It was a matchup of southpaws on Monday night in Los Angeles, as the Mets sent Steven Matz to the mound to face Scott Kazmir in their first showdown since the controversial 2015 NLDS. Neither pitcher was on the absolute top of his game, but the Mets were able to take advantage of a couple mistakes from Kazmir early on. Those poor pitches turned out to be the difference in the game, giving the Mets a hard-fought 4-2 victory.
Curtis Granderson set the tone for the evening on the very first pitch. The right fielder demolished Kazmir’s offering, sending it over the wall in right center field for his sixth homer of the season. The blast was Granderson’s second leadoff homer of the season and the 37th in his impressive career. Granderson entered the night with only three hits in May, but he added a single later on for his first multi-hit game since April 26 . Hopefully, this was the game that will help him shake off the inconsistency and get going in 2016.
After a scoreless first from Matz in which he stranded Howie Kendrick in scoring position by inducing grounders from Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner, the Mets tacked onto their lead thanks to an unlikely source. Backup catcher Kevin Plawecki has seen more time than expected early thanks to the injury to Travis d’Arnaud. Nevertheless, Plawecki smacked a deep drive to left field that soared out for his first home run of 2016 and first since September 27, 2015 against the Reds. Any kind of production the Mets get out of Plawecki while d’Arnaud remains on the shelf will be appreciated, and he certainly delivered off Kazmir. The Mets now lead the majors with 49 long balls.
Matz threw another scoreless inning, and the Mets pushed another run across for him in the third as they added to the picket fence on the Dodger Stadium scoreboard. With one out, Kazmir drilled Asdrubal Cabrera, who shook off the pain to move to second on a passed ball by A.J. Ellis. David Wright walked and then Yoenis Cespedes delivered, slapping an RBI single to left center field to score Cabrera. The Mets really had an opportunity to blow the game open when Lucas Duda walked to load the bases, but Cespedes was doubled off second base by Kike Hernandez after the latter made a running catch on a Juan Lagares blooper.
The Dodgers put several runners on base against Matz but he held strong against them, save for inning. That one misstep came in the fourth. Turner hit a one-out single to right, and after a fly ball from Yasiel Puig, center field Trayce Thompson connected for his third homer of the season, a bomb to right field. Matz allowed a couple more singles but, undeterred, he ended up stranding Ellis on third base to end the inning by striking out Kazmir.
Matz and the bullpen would only receive one insurance run from the offense, and it was hand-gifted by Kendrick. Kazmir retired eight batters in a row until he issued a free pass to Wilmer Flores with two outs in the sixth. Plawecki hit a routine ground ball to Kendrick at second base that seemed like it would easily end the inning, but the veteran uncharacteristically bobbled it. Everyone was safe and the capable Matz made his mound opponent pay with a double down the left field line to score Flores and make it 4-2. That was the end of the night for Kazmir, as Adam Liberatore entered from the bullpen to retire Granderson on a grounder to escape further damage. After the RBI double, Matz capped his evening with a perfect sixth inning. Terry Collins elected to pull him before he could start his seventh, as 98 pitches and six innings of two-run ball were enough for him. Thompson’s homer was really the only blemish on his record, and the southpaw struck out five batters as well.
Hansel Robles retired the side in order in the seventh, but Antonio Bastardo needed a little pick-me-up in the eighth. With one out, Gonzalez reached on a weird error by Lagares and Turner walked to put the tying run on first and the go-ahead run at the plate in the form of the ever-dangerous Puig. Jim Henderson relieved Bastardo and struck Puig out before getting a foul pop from Thompson to escape the threat.
Jeurys Familia had no such problems in the ninth inning. He struck out pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal, induced a grounder from Mets nemesis Chase Utley, and retired Corey Seager on a deep drive to right-center field, ending the game. Thanks to the victory, the Mets kept pace with the Nationals with their 20th win of the season. They will go for number 21 tomorrow night with Jacob deGrom facing Alex Wood.
Photo credit: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports