Andres Gimenez

Mets Offense Not Biggest Embarrassment In Marlins Doubleheader Sweep

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Mets were 0-for-10 at the plate with runners in scoring position. Things weren’t as bad in the second half as the Mets offense went just 0-for-5.

The no hits with runners in scoring position, the Mets offense was shut out over 14 innings. Even if the Mets played the other four innings, you’d be hard pressed to find an argument why they’d score a run.

In this game, the Mets offense had just two hits, and those hits were originally Red errors. That at least spared the Mets the indignity of joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in being no-hit today.

At least the Pirates faced Lucas Giolito. This Mets team really has no excuses.

The Mets inability to hit ruined a good return to the rotation by Seth Lugo. Lugo lasted three innings, and he didn’t allow a base runner while striking out five.

While Luis Rojas said Lugo was good for 60 pitches, he lifted Lugo after 39 pitches. Seeing how the fourth inning unfolded, he may want to revisit this decision (or text message).

For the first time this year, Jared Hughes didn’t have it. He walked Jon Berti to start the inning. After a one out single by Corey Dickerson, Brian Anderson hit a two run double.

Chasen Shreve would relieve Hughes and get out of the inning, but it was too little too late as the Mets couldn’t drive in a run.

It’s gotten to the point where the Mets are snake-bit. Case-in-point is the sixth. The Mets had runners on first and second with one out, and Luis Guillorme tattooed a line drive.

That ball was hit right at Marlins first baseman Lewin Diaz. Diaz caught the liner before easily beating the runner to the base to end the inning.

That sixth was a very curious inning for Rojas.

Despite Andres Gimenez on the IL, and with the Mets bench somewhat suspect now, at least in terms of bats, Rojas went to Robinson Cano to pinch hit for Amed Rosario.

After Cano beat the shift by slapping the ball the other way, Rojas tabbed Juan Lagares to pinch run for Cano. He did that even with Billy Hamilton being on the bench. Hamilton is a better runner and weaker hitter. The move made little sense.

As embarrassing as that was, there was Berti flat out embarrassing the Mets in the bottom of the sixth.

Berti drew a leadoff walk against Jeurys Familia. He would steal second. Later in the inning, Berti had a delayed steal of grief where J.D. Davis didn’t pay attention and then didn’t cover third.

That wasn’t the worst of it.

With two outs, Ali Sanchez had looked Berti back to third. Berti moved towards third as Sanchez lollypopped a throw back to Familia.

On the throw, Berti spun and broke for home. Even with Berti slipping, he was able to steal home as Sanchez couldn’t field the throw Familia had spiked in front of him.

It’s one thing to lose. It’s a whole other thing to be flat out embarrassed like this. The Mets lost 3-0. It might as well have been 100-0.

Game Notes: With this being a makeup game, the Marlins batted second. Even with the Marlins batting second, the Mets were still the home team. Jacob deGrom is slated to start tomorrow because the Mets wanted to keep him on his regular schedule. Sanchez had his first career MLB start.

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What Happened To Luis Guillorme’s Playing Time?

Due to injuries, Luis Guillorme went from completely forgotten man to what appeared to be an extremely important part of this Mets team. He was playing that well.

Starting on August 11, he played in six straight games. Over that stretch, he hit .588/.636/.706 with a run, two doubles, four walks, and four RBI. He walked (4) more times than he struck out (3).

With that stretch, he had a seven game hitting streak, and he improved to a 199 OPS+ on the season. At .458, he was at least flirting with being the first Major Leaguer to hit .400 in a season since Ted Williams.

Even if no one reasonably expected him to do it, it would’ve been fun to watch. What also would’ve been fun to watch was his Gold Glove caliber defense.

Guillorme was and is absolutely brilliant at second. It’s a very small sample size for sure, but he was already at a 1 DRS and 14.2 UZR/150. Those numbers were very likely going to improve because he’s always been an exceptional defender.

