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The Mets wrapped up their season-opening road trip with much-needed momentum, rallying late to defeat the Miami Marlins in 11 innings, 6-4, on Wednesday night at loanDepot Park.
-- It didn't take long for the Mets to draw first blood. After a one-out single from Juan Soto in the first inning, Pete Alonso smacked a double to the right-center field gap to give them a 1-0 lead. With the stadium's retractable roof open, the wind kept a few deep flies from going over the fence, and Mark Vientos was a victim in the second when his loud shot to left-center surprisingly didn't reach the warning track.
-- Clay Holmes struggled with command in his first start of the season, and the issues unfortunately made the trip to Miami. While he threw first-pitch strikes to 10 of the first 12 batters, he fell behind in counts and ran into trouble. His third inning could've been far worse, though -- the Marlins loaded the bases with no outs and only scored twice. An errant throw home from Vientos on a grounder extended that jam.
-- The fourth inning went smoothly for Holmes, as he sent the Marlins down in order on 11 pitches. But the newly-converted starter wasn't allowed to complete the fifth. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza took the ball with two runners on and two outs, marking Holmes' second straight outing that lasted 4.2 innings. He allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts (85 pitches).
-- The Mets couldn't inflict damage on Marlins starter Connor Gillispie, who completed five innings with six strikeouts. Alonso was the only one who found success -- his pair of doubles were half of their hits against the right-hander.
-- Sloppy defense returned in the seventh inning, when reliever A.J. Minter balked a runner over to third after allowing a leadoff double. Moments later, another grounder to Vientos went awry. By misjudging a high chopper that was assumed foul, the Marlins scored their third run and the batter reached first on an infield single. Ryne Stanek also gave up an inherited run, bumping Miami's lead to 4-1.
-- Just when it looked like the Mets didn't have a late rally in their bones, they conveniently defied expectations. Luis Torrens led off the eighth with a pinch-hit single, and Francisco Lindor then advanced him to third with a much-needed single to right. A fielder's choice grounder from Soto left Torrens dead at home, but Alonso eventually played the role of hero once again, crushing a game-tying, three-run homer to center.
-- The drama found its way into the bottom half of the eighth, when closer Edwin Diaz entered the tied game. After allowing an infield single, a stolen base, and a wild pitch, a Marlins run seemed inevitable. But a Griffin Conine grounder to second resulted in a bang-bang play at home when Torrens tagged out Xavier Edwards on a throw from Brett Baty. Intially ruled safe, a Mets challenge overturned the call. A scoreless ninth sent the game into extras innings.
-- New York was unable to cash a run in the 10th with runners on the corners and no outs, but the offense came through in the 11th. With the bases juiced and no outs, Jesse Winker drew a four-pitch walk to give the Mets a 5-4 lead. Then, Vientos hit a grounder to shortstop that was booted, allowing Alonso to score and all runners to advance. Miami managed to stop the bleeding by inducing a double-play grounder and flyout.
-- Following two shutout innings of relief from Jose Butto, the Mets called upon Danny Young to begin the 11th. He walked his first batter and struck out his second, and then Huascar Brazobán entered with the task of cleaning up the mess. He luckily did just that, closing the door with a flyout and strikeout.
-- On a personal level, the game was memorable for Mets catcher Hayden Senger, who doubled to right-center in the fifth for his first big league hit. A pretty cool story for the 27-year-old rookie -- he was taken in the 24th round of the 2018 draft and made the Opening Day roster after playing 402 games in the team's minor league system.
Alonso broke open Monday's game with a mammoth grand slam, and his three-run shot on Wednesday once again provided relief to a Mets lineup that was struggling to find a rhythm and deliver a clutch hit. The veteran slugger is now hitting .286 with eight RBI in 21 at-bats.
The Mets (3-3) will spend Thursday's off day settling back into the New York area and preparing for Friday's highly-anticipated home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at 3:10 p.m.
Tylor Megill is slated to make his second start of the season, opposite Kevin Gausman on SNY.
