assignment Jose Lobaton, singled to allow Mickey Callaway to use Asdrubal Cabrera to pinch hit.  Like he has done all season, he delivered hitting a go-ahead two run homer off Jorge De La Rosa.

Then, Rosario is what might have been his best game in a Mets uniform, followed with his second homer of the game to give the Mets a 4-1 lead:

For Rosario, this would be his first two run homer game of his career.  It was also a big step forward after his making incremental steps forward over the past few weeks.  If he really takes off now, the sky is the limit for this Mets team.

After Jerry Blevins started the eighth by striking out David Peralta, Robert Gsellman took it home by pitching the final 1.2 innings for his first career save.

With that, the Mets have their first three game home sweep of the season, and they have their first series win at home since the April 13-15 series against the Brewers.  They are now back on track and once again ahead of the Nationals.  Things are once again looking much better.

Game Notes: Luis Guillorme went 0-4 snapping a 13 game hitting streak he had combined between the majors and Triple-A.

 

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Good And Bad Mets On Full Display In Comeback Win

This game was a clear dichotomy of what is going right and what is going wrong for the Mets.  First, the wrong –

The first moment was in the fourth inning.  Paul Goldschmidt broke out of his funk by hitting a homer off Steven Matz to tie the game at 2-2.  Later that inning, Matz went from 1-2 to walking Jarrod Dyson.  Matz then seemed to get out of the inning by picking Dyson off first:

https://twitter.com/MLBReplays/status/998020988179595267

Somehow both the umpires and the replay officials miss what everyone watching the game saw – Asdrubal Cabrera got the tag in ahead of the slide.

Well, it was a blown call, which led to a typical Matz letdown.  Diamondbacks backup catcher and former Yankee John Ryan Murphy hit a go-ahead two run homer.

With that, you had your typical 2018 Matz start.  He didn’t get through five.  He allowed two homers.  He allowed a big walk, and he had a meltdown.

Still, down 4-2, the Mets were still in this game, and it looked like they were going to break through in the sixth with Patrick Corbin on the ropes. The team didn’t break through.

First, Devin Mesoraco popped out, and after the Diamondbacks put Michael Conforto on first, the inning was in Jose Reyes‘ hands.  Now, Reyes presumably got the start because he had good career numbers against Corbin.  He wouldn’t get a hit off Corbin, and he was in there to face Jimmie Sherfy.

Reyes fouled out, and Adrian Gonzalez couldn’t get the pinch hit.  This left the Mets trailing, but it wouldn’t stay that way because of the things that have gone right for the Mets.

First, Conforto is back.  After a 4-4 game, he came up in the second inning, and he delievered a two run homer to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

After Matz surrendered the lead and couldn’t go five innings, the game was once again on the bullpen.  The combination of Seth Lugo, Paul Sewald, and AJ Ramos pitched four scoreless walking none, allowing one hit, and striking out six.  Ultimately, they gave the Mets a chance.

The Mets took advantage of that chance.  Jay Bruce led off the eighth with a single off Archie Bradley, and he would come home on a Mesoraco blast:

Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect ninth giving the Mets a chance to walk this one off.

Like many rallies this season, it began with Brandon Nimmo, who led off the ninth with a double, and then the most clutch Met on the team this year, Asdrubal Cabrera laid down a bunt single moving Nimmo to third.  This put the game in Wilmer Flores‘ hands, and as we know he has his own history with walk-off hits.

While not the dramatic homers we have seen, he did end the game with a fly ball to the outfield.  This one was a sacrifice fly scoring Nimmo giving the Mets a 5-4 win.

This was the first time since April 10-11 that the Mets have won consecutive games.  They are now in position for their first home sweep of the season.  They do that, and things will definitely be more good than bad right now.

Game Notes: With the Mets lack of outfield depth, Dominic Smith started in right field for the Las Vegas 51s.  Reyes is now 7-53 on the season.

 

 

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Everything But the Game Was A Wash Out

Over in Washington, D.C., even though the Nationals and Yankees were facing even more pressure than the Mets and Blue Jays to get their game in, they postponed the roughly game and a half they had to play.  Perhaps both teams were aware they had important players they did not want to see get hurt, and it was better to do this another day.

