A relatively stress-free win in which the Mets executed most facets of the sport at a higher level than their opponent for nine innings…was that too much to ask for?
It was not [1].
The Mets defeated an amorphous blob of unrefined talent better known as the Washington National Tuesday night, 6-3. They didn’t have to accidentally stumble from behind to ahead. They didn’t have to totally hang on for dear life. A little gripping the sides of the bed was required in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t technically a save situation and the closer du nuit did not reach a point where he needed to be rescued. Let’s call it a triumph.
One Met home run (Harrison Bader [2]’s two-run job in the fourth) build the foundation. A second Met home run (Pete Alonso [3]’s wake-up blast in the ninth) provided the insurance. Slammin’ Starling Marte [4] (two-RBI triple) and Hard Hittin’ Mark Vientos [5] (an out lined deep to right with Marte ready to tag from third) came through in between. The McNeil-free lineup could have been thrown off course by the unforeseen challenge of facing callup lefty DJ Herz, a late replacement for scheduled but injured Old Friend™ Trevor Williams (who, in the midst of a stellar season, was a decent bet to flummox his erstwhile workplace proximity associates), but they waited out the kid and then took advantage of the Nats’ bullpen, just as a good team might.
Hipper-than-ever David Peterson [6] went six-and-two-thirds serene innings, followed by Dedniel Nuñez [7] for four key outs of trust-gaining. You never saw a Dedniel before this season, but now you want to see him get more clutch-type opportunities, right? When a four-run lead was turned over to formerly revelatory Reed Garrett [8] — he was the Nuñez of the pen in April — for closing purposes, easy breathing seemed possible if not utterly advisable. Garrett did walk Jesse Winker and allow a run-scoring single to Jacob Young and have two on with two out when he ran a full count to Lane Thomas and the popup to short right Garrett elicited from Thomas nearly created a collision between Marte and an overeager Bader, but Starling’s version of “I got it!” proved true, and the Mets completed their rounds with a victory that clinched them the series with one game to go, plus a dash of professional credibility besides. They looked like a team that could best another team without the result seeming accidental.
Nice to see for a change.