Sunday evening, the New York Mets took on the St. Louis Cardinals in a thriller. Despite the low-scoring game, the Mets and Cardinals put on a show in a nearly packed house (30,980 in attendance). The atmosphere remained electric throughout the ballgame. In fact, the game was so exciting that many were satisfied that the game went into extra innings. Early in the season, the Mets have struggled, however as the season has progressed they’ve begun to heat up. Before the game, they attempted to avoid a sweep, and through tough, resilient, and smart baseball they prevailed, 3-2.
“It was good, not only to get the save but being able to work with some trouble,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Back-to-back for the first time, game on the line, really good effort.”
Highlights of the Game
Throughout the game, it appeared neither team could gain any momentum. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning where the Cardinals drew first. The Mets struggled to answer until the bottom of the sixth inning. Mets start shortstop Franciso Lindor managed to hit a bomb to ultimately tie the game up. Since 2015, the Mets haven’t allowed their starting pitcher to pitch over eight innings. However, on Sunday evening, Jose Quintana pitched the majority of the innings and maintained control throughout the game. Ultimately giving up one run, he was eventually relieved by the closing pitcher, Edwin Diaz.
“It was cold,” Quintana said. “Grinding. Close game. It was the kind of outing where you need to keep fighting every single pitch.”
Last season, when the Mets paid Diaz $102 million, a five-year contract, unfortunately he suffered a season-ending knee injury that restricted him. This season, only playing 10 games so far, he’s still gaining his footing, however he admits he felt very confident heading into this game.
“It means a lot,” Díaz said of his first save. “The ball was moving great today. My first three outings were no problem. I had to make my pitches tonight.”
Turning Point for the Mets
The game remained scoreless until the 11th inning. The Cardinals managed to score which gave a ton of doubt in many Mets fans. Throughout the game, the Mets didn’t struggle to get on base, nonetheless they couldn’t find a way to score. That said, a set of great hits from J.T. Stewart and Harrison Bader helped catapult the Mets some momentum. Stewart managed to hit a line drive getting on base, which led to Bader being able to send Stewart home to tie the game. Ultimately leading to Mets third baseman Mark Vientos walk-off homer to seal the deal for the Mets at home.
“He’s grinding it right now,” Mendoza said. “But he’s a good hitter. It was good to see him put a good swing on it and put the ball out of the ballpark.”