Brandon Nimmo

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.

page top

Alonso And Cano At Homer In Miami

The Mets fell down 1-0 when Robert Gsellman struggled in the top of the first. When Dominic Smith hit a bases loaded double off Jordan Yamamoto in the second, the Mets took a 2-1 lead. After that, the Mets offense exploded with nearly everyone destroying the baseball:

  1. Brandon Nimmo 1-4, R, 3B, 2 BB
  2. Jeff McNeil 1-4, R, BB, K
  3. J.D. Davis 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K, HBP
  4. Michael Conforto 1-3, R, 2B, BB, K, HBP
  5. Robinson Cano 3-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, K, 2 HR
  6. Pete Alonso 3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HR
  7. Dominic Smith 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HBP
  8. Wilson Ramos 1-5, K, 2B
  9. Amed Rosario 2-5, R, RBI, 2 K, 2B

The story of the night was Cano and Alonso. For Cano, he continues his great hitting in 2020. For Alonso, that’s eluded him this year, and he’s struggled to the point he was dropped in the lineup to the sixth for the first time in his career. He responded with a two home run game.

If you are looking for a negative from this game, it was Gsellman who struggled. Even staked to a 3-1 lead, he couldn’t get through the second. He was a bit wild leading Luis Rojas to lift him earlier than he would’ve wanted.

While there was some disappointment in Gsellman not taking a step forward after being reinserted into the rotation, there should be genuine excitement in Chasen Shreve, who was again excellent.

Shreve struck out five while pitching 2.1 scoreless and hitless innings. He led the charge of a bullpen which allowed one run over the final 7.1 innings.

Of note, Franklyn Kilome came in to pitch the final three innings picking up his first career save. He was wild walking five allowing two runs, but he was also lighting up the gun at 96 MPH. He struck out four.

Ultimately, Kilome didn’t do much to make a case for him to replace Gsellman. Still, he helped the bullpen while showing he’s still not ready to pitch at this level.

Things got so bad for the Marlins in their 11-4 loss, Logan Forsythe was the sacrificial lamb. He was the position player who pitched the ninth.

Overall, the Mets outclassed the Marlins. This is what we expect from this Mets team. Hopefully, this will prove to be a turning point of the season.

Game Notes: Jacob deGrom threw a bullpen and showed no ill effects. He’s in line to make his next start.

page top

Mets 2020 Roster Without Brodie Van Wagenen

For all his bravado, Brodie Van Wagenen has not only stripped the farm system down, but he did it while impinging the Major League roster’s ability to compete for a World Series. To put it in perspective, let’s just look at what the Mets roster would look like right now if Van Wagenen only kept the Mets players in the organization had he not taken the job, or, if he did nothing.

Some caveats here. This assumes free agents were re-signed. Without the Robinson Cano deal, that would’ve been possible. Also, it assumes the same players who are injured for the season would remain injured. Finally, this will eliminate those players not on active 28 man rosters. With that in mind, here’s what the 2020 Mets would’ve looked like.

Lineup

C Travis d’Arnaud

1B Dominic Smith

2B Jeff McNeil

3B Todd Frazier

SS Amed Rosario

LF Brandon Nimmo

CF Juan Lagares

RF Michael Conforto

DH Pete Alonso

Bench

C Kevin Plawecki

INF Wilmer Flores

1B/OF Jay Bruce

INF Luis Guillorme

Starting Rotation

RHP Jacob deGrom

RHP Zack Wheeler

LHP Steven Matz

LHP Anthony Kay

LHP David Peterson

Bullpen

RHP Seth Lugo

RHP Rafael Montero

RHP Justin Dunn

RHP Robert Gsellman

RHP Drew Smith

LHP Blake Taylor

RHP Bobby Wahl

LHP Daniel Zamora

RHP Paul Sewald

RHP Franklyn Kilome

This isn’t set in stone. The Mets could’ve opted for one fewer reliever for Andres Gimenez. On the subject of top 100 prospects, the Mets also would’ve still had Jarred Kelenic.

Looking at the team overall, the starting pitching is vastly superior as is the team defense. The bullpen may not be as deep, but they certainly have the arms.

