The Mets broke out offensively on Thursday night, putting up 10 runs on 15 hits in a blowout win against the Chicago Cubs before leaving town.
Here are the takeaways…
– For just the second time in their last 18 games, the Mets scored a run in the first inning. They scored it after loading the bases against Kyle Hendricks who looked rusty out of the gates of his first start this season, walking two in the inning. Brett Baty then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the game’s first run.
– Carlos Carrasco‘s first-inning troubles continued as he gave up a solo shot to Dansby Swanson in the bottom half of the inning that tied the game at one. However, that would be all Carrasco would give up in his outing.
Other than a bases-loaded jam in the third inning which he escaped, Carrasco breezed through the Cubs lineup, retiring 10 batters in a row before Yan Gomes singled with two outs in the seventh inning to end Carrasco’s night. The 36-year-old went 6.2 innings and gave up an earned run on five hits, two walks and struck out four in his best start of the season.
– As for Carrasco’s opposite number, Hendricks struggled in his first start in almost a full calendar year. The Mets got to him for four runs in the third inning, thanks to a two-out rally started by Jeff McNeil. Pete Alonso followed with a single and Baty drove in his second run of the game with a single of his own to give New York the lead once again. Starling Marte‘s single brought in two more and the Mets were up, 4-1, after four straight two-out singles.
– New York stole a run in the fifth inning after McNeil and Alonso successfully converted a double steal which drew a throw to third base by Gomes who threw it away and brought home McNeil.
– In the seventh inning, Alonso launched an opposite field, two-run home run off Michael Rucker for his major-league leading 19th home run of the season. This blast was impressive because entering play on Thursday, the only other right-handed hitter to hit an opposite field home run at Wrigley Field this season was Swanson, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
The Mets broke things open in the eighth inning. Brandon Nimmo drove in two with a triple and Francisco Lindorin search of his first hit of the series, had an RBI single to make it 10-1.
– Every single starter had at least one hit with McNeil leading the pack with three hits. He also scored three runs and added a walk. Nimmo, Alonso, Marte and Francisco Alvarez each had two hits.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets move on to Colorado to face the Rockies in a three-game series starting on Friday night at 8:40 pm on PIX11.
Max Scherzer gets the start for New York, opposed by Colorado’s Connor Seabold.