We saw him working with Andres Gimenez to turn double plays the Mets wouldn’t have even dreamt of turning since Edgardo Alfonzo and Rey Ordonez were the double play combination for the best defensive infield in baseball history.

By every measure, Guillorme earned his playing time. He was great in the field. That has always been expected of him. He was also better at the plate than expected. Although, the low expectations of him at the plate were not entirely fair.

Again, we’re playing with some small sample sizes here, but Guillorme proved himself last year. In the second half of 2019, he hit .300/.391/.475 with four doubles, a homer, and three RBI in 48 PA. You could certainly argue what we’re seeing this year was an extension of that.

You can also fairly argue none of last year or this is a reliable indicator of anything. The only thing we do know is at the moment Guillorme was playing like some sort of hybrid of Jeff McNeil and Luis Castillo (Marlins, not Mets version).

When you’re playing at that level, you should be in the everyday lineup. Unfortunately for Guillorme, the Mets were not interested in seeing how long Guillorme could keep up that high level of play and help the Mets win.

Admittedly, it is a dicey situation. Dominic Smith has been playing great all year. Pete Alonso started hitting again. Robinson Cano has turned back the clock and is arguably the Mets best hitter this year. All told, it’s difficult to make a move to take these players out of the lineup.

It’s also difficult to remove McNeil from the lineup. With his versatility and track record, he’s one of the best and most important players on the team.

As usual, the obvious answer would be to sit J.D. Davis, but the Mets remain unwilling to do that. It doesn’t matter to them Davis is at a 0.1 WAR to Guillorme’s 0.5. It doesn’t matter Davis is at a -3 DRS at third this year and a -14 for his career. He’s also a -2 OAA there for his career.

It should also be noted Guillorme is at a 194 wRC+ to Davis’ 145 wRC+. Really, in every aspect of the game, Guillorme has completely and utterly outplayed Davis this year.

However, Guillorme with his game changing defense and hot hitting will sit in favor of Davis.

He’ll also sit in favor of Amed Rosario and Gimenez, two other players he has outplayed this year. The simple answer as to why this has happened is the Mets organization is more invested in Davis, Gimenez, and Rosario.

That’s a real shame because Guillorme has absolutely earned the starting job at second base, and at the moment, by WAR, he’s the Mets fourth best position player. Seeing everything taken into account, the Mets benching Guillorme is unjustified, and they better be right about this decision.

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Roadsario Re-Emerges In Win Over Marlins

Around many corners, many were wondering if this was it for Amed Rosario. The one time uber prospect was struggling while Luis Guillorme and Andres Gimenez seemed to be forming an all-time great Mets middle infield.

That’s what small sample sizes will do to you. That’s also what the urgency of the 60 game season will do.

To their credit, the Mets haven’t given up on Rosario’s talent. Last night, they were rewarded.

It started as an ominous day. That was because in typical Mets fashion David Peterson‘s shoulder injury being worse than originally advertised. That led to Peterson being placed on the IL, and Corey Oswalt being recalled to make the emergency start.

Oswalt acquitted himself well. He threw three scoreless before getting into trouble in the fourth. In that inning, Jesus Aguilar hit an RBI double and come in to score on a Brian Anderson RBI single. That Marlins rally narrowed the score to 3-2.

The first two Mets runs came via solo homers off Marlins starter Humberto Mejia. The first of which was a Brandon Nimmo third inning shot which has continued his impressive stretch of extra base hits.

The Mets rallied in the fourth with another solo homer. After that Michael Conforto walked, and Pete Alonso hit a one out single. Dominic Smith would drive in the Mets third run with a ground rule double.

That put Oswalt in position for the win, but he would fall just short. Overall, his final line was 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. He’d also have a pick-off.

Magneuris Sierra led off the fifth with a single, and he would steal second. With the Mets holding a one run lead and the tying run in scoring position, Luis Rojas brought in Justin Wilson to relieve Oswalt with one out in the fifth.

