Angels 5 Mets 4 (Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA)
Mets record: 58-52
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP - Matt Moore (5-2)
LP - Huascar Brazoban (1-3)
SV - Ben Joyce (1)
Seat on the Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Zach Neto's three run homer in the 7th after two outs and nobody on was a crusher. Neto also made a key play in the field to get Brandon Nimmo in the 9th by an eyelash in a 5-4 Angels victory.
Need to Know
Kevin Pillar's RBI single in the first inning was the first opening inning run that David Peterson gave up all season. He was the only N.L. pitcher not to give up a first inning run all season.
Peterson would wind up going six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four.
Jose Soriano threw six shutout innings for the Angels, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out six.
J.D. Martinez hit a grand slam in the top of the 7th inning, his second grannie as a Met, to give the club a 4-2 lead. Both Martinez and Francisco Lindor had two hits on the night.
Turning Point
We'll talk about this later, but the game turned on a dime after Huascar Brazoban had two outs in the 7th and nobody on. After a single and a walk, Zach Neto won an 8 pitch at-bat which turned into a game changing, soul crushing home run which would be the difference.
Three Keys
Brazobombed
Huascar Brazoban was one of the key acquisitions for the Mets' bullpen, and he looked pretty good in his first Mets appearance against the Twins. He also looked good for 2/3's of an inning tonight against the Angels after being handed a two run lead thanks to Martinez's grand slam. But after giving up a single to Michael Stefanic and a walk to Nolan Schanuel, Brazoban faced Zach Neto who was the go ahead run.
The problem is that after Brazoban's first three pitches, he went to the same area for the last five, and save for one sinkers, they were all cutters and fastballs. By the time Huascar got to the last pitch, Neto had already seen it multiple times, and this one was in a meatier part of the same quadrant.
Robbery
Coming into Saturday, Francisco Lindor's slash leading off a game this season is .321/.424/.518 ... so you know it takes a special effort to prevent Lindor from leading off a game with a hit.
Let me first take you back to Wednesday, when Trevor Larnach of the Twins provided that special effort:
That's a tough one to top, right? Well, enter former Met Kevin Pillar tonight:
That's what it takes to rob Francisco of a leadoff hit: Kevin Pillar turning back the clock. And it turned out to be a key catch as two other Met batters reached base in that inning. So it retroactively saved a run.
But LIndor got his revenge in the 2nd with the help of his good friend, Pete Alonso:
J.D. Stands For Joy Denied
When J.D. Martinez hit a grannie in the 7th, it seemed as if the world was put back on its axis after the great outing by Jose Soriano gave way to the Angels bullpen.
But truth be told, the Mets had plenty of other chances to score that they left on the table. Jesse Winker struck out with two runners on to end the first. Pete Alonso struck out with two runners on to end the third. Jeff McNeil made an awful decision to try to stretch a single to a double to lead off the fifth when it was clear that Kevin Pillar wasn't dogging it fielding the single. Luis Torrens grounded out to end the 6th with two runners on.
Then their last good chance was in the 8th after Mark Vientos led off the inning with a double. Matt Moore got ground outs from Torrens and McNeil before Ben Joyce came in for the four out save. Joyce became famous at Tennessee for throwing a 105.5 mph fastball. He hasn't lost much in the pros as he was scraping 103 in the 9th tonight before striking out Martinez to end the game on a 104.7 mph fastball.
Best practice for the Mets on Sunday would be to not give Joyce a late lead.
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