NEW YORK, N.Y.– With just over two weeks of baseball played, the Mets (4-3) entered Tuesday were looking to shrug off a slow start. After their opening series with the Nationals was canceled, the Mets had struggled out of the gate. After dropping their opening series with the Phillies, a doubleheader sweep would ease the minds of many Mets fans.
That is exactly what Mets fans got; after securing a 4-3 extra-inning win in game one, they blanked the Phillies (6-5) to sweep the two-game set. Now, the Mets have broken above .500 as they look to get the season on track.
Game One
Starting the day, the Mets got off to a hot stat right away. After Brandon Nimmo drew a leadoff walk, Dominic Smith blasted his 2nd home run of the year. The two-run shot gave the Mets a 2-1 lead early, but Phillies refused to go away. A sac-fly the following inning cut the lead to 1, and an infield single in the 6th tied the game. The game stayed tied as the 7-inning doubleheader game got extended to eight innings.
Another infield single from the Phillies in the top of the 8th gave the Phillies a one-run lead; it seemed as though the Mets would squander an opportunity at a big win. However, the bottom of the 8th went the Mets way. First baseman Pete Alonzo singled, scoring the runner that starts on 2nd with the MLB’s new extra-inning rules. Next, a Michael Conforto walk and a James McCann infield single led to a bases-loaded opportunity.
At the plate stood Jonathan Villar, who entered the game in the 7th inning as a pinch-runner. With the game on the line, the backup third basemen delivered a walk-off hit to secure the 4-3 win for the Mets.
Securing the game one victory was a huge relief for the Mets. After a blockbuster deal to secure Francisco Lindor in the offseason, fans in New York have high expectations for this team. However, with COVID-19 and weather putting their season debut on pause, they have struggled out of the gate. They dropped the first series of the year with the Phillies before splitting a two-game set with Miami. Securing the extra-inning victory, especially after giving up an early lead, was a sign of progress early in the year,
Game Two
Following the extra innings victory, the Mets were able to capitalize on the momentum. The offense came to life in the 4th inning as the Mets pushed three runs across the plate; they pushed one more across in the 6th to take a 4-0 win, sweeping the doubleheader.
Getting things going in the 3rd was Jeff McNeil, who beat out an infield single with one out. A Kevin Pillar single set up Villar again with an RBI opportunity. As he did in the first game, Villar capitalized on his opportunity with an RBI double. That set up Brendan Nimmo, whose single scored both Pillar and Villar to open up the 3-run lead. After dipping into their bullpen in the first game, the Mets got a fabulous outing from Marcus Stroman. By getting through 6 solid innings, he limited the workload for the bullpen to just the 7th inning. Stroman grabbed the win, allowing no earned runs on 4 hits while striking out 3. With the win, his record moves to 2-0 on the season.