Wilson got out of the jam, and he’d pitch 1.1 scoreless. He’d pick up the win as he’d combine with Jared Hughes, Dellin Betances, and Edwin Diaz to shut out the Marlins over the final 4.2 innings.

They’d maintain the lead and see it grow as Rosario began to put on a show. In addition to making diving stops in the infield, we’d see his bat come back to life. We first saw that with a no doubter in the seventh.

He wasn’t done. In the eighth, the Mets loaded the bases, and Smith drew a wall forcing home a run. Then, Rosario came up and delivered an opposite field two RBI single effectively ending the game.

Nimmo delivered the final RBI with a single to increase the Mets lead to 8-2. In addition to Rosario, Nimmo had a huge game as well going 3-for-5 with a run, triple, homer, and three RBI.

Going back to Rosario, he was 2-for-5 with a run, homer, and three RBI. Perhaps more than any Met, he needed this one. Maybe, he just needed to get away from Citi Field as he’s been a MUCH better hitter on the road.

Whatever the case, he put together a big game with Guillorme and Gimenez seriously vying for playing time. He helped a Mets team desperately trying to right the ship. They’re now 11-14 and three games behind the Braves.

Game Notes: Wilson picked up the win on his birthday. Jacob deGrom appears set to start the series finale against the Marlins.

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Mets Lose Same Way They Have All Season

Steven Matz was pitching very well until he imploded in the fifth, and it all started because Amed Rosario couldn’t get Didi Gregorius on his swinging bunt against the shift.

If you blinked, you missed a 1-0 deficit turning into an insurmountable 6-0 hole. Things would’ve been worse had Jeurys Familia got two big outs to get the Mets out of the inning.

It was insurmountable partially because Aaron Nola was really good. It was mostly insurmountable because the Mets can’t hit with runners on. Today, they were 0-for-3 with RISP.

One important note here is the Phillies bullpen is a train wreck. That’s the nice way of putting it. Citizen’s Bank Park is a launching pad. Yet, for the season straight night, the Mets did next nothing against them.

If not for Dominic Smith‘s two run homer in the ninth, the Mets would’ve been shut out. It was the fourth straight game Smith homered.

While talking about Mets prospects the team cheated of a real chance, Luis Guillorme was good again going 1-for-3.

But the Mets don’t realize who are and who are not their best players. Case-in-point, Andres Gimenez sat to force feed Rosario and J.D Davis into the lineup.

But we’ve known for a while now, it’s not about what gives the Mets the best chance to win. It’s about Brodie Van Wagenen. It was last night, and it was tonight with the Mets losing 6-2. We’ll probably see it again tomorrow.

Game Notes: Top prospects Matthew Allan and Francisco Alvarez were added to the 60 player pool now making them eligible to be traded.

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Wilson Ramos Cannot Be Allowed To Cost The Mets Another Game

There’s many reasons to pinpoint why the Mets lost this game in excruciating fashion to the Phillies. That’s the way excruciatingly losses go.

There’s having to start Walker Lockett because Jacob deGrom was scratched from today’s start with a neck issue. Lockett then made one of his better MLB starts, which was still bad.

There was the Mets going 2-for-16 with RISP leaving 10 runners on base.

There was Billy Hamilton‘s TOOBLAN off all TOOBLANs when he cleanly stole second, took off for third, and was easily thrown out.

Despite all that, it was tied 5-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Seth Lugo, who hadn’t pitched in five days, wasn’t sharp allowing the first two to reach.

Bryce Harper singled, and Michael Conforto made a perfect throw home. It was well in advance of Roman Quinn.

What ensued was the absolute worst attempt at a tag. Seriously, Wilson Ramos should be embarrassed, and frankly, he owes his teammates an apology for costing the game. It was that bad.

You don’t want to accuse someone of not trying. However, you really should question what Ramos was doing there. You should also ask why the apparent lack of a sense of urgency.

