Mets blast Marlins 10-3 behind offense, deGrom

The Mets entered the day with the faintest of playoff hopes still alive and their ace on the hill. While any hopes of a postseason miracle seemed to fade early—not the first time a Ryan Braun home run seemed to put the final nail in the Mets’ postseason hopes—the team did themselves proud, finally pouring on some offense for Jacob deGrom.

The Mets took a lead two batters into the game when Brandon Nimmo led off with a walk and Jeff McNeil doubled down the right field line to bring him home. A Michael Conforto double would plate McNeil, and Conforto would come in on a Wilson Ramos sacrifice fly to stake deGrom to an early 3-0 lead.

The lead would balloon to seven the next inning. The Mets would load the bases on singles by Todd Frazier and deGrom and Nimmo’s second walk in two innings. After McNeil plated Frazier with a sacrifice fly, Pete Alonso launched his MLB-leading 51st home run of the season, a majestic three-run blast to deep left center.

The third would see the team put up another crooked number thanks to RBI doubles from Amed Rosario and Nimmo. deGrom would take it from there, retiring the final 14 batters he faced, surrendering only two hits and a walk while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings. deGrom closed the season with 23 consecutive scoreless innings as he makes a compelling case for a second consecutive National League Cy Young Award.

In addition to seeing their fading playoff hopes die, the night was unfortunate for the Mets in another way, as McNeil was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth, breaking a bone in his right wrist. The Mets close out the series with the Marlins Thursday evening, in what could be Zack Wheeler’s final start as a Met.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Jeff McNeil, +13.9% WPA, Michael Conforto, +11.2% WPA, Jacob deGrom, +9.9%
Big losers: None
Total pitcher WPA: 9.9% WPA
Total batter WPA: 40.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil’s RBI double in the top of the first inning, 12.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Pete Alonso strikeout in the top of the first, -3.6% WPA