Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil Lead Mets 4-Ward

On May 2, MLB rosters are reduced by two. Buck Showalter said one of those two would be a position player, and it’s long rumored it could be Dominic Smith.

Well, Dom just told the Mets that under no circumstances should he be sent down.

Against the Philadelphia Phillies, Smith would get the start at first. He again looked like the guy who should be the Mets everyday first baseman (or DH).

He would go 4-for-4 with a run, double, and three RBI. For a good chunk of this game, it seemed like the Mets needed every bit of it.

Max Scherzer wasn’t Scherzer. There was an inkling of that when Kyle Schwarber hit a second inning homer off of him.

The Mets responded right away. Smith followed Eduardo Escobar‘s lead-off single with his first hit of the night. After a Starling Marte RBI fielder’s choice and Luis Guillorme RBI double, the Mets were up 2-1.

That lead was short lived as Schwarber got Scherzer again in the fourth. This time, it was a two run shot. Again, that lead was short lived with the Mets responding in the bottom of the inning.

Escobar again got it started with a single. This time, Smith doubled driving him home bringing the Mets to a 3-3 tie.

While Smith was on second with no outs, he would not score as the Mets squandered the opportunity. They wouldn’t in the fifth.

Francisco Lindor hit a one out single, and he’d go to third on a Jeff McNeil double. While Dom was the headliner, McNeil was also phenomenal going 4-for-5 with two runs, two doubles, and an RBI.

Zack Eflin went 2-0 against Pete Alonso. At that point, the Phillies thought it better to not tempt fate walking Alonso and lifting Eflin for Jose Alvarado.

It seemed like it worked with Alvarado striking out Escobar, but Smith came up huge again with a two RBI single extending the Mets lead to 6-3.

In the sixth, it was Scherzer’s former teammate Bryce Harper who homered off Scherzer. Notably, Schwarber was Scherzer’s teammate on the Nationals last year. That pulled the game to within 6-4.

For Scherzer, it wasn’t a great start, but it was good enough for the win. Three of the five hits he allowed were homers as he walked just one and struck out nine.

The Mets blew it open in the seventh starting with Lindor reaching on a Jean Segura. Lindor busted it out of the box causing Segura to try to rush it, and when he picked his head up too soon, he booted it.

McNeil went against the shift with a single through the vacated shortstop hole. Alonso went the other way to increase the Mets lead to 7-4.

Escobar struck out before Smith singled to load the bases. Marte hit a two RBI single, but he’s get a little too aggressive on the base paths getting thrown out at second.

With Smith and McNeil, it was easy to overlook Marte in what was his best game so far with the Mets. In addition to the three RBI, he made an absolutely unreal catch in right field.

Brandon Nimmo would hit his own opposite field single in the eighth. He’d go to second when Lindor was hit by a pitch (more on that in a minute), and he’d score on McNeil’s second double of the game.

With the Mets up 10-4, Showalter went with his “designated hitter” Yoan Lopez. Lopez threw two at Schwarber leading to umpire warnings.

What’s interesting is Lopez was one strike away from ending the game before he accidentally plunked Alec Bohm. He’d come to regret that after allowing a two run homer to Johan Camargo.

Despite the mild fireworks at the end, the Mets won this game 10-6. They got great games from Smith and McNeil as the Mets won their seventh straight series to open the season.

Game Notes: Lindor was miked up for the game. Sean Reid-Foley has a torn UCL.

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