While we’re asking questions about the catcher who went 1-for-5 with a GIDP, we also need to ask what should the Mets do with him? Clearly, it seems it’s time for a switch to Tomas Nido. We know the Mets won’t do that, so we’re stuck with the awful play of Ramos.

It’s at that point where it’s overshadowing some truly terrific performances from his teammates.

Dominic Smith was 2-for-4 with a run, walk, homer, and two RBI. He also made a nice play in the field.

Robson Cano returned from the IL to go 2-for-5 with a run, homer, and two RBI. That includes a two RBI.

The biggest story right now remains Luis Guillorme. In addition to playing Gold Glove caliber second base, he’s hitting .474. With this being a shortened season, we may be having a Ted Williams discussion at some point.

However, none of this matters as Ramos continues to be terrible. It’s now at the point it’s costing the Mets games. Sooner or later, the Mets are going to be forced into making a decision on him.

Game Notes: With Cano activated, Drew Smith was sent to the alternate site. Amed Rosario returned to the lineup after battling a stomach bug. Andres Gimenez another base and is 6-for-6 on the season.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Might’ve Found Path To Contention

The Mets lost two out of three to the Washington Nationals dropping them deeper into last place. While that was not good, they really found something. Hopefully, they’ll follow it through.

1. Luis Guillorme and Andres Gimenez without hyperbole promises to be the Mets best ever defensive middle infield.

2. Guillorme and Gimenez gave the Mets a chance to win with their defense and their offense. Right now, the Mets cannot justify taking either out of the lineup. Not when they’re changing the complexion of games with their defense.

3. On that point, the Mets should be cognizant with Rick Porcello, David Peterson, and now Robert Gsellman in the rotation, they need that middle infield defense more than ever.

4. The Mets build a staff of ground ball pitchers. That includes Jared Hughes and Jeurys Familia in the bullpen. The Mets need to lean into it and stop fighting it.

5. Amed Rosario is still an everyday caliber player at the Major League level, and he very well may still reach the full potential he has. With the Mets, that may need to be in CF where his tools translate extremely well.

6. Brodie Van Wagenen not looking to move one of Gimenez or Rosario to CF in an organization with tremendous middle infield depth and ZERO outfield depth is another indictment on him.

7. It’s another reason why the Robinson Cano trade was short sighted and very poorly executed. Cano needed to be moved to first or third.

8. It should be no surprise this is how Van Wagenen has operated as this is all one big grift. It’s clear the Wilpons were selling, and they were willing to trade off all of the future to win now.

9. With the sale bidding process, we see the Wilpons will do what they can to win one last World Series. We also see Van Wagenen has a complete disregard for his farm and acts like an excited puppy when teams asks for real prospects for defensive replacements. That means right now no prospect is safe . . . no matter how ridiculous the trade.

10. To set narratives straight, Michael Conforto continues to be the Mets best hitter, and he came through with a clutch hit yesterday.

11. Also, Dominic Smith should be playing everyday. Between his bat and heads up play getting the tag at second, this is a smart and very good baseball player.

12. Brandon Nimmo is an on-base machine. As we saw again on Monday, he’s not a center fielder. He needs to be in left with Jeff McNeil back at third.

13. Something just seems off all year with McNeil. He’s nowhere near the hitter or defender he was last year. He’s still a productive player, but we’ve learned to expect more. He’ll figure it out soon.

14. The Marcus Stroman trade was a bad trade at its inception, not because he opted out. The only thing the Mets can do to salvage the trade is to extend Stroman, but there’s no way the Mets do that before the sale.

15. It’s good to see Pete Alonso hitting again. The team needed it. If he’s hitting again, the Mets can roll with their defense, and they’re going to win a lot of games.

16. While everyone is taking about what the Mets need to do this offseason at catcher, they really need to have discussions on what they should do right now with Wilson Ramos playing like the worst catcher in baseball.

17. The Mets getting completely blown out by the Nationals at least once a year is a tradition we can all do without.

18. Juan Soto hitting monster homers, including two of longest in Citi Field history, and killing the Mets is another thing we never need to see again.

