Mets 15 Twins 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets Record: 56-50
Mets Streak: W1
Mets Last 10: 7-3
WP: Jose Quintana (6-6) LP: Simeon Woods Richardson (3-2)
SV!: Jose Butto (2)
Seat On The Korner: Jose Quintana
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 Jose Quintana. In what turned out to be a 15-2 laugher it's easy to overlook the pitching, but after a rocky start, Quintana held in check a Twins lineup that entered the game with a .778 OPs against left-handed pitching, the best in the AL and behind only the Dodgers (.780) and the Phillies (also .780). Over the last 31 games, the Twins have been even better: an .891. Holding Minnesota to one run and five hits over six innings is a feat worth talking about, as well as (somewhat perversely) asking a pitcher to walk us through his thoughts as he saw his mates post a 10-run lead before he left.
Need To Know:
The win moved the Mets back to six games over .500 and with Braves and Cardinals losses, one-half game behind Atlanta, one game behind the Padres and two games ahead of the Cardinals in the wild card race. At this writing, the Diamondbacks were trailing the Nationals; if they lose, the Mets would be a game and a half ahead of the Snakes.
As hot as the Mets have been since June 2, the Twins have been hotter, tied with Philadelphia for the most wins (51) since April 22. Their road record is now 29-26.
Simeon Woods Richardson, who started for the Twins and took the loss, was drafted by the Mets in 2018 and traded to the Blue Jays in 2019 in the Marcus Stroman deal.
Jesse Winker started in right field fo the Mets, a relatively unfamiliar position. Winker went one-for-two with a walk before giving way to Tyrone Taylor.
The biggest sign that you are in a laugher: when the other team sends a position player to the mound. In this case, outfielder Matt Wallner was brough in to face the Mets with two outs in the seventh. Luis Torrens greeted him with a two-run double. But he did pitch a scoreless eighth, when the Mets were likely thinking about catching a late movie.
The bullpen merry-go-round continues. Goodbye, Jake Diekman, designated for assigment a week after seemingly working his way up the bullpen pecking order. Hello, Matt Gage, recalled from Syracuse. Obtained from the Dodgers July 7, LHP Gage didn't allow a run in Syracuse and notched three saves.
Sean Manaea gets the start for the Mets Tuesday against David Festa.
Turning Point
When you put up a five spot to put the game out of reach, which of the runs is the actual turing point? Is it the Pete Alonso home run that led off the inning to tie the game at one? The Jeff McNeil single that gave Mets the lead for good? Or the J.D. Martinez sacrifice fly that put the cherry on the cake with run number five? Take your pick. But after the Mets took the lead in the fourth, the floodgates had opened.
Three Keys
The Bats Wake Up
Think about this: The Mets put up 15 runs -- only one by a home run. Everybody in the lineup hit, including seldom-used Ben Gamel, who hit for J.D. Martinez with the game well in hand, and Tyrone Taylor, who got two hits after going out to right field as a defensive replacement for Jesse Winker. More amazingly, eight players batted in runs, led by Jeff McNeil and Luis Torrens, who each had three. The Mets haven't had a game like this since....last Wednesday against the Yankees, when they scored 12. Or Friday against the Braves, when they had a seven-run inning. Yes, this is a team that can hit.
Jose, Jose
The game started out looking like it would be a long night for starter Jose Quintana, who gave up a first-pitch double to Met killer Manny Margot and a single to Byron Buxton to plate Margot. After that, though, Quintana settled down and gave up only three more hits over the next six innings before giving way to Jose Butto in the seventh. Butto gave up four hits over the next three innings, including a meaningless home run in the ninth to bring the Twins within 13 runs and another single. Over his last 14 starts, Quintana has posted a 5-3 record with a 3.27 ERA. Butto has been even better: three wins, two saves and one hold in eight relief outings, allowing two runs in 16.2 innings with 19 strikeouts.
Squirrel resumes gathering nuts, Torrens leads the torrent.
Jeff McNeil, rebounding from a hitless game against the Braves, had two hits, including a double. McNeil now has 225 career multi-hit games, 14th in Mets history. In 11 games following the All-Star break, McNeil is hitting .350. Luis Torrens' three-hit game was his second of the month.
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