Game Recap: Mets Take Down Nationals On Back Of Polar Bear Slam

It was a slugfest down in Port St. Lucie on Thursday afternoon, as the New York Mets defeated the division rival Washington Nationals, 8-4, on the back of three home runs.

Pitching

Sophomore left-hander David Peterson made the start for the Mets and picked up where he left off last season with two innings of shutout baseball. Peterson surrendered just one hit and one hit-by-pitch over his two frames, throwing 26 pitches – 16 of which were strikes.

Jeurys Familia took over on the bump in the third, and was not all that impressive, as he struggled with his control. Familia walked two batters and threw 31 total pitches, only 19 of which were strikes, before getting out of his self-created jam via fly out off the bat of veteran Ryan Zimmerman.

Newly acquired lefty Aaron Loup took to the mound in the fourth and struck out Carter Kieboom looking while allowing just one hit. Mets catcher James McCann showed off his arm in the inning as well, firing a bullet to Luis Guillorme at second base to catch Andrew Stevenson on an attempted steal.

It was Dellin Betances’ turn in the fifth, and the big man struggled immensely. After two quick outs, Betances issued a walk to the speedy Victor Robles, who subsequently stole second base. Josh Harrison followed that up with a double to left field that was misplayed by Drew Ferguson, allowing Robles to score and tie the game. Betances then walked Kyle Schwarber to put two runners on for Zimmerman, who crushed a 2-0 pitch and sent it the opposite way for a three-run shot, putting the Nationals up, 4-1.

Trevor May had his chance in the sixth, and despite a leadoff walk to Yan Gomes, was effective; he retired three batters in a row to end the inning after issuing the free pass.

Robert Gsellman was handed the ball in the seventh and seemed to struggle with his control, allowing two hits and walking one to load the bases with one gone. Still, he made a nice pitch to induce a double play, which ended the threat. Stephen Tarpley and Sean Reid-Foley took the eighth and ninth, respectively, and both tossed scoreless frames to secure the victory for the Mets.

Offense

The bats – or should I say, the bat – got started early in Thursday’s contest, as Brandon Nimmo took an inside pitch and absolutely drilled it off the right-field foul pole for a leadoff home run, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. That would be the only run for the Mets in the opening inning, as Dominic Smith flew out to center in his first at-bat of the spring.

The Mets threatened in the second and third, securing leadoff baserunners in both frames, but failed to move them around, leaving them stranded in back-to-back innings. Nimmo did pick up another hit in the third on a sharp grounder through the left side of the infield.

McCann got on base for the second time off of a single in the fourth, but a Jonathan Villar fly out and a Guillorme groundout ended the inning.

Down 4-1 entering the fifth is when the bats really decided to come alive. Ferguson started the rally with a single to right field, and Nimmo got on base in his third straight at-bat with a walk. Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch, and after a Smith strikeout, it was the Polar Bear who was prepared to punish the Nationals. Pete Alonso swatted the ball 113 miles per hour off of his bat for an opposite-field grand slam that landed an impressive 428 feet away from home plate.

The offense chilled out in the sixth, and it looked to remain that way until Jake Hager decided he had had enough quiet time in the seventh. With two gone in the frame and Brett Baty on first base, Hager crushed a ball to left field, increasing the Mets’ lead to 7-4.

The Mets got some help from some poor Washington relief pitching in the eighth, as four walks in the inning secured one more insurance run, and the Mets ran away with the game, 8-4.

On Deck

The Mets are off Friday before heading to West Palm Beach, Florida, to take on the Astros on Saturday evening, with the game scheduled to begin at 6:05 pm EST.

The post Game Recap: Mets Take Down Nationals On Back Of Polar Bear Slam first appeared on Metsmerized Online.