19. Gsellman was the right choice to move to the rotation. The Mets have the bullpen depth now to bullpen it as he gets up to speed, and his stuff plays better as a starter than reliever.

20. The NL East is a mess right now. It’s still winnable. The Mets don’t need bold moves at the trade deadline. They just need to play the right players, and they’ll win a lot of games.

Game Recaps

Nationals Annual Beat-Down Of Mets Continues

Mets Defense Was Phenomenal In Loss To Nationals

Mets Offense Wakes Up And Beats Nationals

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Mets Offense Wakes Up And Beats Nationals

Starting with just about the longest homer you’ll ever see off the bat of Juan Soto, the Washington Nationals would hit four homers. Two of those homers were by Soto.

That Soto homer off Robert Gsellman in the first was an ominous sign for a Mets team forced to bullpen this game due to the injury to Michael Wacha and the state of “depth” created by Brodie Van Wagenen.

If there were any concerns it was going to be another rough day for the Mets, Brandon Nimmo would assuage those concerns with a lead-off homer off Anibal Sanchez. That ignited that Mets offense.

After two quick outs, Sanchez plunked Michael Conforto. After that, Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith hit back-to-back RBI doubles. Andres Gimenez hit an RBI single.

What had been a 3-0 deficit heading to the bottom of the first became a 4-3 Mets lead. The Mets wouldn’t trail again.

It was 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth. That’s when the Mets blew the game open. First, Conforto ripped a two RBI double over Adam Eaton‘s head. The ball probably could’ve been played better by Eaton, but it seemed as if Conforto was at least getting a hit even if Eaton played it well.

After that misplay, Alonso and Smith would go back-to-back to give the Mets a 10-4 lead.

Those 10 runs stood partially because the Mets got some decent work from their bullpen. They also had another night of exceptional defense. It began with Nimmo robbing Kurt Suzuki of a homer in the second.

Gimenez and Luis Guillorme were again great in the field turning two double plays. They were also forces at the plate again.

Gimenez was 1-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base. Guillorme was 1-for-2 with a run, two walks, and a stolen base.

Really, nearly every Met was a force at the plate. That is except Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis each of whom were 0-for-5. Things were worse for Davis who struck out three times.

That was offset by Alonso getting back on track with two doubles and a homer. We also saw Smith have a double and a homer.

In terms of the bullpen, Chasen Shreve, Jeurys Familia, and Dellin Betances had scoreless outings. With Familia pitching two scoreless, he was awarded the win.

It was the best Betances looked striking out the side. Mostly, this 11-6 win was the best the Mets looked in a while. The hope is they can keep this going.

Game Notes: Alonso batted fifth for the first time this year. It was Gsellman’s first start since 2017.

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Mets Defense Was Phenomenal In Loss To Nationals

Look, when Max Scherzer is pitching, you can expect to get shut down offensively. It doesn’t matter if you start you Top offensive lineup, or your best defensive lineup like the Mets did tonight.

The positive takeaway from the defensive lineup was they were dazzling in the field. In their own ways, Dominic Smith, Luis Guillorme, and Andres Gimenez were absolutely brilliant in the field giving the Mets every chance to win this game. They were magicians with their gloves.

The Mets had fallen behind 2-0 early with this game, and it seemed like the Nationals had Rick Porcello on the ropes.

Trea Turner led off the game with a homer. In the second, Victor Robles hit an RBI single scoring Howie Kendrick. Robles had taken off for what appeared to be the vacated second, but he was beaten there by Smith who took the throw from Brandon Nimmo, and he got the tag down to end the inning.

From there, Gimenez and Guillorme stole the show robbing base hits and turning double plays. They did it in a fashion we have not seen from the Mets since the days of Edgardo Alfonzo and Rey Ordonez.

With that magic, they may want to rewrite Gimenez, Guillorme, and Smith in the place of Tinkers to Evers to Chance. They were and are that good defensively.

