The Mets blew out the Reds on Friday night.
The Mets opened their three-game series in Cincinnati with a very enjoyable blowout victory over the Reds. In doing so, the Mets actually passed the Reds in the National League standings, and New York is now back to two games behind the Miami Marlins for third place in the National League East.
Although the Mets jumped out to an early lead, the game didn’t look like it would be so easy in the early going. But the top of the first went well, as Matt den Dekker, who hit second in the lineup, drew a one-out walk, and David Wright collected the first of his four hits. Lucas Duda struck out, but Travis d’Arnaud singled to bring home den Dekker, and Curtis Granderson, who was hitting sixth, doubled to score Wright and advance d’Arnaud to third base. Dilson Herrera flew out to end the inning, but the early damage was done.
But Bartolo Colon was not at his best early in the game. He struck out Billy Hamilton to begin the bottom of the first, but he gave up a single to center field to Todd Frazier. Luckily, Frazier tried to test Juan Lagares by stretching the single into a double, and Lagares threw him out at second base. And when Colon proceeded to give up a home run to Devin Mesoraco, it was a good thing that nobody was on base.
In the top of the second, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs but scored just one run on a Lucas Duda walk. Colon then got into a jam in the bottom of the second, as he gave up back-to-back singles that put runners on the corners with nobody out. He got a comebacker that could have been a double play but botched it, allowing Brandon Phillips to score from third and putting runners on first and second for the Reds. But Colon set down the next three batters, one of whom was sacrifice-bunting Alfredo Simon, to get out of the inning without further damage.
Neither team scored in the third, but that would turn out to be the only inning of the game in which the Mets did not score. Travis d’Arnaud hit a three-run home run in the fourth to open up a 6-2 lead that the Mets never came close to surrendering. Wilmer Flores hit a solo home run in the fifth. Curtis Granderson hit a three-run home run in the sixth. With a 10-2 lead, David Wright doubled in a run in the seventh. Dilson Herrera hit a solo home run to begin the eighth. And to top things off, Lucas Duda hit a long two-run home run in the ninth.
Colon wound up pitching seven innings and allowing just those two early runs. He threw 85 pitches, struck out two, and walked one. Buddy Carlyle gave up a Todd Frazier solo home run in the eighth, and Erik Goeddel gave up a couple of runs in the ninth. But the Mets still won 14-5.
SB Nation GameThreads
* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Federal Baseball GameThread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Travis d’Arnaud, +30.1% WPA, Curtis Granderso, +11.1% WPA, David Wright, +8.7% WPA
Big losers: Juan Lagares, -7.3% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: d’Arnaud’s three-run home run in the fourth, +25.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play:Brayan Pena’s single in the second, which put runners on the corners with nobody out, -10.8% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -0.2% WPA
Total batter WPA: +50.2% WPA
GWRBI!: Travis d’Arnaud