Mets 2 Diamondbacks 1 (Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ)
Mets record: 40-46
Mets streak: Won 4
WP - Kodai Senga (7-5)
LP - Andrew Chafin (2-2)
SV - David Robertson (13)
Seat on the Korner:
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.
Truth be told, I was ready to give Senga the seat even if the Mets had lost 1-0. Francisco Alvarez's home run and Mark Canha's triple basically made him the winning pitcher instead of the losing pitcher, so I'm sticking with Senga. His brilliance for eight innings set up the Mets heroics in the ninth as they win their fourth straight.
But I also can't ignore Alvarez and his jolt in the ninth inning off Andrew Chafin when it looked like the Mets were absolutely dead in the water. So Senga gets the first segment, and Alvarez gets the second segment on the Korner.
Need to Know
Senga was brilliant. His 12 K's and one walk in eight innings and 107 pitches got the Mets through to the 9th where they put a stake in the heart of the Diamondbacks. It was Senga's best start this season.
The Mets have now clinched their second series victory in a row after winning none in June.
The Mets now have their first four game winning streak since they won five in a row against the Rays and Guardians from May 17th-21st.
Alvarez's ninth inning home run extended his Mets rookie catcher record to 15.
Mark Canha's game winning triple in the ninth was his first triple since June 22nd, 2021 against Rangers reliever Brett de Geus.
Turning Point
Christian Walker's home run was the only hard hit off Senga all night. And it was the only run of the game going into the 9th. Chafin had retired Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil on four pitches.
But up comes Alvarez, and much like last night against Miguel Castro, he fouled off tough pitches to work the count deep. But instead of switching to the fastball like Castro did for Alvarez's home run last night, Chafin stuck with his sinker just off the plate. Didn't matter.
Three Keys
Senga's adjustments: SNY's Michelle Margeaux noted during the game that Senga was negotiating the differences between the strike zone in Japan, which is more generous on the sides, and the one in Major League Baseball which tends to reward the high pitch. You saw Senga really take advantage of that as he spotted his fastball better than he has all season, as 72 of his 107 pitches were strikes.
Senga's length: The Mets surprised most of us when he was sent back out for the 8th inning. But his efficiency afforded him the opportunity to do so, and with the bullpen going through a rough stretch now, Senga going out for eight innings might have been the only thing that kept the Mets close enough to pull off their heroics.
Fall Back In The Summer: The Mets have had some thrilling victories this season, but this was the first time that a win felt like a win from last season, tying it with one strike remaining, and following that up with a rally which saw Canha triple home the winner. Maybe it felt that was because it looked for the first time this season that the Mets were having fun. It looked like the kind of fun they had in 2022.
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