The New York Mets marked their return home in style by beating the Miami Marlins. It wasn’t always pretty, but they got the job done at Citi Field. After winning four of five games on the road in two capital cities – including a trip across the Atlantic to London – the Mets needed to […]
The post 3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Walk-Off Marlins in Series Win appeared first on Metsmerized Online.
The New York Mets marked their return home in style by beating the Miami Marlins. It wasn’t always pretty, but they got the job done at Citi Field.
After winning four of five games on the road in two capital cities – including a trip across the Atlantic to London – the Mets needed to take care of business against Miami.
And they did.
Sure, it took walk-off heroics on Thursday to clinch the series win.
On that note, let’s dive into another edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…
Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
J.D. Martinez clubbed the 321st home run of his storied career on Thursday. It was also the first time he hit a walk-off home run in his 14 years in the big leagues. It proved to be well worth the wait. Martinez’s ability to come up clutch ensured the Mets won the series, which was a three-game set they had to have. Until the late heroics, the lineup had struggled and entered the ninth with just two hits. Martinez’s milestone two-run blast was much-needed, and it proved to be significant in more ways than one.
The Mets had double reason to be happy on Thursday. Not only did they secure a series win, Edwin Díaz made his return and looked more like his old self. Coming off the IL, Díaz pitched a clean inning in the ninth with one strikeout. More importantly, he hit 100 mph on the radar gun. Díaz spoke after the game about regaining some confidence, and that will be crucial moving forward. If New York is to stay alive past July, then they will need a fully-confident, peak at his powers Díaz the rest of the way.
Carlos Mendoza made some tweaks to the lineup on Wednesday. Harrison Bader was hitting in the second hole for the first time all year. Brandon Nimmo was given an off day with Tyrone Taylor getting the start. Well, those changes paid off handsomely. Taylor, entering the game mired in a 3-for-27 slump, went 4-for-5 with a double and one run scored. Bader clubbed a home run and finished with two RBIs and two runs scored. In all, the lineup put up 10 runs and 14 hits. Those changes sparked an offense that struggled in the other two games of the series. Kudos to Mendoza for not being afraid to make some bold alterations to the lineup card.
Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Allow me to take on the role of a Debbie Downer for a minute. Yes, the Mets took two out of three from Miami. Yes, they are only three games back from a Wild Card spot. However, I feel some much-needed perspective is needed here. In two of the three games, the lineup struggled to get a hit, let alone generate runs. The bullpen remains gassed. The defense continues to be an absolute abomination. For the bigger picture regarding the Wild Card, The Mets are not better than the Braves, Padres and Giants currently occupying Wild Card spots. Secondly, there are NINE teams ahead of them.
We’re in June, yet still waiting to see a new and improved defense. Back in the offseason, the front office promised an athletic and dynamic defense. It has been anything but those two things. And we got another ugly reminder of how bad this defense is on Tuesday. Mark Vientos handed the Marlins the lead in the fifth thanks to a costly error. Then, in the ninth, Francisco Álvarez threw the ball away on a stolen base attempt to give up another unearned run. This defense would be ripped to pieces even if this team did somehow sneak into the postseason. It is beyond brutal at this point.
The Marlins are one of the worst teams in baseball. They also give up a ton of runs. They are one of the worst pitching teams in MLB, based on team ERA (4.67). So, it should raise some red flags that, outside of Wednesday’s game, the Mets struggled to score against Miami. They were held to two runs and four hits in a 4-2 loss on Tuesday. And, despite winning on Thursday, New York managed just three hits and three runs all night. In fact, the lineup didn’t record a hit until the sixth inning. Yes, winning is the great deodorant. But, on the flipside, the offensive struggles against a woefully bad Miami team can’t be overlooked either.
The post 3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Walk-Off Marlins in Series Win appeared first on Metsmerized Online.
