MLB: New York Mets at San Diego Padres

Game recap July 24: Shades of angst

Mets 5, Padres 3, Final

Last night was the kind of start that epitomizes Mets fans’ agony; a starter provided a superlative outing, but instead of making for an enjoyable watchable game, it only makes the Flushing faithful dream about what might have been this summer. Jacob deGrom provided eight stingy innings, allowing two earned runs (including a Hunter Renfroe solo homer) over eight innings and 100 pitches. (Renfroe would add another solo home run in the ninth.)

The Mets led off the scoring with a Wilmer Flores home run in the second inning, and never looked back, tacking on runs with RBI knocks by Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce in the third. Bruce would have another run batted in on the night while Jose Reyes, who we have seen in these parts before, stole his 500th career base in the 8th inning, and was subsequently driven in by Travis d’Arnaud for the Mets’ fifth run.

Things got messy in the ninth, as Addison Reed had his second shaky outing in a row, allowing a leadoff home run to Renfroe to dead center and back-to-back singles. Things got weird when pinch hitter Jabari Blash sent a ball just foul of the right field pole, but the crew required a video review to make the call. (Reed struck him out on the next pitch.) Reed induced a fly ball from Matt Szczur to end the game, and his 17th save of the season.

Competent outing or no, the Nationals’ lead on the NL East seems insurmountable, and minds begin to focus on next summer. Asdrubal Cabrera continued to be an excellent trade showcase by reaching base four times, and Addison Reed emerged from a messy ninth with another save.

The series continues Tuesday at 10:10 p.m. ET, with Seth Lugo (4-2, 4.05) taking on Jhoulys Chacin (9-7, 4.26).

Photo credit: Jake Roth – USA Today Sports

Related Articles

Leave a comment

Use your Baseball Prospectus username