Mets Make Alvarado And Hoskins Pay

This had all the makings of a New York Mets brutal Sunday Night Baseball loss. They weren’t hitting, and they blew a late lead . . .

Entering the bottom of the sixth, David Peterson was in line for the win. He had allowed one run on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Really, he cruised along after allowing an Andrew McCutchen to start the first.

Now, Peterson did get some help with Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor performing pure defensive magic behind him. That included one beauty of a double play:

Peterson had that 2-1 lead because of his defense. He also had some help from the offense. The first run came when Conforto singled home McNeil in the third.

Notably, McNeil was batting lead-off with Brandon Nimmo unavailable. With McNeil returning to a familiar and comfortable spot in the lineup, he was much better at the plate going 4-for-6 with two runs and a double.

It was a double again that got the Mets going again in the sixth. Dominic Smith led off the inning with a double, and there were runners at the corners with no outs after a Kevin Pillar single.

After Jonathan Villar struck out, the Phillies had the opportunity to get out of the inning unscathed with a double play. James McCann obliged by hitting the require grounder, but Phillies starter Zack Eflin threw it wide to second allowing everyone to reach safely and for the go ahead run to score.

The Mets would load the bases with two outs with Lindor coming to the plate. Lindor would fly out to right leaving behind a golden chance to blow the game open.

Keep in mind, that wasn’t their only shot to put up more runs. Back in the second, Smith led off the inning with a single, and Gary Disarcina needlessly sent him home on a Pillar single. Smith was out at the plate, and J.T. Realmuto would deliver a cheap shot.

The Mets would regret blowing those run scoring opportunities in the bottom of the sixth.

Now, the Mets bullpen has been great with a 19 inning scoreless streak. Miguel Castro has been one of the Mets best pitchers in the pen, but he didn’t have it tonight.

On a rally started when Castro made an error, Didi Gregorius hit a go-ahead three run homer. At 4-2, it seemed like the Mets might be done.

In fact, they weren’t. The momentum shifted when Pillar homered to lead off the eighth:

This was easily Pillar’s best game as a Met. The player who struggled so mightily to start the season stepped up in Nimmo’s absence. In addition to the homer, he was 3-for-5.

As good as Pillar was, no one was ready for what Villar would do. Villar singled off Brandon Kintzler to start off the rally. With no one really left on the bench, partially due to injuries, Jose Peraza pinch hit for Castro. Peraza hit one Rhys Hoskins couldn’t handle, and well, Hoskins misplayed it just about every way you could:

Villar scored all the way from first on an infield single to tie the game at 4-4. That’s when the Phillies brought in Jose Alvarado to try to keep the game tied.

What’s interesting is Alvarado was suspended for his antics the other day. However, he was able to appear in the game because he appealed that three game suspension. As it turned out, the Phillies probably wish he accepted that suspension.

Alvarado faced McNeil, Lindor, and Conforto, and he failed to get any of them out. McNeil singled, and then Alvarado issued consecutive walks forcing home the go-ahead run.

The Mets were up 5-4, and Pete Alonso faced Phillies reliever David Hale. He’d go the opposite way for a three run double giving the Mets an 8-4 lead.

Now, Luis Rojas had Edwin Diaz warming when the Mets initially got the lead. After getting him up, it made little sense to not use him. Instead, Rojas (justifiably) believed his closer would lock down the much needed win.

Well, Diaz imploded, and it started with a leadoff walk to Gregorius.

Roman Quinn tripled him home to bring the Phillies to within three. Diaz was on the verge of getting out of it, and then he issued a two out walk to Matt Joyce. That brought Hoskins to the plate representing the tying run . . .

What was a game tying home run was ruled to be a ground rule double. That meant instead of a tie game, the Mets still had a lead at 8-7.

Things were still dire with the tying run in scoring position. It was all the more so with Diaz hurt. That led to Jeurys Familia coming on to face Bryce Harper to earn the save.

In a flashback to 2015, Familia delivered by striking out Harper. With that, the Mets won a game they blew twice (or almost twice), and they find themselves not only back at .500, but also delivering a message to the Phillies.

Game Notes: Jacob Barnes earned his first win as a Met. This was Familia’s first save with the Mets since 2018.

One Reply to “Mets Make Alvarado And Hoskins Pay”

  1. TheGhostofKelenic says:
    May 3, 2021 at 12:59 am

    Great game. LGM!

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