It has been a rough couple of weeks, but the Mets do seem to find themselves in a good position for a wild card spot.
The past couple of weeks for this New York Mets team have been rough, but that should not stop them from getting back to their winning ways. Just recently, they have taken two out of three from the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks. It is surprising though, considering how Arizona has a better record than the Mets. Entering the series, Arizona was just a couple spots back from the Dodgers in the NL West division. The D-Backs currently hold the first wild card spot in the intense NL race.
As for the Mets, there’s no room left for losing. Their division rival Atlanta Braves have started to get hot again. They lead the Mets by three and a half games for the third wild card spot, as a result of their recent winning streak. To be clear, New York has no excuses for why they can’t win these next couple of games. Next, they play the Chicago White Sox, who has been awful for the entire year. If the Mets can’t sweep them, it would be hard to imagine them chasing the Braves for the last wild card spot.
Pete Alonso Makes History
It has been a rough year for 1B Pete Alonso, but he did eventually make history in Tuesday’s night victory over the D-Backs. In the third inning, Alonso launched his 220th career homer in a Mets uniform. It gets even more better. With this homer, it places him in a tied with C Mike Piazza in third place for most home runs in franchise history. OF Darryl Strawberry still owns the most homers in franchise history with 252, while 3B David Wright ranks second with 242. But Alonso wasn’t the only storyline for Tuesday’s night win.
After leading by two after four innings, the Mets tacked on six runs for an 8-0 lead. They would open the fifth with five consecutive hits, including RBI singles from C Francisco Alvarez and 3B Mark Vientos. All of those batters that came up to the plate would eventually score. They ended up sending 12 batters to the plate thanks to that six-run inning they put on display.
Then there was LHP Sean Manaea. This start would end up as his best that he has had in a while. The left-hander allowed just one hit over the first six innings before allowing a pair of home runs. His six-and-two-thirds innings pitched were good enough to put him in line for the win. The bullpen took care of business the rest of the way.
Edwin Diaz 2024 Season Struggles Continues
Indeed, Edwin Diaz has not been the same pitcher he once was since the “freaky” incident in his dance celebration in last year’s World Baseball Classic. With the Mets four outs away from a series win, the big blow of the inning came. After allowing the first two batters to reach base due to free passes, then came the damage. Diaz allowed the go-ahead run on a grand slam to OF Corbin Caroll, whose hit proved to be the difference maker of the game. But Diaz’s struggles were not the only reason the Mets lost the game.
Starter RHP Luis Severino could not get through five innings after getting hit by a liner. But RPs Huascar Brazoban, Danny Young and Reed Garrett were able to get the job done until the 8th inning. Then there was the offense. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez held the Mets offense hitless through four innings.
The Mets were able to break through in the 5th thanks to DH J.D Martinez’s RBI double that drove in the Mets first run of the evening. They were not done scoring. Francisco Alvarez plated Martinez with an RBI single up the middle to cut Arizona’s lead in half.
Later in the inning, OF Harrison Bader would launch a 423-foot bomb to left that would tie the game. New York then took the lead in the following inning. Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice-fly to make it 5-4, but it was all for nought due to Diaz’s poor performance.
Mets Rebound in Rubber Game
This rubber game was indeed a tight match. The game featured a pitching duo that had both teams’ offenses shut down through seven innings. On the mound for the Mets was LHP David Peterson. He surrendered seven hits and two runs in seven innings. He struck out four, walked two, and picked off two runners at first base. Arizona’s SP Ryne Nelson was strong as well. Through 6 1/3 innings pitched, he only allowed two runs, and both were on homers. The Mets did not take the lead until late in the 9th.
UTL Jose Iglesias gave the team the lead on a clutch RBI single, driving in home pinch runner OF Tyrone Taylor. Edwin Diaz would rebound in the bottom of the inning and notch the save for the team.
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