The Mets are going to win the National League East. It’s been true for a while now, probably since the end of the team’s three-game sweep of the Nationals earlier this month. But with a win last night and a Nationals loss, the Mets’ magic number to clinch the division now stands at three.
Steven Matz got the start in the first game of a four-game series in Cincinnati last night. He struck out eight and didn’t walk anyone in five-and-two-thirds innings, but he gave up three runs on ten hits. The first one scored in the first inning, but the Mets answered not long after that with three runs in the third.
Matz got that inning started with an infield single, and after advancing on a Curtis Granderson ground out, he scored on a David Wright double. And later in the inning, Yoenis Cespedes hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, and Lucas Duda hit a hard double to put the Mets up 3-1.
Matz gave up a run in the fifth and another in the sixth before Terry Collins went to the bullpen. Erik Goeddel got the third out of the sixth inning, Addison Reed threw a scoreless seventh inning, Hansel Robles gave up one run in the eighth after an awkward non-quick-pitch call, and Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless ninth.
As for the Mets’ offense, it scored three runs in the seventh on a triple by Murphy that scored Granderson, a singe by Cespedes, and another Duda double. All three hits were hit hard.
The team’s series continues this evening with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. And after that, the team has Matt Harvey—for a short start, presumably—and Jacob deGrom lined up to start the other two games of the series.
SB Nation GameThreads
* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Red Reporter GameThread
Win Probability Added
Big winners: Daniel Murphy, +31.1% WPA, Lucas Duda, +20.5% WPA, Yoenis Cespedes, +12.9% WPA
Big losers: Steven Matz, -17.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy triples in the go-ahead run in the seventh, +25.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Adam Duvall ties the game with a single in the sixth, -19.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -2.1% WPA
Total batter WPA: +52.1% WPA
GWRBI!: Yoenis Cespedes