Mets Series Review 3 of 4 against the San Francisco Giants
The baseball season is two weeks old, and the New York Mets are the first team to ten wins. They have won all four series they have played, including a pair of four-game series. They have completed their first homestand at 5-2, matching their first road trip to get to 10-4. They have gotten terrific starting pitching and timely hitting and have passed their first test by winning a four-game series with a San Francisco Giants team that dominated them in 2021 on the way to 107 wins. In this series, the Mets bullpen, which had been the weak spot, was strong as they had their first comeback, while Max Scherzer shined in his Mets' Citi FIeld debut.
The series started with a doubleheader on Tuesday, after rain and cold weather postponed the game on Monday. Tylor Megill started the opener and struggled for the first time as San Francisco, fresh off their Giants' luncheon with the New York Football Giants, jumped out to a 4-1 lead. However, after allowing four runs in three innings, Megill kept the Mets in the game by putting three zeroes in the middle innings. The Mets rallied to tie the game with doubles by James McCann, Jeff McNeil, and Francisco Lindor. A rally that likely does not start without the hustle of Travis Jankowski, who beat out a double play and was ruled safe after a challenge by the Mets, in which he was initially called out.
The Mets bullpen was strong on Tuesday, as Joely Rodriguez was perfect in the seventh, while Seth Lugo stranded two runners in the eighth. Edwin Diaz allowed a walk but nothing else as the Mets went into extra innings for the first time in 2022. Adam Ottavino pitching with the ghost runner, did the job but appeared to have given up a run after Lindor's throw on Thario Estrada's grounder pulled Pete Alonso off the bag. However, the Mets went to replay again, and it was shown that Alonso had his toe on the bag while stretching for the throw to end the inning and keep the game tied 4-4. In the bottom of the tenth, the Mets would win on a single by Lindor, scoring Brandon Nimmo, who had returned from COVID and was the ghost runner.
The 5-4 win in the opening game of the game of the doubleheader was the type of win that good teams have and the type of wins that show the New York Mets could be for real. The nightcap had Max Scherzer taking on Logan Webb. Scherzer was dominantt. He did not allow a hit until the sixth inning. He struck out ten while walking three as the Giants scratched out a run following a pair of walks. The Mets had a 3-0 lead before the run scored, as they had a two-out rally led by a two-run double by Eduardo Escobar. Escobar would score on a single by Dom Smith, as the Mets' clutch hitting continued to be on point.
The final two innings would be in the hands of the Mets bullpen, with Drew Smith allowing one hit in the eighth, while Trevor May was given the closing duties and pitched a perfect ninth. The Mets not only won the doubleheader, but they had done it while not overworking their bullpen.
The Wednesday night game was never the Mets' game. The Giants scored three runs off Chris Bassitt in the first, while Carlos Rondon frustrated Mets' hitters. The Giants added two more runs and held a 5-0 lead in the fifth inning. Rondon was forced to exit as the Mets successfully worked up his pitch count. Bassitt was able to grit through six innings, as he helped save the bullpen for a better day. Chasen Shreve and Shaun Reid-Foley finished the game as the Mets tried for another comeback. Getting to 5-2 with two runners in scoring position, Dom Smith scalded the ball to third, but Wilmer Flores made a great play that prevented two runs from scoring, ending the Mets' chances of a comeback.
Thursday afternoon had Carlos Carrasco on the mound following two strong starts. He was looking for his first win, as the Mets were hard-luck losers in his first two starts. The Mets took an early lead on a home run in the first inning. Carrasco struggled in the second as the Giants tied the game and looked for more, with two runners on and nobody out. Carrasco buckled down and did not allow another base runner until the eighth inning, retiring 18 Giants in a row.
While Carlos Carrasco was chewing up the Giants' bats, the Mets took advantage of Anthony DeSclafini. In the second, the Mets regained the lead on a home run by Eduardo Escobar, adding a second run on a sac-fly by Tomas Nido. In the third, the Mets got two more runs on a two-out single by Mark Canha, who had returned from the COVID list on Wednesday. The Mets continued their clutch hitting, with Lindor having a three-hit game.
Carlos Carrasco began to tire in the eighth and gave up a two-out homer to Mike Yastrzemski. Joely Rodriguez ended the inning by retiring Brandon Belt. The Mets would answer as Brandon Nimmo had an RBI single to make the score 6-2, as Edwin Diaz was perfect to close out the Mets' win and a successful homestand with a happy flight to Arizona.