Game 26 of 162
Mets 9-Nationals 8 (Citi Field, New York)
Mets record: 15-11
Mets streak: Won 1
WP - Brooks Raley (1-0)
LP - Mason Thompson (2-2)
SV - David Robertson (5)
Seat on the Korner: Francisco Lindor
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.
What made Kiner's Korner must-see tv was Ralph's review of the game with a player who had a major impact. It would be fun, and probably very illuminating, to hear Francisco Lindor's take on this wild, unexpectedly seesaw game. Lindor's influence, positive and negative, was all over the game: two RBI doubles, a potential rally stifling catch, and error that led to the Mets' first unearned run allowed followed by a runner advancing fly ball that set up the tying run in the bottom of the eighth. Lindor is as perceptive a player as the Mets have and walking though the twists and turns of this game with him would surely be must-see.
Need to Know
Joey Lucchesi survived a rocky top of the first, throwing 26 pitches, before settling down and making it into the sixth, where he tired. One run charged to him was a home run; the other two came after he was replaced by Tommy Hunter.
Brett Baty had a breakout game, with his first home run of the season, two other hits and a walk.
Jeff McNeil continued his hot hitting, incldung a ninth-inning triple that plated the winning run.
Overall, the Mets' bats broke out for 16 hits after totaling nine in the previous two games.
David Robertson pitched a clean ninth, striking out two and pumping his glove after recording the final out.
Justin Verlander pitches a rehab start in Binghamton Friday. He is expected to throw somewhere between 45 and 60 pitches
The Braves come in for a four-game series Friday-Monday.
Turning Point
After the Nationals took an 8-7 lead in a wild top of the eighth inning that featured three hit batsmen (the first time the Mets had done that since 2008), the Mets roared back in the bottom of the inning with a single by Starling Marte, a stolen base, a runner-advancing fly out by Francisco Lindor, a double by Pete Alonso and the game-winning triple by Jeff McNeil, which is the turning point.
3 Keys
Bouncing back from Nationals rallies
Twice in the game -- the sixth and the eighth -- the Mets answered crooked numbers put up by the Nationals with multi-run innings of their own.
Ineffective relievers
Tommy Hunter and Brooks Raley were ineffective, reflecting again the concern that some bullpen arms may be getting tired from extensive use. Hunter allowed two inherited runners to score in the sixth and hit the first two batters he faced in the eighth. Raley, who relieved Hunter, hit a batter and gave up the grand slam home run to CJ Abrams that gave the Nationals the lead.
Breaking out of slumps
Pete Alonso broke out of an 0-for-19 slump with two hits and two RBIs. Starling Marte, who had been struggling, had a hit and a walk, as well as a key stolen base in the bottom of the eighth. And the team as a whole, which had been ineffective with men on base, scored nine runs without hitting a home run.