Mets 7, Rockies 6 (Citi Field • Flushing, NY)
Mets Record: 48-45
Mets Streak: Won 4
Mets Last 10: 6-4
WP: Sean Manaea (6-3)
LP: Tanner Gordon (0-2)
SV: Edwin Diaz (10)
Seat On The Korner: Harrison Bader
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 Harrison Bader, whose 2 home runs and 3 RBIs helped propel the Mets to their fourth straight win. The Mets outfielder, and the lineup's number 9 hitter, is batting .320 with 4 home runs and 9 RBIs in his last 15 games, dating back to his 4-9, 2-HR, 3-RBI performance in the series against the Yankees. If you want to go back a little further, Bader has an OPS over .800 over the last month. And even further...Bader has 30 RBIs and 19 extra-base hits dating back to May 16th. That's quite the turnaround from his first 34 games as a member of the Mets, when he had just 4 extra-base hits and 7 RBIs.
Need To Know:
With losses by St. Louis and San Diego, the win pulled the Mets into a tie with the Cardinals for the second (or third) place in the wild card standings. While it may be a little early to pay much attention to the wild card situation, it's a clear indicator of the Mets success over the past month. Speaking of the past month...
Tonight's game was the 1 month anniversary of the McDonald's (and honorary Mets) mascot's first pitch. Since that moment, the Mets have a .704 winning percentage, averaging 6.1 runs per game, with 45 home runs, a .491 slugging percentage, a .340 on-base percentage, and a .831 OPS, all tops in the National League.
For the first time all season, the Mets have a .500 record at home (25-25)
The Mets and Rockies combined for 9 home runs, the most in any game in the majors so far this year. Three of the Mets home runs came in the second inning and put them ahead to stay. In all, the Mets 5 home runs came off the bats of Mark Vientos, Harrison Bader (2), and Jose Iglesias (2). The Rockies chipped in with 4 of their own by Michael Toglia, Charlie Blackmon, Brendan Rodgers, and Brenton Doyle.
The Mets have scored 7 or more runs in a game 16 times in their last 37 games (that's 43% of the time, if you're into percentages). In the team's first 56 games, they only accomplished that feat 12 times (aka 21%).
The Mets are now 15 games through their current 17-straight game stretch. With tonight's win, they are now 9-6 since it began against the Houston Astros on June 30th.
It was the bottom of the Mets lineup that did the damage tonight. The team's six-through-nine hitters (Vientos, Iglesias, Jeff McNeil, and Bader) went 7-15 with 5 home runs, 7 RBIs, and 6 runs scored.
The batters weren't the only ones doing damage, however. Mets relievers Jake Diekman and Phil Maton gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, 2 of which were home runs, in the 8th inning, turning a comfortable game into a nail-biter. Closer Edwin Diaz contributed to the tightrope act himself by walking two Rockies batters in the 9th inning, before striking out shortstop Ezequiel Tovar to end the game.
Prior to the game, the Mets placed pitcher David Peterson on the Paternity List, and recalled reliever Eric Orze from Triple-A Syracuse.
Turning Point
Jose Iglesias' second home run of the game, a solo shot in the 5th inning put the Mets ahead 7-2, normally not a moment that would be called a turning point. Turns out, the team needed all 7 of those runs. It was Iglesias' first 2-HR game of his 12-year career. He now has 50 career home runs.
Three Keys:
Money Manaea
For the second time this season, Sean Manaea pitched 7 innings. Despite a rough start thanks to a 2-out 2-run first inning home run by Toglia, he ended up with a quality start. Manaea allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, striking out 9, with only 1 walk. He hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in a game since his June 8th loss to Philadelphia (in London), when he gave up 6 runs in 3.2 innings in an eventual 7-2 Mets loss. Since that game, Manaea has 36 K's in 35.2 innings.
Mad Mendy
It took 93 games for Mets rookie Manager Carlos Mendoza to get ejected for the first time in his managerial career. With one our in the bottom of the 7th inning, Jose Iglesias was called out on a 3-2 slider that (quite clearly) appeared to be above the strike zone. That didn't stop home plate umpire Jeremie Rehak from calling it a strike. Mendoza, who had been frustrated with some of the ump's calls throughout the game, aired some of his grievances from the dugout and before long he was tossed. Instead of leaving right away, however, he stopped by home plate to ensure that Rehak heard him clearly.
Incredible Iglesias
The "summer of Iglesias" continued tonight. The Mets shortstop, and musical frontman, is now batting .347 with 10 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs in this first 75 at-bats with the team. His Mets OPS is now .940, which is quite a jump from the career .706 OPS he brought with him coming into the season.
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