The Mets, despite an unprecedented wave of injuries, will resume their season on Friday with a 3.5 game lead over the Phillies in the NL East, and have spent more time in first than any season since 2015.
With their string of success has come multiple memorable finishes, so while the baseball world remains dormant until the conclusion of the All-Star break, let’s revisit five of the best games of New York’s season so far:
Dominant deGrom
Jacob deGrom’s otherworldly season has been the highlight of the Mets season so far, but his start against the Nationals on April 23 was the best of all.
Pitching a complete game shutout while allowing just two hits and no walks, deGrom fanned a career-high 15 batters, reaching that mark by striking out Kyle Schwarber looking in the seventh, finishing off a stretch of six straight strikeouts.
Oh, he also went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI single in what was a 6-0 win. The run-scoring base hit broke a scoreless tie, so deGrom basically won this game all on his own.
The GOAT outduels Snell
Mets fans were anxious to see their ace take on Blake Snell in a tough test against the Padres on June 11, and deGrom didn’t disappoint, throwing six scoreless innings before leaving with flexor tendonitis. But before that unexpected exit, deGrom was mowing down a potent San Diego offense, striking out 10 while allowing just one hit and no walks.
After matching zeroes with deGrom for the first four innings, Snell faltered in the fifth, with the Mets taking a 3-0 lead on an RBI double by Billy McKinney and a two-run single by who else, deGrom.
Miguel Castro immediately surrendered a two-run home run in relief of deGrom to shrink the lead to 3-2, but Seth Lugo and Aaron Loup helped bridge the gap from deGrom to Edwin Diaz, who allowed one hit and no walks in 1.1 innings to seal the victory.
Phils bullpen does Phils bullpen things
The Mets offense was in a brutal funk in late June, but the offense did just enough to secure a dramatic walk-off victory against the Phillies on June 25. Trailing 1-0 after starting pitcher Aaron Nola hit an RBI double off All-Star Taijuan Walker in the fifth, New York was down to its final out in the bottom of the seventh (the first game of a doubleheader) when the struggling Francisco Lindor came through with a base hit to center to score Luis Guillorme and force extra innings.
After Seth Lugo pitched a scoreless eighth, Dominic Smith ended things quickly with a base hit to walk it off for the Mets, who beat the Phillies on another walk-off the very next day.
Subway stunner
The Mets offense surprisingly knocked Yankee ace Gerrit Cole around in the first game of a Fourth of July doubleheader, but the Yanks still held a one-run lead going into the seventh, with struggling closer Aroldis Chapman on the mound.
The lefty’s struggles only got worse.
Pete Alonso immediately tied the game as the first batter of the seventh, rocking a solo homer to left, and the floodgates were opened. Chapman departed after a hit by pitch and a walk, and three straight hits by Jose Peraza, Brandon Nimmo and Lindor later in the inning helped cap off a six-run frame to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 10-5 win.
Drinking the Haderade
Another seven-inning thriller makes the list, and this would have been a hard one to leave off. Trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh, the Mets were tasked with pushing a run across against Brewers reliever Josh Hader, who hadn’t blown a save all season. But that streak ended on July 7, when Peraza lifted a game-tying home run to left to force extra innings.
Diaz plunked Christian Yelich with the bases loaded to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead in the eighth, but the Mets quickly loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom half of the inning before Jeff McNeil won it with a two-run single off Brent Suter.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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