Blowing a 4 run lead Mets beat Nats In Comeback Fashion By Rich Coutinho/TheNYextra.com
Entering last night’s game, the Mets had dropped 4 in a row which was the longest losing streak in the Buck Showalter era in Flushing. And they blew a four-run lead as the Nats scored 5 times including a grand slam off the bat of CJ Abrams. But on this night, we saw the resiliency of this Met team that we saw so often in 2022.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, we saw a Starling Marte stolen base followed by a game tying double from Pete Alonso which set the stage for a Jeff McNeil RBI triple that completed a dramatic comeback. Brett Baty also had his first 3 hit night in his young career including a fourth inning solo home run. All in all, it was a much-needed win for the Mets who now sit at 15-11 2 games behind the Braves in the NL East. File photos TheNYExtra.com
The Met offense had been slumping coming into this game but they had a plethora of at bats that helped them get favorable hitting counts because they showed patience and discipline at the plate up and down the lineup. The youngster Brett Baty was the poster child for this approach and many veteran Mets acknowledged that in the post-game clubhouse especially Jeff McNeil who called him “a hitter who has a clear plan in the batter’s box” which is high praise coming from the reigning NL batting champion.
Another big hero on this night was Joey Lucchesi who did not have his best stuff but toughed it out for 5 innings keeping his team in the game before the heroic bats in this order did damage. For the second straight start, he gave this injury riddled Met rotation exactly what it needed to win a game. Brooks Raley got the win despite giving up a grand slam homer and David Robertson was brilliant once again getting his fifth save of the season. He has allowed only 1 run in 11 innings of work this season.
Next up is the Atlanta Braves for a 4 game weekend series as these 2 rivals lock horns for the first time this season. Both squads have had a plethora of injuries but the depth of these rosters have kept their heads above water. Should be a real interesting weekend of baseball at Citi weather permitting of course as we are expecting plenty of rain this weekend.
