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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Throughout the first three games of a four-game series, the menacing Nationals offense had wreaked havoc on a Mets' gassed pitching staff.
The Mets conceded 24 runs, and it took a historic 10-run, 12th inning on Monday to grab their only win entering Thursday.
But with a chance to secure a split, the Mets received a bounce-back effort from David Peterson in his return to the starting rotation followed by a lockdown bullpen performance by the conglomerate of Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.
The Mets squeezed a few runs across against Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli in the early going and held on for a 2-1 victory in the series finale in front of 17,291 fans at Nationals Park.
"That's a good team over there," Williams said. "We were able to split with them and come away with two, and we got a long road ahead of us. We just got to keep stacking good days."
The win ensured that the Mets have not dropped a series in their last three. They moved back to 22-28 on the season and 12-7 in the month of May. It was far from the prettiest effort on Thursday, but it salvaged some semblance of momentum on the heels of a 5-1 homestand that included a sweep of the Tigers and series win over the Yankees.
Here were the three most encouraging things from the victory and the series on the whole:
The Mets are hoping that Thursday's effort from David Peterson represents a shift back to the pitcher he had been in the first half of last season.
There was a lot of bend-don't-break in that version of the lefty, who earned his first All-Star selection with a 3.06 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in last season's first half. Struggles early in the season had relegated Peterson to a bulk relief role behind an opener where he had flourished, but a matchup with the lefty-heavy Nationals lineup reopened the door for him to take the ball in the first inning.
He wavered early in the first inning, giving up three straight walks but was able to end the Nationals' threat there with a strikeout of Daylen Lile on a slider.
"I felt like I was a little quick," Peterson said. "Tried to kind of settle in, slow myself down within my motion and then continue to try and get ahead with the first pitch and go from there."
The lefty worked around an error and a single in the second inning before a perfect third frame. The lone run came in the fifth inning after back-to-back hits and an RBI groundout by Andres Chaparro. Mark Vientos made a diving stop to his left with a runner at first base to end the fifth and keep the Mets ahead 2-1.
Peterson finished with one earned run allowed on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings. It was the same Nationals lineup that had tagged him for seven earned runs in his last start on April 29. He improved to 3-4 with his first win as a starter. In four appearances in May, Peterson is 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 18 innings.
"He's a really good pitcher that went through struggles, but we believe in him," Carlos Mendoza said. "Now it's time for him to continue to do that and he will. He's a big part of this team and we're going to continue to use them."
Devin Williams believed he was tipping his pitches.
On the heels of a stretch of eight runs in four outings, Williams made an adjustment. He went from coming set with his hands at his belt to starting in a up higher near his chest and being more conscious of the early part of his delivery.
The results have followed. Following another scoreless outing on Thursday, Williams now has a streak of 10 appearances without allowing an earned run. He has only given up two hits and two walks while striking out 12 batter in 9⅔ innings to lower his ERA from 10.29 to 4.32.
"Feel like I'm on a good streak here," Williams said. "Trying to keep it going."
It could have gone south on Thursday as Williams got a soft pop-up from Lile in shallow center field to begin the ninth. A.J. Ewing sprinted forward, tumbled down but the ball shot free and Lile ended up on second base. He moved to third on a ground ball in the next at-bat but Williams managed to strikeout Jose Tena and pick up a weak ground ball to second to pin down his seventh save.
"Devin gets behind in count (to Tena) and he sticks to the changeup there. 3-1, gets a swing and miss and gets a strikeout," Mendoza said. "I think it just comes down to the (bullpen) executing, but also sticking to what makes them who they are."
The Mets are finally getting the hitter they believed they had signed as their marquee addition in the offseason.
In the series' four games, Bichette was 8-for-18 with three home runs, five runs and nine RBI. He delivered the game's biggest hit, driving in two runs on a single up the middle off Cavalli in the top of the third inning.
That held up as the game-winning hit, with the Mets pitching staff holding down the Nationals.
"We know he's one of the best hitters with runners. He's been that type of player," Mendoza said. "I think it's just a matter of time. A ground ball found a hole today, but I think you see a player that is confident. He's putting some A swings on good pitches, he's pulling the ball when he needs to. He's using the whole field, like the guy that we all know the type of hitter he is."
Despite a slow start, Bichette leads the Mets with 27 RBI and he's scored 24 runs despite a .604 OPS. But some of the underlying metrics suggest that he's hit into bad luck all season long. His .286 expected batting average is in the top 11 percent of the league. He's rarely struck out and his whiff rate is in line with MLB's top 12 percent.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets split series with Nationals with encouraging signs
Continue reading...
