Mets 7 Nationals 2 (Nationals Park, Washington D.C.)
Mets Record: 42-41
Mets Streak: W2
Mets Last 10: 8-2
WP: Jose Butto (2-3)
LP: Robert Garcia (0-3)
Seat On The Korner: Brandon Nimmo
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Brandon Nimmo, who literally came off the floor and came through after starting the game on the bench for the second straight night. Nimmo fainted in the shower and hit his head Sunday night, causing him to miss Monday's game and not starting Tuesday. Harrison Bader was shaken up after colliding with the wall in the third inning and Nimmo entered. Nimmo had two key hits late in the game Sunday to send the game in extras, and he did the same Tuesday. He singled in the tying run and stole a base in the eighth inning. Then in the 10th he had another opposite field hit, a double that gave the Mets a two-run cushion. He then came around to score as the Mets put up a five-spot to go 5-0 on the season in Washington,
Need To Know:
The offense came through late for the Mets, but the pitching is what put the Mets in position to win the game against Washington. With the bullpen woozy after three straight high-pressure games (and not looking good while winning one of the three by the skin of their teeth), Sean Manaea tossed seven solid inings for the first time as a Met, allowing only five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Jose Butto, languishing in the minors despite several strong games in New York earlier in the year, returned from Syracuse and tossed two scoreless innings. He got the win after the 10th-inning rally. Dedniel Nunez was a surprise choice to pitch the 10th, but it worked. And with the Mets bullpen, that is the most important part of the story.
Coming into the game, Francisco Lindor had a .579 on-base percentage leading off a game as the leadoff hitter. Gary Cohen reported that that number was the best in the majors since at least 1974. He then popped up.
Harrison Bader, who opened the game as the second hitter in the lineup, slammed into the wall in center chasing a Jacob Young drive that went for a double in the third inning. Bader finished out the inning, but he came out the following inning and was replaced by Brandon Nimmo.
With last night's hero J.D. Martinez a late scratch due to ankle soreness, Mark Vientos batted third for the first time in his career. He singled his first time up and had an RBI hit in his last at bat .
Since Francisco Alvarez returned to the lineup on June 11, the Mets are 14-4 in games the catcher appeared in. The Mets won 11 straight games he played in before his hand injury. The Mets lost the first five games of the year he appeared in to start the year, but it's gone much better with their sparkplug backstop in the game since then. The Mets are 25-9 when Alvarez plays and 17-32 when he doesn't.
Turning Point
Playing their third extra-inning game in as many nights, Jose Iglesias just missed a tiebreaking hit down the left-field line in the 10th inning. The ball missed the foul line by about a foot. His bat broken on the near miss, the infielder/singing sensation got a new bat and then doubled down the right-field line to break the tie. The Mets, who had not led all game, added four more runs in the inning to take a 7-2 lead.
Three Keys:
More Is Better
After Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso followed Jose Iglesias' RBI with run-scoring hits of their own, Pete Alonso launched his fifth career extra-inning home run to cap the five-run 10th inning.
His and Herz
The Mets treated D.J. Herz rudely in his major league debut on June 4--a 6-3 New York win--but the 23-year-old lefty returned the favor in the sixth start of his career. Herz struck out 10 and walked none in 5.2 innings, but Francisco Lindor, who twice double-clutched at shortstop to account for two infield hits, crushed a Herz offering to break up the shutout in the sixth inning. Herz, who struck out 13 and walked none on June 15, joined former Nationals phenom Stephen Strasbourg as the only pitchers since 1901 to have two such games with no walks in their first six career starts.
Take That One OFF the Board
The Mets argued to put a Nationals runner on base in the third inning on Tuesday night; they won the challenge and it saved them a run. With runners on second and third and two outs, Sean Manaea's pitch appeared to get by catcher Francisco Alvarez to bring in Jacob Young for the second run of the inning. The Mets challenged, the ball was determined to have hit Meneses' foot, the batter headed to first, the runner was sent back to third, and the Mets got out of the jam when Tyrone Taylor made a fine running catch in right field to end the inning.
Grimace can't stop smiling. Get that dude some food, Mayor McCheese!