Their defensive prowess helped Porcello out together another strong outing for the Mets. This time, he allowed two earned on eight hits while walking none and striking out five over six innings.

If he wasn’t facing Scherzer, and the Mets bats who were supposed to deliver did, he would’ve gotten the W instead of the loss.

The Mets only run came in the fourth, and it should come as no surprise it came courtesy of their middle infield. After Gimenez tripled off Scherzer, Gimenez brought him home with a sacrifice fly.

The Mets would have other chances, but as noted, their bats didn’t deliver.

In the first, Wilson Ramos struck out with runners on first and second. In the second, Jeff McNeil struck out in an identical situation.

In the seventh, the Mets blew a huge opportunity. Guillorme hit one just out of the reach of Juan Soto for a lead-off double. Pete Alonso would pinch hit for Billy Hamilton, and he would fly out.

After Nimmo walked, McNeil again failed to deliver. This time, Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey got him to hit into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play.

Overall, Guillorme was the Mets best player. In addition to his dazzling defense, he was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. Gimenez was great as well with the triple and run scored.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Mets team did not play anywhere near the level those two did. If they had, the Mets would’ve won this easy instead of facing that brutal loss.

Game Notes: Amed Rosario was scratched from the lineup with a stomach ailment. Nimmo leads the NL in walks drawn.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Finally Win A Series

Well, the last place Mets took a series from the first place Marlins. That’s certainly something we never thought would happen in August 2020, but that’s where we are.

1. Andres Gimenez continues to prove he’s a Major Leaguer. When Robinson Cano is ready to return, it’s going to be impossible to pull him from the lineup.

2. If you’ll note, since the Mets have been forced to switch to a vastly superior defensive alignment, they’ve begun winning.

3. As we see that includes getting J.D. Davis out of left where he made you pine for the days of Todd Hundley, Daniel Murphy, and Lucas Duda.

4. Ty Cobb is the MLB all-time MLB leader with a .378 BABIP. Post World War II, Rod Carew is the leader at .359. Simply put, if you’re over those marks, your numbers are not sustainable.

5. On a related note, the Mets embarrass themselves, when they tout average plays as being great plays as part of their endeavoring to make a horrendous GM look somewhat competent.

6. Gimenez shows how great the Mets had been identifying Major League talent in the draft and international free agent market during the Sandy Alderson era.

7. The Mets bullpen had stepped up in August. Part of that is Edwin Diaz returning to his old form. No, it’s not because he’s out of the closer role. It’s because he has great stuff.

8. Seth Lugo needs to be used in the highest leverage spots. That’s not always the ninth, and that’s why he can’t be used as just a closer.

9. Speaking of pitchers with great stuff, Jacob deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball and not even a blister or “hot spot” can get in his way.

10. Tomas Nido has completely outplayed Wilson Ramos this year. You know the Mets will never make the switch, but you do wonder if the Mets will find more spots for Nido.

11. Jared Hughes is one of those players who come along and are a pure joy. Not only has he pitched well, but he’s also shown the ability to laugh at himself. Like the Juan Uribe era, the Jared Hughes era will go down as one of the most enjoyable in Mets history.

12. Even with the juiced ball appearing to return, the Mets offense has looked off all year. That’s most likely the result of their inability to hit with RISP.

13. Pete Alonso struggling doesn’t help either. The frustrating part is every time he appears to break out, he starts slumping again.

14. Mets have been lucky getting serviceable starts from David Peterson. He did it again in this series helping the Mets turn things around.

15. With Michael Wacha going down with a shoulder injury, the question before the Mets is whether Corey Oswalt or Franklyn Kilome can step in the way Peterson has.

16. This further highlights how the Mets desperately need Marcus Stroman back. That was the case when Wacha was “healthy.”

17. Michael Conforto has a hit in every game this season, and Brandon Nimmo has reached in 30 straight games (dating back to last year). Somehow, Mets fans still have a hard problem embracing them and instead ask why they’re not perfect.

