Mets vs. Rockies Recap: Gray skies are gonna clear up

It was a rain-soaked afternoon in New York, but the wet weather departed in time for the Mets to open up their second half with a 14-2 victory over the Rockies. Jacob deGrom squared off against Jon Gray and the first inning was by no means indicative of how this game would continue.

All-Star Charlie Blackmon led off the game with a single against deGrom. DJ LeMahieu followed with a groundout back to deGrom, but Jose Reyes could not complete the throw to first for the double play. Next, the always-dangerous Nolan Arenado hit a dribbler near the mound that would have been an infield single, but deGrom fielded it and threw it away at first base. The error would cost him and an unearned run would score on Gerardo Parra’s base hit. deGrom escaped further damage, but it was not the opening the Mets wanted to start the second half.

Jon Gray, on the other hand, gave up a hit and a walk with twoouts in the bottom of the inning, but T.J. Rivera grounded out to end the threat.

By the time the third inning rolled around, the fortunes had turned in the Mets’ favor. The Mets were leading 2-1 heading into the inning after they got a couple of bloop hits against Gray in the second. Yoenis Cespedes led off the third with a hustle double, and when he later picked up his second hit of the inning, the Mets were leading 8-1.

Gray did not record an out in the third and left after he gave up an RBI double to Rivera—who now has a nine-game hitting streak—and an RBI single to Jose Reyes. Zac Rosscup attempted to limit the damage after Gray left the game, but Asdrubal Cabrera picked up a two-out hit to bring another two runners home.

Every starter had a hit in this game, and only Jay Bruce and Travis d’Arnaud did not have a multi-hit game. Surprisingly, all of their runs in the third came without a home run, but both T.J. Rivera and Michael Conforto would change that as the game went on. Rivera hit a solo shot in the fifth, and Conforto went to the opposite field for a three-run home run in the seventh.

deGrom also had two hits and an RBI, but his pitching far outshined anything he did at the plate. After that shaky first he dominated the Rockies. He struck out 11 batters and walked one on the way to his 10th win of the year. He only gave up four hits, but he did get into some trouble of his own making in the sixth.

Blackmon led off with a double and LeMahieu walked. deGrom again induced a ground ball, but Cabrera could not place a tag on the runner so he only recorded the out at first. A wild pitch brought Blackmon home, and LeMahieu attempted to score when Parra hit a fly ball to Yoenis Cespedes. Unfortunately for the Rockies, it was Cespedes who was throwing the ball, and LeMahieu was clearly out at the plate even though the home plate umpire ruled he was safe. The Mets challenged the call and won, so only the one run scored during the inning.

After that hiccup deGrom breezed through the seventh and eighth innings, and Josh Edgin finished off the ninth for the 14-2 victory.

The first half ended on an ugly note, and the Mets still have a long way to go, but on days when everything clicks for the Mets, and perhaps if you squint a little bit, their future looks a tad sunnier.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big winners: Jose Reyes +16.2%
Big losers: None
Teh aw3s0mest play: T.J. Rivera double in third
Teh sux0rest play: Gerardo Parra RBI single in first
Total pitcher WPA: +5.3%
Total batter WPA: +44.7%
GWRBI!: Yoenis Cespedes