With a Kiss

The Mets, with help from Pete Alonso’s defense once again, a solid David Peterson start, and Mark Vientos’ clutch double, held on to dear life to defeat the San Francisco Giants by a score of 2-1. 

The Metsies ended up leaving ten runs on base against Robbie Ray and four other pitchers. They got plenty of chances thanks to Rafael Devers’ misadventures at first base but mostly didn’t take advantage. With runners on first and second and two out, Starling Marte lined out to end the first. A Francisco Alvarez triple in the second didn’t lead to anything. New York (NL) had the bases loaded and nobody out in the fourth, only to not capitalize: Vientos struck out and Alvarez hit into a double play. 

Fortunately, David Peterson mostly held the G Men in check. He ended up giving up eight hard hits, but all of them happened to be singles. In the first, the Giants had runners on first and second with one out when Petey got Matt Chapman to line into a 5-4 double play - a bad Vientos throw was saved by Baty. With runners on first and second and one out in the second, Peterson got a more conventional double play to end that inning. After allowing back-to-back singles to start the fourth, Peterson struck out WIlmer Flores, but he walked Casey Schmitt after that. Jung Hoo Lee reaching on a fielder’s choice scored the first run of the game. With runners on first and second and two out in the fifth, Peterson struck out Matt Chapman to end that threat. 

One thing the Mets offense did well was drive up Robbie Ray’s pitch count. It surpassed a hundo in the top of the sixth, and the Metros took advantage. Juan Soto walked to start the frame. With one out, Starling Marte also walked. After Brett Baty grounded out, Swaggy V came on with two outs and a runner in scoring position. In that exact situation this season, Vientos was 4 for 35. So it was a pleasant surprise when he doubled down the left field line, scoring Soto and Marte, to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. 

Peterson got some help in getting a shutdown inning in the bottom half of the frame. Wilmer Flores led off with a single to left. He tried to stretch it into a double - he knows his former teammate Brandon Nimmo doesn’t have a strong arm, but he forgot that he’s slower than molasses - Nimmo threw his slow ass out. 

Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek threw 1-2-3 seventh and eighth innings respectively. Edwin Díaz made it way too interesting in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Jung Hoo Lee hit a long fly ball to deep right center. It would have been a home run in literally every ballpark except Oracle Park, which just so happened to be the very stadium this game was being played in. After striking out Mike Yastrzemski on a slider, Díaz faced Patrick Bailey. Bailey hit a screaming line drive 105.9 mph. The batted ball had a 73 percent chance of being a hit. First baseman Pete Alonso wasn’t going to let that happen - he jumped up and made a terrific catch to end the ballgame. His defense the last two games have been amazing.

The Mets have now won six in a row. It’s the longest active winning streak in MLB.

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New guy lefty reliever Gregory Soto will wear #65, forcing pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to change his number to #95. Does Hefner get a new car out of it? That is unknown. Soto showed up during last night’s game apparently - he’ll be activated before tonight’s contest. He said all the right things when he met the New York media for the first time. “When I was still with the Orioles, when we faced [the Mets] over there,” Soto said, “ I was a little bit more motivated to show them what I was capable of doing so they could see what I was able to do, just so they could trade for me.” Dreams do come true!

Juan Soto swiped another base last night. The Mets now have been successful in their last 26 stolen base attempts.

Starling Marte hit two doubles. Since June 5th he’s had a .930 OPS in 70 at-bats. 

Tylor Megill (elbow sprain) threw a bullpen on Thursday and will throw another one today. Mike Puma estimates that Megill could return in late August.

Before he tripled, Francisco Alvarez warmed up by playing soccer.

Steve Gelbs sat down with old chum Wilmer Flores. Flores was asked if he thought about what would have happened if the infamous non-trade with the Brewers ten years ago actually went through. He said he thought about it often. “Everything happened for a reason, I was meant to play a World Series that year." 

The Triple-A Syracuse Mets (51-50) continued their winning ways, defeating the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals affiliate) 6-3. Joey Meneses and Omar De Los Santos homered.

The Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies (63-30) handled the Reading Fightin’ Phils (Phillies) by a score of 9-2. Ryan Clifford clubbed his 20th homer of the season. Southpaw Jonathan Santucci got the dub. He allowed zero earned runs in five and two thirds innings, permitting just two hits while walking three and striking out seven.

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones (58-37) attempted an epic comeback but ultimately fell short to the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates) 6-5. Jesus Baez and Onix Vega both went yard for Brooklyn. Frank Elissalt got his first loss in High-A. 

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets (53-40) dominated the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins), winning by a score of 9-1. Nick Roselli went 3 for 5 with a double, a run scored and two RBI. Trace Willhoite smacked his 20th homer of the year.

On this day in 1999, the Mets infamously hosted a “Turn Ahead the Clock” night, where they portrayed themselves as the “Mercury Mets.” The out-of-towners lost 5-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates - future Met Kris Benson threw a complete game for Pittsburgh.

And on this day in 2003, Gary Carter was officially inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tonight the Mets look to sweep away the San Francisco Giants. Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.79 ERA) will look to rebound after his worst start of the season/his MLB career. Meanwhile, lefty Matt Gage (0-0, 0.00 ERA in nine games) will be the opener for the G-Men in a bullpen game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm eastern. The game will air on ESPN and ESPN2 (Statcast edition.)