Some people say it’s better to be lucky than good. Well, it’s not fair to say the Mets aren’t good, but they sure got lucky tonight in facing a painfully mediocre Angels team, whose bullpen and defense, which are a big reason they are under .500, helped gift New York a 7-5 win.
Kodai Senga took the mound for New York, his second start since returning from the IL and first time on the mound in ten days. It took him 22 pitches to get through the first as he navigated a lead-off walk, In the second,
he allowed a solo home run to Logan O’Hoppe—the catcher had gone 63 at-bats in between home runs—but otherwise needed 14 pitches to get through the second. The solo homer continued a trend for Senga, as a majority of the homers he’s surrendered in his career have been with nobody on base.
Senga really ran into a wall in the third however, and it would be his final inning of the inning. It took him 37 pitches to slog through the third, and he was tagged for three runs, breaking his streak of 31 straight starts without allowing more than three earned runs—tied for the second-longest such streak in franchise history. Things began innocently enough with a Luis Rengifo single, but he retired the next two batters. With a chance to escape the inning unscathed, he walked Mike Trout, and Taylor Ward doubled both players home. On the plate, Francisco Lindor had a chance to gun down Trout at home, but his throw sailed way over Francisco Alvarez’s head. Jo Adell then brought home the fourth Angels run. Senga ended up walking three and allowing four hits while striking out five in three innings of work, as his ERA jumped to 1.79 with the three runs allowed.
The Mets’ offense, meanwhile, was quiet against Tyler Anderson in the first three innings, but finally began chipping away in the fourth, as Jeff McNeil walked with one out, and Brett Baty brought them both home with his 11th home run of the season. The Mets went quietly in the fifth and sixth innings, with just a Pete Alonso walk coming in either inning.
The Mets’ bullpen, with Senga’s early exit, had a lot to do. Kevin Herget, who is back with the club, played a vital role, tossing 2 1⁄3 scoreless innings to keep things close. Chris Devenski followed him, entering with one out in the sixth, and closed out the inning, but he ran into trouble in the seventh. He allowed a leadoff single to Zach Neto, who was throwing out trying to steal a base. That caught stealing loomed large, as Devenski walked Nolan Schanuel, hit Trout with a pitch, and allowed a run-scoring hit to Ward. Huascar Brazobán was called upon to clean up his mess, and on the next batter, Jo Adell hit a grounder to third and Baty gunned Trout down at the plate. Brazobán then struck out Yoán Moncada to end the inning.
Keeping those extra runs off the board allowed the Mets to tie it up in the seventh. The Angels tried to stretch Anderson into the seventh, but it ended up being a costly decision. Alvarez led off with a walk and Luisangel Acuña followed with a single, which led to Anderson’s exit. Reid Detmers entered and immediately hit Brandon Nimmo to load the bases. Francisco Lindor, who came to the plate mired in an 0-for-24 stretch, reached on a fielder’s choice as he drove in his 55th run of the season. Lindor stole second without a throw, and Juan Soto brought both Acuña and Lindor home on a single up the middle to tie up the contest. The Mets would not get any closer, but it was a brand new ballgame for the Mets.
After Brooks Raley pitched his second consecutive scoreless inning since returning from Tommy John Surgery, the Mets got to work against new Angels’ pitcher José Fermin. After Mark Vientos lined up to begin the inning, Baty walked, and Alvarez hit a double to right that was badly misplayed by Chris Taylor, who entered the game late. With Ronny Mauricio called upon to pinch hit, Los Angeles went with Brock Burke to turn Mauricio around to the right side. Mauricio hit a grounder to third, which Yoán Moncada snagged, but he rushed the throw and tossed it wide and O’Hoppe could not handle it, which allowed Baty to score. Nimmo followed up with a sacrifice fly to build a two-run lead.
With a two-run lead, Edwin Díaz entered looking to shut the door following his second blown save of the year and get the Mets a second straight win. After falling behind 2-0 on Schanuel, he recovered to throw three straight strikes. He then blew Trout away on three straight fastballs after falling behind 1-0 to pick up the second out. With just Ward standing in between the Mets and a win, Díaz froze Ward on a slider to strike out the side and close out the game.
The Mets could not regain first place in the NL East because the Phillies beat the Red Sox in ten, but the Mets kept pace with their division rivals with the win. They’ll look to make it three straight wins as they turn to Frankie Montas tomorrow night.
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fangraphs.comBig Mets winner: Juan Soto, +19.2% WPA
Big Mets loser: Kodai Senga, -25.7% WPA
Mets pitchers: +56.1% WPA
Mets hitters: -6.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Juan Soto game-tying single in the seventh, +23.0% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Taylor Ward two-run double in the third inning, -19.0% WPA
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