FLUSHING – Coming off a disappointing homestand against the Nationals, the Mets were looking to bounce back. New York lost 3 of a 4 game series against Washington, and had lost 5 of their last 6 games. The bats for the Mets had not been producing, as Washington shut them out in the last 2 games of the series. The Mets would face the Baltimore Orioles next, for a quick 2 game series.
The Mets took the first game of the series against the Orioles, and were looking to complete the sweep Wednesday night. New York would send their young ace, Jacob deGrom to the mound to get the job done. deGrom was coming off two rough starts where he gave up 3 earned runs to the Nationals, and 6 earned runs (3 HRs) to the Yankees. Both starts he received a loss, and didn’t go 6 innings.
Wednesday night was a much different story, as deGrom pitched a gem. All night he did a great job of keeping the batters guessing, and corrected his location issues. deGrom pitched 7.0 innings, and had 9 strikeouts. He only allowed 1 earned run on 6 hits, and did so on 105 pitches. This was the 2nd time this year that he had over 100 pitches, which is encouraging to see that Terry Collins is letting him go deep into games.
Behind deGrom’s stellar performance, the Mets were able to pick up a 5-1 win, and complete the 2 game sweep of Baltimore. The Mets were able to give deGrom run support, which he used to get his 3rd win on the year (3-3). Dilson Herrera was tearing it up in the minors, and continued his hot bat Wednesday night. The young infielder finished the game with 3 RBIs, including a HR in the 6th inning. Curtis Granderson also homered for the Mets (3rd inning).
Herrera is going to be an interesting topic moving forward. With the Mets bats struggling, they are in need of an offensive spark. If Herrera continues to hit well, New York will have to adjust their roster and send someone down to Vegas. New York will be heading to Philadelphia to play a 3 game series starting Friday. The Mets still sit atop the NL East with a 4 game lead over Atlanta.
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