The New York Mets had a fighter spirit going on last night. They weren’t going to let the Pittsburgh Pirates steal the booty out from under them. Instead, they fought back three times and a little Wilmer Flores blooper helped to defeat the home team 6 – 5.
The Mets came into the game having lost three straight on their 10-game road trip and were sporting a rough 3 – 7 record in their last 10 games. They did snap a 9-game losing streak against the Pirates though.
Noah “Thor” Syndergaard started the game for the Mets and fought hard against the Pirates’ Jameson Taillon, who was making his major league debut (an impressive one at that). Syndergaard went six innings, allowing seven hits, three runs and struck out five.
The Mets runs came at the bats of third basement Ty Kelly, who pounded his first major league homerun in the top of the fourth inning. The Mets were behind 2 – 0 when Kelly hit a fastball over the wall in right field. That homerun also gave the rookie his first career RBI.
“I was happy to just get a hit in the first place, but it was a bigger deal because of the score and everything. That was the first thought that went into my head was, ‘Just tied it up,’ which made it that much more fun,” said Kelly.
In the eighth inning, Michael Conforto’s blasted a two-run homer off Jared Hughes that tied the score 5-5.
In the top of the eighth with the bases loaded, New York Mets coach Terry Collins had the brilliant idea of sending in Wilmer Flores as a pinch hitter and it paid off. His little blooper was just enough to score a run and seal the game.
Well placed, Wilmer. https://t.co/Mg1edNB3Cn #Mets #LGMhttps://t.co/yxMp2tdrmD
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 9, 2016
Wilmer Flores was quoted as saying, “It was definitely a big win for us with all things that have been happening and going on,” said Wilmer Flores, who has been playing third base regularly with David Wright on the disabled list. “To come in and win this game is huge for us — we stayed in the game and we kept pushing, and we got a result.”
The game wasn’t without its share of some controversy, but this time it wasn’t Syndergaard, who had been ejected a few games before for throwing behind Chase Utley. This time it was Jared Hughes who threw behind Yoenis Cespedes in the eighth inning. Probably not wanting to have any issues compared to other games, the home plate umpire Alan Porter immediately took off his mask, threw his finger toward Hughes and issued him a stern warning. He then looked to both benches, issuing similar ‘sit there and behave’ looks and finger pointing. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle came out of the dugout to question the call, but hey at least Hughes didn’t get ejected, right?
But the Pirates right fielder Matt Joyce was ejected, but there was no reason given as to why, but obviously you can see that Joyce said something that ticked off Porter.
The Mets remain in second place, 3.5 games back of the Nationals and 2.5 games ahead of the third-place Marlins.
The Mets will also welcome back infielder Kelly Johnson, who was obtained from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league right-handed Akeel Morris and some cash. It was the second time that Johnson had been acquired by the Mets in only a year. “It’s an ideal move for me, because I was with the Mets last year,” Johnson said. “It’s exciting, and hopefully we can go one step further this year.”
Terry Collins anticipates that Johnson will start primarily as a pinch hitter, but also should see time at first and second base. He was hitting .215 with one homer and 10 RBIs in 121 at-bats this season. This move should help strengthen the Mets infield, especially after losing both the Mets third baseman David Wright, and first baseman Lucas Duda to the disabled list.
The Mets play tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers at 8:10 pm in Milwaukee with Bartolo Colon on the mound against right-handed pitcher Jimmy Nelson.
