The Mets outslugged the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 in a back and forth slugfest on Tuesday afternoon as Chase Field.
Here are some takeaways…
– Max Scherzer got off to a strong start in this one, striking out the first two batters he faced, but then All-Star starter Corbin Carroll lifted an opposite field solo homer to give the Diamondbacks an early lead.
The right-hander rebounded nicely after that though, as he retired the next seven batters in a row, including three more strikeouts.
– Francisco Lindor drew a walk and then stole second in the fourth, giving the Mets their first RISP on the afternoon. It was his 10th SB of the season, making him the fifth player in baseball with at least 10 steals and 15 homers.
A few batters later, Starling Marte put the Mets in front with a three-run homer to deep left field. Heading into Tuesday’s game, Marte had a .960 OPS in his career against the Diamondbacks.
– Arizona didn’t take long to respond against Scherzer, as Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. crushed back-to-back homers with two outs in the fourth, evening things at three.
– The Mets answered right back in the fifth, however, as Brandon Nimmo cracked a solo homer of his own to put them back in front 4-3. Nimmo’s been on a bit of a power surge of late, homering five times over his last eight games.
– Two out trouble doomed Scherzer again in the bottom half of the inning, as a pair of walks and a hit loaded the bases for Carroll. The young slugger worked the count full and drew a walk, bringing in a run and evening things again at five.
The Mets had the bullpen going towards the end of the inning, but Scherzer returned for the sixth and was able to end his outing on a high note, putting up a scoreless frame.
He finished the day allowing four runs on five hits while walking two and striking out nine over six innings of work. He remains unbeaten for the 10th consecutive start.
– Scherzer’s battery-mate, Francisco Alvarez, rewarded him (and put him in line for a win) an inning later demolishing a two-run homer 467 feet to deep center to put the Mets back in front. It was by far the longest homer of the rookie’s career.
– Brooks Raley issued a pair of walks, putting the tying run on base in the seventh, but he was able to get Carroll to ground out to first to end the threat.
– The Mets had a huge opportunity in the eighth as a hit by pitch and two walks loaded the bases with just one out. Making his first appearance as a Met, DJ Stewart got the job done, lining a sacrifice fly to right to increase the lead to three.
– After Adam Ottavino worked around a two out hit in a scoreless bottom of the eighth, the Mets tacked on one more run on a Lindor double. He now has 20 doubles, 56 RBI, and a .758 OPS on the season.
– Drew Smith allowed two baserunners to reach in the ninth, forcing the Mets to turn to closer David Robertson. Carroll lined the first pitch he saw for a single, loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate in Walker.
Robertson walked in a run, but was then able to get Gurriel to ground out to short, locking down the win in the first game of the road trip and pushing the Mets’ winning streak to three.
– There was a total of six homers hit in this afternoon’s slugfest, three by the Mets and three by Arizona. Marte, Alvarez, and Nimmo all went deep for New York.
Highlights
What’s next
Kodai Senga (6-5, 3.53), bumped back a day to start on regular rest, will take the mound for the Mets against left-hander Tommy Henry (5-1, 4.08).