Mets 2 Mariners 1 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets record: 62-73
Mets streak: Won 2
WP - Phil Bickford (4-4)
LP - Andres Munoz (3-6)
SV - Drew Smith (3)
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.
Kodai wasn't the winning pitcher, but his seven innings of work were outstanding, keeping the Mets in the game until the offense could scratch out two runs against Seattle for the 2-1 victory.
Need to Know
Ronny Mauricio made his major league debut, batting 9th and playing second base. He was 2-for-3 with a single and a double.
The lineup had to scratch and claw for two runs, but at least it was balanced. D.J. Stewart was the only Met starter without a hit as everyone else outside of Mauricio had one hit.
Senga went 7 innings and struck out 12 Mariners, tying his career high. Senga's ERA falls to 3.06 in 143 and 1/3 innings.
Phil Bickford pitched a scoreless 8th to get the victory. He gave up a double to Julio Rodriguez with two outs, but then got Eugenio Suarez to pop up to end the inning.
For Rodriguez, that hit off Bickford was his 30th in 11 games.
Daniel Vogelbach's single in the 8th off Andres Munoz gave the Mets the lead for good.
Drew Smith pitched the 9th for the save. He gave up a leadoff walk to Cal Raleigh but then he picked off pinch runner Jose Caballero in what might have been the biggest out of the game.
Turning Point
Logan Gilbert was crusing. After Mauricio's double in the third, Gilbert retired nine straight Mets while pumping strike after strike after strike. (67 of Gilbert's 97 pitches were strikes.) Brandon Nimmo stopped the momentum leading off the 6th:
Nimmo continues to expand his career high home run total for a season with his 20th.
Three Keys
Ronny's Debut: Ronny Mauricio showed us why he's one of the most intriguing prospects in baseball, and it only took him one at-bat to do it.
His 117.3 mph double in the bottom of the third was not only the hardest hit ball by a Met this season, but the hardest first major league hit in the statcast era (2015). Mauricio also impressed at second base, turning a double play in the top of that inning.
Mauricio would wind up going 2-for-3 on the night, giving us a glimpse of what he's capable of.
Kodai's incredible ascent continues: Kodai Senga keeps churning out performances that you could legitimately call "his best of the season". He matched his career high in strikeouts with 12, in seven innings, and he reached double digit strikouts for the second start in a row. Senga didn't give up a hit until the 4th, when he got hit hard on a J.P. Crawford home run, and a couple of singles to Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh.
But Senga was great when it mattered, including striking out five with runners in scoring position in the 6th and the 7th inning to keep the Mets close, then keep it tied.
Vogey's game winner: The thing I've noticed about Daniel Vogelbach is that for a hitter that has such power, he's taken a lot of defensive swings against good fastballs. Late swings, like he's overmatched. But Vogelbach had a great at-bat against Andrew Munoz in the 8th to give them the lead, driving in Francisco Lindor with a slap hit through the hole on the left side.
And give Lindor credit for his baserunning, stealing second after his single and then while on third base, rattling Munoz by dancing way off the base and cluttering his mind.
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