Not the Mets.

Despite torrential rains, the Mets decided to play.  Despite a rain delay which required the grounds crew to empty the coffers of diamond dust to eliminate the standing puddles on the infield, the umpires decided to let these two teams play.

Actually, check that, it was the Blue Jays who played a game.  The Mets were there to get drowned.

For Zack Wheeler things started well enough.  Sure, he didn’t get an 0-2 pitch quite up and in enough to Justin Smoak, but other than that, Wheeler was good over the first three innings.  In that time, he had struck out six while allowing just the one homer.

Then came the inane rain delay precipitated by J.A. Happ not liking how he landed on the mound.  The umpires did the right thing delaying the game to get the field in playing condition.  It would have been a better thing to call the game because that field was dangerous.

And yes, someone did get hurt.  Juan Lagares went back on a ball, and his foot hit the wall causing a sprained toe.  Maybe if the ground conditions were better, he gets back to the ball quicker, and doesn’t need to jump.  Maybe in better conditions, he’s better able to plant and go up.  Or knowing Lagares, maybe he gets hurt anyway.

Fact remains, he got hurt in nearly unplayable playing conditions.  That’s not okay, and the Mets and MLB should be forced to answer to that.

They won’t much like how right now Mickey Callaway and Dave Eiland are not yet being taken to task for what is going on with this pitching staff.

Yes, we know there were problems with these pitchers, but they knew the job when they took it on.  It would have been unfair to expect 2015 results from each of these pitchers, but it was fair to expect a progression based on what we saw last year.  We haven’t.

That includes Wheeler falling apart after that lengthy rain delay.  He began the fourth and fifth yielding lead-off walks.  He got through the fourth allowing a two run homer to Teoscar Hernandez.  He wouldn’t get an out in the fifth leading Callaway to go to his bullpen.

While the Blue Jays, who play their home games in a retractable roof, were not bothered by the conditions, the Mets couldn’t manage.

Considering in his last start Happ allowed seven runs in 3.1 innings, his two hit seven inning effort made the Mets offense all the more embarrassing.  It gets worse when you consider one of those two hits was a Luis Guillorme infield single.

Perhaps, that is also a reflection of the 4-9 hitters having all spent time in Las Vegas over the past year.  It’s also an indication Michael Conforto is not Conforto anymore.  With each passing day, we get closer and closer to asking the question about whether this is shoulder related.

In the end, there were really no positives until there were two outs in the ninth.  That’s when Brandon Nimmo battled back from down 0-2 in the count to hit an opposite field home run.  Really, this team needs a lot more Nimmo than whatever it is this team has right now.

That was once again clear after this 12-1 loss.

Game Notes: Guillorme became the first Met since Steven Matz to being his MLB career going 3-3.

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Embarrassing: Batting Out of Order AND Mets Losing Series To Reds

Well, just when you think things can’t get worse, you’re reminded this is the Mets.  Perhaps the biggest punchline of this season, maybe the past decade, was how the Mets BATTED OUT OF ORDER IN THE FIRST INNING!

Basically, the Mets skipped Asdrubal Cabrera, and Wilmer Flores took his spot striking out.  Cabrera, who was supposed to bat second, came up third and doubled.  That’s when Reds manager Jim Riggleman pointed out to the umpires the Mets were batting out of order.

Cabrera’s double was erased from the record books, and Jay Bruce, whose turn it was actually to bat, was ruled out.

Aside from making Mickey Callaway and bench coach Gary Disarcina looking completely incompetent, it really hurt the Mets because this game would prove to be a pitcher’s duel between Zack Wheeler and Sal Romano.

For his part, Wheeler was brilliant, and it was one of the better starts in his Mets career.  Over six innings, he limited to the Reds to just one run on four hits and three walks while he struck out seven.  He would only really face trouble in the first and the sixth.  He got out of the jam easily in the first, but he would not be able to escape the sixth.

The sixth inning Reds rally started with a leadoff walk to Jesse Winker.  He’d come around to score after a Jose Peraza bunt single.  You could get on Wilmer Flores all you like, but he had no shot on this, and really no one does whenever Peraza lays one down as he is the Major League leader in bunt hits with six.

