Mets Future Looked Bright Tonight

Today was one of those games where you can see how this Mets team could be really good next year.

Zack Wheeler has clearly turned a corner in his career as evidenced by yet another terrific start tonight.

Through seven innings, he limited the Padres to two earned on four hits and one walk despite striking out just three.

The damage could’ve been worse, but Devin Mesoraco made a heads up play to throw to third on what was an odd decision on replay:

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/1021918430000238595?s=21

Unlike Jacob deGrom last night, Wheeler was rewarded for his good start because the team scored runs for him.

The driving force of the lineup was once again Michael Conforto, who has been great since the All Star Break.

In the game, Conforto was 2-for-4 with two runs, a homer, and two RBI.

The first run he scored was in the first. He hit a ball hard to the opposite field. Third baseman Christian Villanueva dove to knock it down, but he had no play on Conforto. Conforto would then score on the ensuing Mesoraco three RBI double.

The first runner who crossed the plate on that double was surprise leadoff hitter Amed Rosario.

Rosario has been slowly improving of late, and tonight was another step in the right direction. Not only did he draw a first inning leadoff walk against Padres starter Eric Lauer, but in his next at-bat, he would hit a triple.

Asdrubal Cabrera brought him home with an RBI single giving the Mets a 6-2 lead.

Even with Wheeler dealing, Conforto mashing, and Rosario setting the table, perhaps the biggest news was Jeff McNeil.

Before the game, in a flurry of moves, both he and Phillip Evans would be called-up with Yoenis Cespedes going on the DL and Ty Kelly being designated for assignment.

McNeil would finally make his MLB debut in the eighth. He pinch hit for Evans, and he hit the first pitch he saw for a single.

Despite the Mets assertions to the contrary, McNeil stayed in the game to play third where he would catch a pop out to record the final out of the Mets 6-3 win.

So yes, while this has been a dreadful season, the Mets do have the pieces to be a good team next year. We saw a glimpse of that tonight.

Game Notes: Seth Lugo allowed one run over the final two innings to preserve the win. The Mets still have made no GM or owner available to answer questions about Cespedes injury or second opinion. Instead, they let Mickey Callaway answer questions about it in the post-game.

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