Mets score sixteen runs in rout of Orioles

Over the past few weeks, Zack Wheeler has become a reason to tune in to watch the Mets. But last night, he was merely pedestrian, while the team’s offense took off, scoring five runs through the first five innings before exploding for a nine-run sixth. They tacked on a couple more in the ninth, too.

To be clear, Wheeler wasn’t bad. He gave up just one run, but he used 95 pitches to get through five innings. He struck out three, walked two, and gave up five hits. The Orioles weren’t really doing anything damaging, but they were making Wheeler work hard to get outs against a team that was already bad before trading away Manny Machado and a bunch of other players. If this is Wheeler at his worst now, it’s a good problem to have.

Brandon Nimmo had quite a night, though. He went 5-for-5 with a couple of doubles, a triple, and was hit by a pitch to make for six times on base in six plate appearances. His line for the season sits at .263/.387/.503 as a result, and he scored three runs and drove in three runs in the game.

While every Mets player who stepped into the box had at least one hit, including Jack Reinheimer’s first-ever major league hit, a couple of other players stood out. Wilmer Flores went 2-for-5 with a home run and drove in three runs, and Todd Frazier went 3-for-6 with a home run and drove in four. Kevin Plawecki hit a grand slam, too, making for a more-impressive-than-average 1-for-4 night.

The Orioles never came close to getting back in the game, but after Jerry Blevins threw a scoreless sixth, Tim Peterson gave up one run in the seventh and three more in the eighth. Drew Smith pitched the ninth without issue, though, closing out one of the Mets’ few blowout victories of this season.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Brandon Nimmo, +21.9% WPA, Zack Wheeler, +17.0% WPA, Todd Frazier, +12.1% WPA
Big losers: Michael Conforto, -10.3% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Austin Wynns grounds into a double play in the fourth, +9.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Adam Jones singles to drive in a run in the first, -7.9% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +17.4% WPA
Total batter WPA: +32.6% WPA
GWRBI!: Brandon Nimmo