A night after looking all but moribund against Joe Musgrove [1] (seriously, you’re the wise one [2] if you slept through it), the Mets put together one of their more satisfying wins of the season against Michael King [3] and the rest of the Padres.
A common exhortation heard on my couch is, “C’mon, don’t let him get out of it.” King looked shaky in the first, walking three Mets, and the Forces of Good tallied an early run when Pete Alonso [4] “hit” a 40 MPH grounder that had just enough oomph to pop into the air after impacting the third-base bag, startling Manny Machado [5] and winding up an unlikely double. But that was it — J.D. Martinez [6] struck out with runners on second and third and one out and Starling Marte [7] did the same with the bases loaded.
They’d let King get out of it.
And for a while it looked like they might very much regret that, as King settled down and had no particular trouble with the Mets in the second and third, then retired the first two Mets in the fourth. Marte singled, but Francisco Alvarez [8] hit a soft, head-high liner to third. It popped out of Machado’s glove and the Mets were still alive. After Jeff McNeil [9] was hit by a pitch to load the bases, King’s first two pitches to Francisco Lindor [10] were outside.
Cue my line: “C’mon, don’t let him get out of it!”
King’s third pitch was a sweeper that was more of a sleeper, sitting middle-middle, and Lindor didn’t miss it, hammering it into the right-field stands for a 5-0 Met lead and, as it turned out, the ballgame [11]. He’d also contribute a solo shot later in the proceedings (hit right-handed this time), a couple of sparkling defensive plays at short and his usual uptempo cheerleading and cajoling [12] as the infield’s captain. The Athletic has a nice write-up [13] of Lindor’s MVP case (TLDR: Unfortunately he’s in the same circuit as Shohei Ohtani [14]) with a couple of facts that made me smile in appreciation: Lindor called the team’s now-famous meeting and went 4-for-4 the next day and he’s spent exactly one day not in the lineup, back on May 2 when he had the flu, and that was the day [15] he delivered a pinch-hit, walkoff double. No word on if Lindor advocated for Jose Iglesias [16]‘ callup or arranged for Grimace’s first pitch, but I wouldn’t put it past him.
David Peterson [17] isn’t going to be National League MVP either, but he’s quietly having an excellent season. Saturday night was impressive overall, with Peterson working into the eighth before giving way to Dedniel Nunez [18], who looked exactly like his old self in his return. But Peterson was particularly good in the bottom of the fifth, after the Padres loaded the bases on a pair of singles sandwiched around the walk. The first single was almost an out, with Peterson making a superb play but replay review not going the Mets way. With one out Peterson had to face Luis Arraez [19], not exactly the man you’re hoping to see up there.
Peterson coaxed a grounder to third, with Mark Vientos [20] wisely taking the sure out at first instead of trying for a double play, then made a nifty play to retire Jurickson Profar [21] and end the threat. Those are the kind of situations that have a way of caving in on not only young pitchers but also pitchers who need to stop looking like young pitchers, a label you could staple on Tylor Megill [22] and one that would have been affixed to Peterson not so long ago. (I am going to bite my lip and not mention All-Time Least Favorite Met Jon Niese [23] … oh wait, too late.) But Peterson looks like he’s past that, as well as finally being healthy again. Which makes you intrigued about what might be next for him.