Overall, this non-Van Wagenen impacted roster would’ve certainly been better than the 9-14 team his Mets roster is. This just goes to show you how bad of a GM Van Wagenen is.

He’s made the Mets worse in 2020, and he’s made the Mets future less promising. You could not have done a worse job than Van Wagenen has done.

page top

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

page top

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.

page top

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.

page top

Nationals Annual Beat-Down Of Mets Continues

It seems at least once a year the Washington Nationals just embarrass the Mets. While much has changed in this COVID19 world, apparently, this tradition has survived.

Simply put, Steven Matz was terrible. Somehow, Paul Sewald was worse. Chasen Shreve wasn’t exactly sterling, but he looked like Cy Young compared to those two.

To fully put this debacle into perspective, with all due respect to Drew Smith, Luis Guillorme was the Mets best pitcher of the night.

Brandon Nimmo had a rough night in the outfield. He didn’t make an error, but he didn’t get to a lot of balls. He wasn’t the only one off during the Nationals 16-4 thrashing of a the Mets.

The Nationals hit four homers with two of them coming from former Met Asdrubal Cabrera. That included a true juiced ball homer.

You may remember Cabrera from his stint with the Mets. If not, you may remember him as the guy Brodie Van Wagenen didn’t give a courtesy call to when he instead opted to sign his former client Jed Lowrie, who had a busted knee.

Lowrie gave the Mets nine pinch hit attempts, and Cabrera helped the Nationals win the World Series. He also helped destroy the Mets tonight. So, thanks for that Brodie.

Really, the less said about this debacle, the better. It’s time to turn the page and just try to figure out how to piece together a starting rotation. Again, thanks for that Brodie.

Game Notes: J.D. Davis‘ hitting streak ended. Ali Sanchez made his MLB debut hitting into a double play in his only PA.

page top

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

page top

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.

page top

Mets Homegrown Talent Beats Marlins Youth

One of the most puzzling and overblown aspects of this early season was Pete Alonso struggling. The Mets made the right move for defensive purposes and to allow him to focus on hitting by moving him to DH. The move has proven to be a boon.

We saw that again tonight when he hit a two run homer off of Marlins starter Daniel Castano, who was the second straight Marlins starter to make his MLB debut. Alonso’s homer certainly got out in a hurry:

It was the Mets second two run homer of the game. The first came from Michael Conforto who supposedly can’t hit lefties. Someone just forgot to tell Conforto and MLB pitchers this year:

Notably, Conforto has reached safely in all 15 games this season. Conforto and Brandon Nimmo remain the only Mets to reach safely in every game they’ve played.

That pair of two run homers gave David Peterson a 4-1 lead. It was another strong performance for the young lefty. He allowed two earned over five on four hits and three walks. He may have only struck out three, but he did flash some filthy stuff.

The Mets would get some insurance runs with Amed Rosario setting the table both times. It was 5-2 Mets when Luis Rojas went to the bullpen.

Jeurys Familia continued his Jekyll/Hyde routine of the season struggling tonight. After allowing the first two to reach, he got Francisco Cervelli to hit into the double play he needed. Unfortunately, instead of getting out of the inning, Familia walked the next two to load the bases.

Drew Smith relieved Familia, and he made a good pitch getting Monte Harrison to hit what is normally a routine ground ball. Unfortunately with the shift, it was a two RBI single. This was a situation where the process was right, the pitch was good, but the result was bad. More often than not, if the Mets continue this approach, they’ll win more than they lose.

Smith fell down 3-0 to Jonathan Villar. Fortunately for Smith, it was a horrendous at-bat by Villar from that point forward, and Smith would get the strike out to end the jam.

Nearly a year to the date of his last performance, Robert Gsellman pitched a scoreless seventh striking out two. After Gsellman, Seth Lugo pitched a scoreless eighth. With the Mets up by four runs and it not being a save opportunity, Rojas made the right call limiting Lugo to an inning.

While eventful, Justin Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth. With that, the Mets became the first team to beat the Marlins in two weeks. That’s partially the result of the Marlins COVID19 outbreak. Whatever the case, the last place Mets beat the first place Marlins.

Game Notes: Billy Hamilton made his second start in center for the Mets. With the left-handed starter, Brian Dozier started at second. He’s 1-for-11 on the season with four strikeouts.

page top