Mets vs. Orioles Recap: deGromination, runs, and a bullpen hiccup

Not all wins are flawless, but the Mets played well for the grand majority of their game in Baltimore before a bullpen hiccup in the ninth inning made things interesting for a few minutes. The Mets led from the very beginning of the game, as Curtis Granderson hit a leadoff home run in the first, and they built a fairly comfortable lead by the time the game reached the ninth.

Of course, Jacob deGrom was great. He pitched seven-and-two-thirds innings, allowed only one run, struck out six, and walked one. As a result, he now has a 1.98 ERA on the season, which is still the second-best mark in baseball among starting pitchers but is awfully impressive. The only run he allowed came on a solo home run by Gerardo Parra in the sixth inning.

On top of Granderson’s first-inning home run, the Mets scored on a Daniel Murphy double in the third. That brought home Wilmer Flores from first base, though he could very well have been thrown out at home plate if the Orioles hadn’t botched the relay on a throw to the cutoff man. They scored again on another solo home run by Granderson in the fifth inning, a ball that just cleared the fence in center field and was just out of the reach of a leaping Adam Jones.

Parra hit the aforementioned home run in the sixth, but deGrom got through the rest of that inning, the seventh, and two outs of the eight before allowing a single. That prompted Terry Collins to make a call to the bullpen, and Tyler Clippard retired Parra to end the inning.

With the Mets up by two runs, Jeurys Familia warmed up in the bullpen. But after the team scored a couple of insurance runs, negating the save situation, Familia sat down, leaving Clippard to begin the ninth. He got an out, walked a batter, and allowed a single. That ended his night, and Familia came in to the game.

Familia struck out the first batter he faced and got a ground ball to second from the next, but he and Lucas Duda got to the bag at first base to cover at the same time, and as Duda caught the throw from Kelly Johnson, his foot came off the bag. With the bases loadead, Familia walked the Orioles’ eighth and ninth hitters to force in two runs. But he got Manny Machado to ground out to third to end the game.

The Mets and Orioles play again tomorrow at 7:05 PM EDT. Noah Syndergaard is set to make the start for New York as the team continues its attempt to win the National League East. Hey, that sounds pretty great.

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Win Probability Added

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Big winners: Jacob deGrom, +33.7% WPA, Curtis Granderson, +18.0% WPA, Daniel Murphy, +11.6% WPA
Big losers: none
Teh aw3s0mest play: Manny Machado grounds out with the bases loaded to end the game, +16.2% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Gerardo Parra hits a solo home run in the sixth, -8.4% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +38.9% WPA
Total batter WPA: +11.1% WPA
GWRBI!: Daniel Murphy, sac fly in the ninth