Joey Votto would follow with an RBI single, and the Mets and Wheeler were teetering.  While it was not pretty, Wheeler deserves credit for buckling down and getting the last three outs of that inning without allowing another run.

Unfortunately, that rally tied the score 1-1 because the Mets just blew opportunity after opportunity after opportunity.

After the aforementioned blunder in the first inning, Michael Conforto hit a one out double that Adrian Gonzalez could not score.  They stood idly by as Wheeler struck out, and Amed Rosario grounded out to the catcher.

In the third, the Mets did actually score.  Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff triple, and with the team hitting in the correct batting order, Cabrera drove him home with an RBI groundout.

In the fifth, the Mets had runners at first and second with one out only to see Cabrera and Flores come up short. From there, the Mets would little to nothing at the plate, which coupled with some strong work out of the bullpen from Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo, both of whom have had recent multiple inning relief appearances, bore down and pitched a scoreless seventh through ninth.

At this point, it is important to note the Mets had called up Corey Oswalt to help out with an overworked bullpen.  They did this despite his being on three days rest yesterday.  As a result, the Mets called up a guy they would be hesitant to use making calling him up in the first place a complete waste of transaction.

As a result, in the tenth inning, Callaway went with AJ Ramos for his second straight game and third time in four days.  Callaway went with Ramos instead of going with Jeurys Familia, who was presumably being saved for a save situation.  This is a far departure from Callaway’s overtures early in the season when he said he was going to use his best reliever in the highest leverage situations.

Well, that save situation Callaway was waiting for never materialized as Adam Duvall hit a walk off homer off Ramos.

As a result, the Mets dropped to 18-17 after losing a series to the worst team in the National League.  This is a far cry from the who went 12-2 and were world beaters.  Now, they are just getting beaten up by the world.

Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was called-up from Tripe-A, and Tomas Nido was sent down.  Guillorme would not appear in the game.  Devin Mesoraco started his first game for the Mets, and he was 0-4 with two strikeouts.

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Mets Swept by Rockies, For Homestand

This is the point where the Mets were in 2015, 2016, and 2017.  A Mets team with much promise has either regressed or been exposed, and you are left wondering how exactly things were going to get better for this team.

One of the more troubling things we saw both yesterday and throughout this season was how Noah Syndergaard hasn’t been Thor.  It’s not too dissimilar to how Matt Harvey had stopped being The Dark Knight, except with Syndergaard there really isn’t any reason to suspect any injury.

That’s not to say Thor was or has been bad.  Far from it.  His only allowing two runs over six innings is a testament to that.  However, it was the way he pitched that was the problem.

A pitcher with remarkable control walked four batters.  That included him issuing back-to-back walks in the third inning to Nolan Arenado and Gerardo Parra to force in a run.  Between that and the solo home run he allowed to Ian Desmond in the second, he gave away the Mets 2-0 lead.  Yes, it was a thin margin of error, but we have seen Thor thrive with even narrower margins.

The Mets two runs were scored in the first off of Kyle Freeland.  The first run was the result of three straight singles from Juan Lagares, Yoenis Cespedes, and Asdrubal Cabrera to start the game.  After that, Todd Frazier hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.  In that first inning, Cespedes once again injured his right quad:

He would be removed from the game for Brandon Nimmo, who we would find out can still draw a walk off a left-handed pitcher, but with two strikeouts, he sure does struggle hitting off of them.

Really, the Mets struggled to hit Freeland for the rest of the game.  After that three hit onslaught to begin the game, the Mets would get just one more hit off of him until he departed after seven strong innings.

With the Mets not hitting, Syndergaard settling back down, and Jerry Blevins and AJ Ramos combining to pitch a scoreless seventh, Mickey Callaway went to Hansel Robles in the eighth.  No one can be quite sure if Robles pointed to the sky again, but we do know he surrendered another homer.  This time to Desmond, his second of the game.

With the Mets inability to hit right now, it might as well have been a walk-off home run for all intents and purposes.

The 3-2 loss ended a dreadful home stand which saw the Mets go 0-6.  They pitched poorly and hit even worse.  They dropped from first to third place in the NL East.  They don’t look like a team in a freefall inasmuch as they look like a bad baseball team without any answers.  Hopefully, the trip to Cincinnati and Philadelphia will awaken their bats.  Although, we should shutter to thing what will happen to the pitching.

