That Michael Conforto swing. It’s almost impossible to watch the Mets’ left fielder hit and not acknowledge his impressive plate skills, even if he isn’t hitting. However, last night, he connected left and right (well mostly right) to power the Mets and Zack Wheeler to a convincing 9-4 victory over the collapsing Philadelphia Phillies.
An Austin Jackson double got the Mets on the board against Jake Arrieta in the first, but after that the scorching hot Wheeler and talented Arrieta settled down…until the fifth.
The visiting Mets put up a three-spot thanks to an Amed Rosario sacrifice fly and 2-RBI single that scored Wheeler and one of the best hitters in all of baseball in the last month, Jeff McNeil.
Unfortunately for Wheeler, he totally lost command in the fifth inning and hit two batters before allowing a three-run triple to the weak-hitting J.P. Crawford, which was followed by a sacrifice fly to even up the game at four apiece.
But thankfully for New York, Conforto, an integral part of the Mets’ future, delivered again socking a double to take the lead in the seventh inning.
Wheeler, who had settled down immediately, then proceeded to pitch as he did the first four innings and put himself in position for his 12th victory of the season, which he eventually earned.
After Robert Gsellman hurled a scoreless eighth, the man of the night, Conforto, demolished Austin Davis with a three-run homer to cap the game off in exciting fashion. Of course, no inning would be complete without mentioning the fact that McNeil had prolonged the inning with his third hit of the game and eventually scored on Conforto’s blast.
Though Wheeler wavered in the fifth, his ability to settle down is what has impressed many throughout this second half. The comeback player of the second half allowed just three hits and three walks in seven innings of four-run ball. Regardless of the difficult frame, it was a productive outing for Wheeler.
Over the recent weeks, there have been some promising wins for the Mets and this was certainly one of them.
FINAL
NYM – 9
PHI – 4
Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports