deGrom shut down the Padres on an early afternoon at Citi

There are a few days that just can’t be ruined, or else it seems like the universe is off its kilter: a child’s birthday, the day a couple gets married and, of course, Kidcaster day. The Mets did their part to keep the world spinning, as they handily defeated the Padres on Kidcaster day 4-0, bringing smiles to all, most especially this year’s Kidcaster, Caden Phillip.

Phillip, whose baseball knowledge is such that he acknowledged Johan Santanta’s “no hitter” due to Carlos Beltran’s fair ball, did a fine job calling an atypical bottom of the third inning, where he called a pitching change and a strike ‘em out/throw ‘em out double play. In the jaded hellscape we call Earth, the Kidcaster is one of the pure joys that is out there.

Cherish the Kidcaster.

Oh, there was a game today, too! Jacob deGrom continued his recent run of excellent starting pitching by blanking the Padres for seven innings today, striking out nine along the way. Even though he appeared to be suffering some sort of discomfort, his performance didn’t show that at all. Only one batter reached second base against deGrom, and he looked totally in command all day.

His San Diego counterpart, Eric Lauer, had a rougher day at the ballpark. After retiring Amed Rosario for the first out of the game, the next six batters all either got hits or drove in runs off of Lauer. J.D. Davis, starting in place of Jeff McNeil, walked, and went to third on a Pete Alonso single. Wilson Ramos then drove in Davis with a long sacrifice fly. Robinson Cano singled, and Todd Frazier drove in both Cano and Alonso with a double. Michael Conforto singled before Lauer finally got through the inning.

The rest of the day was one of missed opportunities for the Mets. They loaded the bases in the second and seventh, put two on in the third and the sixth, and had a single baserunner in every other inning, but never scored, despite knocking out Lauer in the third inning.

Thankfully, the Mets’ first inning runs were enough, with Seth Lugo contributing a perfect eighth inning to the cause. Edwin Diaz started the ninth inning, but after giving up a single to Manny Machado that deflected off of Diaz’s foot, he was removed from the game. Thankfully, x-rays were negative. Luis Avilan replaced him and, despite giving up a single to Franmil Reyes, continued the shutout and completed the series win for the Mets.

Tomorrow, the Mets greet the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three-game series in Queens. Zack Wheeler makes his first start off the disabled list, and perhaps his final start for the Mets, facing Dario Agrazal for the Buccos.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Fangraphs.com

Big winners: Jacob deGrom, +20.8%, Todd Frazier, +17.7% WPA

Big losers: None!

Total pitcher WPA: +23.7% WPA

Total batter WPA: +26.3% WPA

Teh aw3s0mest play: Todd Frazier’s two-run double in the first inning, +16.9% WPA

Teh sux0rest play: deGrom’s walk to Greg Garcia, -2.6% WPA