The Mets ended the Houston Astros’ seven-game winning streak with a 7-2 victory on Friday evening at Citi Field.
Here are the takeaways…
-On the day that Jose Iglesias‘ highly anticipated new single and Mets rally track “OMG” was released, as well as special guest and new mascot Grimace in residence, the atmosphere was high at Citi Field on Friday night.
The Houston Astros, who had won seven games in a row and, like New York, had just moved back to a .500 record after a disappointing start to the season, tried to calm things down.
-In the blink of an eye, while most fans were not yet in their seats, José Altuve took the first pitch thrown by the Mets starter Jose Quintana deep to start the game with a solo shot that gave the Astros a 1-0 lead. Quintana would eventually load the bases, but after 36 pitches he got out of the inning without further damage.
-The Mets loaded the bases themselves in the bottom of the inning against Houston starter Ronel BlancoWith the bases loaded and no outs, New York managed to score just one run on a sac fly from Francisco Alvarez.
-Quintana wasn’t at his sharpest that night and only managed to last through four innings, though he did well by allowing just two earned runs despite six hits and three walks. The left-hander also struck out seven batters, which, along with the constant traffic on the base paths, boosted his pitch count to 93 (54 strikes) on the night.
– down 2-1 in the fourth inning, Tyrone Taylor hit the first of the Mets’ three home runs – a solo bomb that tied things together. It wasn’t until the sixth that things got hectic. Peter Alonso gave New York its first lead of the evening with a huge home run that went 400 feet, good for his 17th home run of the season.
Then, with a runner on second base and two outs, Mark Vientos hit a routine ground ball to the third baseman Alex Bregman who kicked the ball away to extend the inning. Jeff McNeil, with all the trouble he’s been through this season, followed by a great at-bat, fouling up tough pitches before making the Astros pay with a three-run line drive home run that just cleared the right field wall and gave the Mets a comfortable 6 lead -2 lead. It was McNeil’s first home run at Citi Field this year and only his fourth this season as the second baseman finished 3-for-4.
As always, after each home run was hit, Iglesias’ “OMG” sign was played at Citi Field, while players in the dugout unveiled a new “OMG” sign.
-New York’s bullpen threw five scoreless innings with Dedniel Nunez two innings and managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh that had the tying run on the plate. Nunez picked up the win for the second time in his career.
-The Astros had more hits than the Mets, 12-9, Yordan Alvarez And Yainer Diaz each had three hits, but could only yield two runs. For New York, Francisco Lindor and McNeil both had a multi-hit evening.
Most Valuable Player of the Match: Jeff McNeil
McNeil had his best night at the plate in a long time. Could this be a sign of things to come from the former batting champ?
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets and Astros continue their three-game series at Citi Field on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m.
RHP Tylor Megill (2-4, 4.81 ERA) takes on LHP Framber Valdez (6-5, 3.68 ERA).
