Syndergaard and rain clouds rolled over the Tribe in series sweep

After two delays, a busted perfect game, and a chest-bump for the ages, the Mets defeated the Indians 2-0 in a rain-shortened contest at Citi Field. With the win, the Mets swept the Indians, a team perceived to be far superior, and continued their incredible run that began after the All-Star Game.

Tonight felt like a special night at Citi Field from the first inning, with Noah Syndergaard absolutely shoving against the Indians. Syndergaard looked dominant, in control, and relaxed, especially across the first five innings. Acknowledged by Gary Cohen on the SNY broadcast, Syndergaard had not allowed a baserunner during his first five and a third innings, before singles by Tyler Naquin and Francisco Lindor broke up the perfect game.

But Syndergaard made it through six innings unscathed, due in part to two brilliant defensive plays. In the top of the fourth inning, Greg Allen hit a fly ball to deep left field, chasing last night’s hero J.D. Davis back on the ball. On the warning track, still running towards the ball, he reached out his glove, Willie Mays-style, and caught the ball. The fans, as well as his teammates, erupted in cheers for Davis’s best catch of the season.

Then, in the sixth inning, with two men on, Allen, again, hit a ball in between first and second base that Pete Alonso didn’t just manage to knock down, but also throw to first, to a covering Syndergaard, to end the inning and keep the Indians off the board. They followed the play with an epic chest-bump, much to the delight of fans in the stadium everywhere. Due to the rain delay, Syndergaard only went six innings, striking out five and allowing just the two baserunners.

As for the Mets, their two runs came in the fourth inning. Joe Panik led off the inning with a single, and was moved to third base on Michael Conforto’s ground rule double hit to left. Wilson Ramos then entered the game and lined an opposite-field double, with both runners scoring to give the Mets the lead. Ramos now owns a 16 game hitting streak, the longest since Carlos Beltran in 2009.

Aaron Civale started the game for the Indians, and looked quite good, despite picking up the loss. Aside from the back to back doubles, he kept the Mets off balance all night, and looks to be a quality piece of the Indians’ rotation going forward. Unfortunately for him, tonight, Thor was just better.

The game entered a lengthy rain delay with two outs and an 0-1 count to Ramos in the bottom of the sixth. A mere two and a half hours later, play resumed, with former Met Tyler Clippard getting Ramos out on a line drive to left field.

Jeurys Familia entered the game and, despite walking Jose Ramirez, got through the seventh unscathed. Paul Sewald pitched an impressive eighth inning - yes, you read that correctly. Shortly thereafter, the skies opened up again, and after 30 minutes, the game was called.

The Mets welcome the Braves for a weekend series, starting Friday evening with Jacob deGrom taking on Mike Foltynewicz. Let’s hope they keep this momentum going. LFGM.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Noah Syndergaard, +31.2% WPA, Wilson Ramos, +11.2% WPA, Michael Conforto, +10.0% WPA

Big losers: None. Huzzah!

Total pitcher WPA: +43.8% WPA

Total batter WPA: +6.2% WPA

Teh aw3s0mest play: Wilson Ramos’s 2-run double in the fourth inning, +15.1% WPA

Teh sux0rest play: Tyler Naquin’s perfect-game disrupting single in the sixth, -3.5% WPA