Mets 4, Diamondbacks 2
When a team is on a skid, it sometimes feels like nothing will break their way. When the New York Mets defeated the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday night, 4–2, the Diamondbacks had to feel like it was one of those games.
Starting pitcher Merrill Kelly certainly felt that way. “I probably need some more time to process it. It was a whirlwind of a game,” he told reporters in the postgame Zoom call.
No one can blame him. In the middle of the third, he trailed, 3–0, despite only allowing one hit up to that point. “I’m not happy with the five walks, especially the one to the pitcher,” Kelly said.
His statement referred to the bottom of the third. The teams were still scoreless as Joey Lucchesi — who relieved opener Tommy Hunter in the top of the third — led off with a walk. Second baseman Jeff McNeil followed with a blast to right-center, crushing a 1-1 center-cut fastball into the Mets bullpen.
Weirdness
Kelly walked the next hitter, Francisco Lindor, on five pitches — Kelly’s fourth walk of the game. A mound visit seemed to calm Kelly down, as he retired Michael Conforto on a fly to center and struck out Pete Alonso. Lindor broke for second on the first pitch to Dominic Smith, the next hitter. The pitch was in the dirt, but Carson Kelly blocked it well. He fired to second, but the throw sailed wide, tailing toward right-center.
Diamondbacks center fielder Tim Locastro sprinted in on a perfect line with the throw. However, the ball hit Lindor’s foot and caromed into shallow left. It died there. By the time a hustling David Peralta could pick it up, Lindor was crossing the plate with the third run. “I saw Timmy coming in hard, and the ball kicked where no one was expecting it. It was one of those freak plays,” said right fielder Josh Rojas.
Mets Prevent Diamondbacks from Getting Timely Hits
The Mets had four hits total. Three went for extra bases in the form of two doubles and the McNeil home run. However, their lone single is what drove in their fourth run. That came in the seventh off reliever Chris Devenski. McNeil grounded into a force play, beating out a potential double play at first. He capitalized on that, stealing second and later scoring on a single by Lindor.
The Diamondbacks had eight hits, all from the sixth inning onward. All were singles. Two of those hits came with a runner in scoring position but didn’t drive in a run. One was a sixth-inning Christian Walker liner past Lindor’s outstretched glove. Rojas, the runner on second, could not run until the ball passed Lindor, so he had to stop at third. The other was an end-of-the-bat bleater by Rojas in the seventh with runners on first and second. It didn’t get through fast enough for Pavin Smith to score from second.
Rojas ultimately scored in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Peralta. However, Smith did not score in the seventh, as Walker grounded to short. Lindor’s throw to first went high, heading toward the stands. However, Alonso made a spectacular stretch, keeping his toe on the bag just long enough to catch the ball before falling backward.
A hit with a runner in scoring position finally plated a run in the eighth, when a pinch-single by Stephen Vogt scored Asdrubal Cabrera from second. That brought up Pavin Smith as the go-ahead run, but he grounded to the pitcher to end the threat with a whimper.
Looking Ahead
Lucchesi (1–2) earned the win in relief, while Merrill Kelly (2–3) took a tough loss in a bizarre game. Trevor May closed the game for his first save of the season.
Runners left in scoring position has been a recurring problem for the Diamondbacks during this road trip. Saturday was no exception. They left 11 men on base, and six were in scoring position. Although they went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position — a vast improvement over the 3-for-44 mark over the four previous games — only one hit plated a run.
This was a game the Diamondbacks (15–18) desperately wanted to win — not only to end their losing streak, but to avoid a sweep. On Sunday, the Mets (15–13) will start Jacob deGrom (2-2, 0.51 ERA), and beating him will be a tall order. The Diamondbacks will counter with Riley Smith (1-1, 4.91 ERA). First pitch is at 10:10 am Arizona Time.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players mentioned:
Merrill Kelly, Joey Lucchesi, Tommy Hunter, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, Carson Kelly, Tim Locastro, David Peralta, Josh Rojas, Chris Devenski, Christian Walker, Pavin Smith, Stephen Vogt, Asdrubal Cabrera, Trevor May, Jacob deGrom, Riley Smith
