Mets vs. Padres Recap: Yo’ a single shy, Sewald pitches two strong

On the back of Yoenis Cespedes, the New York Mets defeated the San Diego Padres 6-5.

Cespedes led the offensive charge with a solo home run in the first inning. For Cespedes, who had been mired somewhat in a slump recently, it was his first home run in his last 87 at-bats. Yo’ finished the night 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

San Diego countered in the bottom of the second inning, as Hunter Renfroe hit a solo home run, his 20th of the season. Lugo allowed a single to Manuel Margot, and then allowed yet another home run to Allen Cordoba to give the Padres a 3-1 lead.

During the fourth inning, Padres starter Kyle Lloyd allowed back to back singles to Jay Bruce and T.J. Rivera. Travis d’Arnaud hit an RBI single to plate Bruce before Lloyd struck out Lugo to end the inning.

The top of the fifth inning brought more runs for the Mets, as potential trade material Curtis Granderson and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a pair of doubles to add a run and make the score 3-3. With Cabrera on second, Lloyd was replaced by Kirby Yates, who hit a double to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. Bruce hit into a double play and Rivera struck out to end the frame.

The Mets found themselves in some defensive trouble during the bottom of the fifth, as Matt Szczur beat a throw from Jose Reyes to make his way to first base. With scouts watching, Jose Pirela then reached on an error from Cabrera. A long fly ball from Carlos Asuaje moved both runners over, and Wil Myers hit a sacrifice fly to bring the score back to 4-4.

Despite his troubles with the long ball, Lugo was adequate tonight, earning a quality start while only striking out one batter. During the bottom of the sixth, Granderson singled off reliever Jose Torres. Cespedes continued his break-out game on a wild play, as he hit a triple off a check swing and then scored on a throwing error from Myers to put the Mets ahead 6-4. This “little league” home run was the third from the Mets in the last eighth days. Cespedes was pulled after the play, on which he had to gut out the run and make two slides—one of which was headfirst into home. He was replaced in left field by Michael Conforto.

Paul Sewald relieved Lugo, and pitched two very effective innings, striking out three in the process. Sewald has a 2.31 ERA in his last ten starts, with 14 strikeouts and a 0.77 WHIP during that time span. Should the Mets trade Addison Reed in the coming days, Sewald should definitely see some consideration as a closer, if only temporarily.

Reed entered to close the game, and allowed a single to Cory Spangenberg on a hit that was deflected by Reed and thrown to first late by Rivera. Rivera redeemed himself quickly, making an impressive behind-the-back catch in foul territory to collect the first out. Reed coaxed a fly out from Jabari Blash, but allowed a double to Dustin Coleman to cut the Mets lead to just one run. A ground out from Jose Pirela coupled with a strong throw from Cabrera ended the game and gave the Mets the win.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Yoenis Cespedes +55.5% WPA
Big losers: Seth Lugo -19.5% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Yoenis Cespedes seventh inning triple +35.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Lucas Duda lineout to short in the fourth innin -6.7% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +4.5%
Total batter WPA: +45.5%
GWRBI!: Yoenis Cespedes seventh inning triple