Game Notes: Wilmer Flores was 0-2 with a walk against Freeland.  He is now hitting .161/.235/.226 off of left-handed pitching this season.

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Matz, Mets Better But Still Losing

In the first inning, Steven Matz surrendered a solo homer to Nolan Arenado, and it seemed like more of the same for Matz and the Mets.

But, tonight was different. Both Matz and the Mets showed more fight, and they didn’t fall apart like they’ve done recently. In fact, Matz was quite good allowing just the one run over six innings:

In addition to Matz pitching better, both Brandon Nimmo and Yoenis Cespedes had outfield assists.

https://twitter.com/mets/status/992928717155504128?s=21

The latter helped control the damage the Rockies did to Robert Gsellman and keep the Mets close, but ultimately, the Mets would still lose 2-0.

That was more a matter of Chad Bettis pitching very well over seven innings.

Bettis was also helped by some hard hit balls right at Rockies defenders. This includes a Todd Frazier low liner in the sixth hit right at Trevor Story. Instead of Frazier tying the score with an RBI single, it was an inning ending double play.

Overall, the Mets were 0-4 with RISP.

This was the Mets fifth straight loss and sixth out of their last seven games. During that stretch, the Mets have played some really bad baseball. Not tonight. Tonight, they were just beat by a good team.

It happens, but if the Mets play more like they did tonight with good pitching and defense, and generally showing more fight; the Mets can turn things around.

Game Notes: Matt Harvey was officially designated for assignment before the game. With the loss, the Mets fell to third place in the division.

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Post-Harvey Mets Rally Late And Still Come Up Short

Before the game, it was announced Matt Harvey refused an assignment to the minors, and in response the Mets designated him for assignment effectively ending his Mets career.  This may have been a long time coming, and arguably, you could see Harvey being scapegoated for a Mets team that has struggled since it’s incredible 12-2 start.

Well, Harvey might be gone, but the Mets problems still remain.

Zack Wheeler, who allowed five first inning runs is still inconsistent.  Michael Conforto is not hitting for any power, and really, he isn’t even getting on base anymore going 0-5with the golden sombrero.  Jay Bruce, for that matter, isn’t hitting for any power either.  Maybe there was an impact on Jose Lobaton, who was 1-4, and Amed Rosario, who was 2-4 with an RBI, but probably not.

No, we wouldn’t see Jose Reyes or Adrian Gonzalez bat, both of whom have been utterly terrible, and we did not see Jason Vargas, who by comparison made Harvey look like the 2013 version, and we’ll see what Steven Matz contributes tomorrow.

Overriding point is the Mets problems are still present even with Harvey gone because as bad as Harvey was pitching, he was probably fourth or fifth on lower on the tiers of what is actually wrong with this Mets team.

On the bright side, Bruce played first allowing Brandon Nimmo to hit leadoff going 1-4 with a walk.  Of course, he drew a walk.  He also scored on the Asdrubal Cabrera home run.  That provided a jolt that lasted until Charlie Blackmon hit a homer in the top of the second.

As bad as the five run first was or the Blackmon homer was, it was the Josh Thole-esque Tony Wolters hitting one to the top deck off Wheeler that was the worst.

By the time the Mets awoke, it was too late.  Todd Frazier‘s eighth inning two run homer made it 8-4. A ninth inning rally with Rosario knocking in Wilmer Flores, who hit a pinch hit double, made it 8-5   This led to Wade Davis coming into the game to close it out . . . just like he did in Game 5 of the World Series.

He allowed a Cabrera RBI triple and subsequently a Frazier RBI single to pull the Mets to withing 8-7.  It ended there as Conforto struck out to end the game.  Again, somehow Harvey being released didn’t fix him.

Starting tomorrow, it seems like the Mets are going to have to focus on the things that are actually wrong with the team.  Seeing how Reyes was re-signed in the offseason, no one should hold their breath.

Game Notes: With Harvey gone, Jerry Blevins and his 6.43 ERA is the worst ERA in the Mets bullpen.

