2021 New York Mets Week 9 In Review 5/31-6/6
Monday
The 2021 New York Mets opened a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday. Ace Jacob deGrom took on Merrill Kelly. As per usual, deGrom was excellent. He went six innings allowing just two hits with eight strikeouts. The game’s first runs came from the recently activated Pete Alonso, who singled in Jose Peraza and Mason Williams who was making his Mets debut. In the top of the fourth, Jake once again used hit bat to help himself out with a single to put the Mets up by three. Jake also had a perfect game through four innings but gave it up in the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the seventh, Alonso squashed any remaining doubts about his health with a two-run homer to give the Mets a 5-0 lead. Trevor May faced some trouble in the bottom half of that inning, but it wouldn’t amount to anything as the rest of the bullpen didn’t give up anything and closed the game out. The final score was 6-2.
Tuesday
Marcus Stroman took the hill for game two against lefty Caleb Smith. Dominic Smith got the Mets on board first with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth. A couple of innings later Francisco Lindor drove in a run on a triple to give the Mets a three-run lead. After a walk to Alonso, Dom Smith drove in Lindor on a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the sixth, Stroman made his only mistake of the night and it was a costly one. Pavin Smith hit a three-run homer to make it a one-run ballgame.
Jeurys Familia and Aaron Loup pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, which meant it was time for Edwin Diaz to close the game as he had done multiple times this season. However, Diaz had a rough inning. Nick Ahmed tripled, and Josh Rojas drove him in to tie the game. James McCann gave the Mets the lead again in the top of the tenth, but it wouldn’t last long. Trevor May allowed a couple of runners on base to bring up Josh Reddick. Reddick hit a ball down the line that was called fair, winning the game for Arizona.
Fair Or Foul
The Mets challenged the call, and it was extremely close. The umpires upheld the call, and Trevor May expressed his frustrations postgame.“It’s foul, still is to this moment, in my opinion,” May said. “But they saw whatever they saw. “The call is the call, that’s the way the game goes. Same thing, balls are balls when they’re called balls and strikes are strikes when they’re called strikes too. It’s just the way the game goes sometimes. They didn’t really have a good look. There’s one camera that was watching, evidently. … It’s tough, hard to deal with.” The final score was 6-5.
Wednesday
David Peterson faced off against Madison Bumgarner in the rubber game of the series. The Mets quickly got on the board with a James McCann three-run homer and a Brandon Drury double play to drive in a run. With Peterson getting a four-run lead in the first, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to have a solid start. It was anything but that for Peterson who couldn’t get out of the first inning allowing five runs and blowing the lead. The Mets were resilient as they have been all season and clawed their way back. McCann tied the game with a single in the top of the second and Drury’s RBI single gave the Mets the lead in the top of the fifth.
With a 6-5 lead, Seth Lugo gave up a run on a weak ground ball single to Ildemaro Vargas. Wednesday was Lugo’s first appearance of the season, and although it may seem like a bad move to bring him into a pressure situation, the bullpen was taxed and needed the new arm. Pete Alonso singled in Francisco Lindor in the top of the ninth inning to give the Mets another lead. This time, they kept it as Edwin Diaz closed out the game. The final score was 7-6.
Thursday
On Thursday the Mets started a four-game series against one of the best teams in baseball, the San Diego Padres. Taijuan Walker started against Yu Darvish. In the bottom of the third, Fernando Tatis Jr. got the first runs of the game with a two-run homer that popped in and out of Mason Williams’s glove. The next inning the Padres struck again with a Jurickson Profar single that brought in a run. In Walker’s final inning of work, he threw a wild pitch that brought home Fernando Tatis Jr. Walker went five innings giving up three earned runs and seven hits.
Over the next few innings, the Mets nearly came back with a two-run home run hit by James McCann and a RBI triple hit by Billy McKinney, but it wouldn’t be enough as they lost by a final score of 4-3. The bullpen was strong, with Jacob Barnes and Aaron Loup combining for three one-hit innings, but the hitting just wasn’t there against San Diego’s bullpen.
Friday
Joey Lucchesi returned to Petco Park to face off against his old team on Friday. Blake Snell took the hill for San Diego. It was a pitcher’s duel the whole game, with Snell having a no-hitter for most of the game and only giving up one hit over his seven innings of work. Lucchesi wasn’t that dominant, but he did what he needed to do, pitching 4 and two-thirds innings allowing one earned run on four hits. The Mets bullpen also did well against a tough lineup, allowing just one run. Both of those runs came via Manny Machado, with a home run in the first inning and a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Even though the Mets lost, seeing Lucchesi and the bullpen step up against a hard lineup is definitely a positive going forward. The final score was 2-0.
Saturday
The 2021 New York Mets sent the best pitcher in baseball to the mound to face off against Joe Musgrove on Saturday night. deGrom yet again amazed everyone, mowing down a great lineup like he was facing a little league team. He hit 102 MPH multiple times and his slider was nasty. Over his seven innings of work, he gave up just three hits with eleven strikeouts. This once again bailed out a tired bullpen. The offense pulled through for deGrom, with a pair of solo home runs hit by Jose Peraza and Francisco Lindor in the fifth inning. Jonathan Villar and Kevin Pillar also drove in a couple of runs with a pair of singles. Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz shut the door, and the Mets won with a 4-0 final score.
Sunday
Looking to split the series, Marcus Stroman faced off against Chris Paddack. The Mets offense came through quickly, with a Billy McKinney single in the top of the third scoring Jose Peraza. Dominic Smith also came through an inning later with a solo home run to put the Mets up by two. In the top of the sixth, Pete Alonso got his revenge against Chris Paddack, singling in Billy McKinney. This was the first time Alonso has faced Paddack since their 2019 argument over rookie of the month.
Stroman was dominant on Sunday, going 6 and two-thirds innings with no earned runs. Miguel Castro and Trevor May also held the Padres lineup down. After Castro’s scoreless inning and a third, May allowed a run in the ninth. The Mets won by a final score of 6-2. This finished off the series on a good note against a tough team and proving that being in first place is no fluke.
Wrap Up
It was another resilient week for the Mets, facing one of the toughest teams in baseball with a lineup that is still run down due to injuries. One significant thing that happened this week that wasn’t mentioned is Kevin Pillar’s return on Monday night. Just two weeks after getting hit in the face by a 94 MPH fastball, he was back on the field contributing to the team and personifying the toughness that this team is showing. The Mets start off a two-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, and as always be sure to check back next week for the latest 2021 New York Mets week in review article. These articles will come out after each week of the 2021 New York Mets season.
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Players Mentioned
Jacob deGrom, Merrill Kelly, Pete Alonso, Jose Peraza, Mason Williams, Trevor May, Marcus Stroman, Caleb Smith, Dominic Smith, Francisco Lindor, Pavin Smith, Jeurys Familia, Aaron Loup, Edwin Diaz, Nick Ahmed, Josh Rojas, James McCann, Josh Reddick, David Peterson, Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Drury, Seth Lugo, Ildemaro Vargas, Taijuan Walker, Yu Darvish, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar, Billy McKinney, Jacob Barnes, Joey Lucchesi, Blake Snell, Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove, Jonathan Villar, Kevin Pillar, Chris Paddack, Miguel Castro
