Game Recap
Marcus Stroman and reigning World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg had a pitcher’s duel which led to this being a 1-1 game heading into the 11th.
In the 11th, Dominic Smith hit yet another walk-off homer giving the Mets a 3-1 victory. His homer off Will Harris scored Amed Rosario and gave Brad Brach the win.
Why is it pitching duels always seem to disappoint? That was the case with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer in today’s simulated game.
There was a combined five runs in the first inning. Fortunately, the Mets were ahead thanks to a Robinson Cano bases loaded two RBI single followed by a Wilson Ramos RBI single.
For deGrom, he was his typical great day game self striking out 12 Nationals over seven innings. He’d pick up the win even after allowing three runs.
Scherzer wasn’t Mad Max allowing six runs in just four innings. The Mets really went on the attack against him and the Nationals bullpen in this 8-3 victory.
Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, and Jeff McNeil homered and combined to knock in four of the Mets runs.
Last time we actually got to see real live Mets baseball played, Dominic Smith hit an extra inning walk-off homer. Smith would virtually do the same thing tonight:
His 10th inning walk-off homer off of Daniel Hudson gave the Mets a 7-6 win.
Smith was a driving force in the win going 2-for-4 with three runs, a double, homer, and two RBI. Amed Rosario also had a big game going 3-for-5 with a run and RBI.
Seth Lugo earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.
The Cardinals put up two first inning runs on a Paul Goldschmidt homer against Rick Porcello. That’s all Porcello and the Mets bullpen would allow on the day.
The Mets dented that Cardinals lead with Porcello helping his own cause hitting a fourth inning sacrifice fly to score Wilson Ramos.
The Mets would take a 4-2 lead with a three run sixth. The first two runs came off a Brandon Nimmo two run homer. Later in the inning, after J.D. Davis failed to deliver in an RBI opportunity, Jeff McNeil hit an RBI single scoring Amed Rosario.
Porcello picked up the win, and Miles Mikolas suffered the loss. After a scoreless ninth, Edwin Diaz earned a save.
Steven Matz allowed two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. Each time the Cardinals scored, the Mets did as well, but they didn’t score enough.
After the Cardinals scored two in the fourth, Yoenis Cespedes homered to pull the Mets to within one. After the Cardinals scored in the fifth, the Mets loaded the bases with one out.
The Mets only run that inning was a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly against winning pitcher Carlos Martinez. With the Mets unable to further cash-in there or put more runs on the board, they’d lose 3-2.
Robinson Cano led off the bottom of the ninth with a double after narrowly missing a game tying homer. Starting with J.D. Davis, the Mets failed to bring Cano home to tie the game. That symbolizes how the Mets fell just short in this one.
The Cardinals scored five runs off the losing pitcher Marcus Stroman through the first three innings knocking him out of the game after 2.1 innings.
The Mets were behind 6-1 entering the sixth. To that point, a Jeff McNeil homer in the fourth was the Mets only run. They’d get back into the game on a Cano grand slam. The Mets couldn’t push another run across as they lost this game 6-5.
Yesterday, the Mets drubbed the Nationals to the tune of an 11-0 victory. Today’s game was much closer, but unfortunately for the Nationals, that was a 9-2 win for the Mets.
It was difficult to ascertain who had the better game. Was it Jacob deGrom who allowed just one earned and came within an out of a complete game?
Or was it Jeff McNeil who was 5-for-5 with three runs, a double, two homers, and three RBI?
In any event, the Mets beat up on the Nationals, especially with five runs in the eight and seven runs over the final two innings. In addition to McNeil, Robinson Cano, Yoenis Cespedes, and Michael Conforto homered.
On a side note, MLB The Show has gotten a lot wrong with deGrom, but at least here, they did showcase his day game dominance.
Through five, neither Michael Wacha nor Anibal Sanchez allowed a run. Finally, in the sixth, Brandon Nimmo hit an RBI single giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Soon the floodgates would open.
Amed Rosario had a two RBI single to cap off the three run inning. After a run in the seventh, the Mets put up seven runs to get an 11-0 lead.
In that inning, Michael Conforto hit a three run homer, and later, Yoenis Cespedes hit a two run shot. That pushed the lead to 11-0, and that would be the final score with Wacha earning the win.
The Mets won 11-0 with Wacha picking up the win.
The Mets we’re leading 2-0 with Robinson Cano and Pete Alonso homering, but they couldn’t hold the lead after Rick Porcello allowed four runs in the fourth.
The Mets got a run back in the fifth when Alonso broke for third on a Patrick Corbin wild pitch with him scoring as Kurt Suzuki threw the ball into left.
When Sean Dolittle came on for the save in the ninth, he had the same issues against the Mets he usually does. Jake Marisnick tied the game on a sacrifice fly, and Alonso hit the go-ahead RBI single.
Seth Lugo earned the win, and Edwin Diaz picked up the save in the Mets come from behind 5-4 win.
For the first six innings, this was a pitcher’s duel between Steven Matz and Stephen Strasburg with the Mets having a 1-0 lead with Robinson Cano hitting a solo homer in the second.
Both pitchers lost it in the seventh.
In that inning, Cano had an RBI single chasing Strasburg. Yoenis Cespedes then hit a three run homer off Daniel Hudson increasing the Mets lead to 5-0.
After an Eric Thames two run homer, Matz was lifted. The Nationals pulled within one when Robert Gsellman allowed two runs.
Cano homered for the second time in the game in the eighth. That three run homer put the Mets up 8-4. That would be the final score with Matz picking up the win. Dellin Betances earned the save.