Mets hold off Nats, take the first two of the series
The pitchers duel of deGrom-Scherzer from opening day lived up to its hype. The pitchers duel of Syndergaard-Strausburg did not. The Mets bats got going quickly, as Pete Alonso laced a single to right, Michael Conforto's 2 out-single gave the Mets a shot. Wilson Ramos, against his former team and former ace, attacked the first pitch and knocked a 2-run double off the right field wall, to give New York a 2-0 lead. Then Jeff McNeil hit a towering shot to right center, that fell in for an RBI triple, making it 3-0. In the bottom of the first, Syndergaard showed faults, giving up an RBI single to Juan Soto, who would do plenty of damage today. The Mets did well to get that run back in the next half inning, an Alonso double made it 4-1. A Victor Robles solo HR and another RBI single by Soto cut the Mets lead to a slim run in the 3rd. Then in the 6th, the Nats pulled all the way back. Soto hit a weak grounder up the middle that slowed down enough for him to turn it into a double. A groundout and sac fly scored the run to tie it at 4. It looked like it could wind up being a long day of extra innings, but the Mets bats came alive again in the 8th. The Nats brought in former closer, Trevor Rosenthal, and the Mets attacked him. Ramos and McNeil lead off the inning with back to back singles, and a walk by Rosario (yeah seriously) loaded them up for J.D. Davis, who was given a start today to boost the Mets power, knocked a 2-run single to make it 6-4. The Nats then brought in Kyle Barraclough, who balked in a run before even throwing a pitch, to make it 7-4. Two quick outs nearly escaped limiting the damage, but Pete Alonso extended the lead before the end of the inning, an RBI double made it 8-4. It seemed like plenty of insurance, but a very shaky Jeurys Familia in the 8th gave New York a scare. He got two quick outs, sandwhiched around a Rendon single, but a walk and a fielding error by Davis loaded the bases. Callaway had seen enough and brought in Seth Lugo to finish the job. The Nats countered with Matt Adams, who unloaded a deep fly ball to right field, but missed a game-tying Grand Slam by less than 5 feet. The Mets somehow escaped without damage, but that didn't stop their bats from piling on more insurance. In the 9th, Conforto's leadoff single, followed by a walk to Ramos, set up Jeff McNeil for another RBI, this time a double, to extend New York's lead to 9-4. Then the unlikely hero, Dominic Smith knocked a 2-run single to what seemed like bust the game open, now 11-4 New York. They sent Lugo back out for 9th, but a bases loaded HBP followed by a 3-run double quickly made it 11-8 New York. Edwin Diaz then came on to secure one of the easiest saves of his career. He needed one pitch to get a flyout, recording his second save in as many games into the season. The Mets are now 2-0, and will look for their first sweep of 2019 tomorrow. It was an all around shaky day for Syndergaard, Lugo, and Familia especially, but the Mets bats prevailed. Nearly the entire lineup contributed, the only exceptions being Cano, who provided plenty yesterday and gets a pass, and Nimmo. There is some concern for Nimmo, who is 0 for 7 with 6K to start the year. He also has 2 walks, and a sac bunt, but the Mets will certainly need him to get into his groove if they are to compete with the powerhouse lineups of the Phillies and Braves.