 

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Vargas, Whole Mets Team Terrible

Jason Vargas‘ last start of 2007 was a 3.1 inning effort where he allowed nine runs on 11 hits.  His first start of this season was a 3.2 inning effort where he allowed nine runs on nine hits.  Seeing that, you would only assume Vargas could only improve from there.

Seeing his start today, you would be right.  That’s the good news. The bad news is he’s still terrible.

A Nick Markakis double and Kurt Suzuki gave the Braves a 3-0 lead in the first, and they were off and rolling.

Really, at that point, the game was over.  It was.

Not only did the Braves have Julio Teheran on the mound, but the Mets had another one of their non-competitive lineups enragingly featuring Jose Reyes leading off and playing third.  To be fair, Reyes limited the damage by going 0-4 and misplaying what should have been a foul out.

To perfectly encapsulate both how this game and this series was, Teheran was 2-2 with an RBI and a sac fly.  The entire Mets offense had just two hits off of him, and those did not come until the seventh inning when the score was already 11-0.

That’s right.  11-0.

It got to that point because the Braves chased Vargas in the fifth with a Ronald Acuna and Markakis home run.  Matt Harvey would get the Mets out of the fifth inning jam, and he would pitch a perfect sixth.

Harvey’s velocity was back up to 95, and for a moment you caught yourself thinking maybe he turned the corner.  Well, he didn’t.  Not even close.  In the seventh, he allowed five runs on three hits and three walks.

After the game, you heard people like Nelson Figueroa say Harvey isn’t even a Major League pitcher anymore.  Of course, the silence on Reyes, who was terrible again, and Adrian Gonzalez, who wasn’t great again, was deafening.

Right now, there are a lot of problems with the Mets.  Fortunately, one of them isn’t Jacob deGrom, who appears to be healthy enough to make his next start.  So, there’s that.

Game Notes: The Mets entered this series without being swept or shut out all year.  They’ve now been swept and been shut out in consecutive games.

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Cespedes Great, Rest of Team Not So Much In Loss To Braves

With the Braves sending to the mound RHP Mike Soroka for his Major League debut, you knew this was going to be a rough game for the Mets.  The players change.  The managers change.  Even the uniforms have changed.  And yet, somehow, whenever a pitcher makes his Major League debut against the Mets, you know he is going to shut the Mets down.

For a brief second, it seemed like Soroka would be the exception.  The Mets had two on and two out, but Todd Frazier would ground out to end the threat.  From there, it was pretty smooth coasting for Soroka.  Even with he was in trouble, he would be aided by an Adrian Gonzalez double play grounder in the third and a Mets team who was 0-4 with RISP.

Really, the only blip from Soroka on the night was one pitch he threw to Yoenis Cespedes:

Even in this frustrating loss, the good news was Cespedes was still sizzling hot even after his thumb injury which forced him to leave Sunday’s game.  On the night, he was 3-4 with a run, homer, and an RBI.  In the field, he made a couple of nice plays, and he had one of those trademark Cespedes throws:

The problem with the Mets tonight was they needed more than just Cespedes.  Ideally, that would have come in the form of Noah Syndergaard.

It wasn’t to be as the Braves were very aggressive against Syndergaard with many attacking the first pitch.  To start the game, the Braves got consecutive hits from Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna, Freddie Freeman, and Nick Markakis.  After that Syndergaard settled in a bit, and he gutted through six innings.  That’s what a true ace does.  Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he finds a way.

Unfortunately, even with him figuring a way to get a quality start, the Mets just didn’t have it.  After Soroka, Dan Winkler, who was pressed into action after a Shane Carle injury got through the seventh.  In the eighth, Michael Conforto, Cespedes, and Jay Bruce failed to plate Asdrubal Cabrera, who had led off the inning with a single off A.J. Minter.

In the ninth, the Braves turned to Arodys Vizcaino for the save, and Frazier got it all started with a single that bounced just in front of the diving Markakis.  Then, the Braves did their best Luis Castillo impersonation with seemingly their entire 25 man roster incapable of fielding a pop up to right before second base.

