Max Scherzer pitched magnificently and picked up his first win at Coors Field as the Mets defeated the Rockies, 5-2, on Friday night.
Here are the takeaways…
– Mets wasted no time to get on the scoreboard. After Brandon Nimmo led off with a walk, Francisco Lindor launched one over the right-field wall to put the Mets up 2-0. It’s only the 11th first-inning run of the season, and the second straight game they scored in the first.
Lindor would drive in the Mets’ third run with a single that scored Nimmo — who hit a triple for the second straight game — in the fifth inning. Lindor would pick up his fourth RBI on a sac fly in the ninth to score Nimmo who hit another triple to lead off the inning.
Lindor finished 2-for-4 with four of the Mets’ five runs. Nimmo finished 2-for-2 with three walks and two triples. It’s the first time Nimmo hit two triples in a single game.
– Entering Friday, Scherzer had six starts at Coors Field and was 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA and a 1.613 WHIP. He gave up six home runs in total in those starts. It’s the highest ERA at any ballpark where he’s had at least two starts. Scherzer bucked those trends with his best start of the season.
Scherzer went a season-high seven innings while striking out a season-high eight batters. The only blemish on Scherzer’s ledger was a Ryan McMahon solo shot in the second inning. In the seventh inning, Scherzer got into some trouble by allowing men to reach second and third with no one out, but the Mets ace got Ezequiel Tovar to fly out and end the inning.
Scherzer’s final line: 7 IP (102 pitches/74 strikes), six hits, one run, eight strikeouts. He lowered his season ERA from 4.01 to 3.54.
– Brett Baty would pick up the Mets’ fourth run of the game in the fifth inning. Baty drove a 93 mph fastball on the lower part of the zone to the opposite field for a single to score Lindor and chase Rockies starter Connor Seabold. Baty finished 2-for-4 with a strikeout. Over his last seven games, Baty has hit 7-for-25 with a home run and four RBI.
Francisco Alvarez picked up a single and went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to six games. Over his last seven games, Alvarez is 9-for-23 with three home runs and seven RBI.
Daniel Vogelbach went 0-for-4 but did have two singles stolen by second baseman Alan Trejo on diving plays. Mark Vientos did have a pinch-hit opportunity in the ninth, but grounded out.
– David Robertson came in for the eighth, making his first appearance since Sunday. After giving up a leadoff solo homer to Charlie BlackmonRobertson settled the Rockies down.
Brooks Raley came out for the ninth and walked two of the three hitters he faced, which is unlike the left-hander. The walks forced manager Buck Showalter to bring in Adam Ottavino. Ottavino got a groundball to Eduardo Escobar, in for defensive purposes for Baty, who booted it allowing all the runners to be safe, but poor baserunning by the Rockies cost them an out at second base. Ottavino struck out Mike Moustakas to end the game.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets continue their three-game series against the Rockies on Saturday at 9:10 pm
Justin Verlander (2-2, 3.60 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets and he’ll go up against RHP Chase Anderson (0-0, 1.15 ERA).