Mets vs. Cardinals Recap: Trade chips show off power

After looking utterly lost in the first two games of the series, the Mets won their final two games against the Cardinals this season, capped off by a walk-off 3-2 win today at Citi Field.

Seth Lugo started for the Mets, and looked far better than a pitcher with a slight UCL tear has any business looking, going six and two-thirds innings, only giving up one run and one walk while striking out five. That one walk proved detrimental to Lugo, who walked Matt Carptenter in the top of the 6th, only to have Tommy Pham double him home on the next at-bat.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn had his second straight good start against the Mets, going six innings, giving up only one run, walking one, and striking out five. He and Lugo were remarkably similar in their lines today, with Lugo getting a slight edge due to his extra two outs recorded.

Pham wasn’t done terrorizing the Mets, as he hit a solo home run off of Erik Goeddel in the eighth inning. Goeddel then gave up a single, but was saved by Rene Rivera throwing out Dexter Fowler at second on an attempted steal. Addison Reed got the win, pitching a perfect ninth inning, eliciting three weak outs. Rumors seem to indicate that Reed’s days as a Met are numbered, and outings like this can only bolster his trade value.

Speaking of trade value, two of the Mets who will likely draw some trade interest, Lucas Duda and Wilmer Flores, both hit solo home runs this afternoon.

In the bottom of the ninth, Michael Conforto continued his excellent day at the plate with a walk - he went 2-2 with a single, double, and two walks - before being erased on a Yoenis Cespedes fielder's choice. Duda flied out, and then T.J. Rivera - another Met with trade rumors floating around him - singled, sending Cespedes to third.

A Met with no trade value, Jose Reyes, provided the walk-off win with a well-struck ball hit down the line, behind first base. If Trevor Rosenthal had covered first, the game would have gone into extra innings, but Rosethal froze, allowing Reyes to reach safely and knock in Cespedes.

This weekend, the Mets welcome the Oakland Athletics to Queens, where Steven Matz hopes to put his previous, disastrous, start behind him against rookie Paul Blackburn.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Wilmer Flores +33.2% WPA, Jose Reyes +31.6% WPA, Seth Lugo +18.6% WPA, Michael Conforto +16.3% WPA, Addison Reed +12.8% WPA,
Big losers: Erik Goeddel -14.1% WPA, Yoenis Cespedes -13.9% WPA, Curtis Granderson -10.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jose Reyes’s game-winning single
Teh sux0rest play: Tommy Pham’s home run
Total pitcher WPA: +17.3% WPA
Total batter WPA: +32.7& WPA
GWRBI!: Jose Reyes