No quit in New York moved from Manhattan to the Bronx late last month, and then it was on to Queens (in theory) on Tuesday night, as the Mets rallied from down 3-2 with one out in the ninth to defeat the Reds 8-3 in 10 innings.
“We know we’re capable of this; teams will make adjustments as the season goes on, but this does nothing but add confidence to our offense,” Brandon Nimmo said after the win. “Very important win, because Cincinnati made us scratch and claw for everything we got in this series.”
The Mets led 1-0 after one but the game could’ve gone sideways quickly; David Peterson, who returned from paternity leave in time to make the start, had issues with his control and lasted just 3 2/3 innings, leaving in a 3-2 hole after throwing 93 pitches – but Adonis Medina and Collin Holderman combined for 4 1/3 scoreless, and that’s when the Mets’ offense took over.
The Mets had the tying run on base in three straight innings from the fifth through the seventh, but waited until the ninth, when Starling Marte’s one-out double scored Nimmo from first. Adam Ottavino pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to send it to extras, and after Jeff McNeil popped out for the first out of the 10th, Dom Smith plated what would be the winning run, lacing a double to right that scored automatic runner Ender Inciarte.
“I feel like I’ve been having consistent at-bats, and I just want to keep doing that and keep putting myself in position to hit the ball hard,” Smith said. “Every time I look up I see we have guys on base, and that has done wonders for me. It’s a testament to our lineup, and they open up the game for me and make it easier for me, so I just try to do my part.”
After Eduardo Escobar flied out for the second out, though, the Mets poured it on. Cincinnati intentionally walked Luis Guillorme to face James McCann with a force everywhere, but McCann doubled in Smith to make it 5-3, and Nimmo followed with a three-run homer to bust it open.
“It was really important for us; even though it’s Cincy and a hitter’s ballpark, if you’re not finding the barrel, it’s tough to get hits,” Nimmo said. “We’re a good offense and we know it, we just couldn’t come through with the big hit against those guys the last two days. I don’t even come up to bat if Dom and James don’t come through.”
A 1-2-3 three-strikeout inning from Edwin Diaz later, the Mets had the series win, a relief after they entered the series 4-6 in their last 10 and were shut out in the middle game Tuesday night.
“To get to our end goal, we’re going to need wins like this,” Smith said. “It’s a part of being a good team. It’s not always going to be pretty, but if we can find ways to win ball games and keep grinding, we know we’ll get to where we want to be.”
Better late than never, especially for the Mets when it came to RISP situations: they entered the game 16-for-100 over their last 100 at-bats with runners in scoring position (going back to June 20), but went 5-for-15 Tuesday, including 3-for-5 in the tenth inning.
“It’s a testament to our willingness to never quit and the work we put in every day,” Smith added after the game. “We’ve been struggling the last week or so, but we’ve just been trying to put together quality at-bats and do what we did earlier in the year: pass the baton to the next guy and trust each person behind us to get the job done.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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