David Peterson threw a complete game shutout, the big boys of the Mets offense did their damage, and the Mets continued to roll at Citi Field.
The Mets and Nationals met up for a rather mundane June match up, with the former looking to stay in the New York Groove, and the latter looking to avenge a rather tough 5-4 extra innings loss where they led 4-2 in the eighth against their division rivals. What we got, however, was arguably the most complete game the Mets have played this season, en route to a 44-24 record and the best game of David Peterson’s career.
Reader: in this choose your own recap-venture, you can choose where you start and where you end! If you wish to read about the offense continuing to round into form, proceed to Part One. if you wish to read about the heroics of David Peterson, skip to Part Two.
PART ONE:
To the surprise of virtually no one, Pete Alonso got the Mets started in this one. and he got them started early. He drove in the first run of the game in the first inning, shooting an RBI double over the head of center fielder Jacob Young, chasing home Brandon Nimmo. The Mets were facing off against Jake Irvin, who has not been the easiest match up in the world for them, as Irvin threw back to back 7.1 inning, one run games against them his last two times out (once in 2024, and once earlier this season).
If you would like to continue with Part One, continue to next paragraph.
Francisco Lindor set the table with one out in the third with a well-struck double into the right field corner, and Juan Soto rewarded him with a nice jog around the bases. Soto, who has been excellent as of late, hit his second home run in two days against his former club, (and in his fourth straight game at Citi Field), taking a poorly placed 1-0 Jake Irvin curveball into the right field seats to make it 3-0.
If you would like to continue with Part One, continue to next paragraph.
The Mets added two more runs over the course of the game, and they were of similar genres. Brandon Nimmo hit his 11th and 12th home runs of the season, taking a Irvin change up into the center field seats to make it 4-0, and taking a Jackson Rutledge cutter into the right field seats to make it 5-0. The combination of Lindor, Nimmo, Soto, and Alonso went 6-13, with three home runs and all five RBI in the win.
Congratulations! You have completed Part One. If you would like to read the rest of the recap, skip to Part Two now. If you read Part Two first, continue to the Epilogue.
PART TWO
David Peterson threw the game of his life on this warm Wednesday night. Peterson, in his 114 game and 98 start in orange and blue threw his first complete game shutout (and second complete game overall, though the first was a rain shortened loss in April of 2023, so frankly, this feels like his first complete game), blanking the rival Washington Nationals and looking as comfortable as one would think doing it. He went the first six innings without allowing a runner to reach second base, giving up only two singles in that time. He erased the first with a double play, and the second came with two outs, and the following batter struck out to end the threat before it began. He did reach trouble in the seventh, and the end of the game got a little dicey.
Oh no! Trouble ahead. If you wish to proceed, continue to the next paragraph.
The dream looked dead in the seventh. Old friend Amed Rosario led off with a single, and budding superstar James Wood blooped one over the second baseman’s head to put two on with no outs, with the Mets leading 4-0 at the time. However, he buckled down, getting Andrés Chaparro and Nathaniel Lowe to strike out, and Alex Call to ground out to first to end the threat. The eighth inning also saw trouble, however.
Oh no! More trouble ahead. If you wish to proceed, continue to the next paragraph.
After striking out Riley Adams to lead off the frame, Peterson got into hot water by way of a Luis García Jr. double. Jacob Young immediately looked like he broke up the shutout, hitting a single to center field. Tyrone Taylor, who came in for defense, made that decision look like a great one, throwing out García Jr. at the plate to keep the shutout intact. He got the last out in the eighth, and proceeded to the ninth inning.
If you would like to continue with Part Two, continue to next paragraph.
The ninth inning was as easy as you’d like, as the Nationals went down in order. Rosario lined out to Brett Baty at third, Wood struck out and got diced up doing so, and Chaparro grounded out to Baty to end the game.
Congratulations! You have completed Part Two. If you would like to read the rest of the recap, turn back to Part One now. If you read Part One first, continue to the Epilogue.
EPILOGUE
The Mets move to 44-24 on the season, which is 20 games over .500 for those who do not have an aptitude for math, such as myself. David Peterson’s final line was as such: 9.0 innings, six hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, six strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 2.49 on the season, as the Mets pitching lab continues to make every day a fun one. According to SNY multiple times over, a Mets left hander has not thrown a complete game shutout since Steven Matz did it in 2019, which was basically a different universe in Metsland. Overall, it was arguably the best game this very good Mets team has played from top to bottom this year, so far.
SB Nation GameThreads
Amazin’ Avenue
Federal Baseball
Box scores
Win Probability Added
FanGraphs.com
Big Mets winner: you gussed it, David Peterson, +30.6% WPA
Big Mets loser: Ronny Mauricio, -1.7% WPA
Mets pitchers: aka David Peterson, +30.6% WPA
Mets hitters: +19.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto’s two run home run, +17.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: James Wood’s single in the seventh, -4.7% WPA