Continue reading...
Here are the takeaways...
-- It didn't take long for the Mets to draw first blood. After a one-out single from Juan Soto in the first inning, Pete Alonso smacked a double to the right-center field gap to give them a 1-0 lead. With the stadium's retractable roof open, the wind kept a few deep flies from going over the fence, and Mark Vientos was a victim in the second when his loud shot to left-center surprisingly didn't reach the warning track.
-- Clay Holmes struggled with command in his first start of the season, and the issues unfortunately made the trip to Miami. While he threw first-pitch strikes to 10 of the first 12 batters, he fell behind in counts and ran into trouble. His third inning could've been far worse, though -- the Marlins loaded the bases with no outs and only scored twice. An errant throw home from Vientos on a grounder extended that jam.
-- The fourth inning went smoothly for Holmes, as he sent the Marlins down in order on 11 pitches. But the newly-converted starter wasn't allowed to complete the fifth. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza took the ball with two runners on and two outs, marking Holmes' second straight outing that lasted 4.2 innings. He allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts (85 pitches).
-- The Mets couldn't inflict damage on Marlins starter Connor Gillispie, who completed five innings with six strikeouts. Alonso was the only one who found success -- his pair of doubles were half of their hits against the right-hander.
-- Sloppy defense returned in the seventh inning, when reliever A.J. Minter balked a runner over to third after allowing a leadoff double. Moments later, another grounder to Vientos went awry. By misjudging a high chopper that was assumed foul, the Marlins scored their third run and the batter reached first on an infield single. Ryne Stanek also gave up an inherited run, bumping Miami's lead to 4-1.
-- Just when it looked like the Mets didn't have a late rally in their bones, they conveniently defied expectations. Luis Torrens led off the eighth with a pinch-hit single, and Francisco Lindor then advanced him to third with a much-needed single to right. A fielder's choice grounder from Soto left Torrens dead at home, but Alonso eventually played the role of hero once again, crushing a game-tying, three-run homer to center.
-- The drama found its way into the bottom half of the eighth, when closer Edwin Diaz entered the tied game. After allowing an infield single, a stolen base, and a wild pitch, a Marlins run seemed inevitable. But a Griffin Conine grounder to second resulted in a bang-bang play at home when Torrens tagged out Xavier Edwards on a throw from Brett Baty. Intially ruled safe, a Mets challenge overturned the call. A scoreless ninth sent the game into extras innings.
-- New York was unable to cash a run in the 10th with runners on the corners and no outs, but the offense came through in the 11th. With the bases juiced and no outs, Jesse Winker drew a four-pitch walk to give the Mets a 5-4 lead. Then, Vientos hit a grounder to shortstop that was booted, allowing Alonso to score and all runners to advance. Miami managed to stop the bleeding by inducing a double-play grounder and flyout.
-- Following two shutout innings of relief from Jose Butto, the Mets called upon Danny Young to begin the 11th. He walked his first batter and struck out his second, and then Huascar Brazobán entered with the task of cleaning up the mess. He luckily did just that, closing the door with a flyout and strikeout.
-- On a personal level, the game was memorable for Mets catcher Hayden Senger, who doubled to right-center in the fifth for his first big league hit. A pretty cool story for the 27-year-old rookie -- he was taken in the 24th round of the 2018 draft and made the Opening Day roster after playing 402 games in the team's minor league system.
Game MVP: Pete Alonso
Alonso broke open Monday's game with a mammoth grand slam, and his three-run shot on Wednesday once again provided relief to a Mets lineup that was struggling to find a rhythm and deliver a clutch hit. The veteran slugger is now hitting .286 with eight RBI in 21 at-bats.
Highlights
What's next
The Mets (3-3) will spend Thursday's off day settling back into the New York area and preparing for Friday's highly-anticipated home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at 3:10 p.m.
Tylor Megill is slated to make his second start of the season, opposite Kevin Gausman on SNY.
Continue reading...