The Mets conceded 24 runs, and it took a historic 10-run, 12th inning on Monday to grab their only win entering Thursday.
But with a chance to secure a split, the Mets received a bounce-back effort from David Peterson in his return to the starting rotation followed by a lockdown bullpen performance by the conglomerate of Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.
The Mets squeezed a few runs across against Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli in the early going and held on for a 2-1 victory in the series finale in front of 17,291 fans at Nationals Park.
"That's a good team over there," Williams said. "We were able to split with them and come away with two, and we got a long road ahead of us. We just got to keep stacking good days."
The win ensured that the Mets have not dropped a series in their last three. They moved back to 22-28 on the season and 12-7 in the month of May. It was far from the prettiest effort on Thursday, but it salvaged some semblance of momentum on the heels of a 5-1 homestand that included a sweep of the Tigers and series win over the Yankees.
Here were the three most encouraging things from the victory and the series on the whole:
David Peterson finds his footing back as a starter
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The Mets are hoping that Thursday's effort from David Peterson represents a shift back to the pitcher he had been in the first half of last season.
There was a lot of bend-don't-break in that version of the lefty, who earned his first All-Star selection with a 3.06 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in last season's first half. Struggles early in the season had relegated Peterson to a bulk relief role behind an opener where he had flourished, but a matchup with the lefty-heavy Nationals lineup reopened the door for him to take the ball in the first inning.
He wavered early in the first inning, giving up three straight walks but was able to end the Nationals' threat there with a strikeout of Daylen Lile on a slider.
"I felt like I was a little quick," Peterson said. "Tried to kind of settle in, slow myself down within my motion and then continue to try and get ahead with the first pitch and go from there."
The lefty worked around an error and a single in the second inning before a perfect third frame. The lone run came in the fifth inning after back-to-back hits and an RBI groundout by Andres Chaparro. Mark Vientos made a diving stop to his left with a runner at first base to end the fifth and keep the Mets ahead 2-1.
Peterson finished with one earned run allowed on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings. It was the same Nationals lineup that had tagged him for seven earned runs in his last start on April 29. He improved to 3-4 with his first win as a starter. In four appearances in May, Peterson is 3-0 with a 2.50 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 18 innings.
"He's a really good pitcher that went through struggles, but we believe in him," Carlos Mendoza said. "Now it's time for him to continue to do that and he will. He's a big part of this team and we're going to continue to use them."
Devin Williams tweaks setup, finds quality results
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Devin Williams believed he was tipping his pitches.
On the heels of a stretch of eight runs in four outings, Williams made an adjustment. He went from coming set with his hands at his belt to starting in a up higher near his chest and being more conscious of the early part of his delivery.
The results have followed. Following another scoreless outing on Thursday, Williams now has a streak of 10 appearances without allowing an earned run. He has only given up two hits and two walks while striking out 12 batter in 9⅔ innings to lower his ERA from 10.29 to 4.32.
"Feel like I'm on a good streak here," Williams said. "Trying to keep it going."
It could have gone south on Thursday as Williams got a soft pop-up from Lile in shallow center field to begin the ninth. A.J. Ewing sprinted forward, tumbled down but the ball shot free and Lile ended up on second base. He moved to third on a ground ball in the next at-bat but Williams managed to strikeout Jose Tena and pick up a weak ground ball to second to pin down his seventh save.
"Devin gets behind in count (to Tena) and he sticks to the changeup there. 3-1, gets a swing and miss and gets a strikeout," Mendoza said. "I think it just comes down to the (bullpen) executing, but also sticking to what makes them who they are."
Bo Bichette serving as catalyst for Mets offense
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The Mets are finally getting the hitter they believed they had signed as their marquee addition in the offseason.
In the series' four games, Bichette was 8-for-18 with three home runs, five runs and nine RBI. He delivered the game's biggest hit, driving in two runs on a single up the middle off Cavalli in the top of the third inning.
That held up as the game-winning hit, with the Mets pitching staff holding down the Nationals.
"We know he's one of the best hitters with runners. He's been that type of player," Mendoza said. "I think it's just a matter of time. A ground ball found a hole today, but I think you see a player that is confident. He's putting some A swings on good pitches, he's pulling the ball when he needs to. He's using the whole field, like the guy that we all know the type of hitter he is."
Despite a slow start, Bichette leads the Mets with 27 RBI and he's scored 24 runs despite a .604 OPS. But some of the underlying metrics suggest that he's hit into bad luck all season long. His .286 expected batting average is in the top 11 percent of the league. He's rarely struck out and his whiff rate is in line with MLB's top 12 percent.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets split series with Nationals with encouraging signs
Continue reading...
