Walker, Conforto, and the Offense Is Back
The Mets unexpectedly had Neil Walker and Michael Conforto return from injuries today.
Walker would go 2-4 with a run, three RBI, a double, and a homer. Conforto would go 2-4 with a run, an RBI, a homer, and this catch in the first to save a run:
Walker and Conforto would then go back-to-back in the third. However, Walker and Conforto were not the story of the third inning. It was Bartolo Colon who somehow hit a double:
If that wasn’t enough, Colon would score on a Yoenis Cespedes sacrifice fly. This sequence had to be more improbable than Colon’s homerun.
The Mets would hit three homeruns on the night including Curtis Granderson‘s leadoff homerun. It was his 17th leadoff homer with the Mets breaking a first place tie with Jose Reyes. The three lefties homeruns off Pirates starter Juan Nicasio wasn’t shocking:
Home runs from Granderson, Walker, Conforto vs. Nicasio tonight. Now has given up 10 HR to left-handed batters this season.
— D.J. Short (@djshort) June 17, 2016
As we’ve seen, the Mets are practically unbeatable when they hit that many homers in a game. Tonight was no different.
It did get interesting in the ninth. Addison Reed allowed a leadoff homer to Andrew McCutchen followed by a double to Jung Ho Kang. Terry Collins wasted no time in going to his closer Jeurys Familia. Familia recorded his 22nd save out of 22 save chances preserving a 6-4 win.
Game Notes: Wilmer Flores left the game after getting hit on the left hand with a pitch. The x-rays were negative. Kelly Johnson replaced him. Colon pitched 7.2 innings allowing seven hits, two earned, and no walks with with strikeouts.