Game 84 of 162
Final Score: Mets 8 Giants 4 (Citi Field, Queens NY)
Mets record: 38-46
Mets streak: Win 2
WP - Grant Hartwig (1-1)
LP - Alex Wood (3-3)
Seat on the Korner: Pete Alonso
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.
After being announced as the Mets' representative in the All Star game and agreeing to participate in the Home Run Derby (with his middle school travel coach pitching to him), Pete Alonso rose to the occasion at three points in the game: a bases-loaded walk in the third to tie the game after the Giants took the lead in the top half of the inning; a double to start a rally in the seventh after the Giants has pulled to within one run; and a two-run homer in the eighth to give the Mets some needed breathing room. Just the type of on-field leadership the Mets need from arguably their best and most important player. He would have a lot to talk about on the postgame show.
Need to Know
The Mets won their first series since sweeping the Phillies May 30-June 2. They went on to lose or split their next eight series.
Tommy Pham went three for four, continuing thr streak that has seen him hit safely in 20 of his last 22 games. Some smart baserunning also helped in the Mets rallies. Pham leads the Mets with runners in scoring position. Next for Pham? Maybe public service announcements urging people to get regular eye exams.
Mark Canha went two-for-four, including a leadoff home run in the fourth.
Some charitable official scoring took away culpbility for bad fielding by both teams. Brett Baty in particular had a bad day in the field, failing to apply a timely tag on a Bryce Johnson steal attempt in the third. Francisco Alvarez clearly had nailed Johnson, but Baty was not in position to make a quick tag. An inning later, Baty let a ball go under his glove for what was scored Brandon Crawford double, but David Peterson got Casey Schmidt to ground into an inning-ending out.
Edwin Diaz threw on the sidelines before the game. A good sign or a big tease that he could be back this year?
The Mets get a travel day Monday before starting a series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
Turning Point
With the Mets bullpen proving again that no lead is safe, Pete Alonso's two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth gave the Metroplitans a four-run cushion and provided some breathing room.
Three Keys
Bullpen struggles: David Peterson worked his way in and out of trouble over the first four innings but was pulled after throwning only 62 pitches. Grant Hartwig followed with two solid innigs, but was pulled after throwing 33 pitches in favor of Jeff Brigham, who was ineffetive and almost coughed up the lead. While Brooks Raley was solid, Adam Ottavino caused Mets fans' blood pressure to rise again with a shaky third of an inning, throwing a wild pitch, walking Wilmer Flores and hitting Thairo Estrada before striking out JD Davis to end the inning with the go-ahead run on base.
Smart hitting: The Mets showed some sign of the type of smart hitting that was a key to their 2022 success. Pete Alonso went the other way against sidearmer Tyler Rogers in the seventh; Jeff McNeil advanced him to third with a groundout to the right side, and Alonso scored on a short fly ball by Starling Marte thst dropped between second baseman Thairo Estrada and center fielder Lamont Wade.
Timely hitting: Both times after the Giants scored, the Mets answered back in their half of the frame, the first time to wipe out an early San Francisco lead and the second time to add an insurance run after the Giants, trailing 5-1, closed the gap to 5-4.
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