The New York Mets finally got the kind of hit they’d been waiting a week for. In the 12th inning of yet another tight contest against the San Francisco Giants, a three-run homer from Kevin Pillar gave New York a comfortable lead. The Mets eventually beat the Giants 6-2 in 12 innings to salvage a much-needed win in an otherwise disastrous week. They are now back to .500 (60-60) on the season, a mark they had fallen under for the first time since May 5. The victory follows five straight losses against both San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets’ crucial 13-game stretch against the two NL West powerhouses continues Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. They will certainly hope it ends better than it started.
Mets Beat Giants in 12
Through the first eight innings, Wednesday’s game at Oracle Park looked like par for the course for the Mets. A third-inning RBI double from LaMonte Wade Jr. gave San Francisco a 1-0 lead, a score that held until the 9th thanks to outstanding bullpen work. However, in the top of the 9th, Pete Alonso took a Jake McGee fastball off his elbow guard and eventually scored on a J.D. Davis sac fly to send the game to extras. Neither team scored in the 10th, as Edwin Diaz made it through two scoreless innings of work.
In the 11th, Michael Conforto provided a big boost by doubling in automatic runner Jeff McNeil to give New York a 2-1 lead. This was promptly erased, as Tommy La Stella led off the bottom half with an RBI single off of Jeurys Familia. After Familia worked through the rest of the inning, the Mets broke through for good in the 12th. Following a one-out single from Patrick Mazeika, Pillar, the former Giant, stepped into the box against Tyler Chatwood. He deposited a 1-0 fastball into the left-field seats for his 10th homer of the season. Later, pinch hitter Chance Sisco hit the first pitch he saw as a Met down the right-field line for an RBI double to extend the Mets’ lead. Jake Reed easily navigated the bottom of the 12th to finish things off.
Mets Seize Momentum Heading Into LA
After the game, Pillar discussed the significance of the win, perhaps the most important one of the Mets’ season thus far. “The boys are excited, I think we’ve got a little bit of momentum,” he said. “I think we got the monkey off our back a bit.”
Heading into Wednesday, the Mets had been in free fall. A weekend sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and losing the first two to the Giants had them reeling. The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies had begun to distance themselves from New York in the NL East. It seemed as though the Mets would never get another hit with a runner in scoring position. They even drew the public ire of owner Steve Cohen. Before Wednesday’s game, Cohen tweeted that it was “hard to understand how professional hitters can be this unproductive.” Then came this game. All of the bad vibes from the past week fell by the wayside Wednesday afternoon, at least temporarily. Still, the Mets find themselves four games behind Atlanta, a far cry from the first-place perch they’ve enjoyed most of the season.
New York will get a chance to turn this stretch around, facing the Dodgers and Giants one more series each. This go-around, however, they will get the Dodgers in LA and the Giants in Queens. If the Mets can start piling up some wins, they’re still in a position to hang around in the division. However, one thing is certain– if this stretch ends the way it started, they’re in huge trouble the rest of the way.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Kevin Pillar, LaMonte Wade Jr, Pete Alonso, Jake McGee, J.D. Davis, Edwin Diaz, Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, Tommy La Stella, Jeurys Familia, Patrick Mazeika, Tyler Chatwood, Chance Sisco, Jake Reed
