New York Mets v Oakland Athletics" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M8OWaru3lartHlP0qdkLWe_Cj94=/0x0:3600x2025/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71414643/1427359475.0.jpg" />
The Mets were able to bounce back from yesterday’s deflating loss with a blowout 13-4 rubber game victory over the Athletics in Oakland. The Mets drew first blood in the bottom of the second on a Tyler Naquin RBI single that drove in Pete Alonso, who singled to lead off the inning and was advanced to third on a single by Eduardo Escobar, who went on to collect three hits on the day. Escobar helped plate two more runs in the third inning when he laced an 0-2 pitch for a single with the bases loaded to put the Mets up 3-0.
But, the first of two big innings by the Mets came in the fourth—the entire rally coming with two outs. Things started innocuously enough with some shoddy defense by the A’s that came back to bite them in a big way. Brandon Nimmo singled to left and Matt Kemp made a rare mistake in the field, booting the ball for an error and allowing Nimmo to advance to second. Mark Canha then hit a bouncer to shortstop that took an awkward hop and struck Ernie Clement in the chest, allowing Canha to reach first base safely with an infield hit, advancing Nimmo to third. After every ball the Mets hit seemed to find an Athletics glove yesterday, today the batted ball luck flipped more in the Mets’ favor. Francisco Lindor then hit a ringing double off the wall in left-center to score both runs and give the Mets a commanding 5-0 lead. That chased A’s starter J.P. Sears from the game after just 3 2⁄3 innings of work.
The Mets’ most significant blow of the game came against A’s reliever Norge Ruiz as Pete Alonso strode to the plate. The Polar Bear unleashed a no-doubter out of the ballpark to extend the Mets’ lead to 7-0. But more importantly, those two RBIs broke the Mets’ single-season RBI record previously held by Mike Piazza and David Wright.
Meanwhile, Max Scherzer righted the ship set adrift by a rare bad start by Jacob deGrom, striking out seven batters over six strong innings of work. The only damage off Scherzer came in the form of a Seth Brown solo homer in the bottom of the fourth that put the A’s on the board. Scherzer yielded just five baserunners in total on four hits and one walk, cruising his way to his 11th win of the season, needing just 91 pitches to do so.
The Mets piled on, dropping a five spot on Jared Koenig in the eighth inning. Tomás Nido, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Canha led off the inning with three straight singles to load the bases and then Francisco Lindor lined a single off his own off Jordan Diaz’s glove at second base to plate a run. Then Pete Alonso put the nail in the coffin again, hitting a bases-clearing double off the wall to bring his RBI total up to five on the day and 128 on the season. The Mets would score one more run in the frame on a double play Eduardo Escobar before the inning came to an end.
Meanwhile, Adam Ottavino pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning complete with two strikeouts and Drew Smith worked around a leadoff single to pitch a scoreless eighth, thanks in part to a diving catch by Terrance Gore in center, now in the game for defense. The Mets added yet another run in the ninth inning on an RBI groundout from pinch hitter Luis Guillorme. Seth Lugo pitched the ninth inning and had a rough outing, giving up a three-run homer to Conner Capel before finally putting the inning (and the game) to bed, assisted by some sparkling defense by Luis Guillorme in for Francisco Lindor at shortstop.
Amazin’ Avenue
Athletics Nation
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Fangraphs
Big Mets winner: Eduardo Escobar, +24.3% WPA
Big Mets loser: Darin Ruf, -9.1% WPA
Mets pitchers: +16.7% WPA
Mets hitters: +33.3% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Eduardo Escobar’s RBI single in the third, +16.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Shea Langeleirs’ one-out double off Max Scherzer in the second, -4.8% WPA