18. The Cardinals have only played five games, and seemingly every time they appear set to return, there’s another positive test. Maybe they should just be contracted . . . at least for the 2020 season.

19. MLB went from not suspending or fining Carlos Correa for clearly violating COVID19 protocols. Let’s see if MLB continues their Astros double standard when dealing with Ramon Laureano.

20. If the Mets want to be taken seriously, they need to beat up on a Washington Nationals team who is undermanned and playing terribly right now.

Game Recaps

At Least Dominic Smith Homered

Mets Homegrown Talent Beats Marlins Youth

Andres Gimenez Shows Marlins He Belongs

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Andres Gimenez Shows Marlins He Belongs

It was a shock to see Andres Gimenez Matt the Mets Opening Day roster. It was a shock because his Double-A numbers weren’t off the charts. It was a bigger shock because there was no obvious opportunity.

With the recent slate of injuries coupled with his strong play, he’s currently an everyday player. As we saw today, he may be here to stay.

The Mets would win 4-2, and Gimenez was in the middle of each rally serving as a spark plug for the Mets offense.

In the third, he led off the inning with a single off Marlins starter Pablo Lopez. He’d immediately put himself in scoring position by stealing second.

Lopez would walk the bases loaded moving Gimenez to third. He’d then score on a Jeff McNeil RBI groundout. The second run of the inning scored when Corey Dickerson couldn’t field a Michael Conforto liner.

https://twitter.com/jgroc/status/1292525171077767170?s=21

In the ensuing inning, Gimenez again set the table. This time it was a one out double. He’d score on a Brandon Nimmo two out RBI single.

In the sixth, Gimenez laid down a great drag bunt to lead-off the inning. The Mets would load the bases, and he’d score on a McNeil sacrifice fly.

Overall, Gimenez was 3-for-4 with three runs, a stolen base, and a double. He had three of the Mets eight hits, and he scored all three of the Mets earned runs. In the end, he did the near impossible in providing Jacob deGrom with run support.

With deGrom, he dealt with an issue on his middle finger. Some called it a blister. He called it a hot spot. It was no matter as deGrom is deGrom.

You could say it led to back-to-back walks in the second, but that might’ve been more the result of Home Plate Umpire Mark Carlson who was terrible, and that’s being kind.

No one had any idea what was a strike. The only thing we did know was deGrom was going to overcome it. In that second inning, he got out of a bases loaded jam unscathed.

It wasn’t until the fifth the Marlins would get to him. He missed on a pitch, and Jesus Aguilar hit a two run homer. At that point, the Marlins pulled to within 3-2. They’d get no closer even with deGrom being done after the fifth.

The Mets bullpen continued their impressive August.

Jared Hughes struck out two in a scoreless inning of work. Even with Dellin Betances hitting 92 on the gun, he pitched a scoreless seventh. Then, Edwin Diaz pitched in a set-up role.

Diaz was brilliant even if he was nearly victimized. He blew the first two Marlins away, and he should’ve stuck out Ryan Lavarnway, but Carlson blew the call.

Lavarnway singled on the next pitch. Then, Eddy Alvarez hit what appeared to be an easy fly ball. Instead, in what looks like the return of the juiced ball, it carried to the wall.

Fortunately, it didn’t go out. Diaz shook it off, and he struck out Monte Harrison on an absolutely overpowering pitch.

That left Seth Lugo to pitch the ninth. Lugo pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the 4-2 win. It was his third save of the season and first one inning save of the year.

Through it all, the Mets won their first series of the year. They did it featuring their homegrown talent, talent like Gimenez.

Game Notes: deGrom’s back-to-back walks in the second was the first time he did that in 25 starts. Michael Wacha landed on the IL with shoulder inflammation, and Ali Sanchez took his place on the roster. Dating back to last season, Nimmo has reached safely in 30 straight games.

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