Mets vs. Rockies Recap: Mets come back to win against Rockies bullpen

The Mets turned a late deficit into a lead last night and beat the Rockies in the first game of a four-game series. Combine Colorado’s bad record on the year with the fact that they traded Troy Tulowitzki away at the deadline, and this series gives the Mets the chance to put some wins in the bank.

Travis d’Arnaud put the Mets on the board first with a solo home run in the second inning, but Rockies rookie Jon Gray didn’t allow another run—or even another hit—through the sixth inning. Jon Niese had another good start, allowing two runs with five strikeouts and no walks in seven innings of work. Both of those runs scored on a Carlos Gonzalez home run in the fourth inning. Gray, however, was on a pitch count, which gave the Mets the opportunity to face Colorado’s bullpen for the rest of the game. They took advantage.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Travis d’Arnaud singled. He moved to second on a wild pitch, and Michael Conforto drew a walk. Juan Uribe pinch hit for Niese and popped out, but Ruben Tejada walked, too, and Colorado turned to lefty Boone Logan to face Curtis Granderson. He worked the count full before he was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run. And Daniel Murphy finished the job with a soft single that made its way past a diving Jose Reyes to plate the Mets’ third and fourth runs of the night.

That two-run lead held up just fine, as Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect eighth inning, and Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect ninth. He struck out the last two batters he faced, and his stuff looked as dominant as it ever has in the process.

Out in California, the Nationals beat the Dodgers pretty handily. That leaves the Mets’ lead in the division at one-and-a-half games. And while the division is clearly the preferred route into the postseason, it’s still worth monitoring the Wild Card standings, where the Mets would be three games back of the Cubs and a half-game ahead of the Giants if they were not leading the division.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Purple Row GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: Daniel Murhy, +22.3% WPA, Travis d’Arnaud, +19.1% WPA, Ruben Tejada, +11.8% WPA, Curtis Granderson, +10.0% WPA
Big losers: Juan Uribe, -9.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy’s two-run single in the seventh, +29.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Carlos Gonzlaez’s two-run home run in the fourth, -24.4% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +13.6% WPA
Total batter WPA: +36.4% WPA
GWRBI!: Daniel Murphy