Amed Rosario twice tried to butcher boy it, and he swung and missed both times.  He then just fanned on the third pitch of the at-bat.  Still, the runners would advance on a Vizcaino wild pitch thereby allowing Frazier to score on a Wilmer Flores RBI groundout.  With the Mets down 3-2, the game was then in Jose Reyes‘ hands.

In a surprise to no one, Reyes failed to deliver.

Game Notes: The Mets are now 7-9 since Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki went down.  Fortunately, Plawecki is a few weeks away.

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Gonzalez Rejuvenated in San Diego

One of the most interesting phenomena in sports is how when an aging player returns to his old stomping grounds, sometimes he is just able to turn back the clock.  As Mets fans, we saw this in 2006 when Mike Piazza had a two home run game against Pedro Martinez.  Yesterday, we saw Adrian Gonzalez have one of those days.

It’s been bad for Gonzalez of late, really bad.  He’s been mired in a 1-17 stretch with no extra base hits.  Going back a little further, over his last 10 games, he’s hitting .121/.205/.212.

Things have been so bad Wilmer Flores got the previous two starts at first base.  Yes, the Padres were starting left-handed pitchers both days, but Gonzalez has killed Clayton Richard.  However, when you’re hitting like he’s been hitting, you’re not going to get into the lineup.  You’re also going to hear about the Mets planning to move Jay Bruce to first base.  This meant if Gonzalez was going to do anything to stop it all from happening, he was going to have to do it now.

That seventh inning three run homer was needed because it helped put what was a close game away.  Instead of a tight 4-2 game with Mickey Callaway having to use his best relievers, it was a 7-2 laugher allowing Callaway to get work for guys like Matt Harvey.

It was all part of a great day for Gonzalez.  Overall, he was 3-6 with a run, double, homer, and five RBI.  He would have had an even better day had Franchy Cordero not robbed him of another double earlier in the game.

With Gonzalez front and center, this was really a day when a lot of beleaguered Mets got healthy.  Jose Reyes contributed going 2-5 with three runs, a homer, RBI, walk, and a stolen base.  Tomas Nido was 2-5 with a run, RBI, and a walk.  And Harvey would pitch a scoreless ninth, even if he did allow a hard hit double to Eric Hosmer.  Really, that’s the last time I want to ever put Harvey’s name, double, and a 2015 Royal in the same sentence.

Going with the rejuvenation theme, Zack Wheeler was good, which was needed from a Mets rotation still trying to figure out who can be an effective third starter in this rotation.

He battled most of the afternoon, and he did not get a 1-2-3 inning until the fifth, his last inning of work.  That said, what impressed you most about this start was how Wheeler found that extra something at times when he’s usually lost it.  Wheeler ended a rally in the first by striking out Freddy Galvis.  He helped curb a third inning rally limiting the damage to two runs by striking out Carlos Asuaje.  After Manuel Margot‘s two out single, stolen base, and advancing to third on a throwing error, Wheeler struck out Hosmer.

Overall, Wheeler had nine strikeouts, but what was really remarkable was how he got them at key moments when he needed a strikeout.  That hasn’t always been his M.O., and it’s a real positive step going forward for him.

Even with his start and with Gonzalez turning back the clock was how the Mets offense put five spots on the board in consecutive innings.  It was a full on onslaught by a Mets offense which saw every starting position player register two hits.  Even Brandon Nimmo, who came on for Yoenis Cespedes, would register two hits.  In addition to Gonzalez, Reyes and Todd Frazier would homer.  The sum total of this barrage was a 14-2 Mets win marking the first ever time the Mets have scored double digits at Petco Park.

Of course with this being the Mets, not everything could be a positive.  Cespedes, who has been torrid of late, had to come out of the game after executing a double steal with Bruce.  In what was his second stolen base of the inning, Cespedes jammed his thumb.  The good news is the x-rays were negative.  The bad news is Cespedes believes he can’t play over the next three days, and that’s with the Braves coming to town.

Still, things could have been a lot worse with Cespedes, and with the Mets going to Petco, a place where they had only previously won one series, things could have gone a lot worse there.  All in all, this was a good series where the Mets got back on track.

Game Notes: Paul Sewald recorded his first hold of the season.  He initially came on to relieve Wheeler when it was a two run game.  He now has a 1.98 ERA on the season.

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