Pete Alonso hit a towering home run and Jacob deGrom pitched like Jacob deGrom.
On a night where the Braves did not play, the Mets had an opportunity to gain a half game on Atlanta, while kicking off a 10 game homestand against the Colorado Rockies. With Jacob deGrom on the mound, the Mets did just that, winning 3-1.
deGrom started off his night in typical Jacob deGrom fashion, retiring the first 13 batters he faced. deGrom displayed his routine brilliance, throwing only 50 pitches in the first 4 innings, as he was cruising towards yet another masterpiece.
At the plate, all three of the Mets runs came in the third inning. Their first run came on a Francisco Lindor groundout, giving them the early 1-0 lead. The play was critical as the Rockies failed to turn a double play, allowing the inning to continue. During the very next at bat, Pete Alonso swung on a 3-0 pitch, and hit a massive two-run homer off the facing of the second deck in left field.
deGrom ran into some trouble in the top of the fifth inning, allowing an infield single to José Iglesias, the first baserunner of the night, and then a double to Randal Grichuk. However, he was able to retire the next two batters, leaving the inning unscathed.
In the sixth inning, deGrom labored yet again, after allowing a solo home run off the bat of Ryan McMahon, he issued his first walk of the night, bringing the tying run to the plate for the Rockies. But after a strikeout and a fielder’s choice, deGrom walked away limiting the damage, his work for the night done. deGrom’s final line was 6 innings pitched on 87 pitches, while allowing one run with 9 strikeouts.
The bullpen did the rest of the work on the night, with Seth Lugo working around trouble in the seventh inning to keep the 3-1 lead. Edwin Díaz then made a rare appearance in the eighth inning against the heart of the Rockies’ order, and had a mere mortal performance, allowing one hit and only striking out one batter. In the top of the ninth inning, Adam Ottavino came on for the save and secured a much needed victory for the Mets.
Box scores
Win Probability Added
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Fangraphs.com
Big Mets winner: Jacob deGrom, +21% WPA
Big Mets loser: Brett Baty, -9% WPA
Mets pitchers: +39% WPA
Mets hitters: +10% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Pete Alonso’s two-run home run, +17.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ryan McMahon’s solo home run in the sixth inning, -7.3% WPA
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