Mets 7 Diamondbacks 1 (Citi Field, Flushing NY)
Mets record: 67-78
Mets streak: Won 2
WP - Joey Lucchesi (3-0)
LP - Zac Gallen (15-8)
Seat on the Korner: Joey Lucchesi
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.
Tonight's Seat on the Korner belongs Joey Lucchesi, who once again produced a strong outing, pitching into the eighth and leaving without having allowed a run. He might have lasted through the inning had Francisco Lindor been able to field a sure double-play ball (it took a bad hop) and his record would have been run-free if Jeff McNeil hadn't thrown away another sure double play. This was Lucchesi's second consecutive strong start for the Mets -- he threw 5.2 scoreless on August 18 -- as he jockeys for a place in the 2024 starting rotation.
Need to Know
One day after hitting his first major league home run, Ronny Mauricio was out of the lineup with an undisclosed illness .
The Mets have now hit 193 home runs this year, fifth in the National League and 22 more than they hit all of last year.
The Mets scored seven runs for the second consecutive night.
The only bump in Lucchesi's night came in the fourth with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. at the plate when he was called for two pitch clock violation in the same at-bat for failing to visually engage the hitter. Pitching coach Jeremy Heffner had to make a mound visit to calm Lucchesi down.
Kodai Senga takes the mound Thursday as the Mets try to put another crimp in the Diamondbacks' push for a wild card berth.
Zac Gallen took the loss for the Diamondbacks, a large bump in his path toward a possible Cy Young Award.
Turning Point
Tonight's turning point of the game occurred on the bottom of the fifth. Ahead, 2-0, Brett Baty led off with a single and took second on a ground out. Francisco Lindor walked. Then Pete Alonso doubled to center, scoring both Baty and Lindor and breaking the game open as Joey Lucchesi coasted.
Three Keys
Quality starting pitching. Joey Lucchesi pitched well and went deep into the game, keeping manager Buck Showalter from having to call on his questionable middle-relief bullpen. It was the ninth straight game in which a Mets starter has gone at least five innings and given up three runs or less. If the Mets had gotten this type of quality starting pitching earlier in the year, they might not have given up on the wild card and conducted the roster fire sale.
Timely hitting. Not just by Pete Alonso, who had three RBI, but also by Brett Baty, who had two hits; Mark Vientos, who hit a two-run homer (his fifth, following his two-hit game Tuesday); Francisco Lindor, who had two hits and scored two runs; and Rafael Ortega, starting in Ronny Mauricio's place, who had an RBI double in the fourth inning .
A concerning injury? The Mets scored their final run on a fielder's choice -- with the bases loaded in the sixth, Alonso hit a grounder that Diamondbacks reliever Andrew Saalfrank let bounce off his glove, allowing Baty to score. But Baty appeared to tweak his groin as he crossed home platee went out to his position in the top of the seventh, but was pulled from the game. It was the only possible sour note of the night
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