A Taylor Made Victory

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Tyrone Taylor and Marcus Semien each hit three-run dingers and Freddy Peralta was picked up by the bullpen big time as the Mets salvaged a game over the Dodgers, finally beating them yesterday 8-3.

Peralta’s pitch count ran up and up from the jump jump. Shohei Ohtani led things off with a ringing double to right center. With one out, Freddie Freeman advanced Ohtani to third on a ground out in an 11-pitch at-bat. Peralta then walked Max Muncy on seven pitches. Mercifully, Mookie Betts lined out to Taylor in left to get Peralta out of it unscathed, albeit after throwing a ton of pitches. 

The Mets pounced early against Emmet Sheehan. AJ Ewing doubled on a bloop that Andy Pages couldn’t track down. Francisco Lindor singled him in. Bo Bichette followed with his own single. Three batters, three hits. So naturally, those were the only three hits Sheehan would allow all game. Carson Benge flew out, Jorge Polanco popped it up, and Jared Young did the same to keep it 1-0 Mets. 

The Dodgers got to Peralta in the third. Eliézer Alfonzo led things off with a ground rule double to right. Ohtani struck out on a fastball, but Pages drew a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Freeman doubled the opposite way to plate Alfonzo and tie the game at one and move Pages to third. Then, Max Muncy hit an RBI grounder to give L.A. the lead. 

L.A. scratched out a third run in the top of the fourth when Tommy Edman singled, Kyle Tucker reached on a Jared Young error, and Teoscar Hernandez singled to right to load the bases with nobody out. Alfonzo then hit a grounder that ricocheted off of Peralta’s glove and went right to the second baseman Brett Baty, who inexplicably didn’t throw to second to potentially start a double play. Instead, he simply threw to first for the first out of the inning as Edman scored. Another Ohtani whiff and a Pages fly out ended the inning without further damage, but by then Peralta had thrown 93 pitches, so he was donezo, perhaps for the last time as a Met. 

Cionel Pérez retired all six Dodgers he faced in the fifth and sixth. He would ultimately be named the winning pitcher. 

The Dodgers bullpen blew the game. The lefty Jack Dreyer came in to replace Sheehan in the sixth and immediately walked Benge. After Polanco flew out, pinch hitter Luis Robert Jr. also got a free pass. Dave Roberts saw enough and brought in a right-hander, Evan Phillips. Taylor, who has been red hot since he came back from the IL, turned on an inside pitch and golfed it over the left field fence to suddenly put the Mets up 4-3. 

The party continued into the seventh against Will Klein. Ewing walked and reached second when Lindor grounded out to Freeman at first. Bichette reached on an infield hit. Benge struck out, but a Dalton Rushing passed ball plated Ewing to make it 5-3. Polanco got a base on balls, setting up Marcus Semien, who entered the game an inning before. Semien, who was three for his last 42, slugged a four-bagger a few feet over Teoscar Hernandez’s head. Hey, baseball is fun again!

Luke Weaver wasn’t himself in the eighth. Freeman reached on an infield hit. Muncy and Betts flew out, but both balls were hit hard. Edman singled and Weaver plunked Kyle Tucker to load the bases. Then, he needed to make a great athletic play to get Hernandez out to end the inning.

Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth. Easy peasy. 

It was a nice victory for the Mets. While it won’t help with where the Mets will pick in next year’s MLB Draft, winning games is good for fan morale and for the team, especially the youths - they need to at least feel like they will be a part of a winning environment. 

Howie Rose expressed disappointment over the quiet crowds this weekend at Citi Field. But he understood why that was the case. 

Carlos Beltran was officially inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. You can watch his speech here, and admire his plaque here.

The Mets wore their black unis in honor of Beltran. I guess it worked? 

Apparently, Tyrone Taylor and his family have been renting Jeff McNeil’s Long Island house this season. 

Juan Soto and Francisco Alvarez totally whiffed trying to give Taylor a celebratory ice water shower.

Clay Holmes threw his bullpen session, but Andy Green couldn’t give the media an update on how it went. Green said he assumes it went fine, otherwise he would have been told about an issue.

The Triple-A Syracuse Mets lost a squeaker to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees affiliate) 3-2. RHP Jack Weisenburger threw three scoreless and hitless innings while walking none and striking out two. RHP Dedniel Nuñez notably tossed a scoreless frame in his second appearance in as many days. 1B Christopher Morel went 2 for 4 with a home run, a double, a run scored, and two RBI. 

The Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies doubled up the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox) 8-4. CF Jose Ramos went 4 for 5 with a home run, a double, three runs scored, and three RBI. RHP Justin Armbruester got the dub. He threw one and one third hitless innings while punching out three. 

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones defeated the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 6-1. SS Mitch Voit went 2 for 5 with a double, a run scored, two RBI, and his 36th stolen base of the year. RHP Jose Chirinos allowed just one hit in four scoreless frames. He walked two and fanned six. RHP Bryce Jenkins got the win. He threw one and two third scoreless innings, permitting two hits, walking two, and striking out three in the process. His ERA is now down to 1.96. 

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets outscored the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins) 11-8. 2B Jeremy Rodriguez went 4 for 4 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. LHP Conner Ware was the winning pitcher. He gave up no runs on one hit in four innings, walking one and punching out eight. 

On this day in 1999, the Mets turned ahead the clock and became the Mercury Mets for a game against the Pirates at Shea Stadium. The two teams showcased futuristic jerseys, showing what they will be wearing in the distant year of 2021. The Mets were shut out by Kris Benson and lost. 

The Mets have the honor of facing Atlanta after the Dodgers finally leave town. LHP Martín Pérez (6-6 3.38 ERA 4.28 xFIP) will toe the rubber for the Bravos, while LHP Zac Thornton (1-1 1.93 ERA 4.19 xFIP) will chuck the pearl for New York (NL). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm eastern. The game will air on SNY and Audacy Radio 880 AM with Howie Rose and Keith Raad.