Holy shit, the Mets won a series

For the first time in more than a month, the Mets won a series. Having split the first two games of their three-game series with the Giants, they won the rubber game tonight at Citi Field by an 8-4 score. And even the fact that the team won back-to-back games feels significant, as they have struggled to do that over the past several weeks.

The Giants got on the board first by scoring a run on a fielder’s choice in the top of the third, but it wound up being the only run that David Peterson surrendered—albeit in a short start.

Peterson wasn’t alone in having a short start, though, as Ross Stripling went just two innings for San Francisco in his first appearance in the middle of May before handing things off to Alex Wood. And the Mets took advantage of Wood’s wildness right away in the bottom of the third. A bases-loaded walk to Pete Alonso tied the game, and the Mets scored two more runs on an infield single by Jeff McNeil.

Mark Canha hit a solo home run in the fourth, and Tommy Pham doubled in a run later in that inning.

Peterson only went four innings before the Mets turned to their bullpen, and Grant Hartwig threw a couple of scoreless innings to leave the Mets in a pretty good place heading into the seventh. Jeff Brigham didn’t fare nearly that well upon entering the game in that inning, and he gave up three runs while recording just one out—allowing the Giants to pull within a run of the Mets in the process.

A single by Starling Marte plated the Mets’ sixth run of the night in the seventh, and the team got a lot more breathing room on a two-run home run by Pete Alonso in the eighth. That concluded the scoring in the game, as the rest of the Mets’ bullpen—Dominic Leone, Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, and David Robertson—combined to prevent the Giants from scoring again.

Again, the Mets won a series. They’re off tomorrow and set to start a three-game series in Arizona on Tuesday night.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Pete Alonso, +19.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jeff Brigham -12.3% WPA
Mets pitchers: +4.7% WPA
Mets hitters: +45.3% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jeff McNeil hits a two-run infield single in the third, +19.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: J.D. Davis hits an RBI double in the seventh, -15.9% WPA