New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said “there’s a lot to like about the offense right now” after his team scored 27 runs in lopsided wins Monday and Tuesday night.
The rest of the Mets’ game isn’t too shabby, either.
The Mets will look to continue their all-around impressive play Wednesday night when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle contest of a three-game series.
The Mets are expected to recall left-hander Brandon Waddell to make his season debut as either a starter or bulk pitcher against Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes (0-1, 4.05 ERA).
Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte and Pete Alonso all homered Tuesday night for the Mets in their 8-3 win.
Tyrone Taylor and Jose Azocar combined for three RBI singles for New York, which arrived home Tuesday after scoring 17 runs in the final five innings of a 19-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday afternoon. The 27 runs in a two-game span are the most for the Mets since they erupted for 30 in a doubleheader split with the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 16, 2018.
But as prolific as the Mets were at the plate Tuesday, their most impressive plays were in the field – especially in a 1-2-3 fourth inning with a trio of highlight-reel worthy plays.
Lindor picked up the carom of a grounder off Mark Vientos’ glove and threw out Randal Grichuk before Taylor made a diving catch near the left-center field warning track to rob Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of extra bases. Lindor then nabbed a hard-hit one-hopper by Eugenio Suarez.
The Mets entered Tuesday tied for first in the majors with a .990 fielding percentage. They also are first with a 2.60 ERA and eighth with 145 runs scored.
“Whether it’s good defense, good offense, good pitching, it translates to every part of the game,” said winning pitcher David Peterson, who allowed one run in five innings. “When you string plays like that together, it’s great momentum for the team.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was left to hope the Mets’ momentum could motivate his club to change its flagging fortunes.
The loss Tuesday was the fifth in the last six games for the Diamondbacks, who have given up at least seven runs in each of the five defeats. Arizona surrendered at least five runs just nine times in its first 21 games.
Eduardo Rodriguez surrendered all eight runs Tuesday – including five with two outs. Thanks to the Mets’ solid defense, Arizona didn’t get a runner past second base until the fifth inning, when Jorge Barrosa laced an RBI double.
Four pitches later, Tim Tawa got hung up between third and home before being tagged out when he broke too fast on Geraldo Perdomo’s comebacker to Peterson.
“It’s very inspiring to see that type of baseball,” Lovullo said. “When you’re looking across the diamond and you have your own internal standards that you live by, it helps you get better.”
Waddell, who is being recalled to allow Kodai Senga an extra day of rest, hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2021, when he made nine appearances for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals. The 30-year-old, who spent the previous two-plus seasons pitching in Korea and China, is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Syracuse.
Burnes didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start last Thursday, when he gave up three runs (one earned) over 5 1/3 innings as the Diamondbacks fell to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-4, in 10 innings.
Waddell made his lone appearance against the Diamondbacks on June 28, 2021, when he tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Cardinals in a 7-1 win. Burnes is 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA in six career games (five starts) against the Mets.
-Field Level Media
