We saw late-inning heroics during crunch time on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday—three instances in one week. The players know they have the goods to win it all, and the fans should feel the same way about the Mets.
As we watched Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Clubhouse Cafe, Mets fan Amir commented how the Mets seem to exercise late-game magic. He’s right, too: this season, the Amazins’ have staged plenty of comebacks in the seventh to ninth innings.
Amir seemed like a prophet on Saturday as the Mets (again) made a late run, scoring five runs in the eighth inning (after being held scoreless for the first seven) to earn a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
It was the Mets’ third comeback win of the week. It makes you think there’s something special in the air with this team when you see what’s happening. How could anyone not believe this could be the year?
The Mets have experienced a lot this season, going 0-5 and 25-35 to start the season. Then, they went through an offensive slump in the season’s final week, almost causing the team to miss the playoffs. But here they are, just ten wins away from winning a championship for the first time since 1986.
Maybe Grimace is working his magic? Sure, Francisco Lindor, Edwin Diaz, Sean Manaea, Jose Iglesias, Luis Severino, Jeff McNeil, and others have been the main characters of this team’s success, and rightfully so. But there has to be more to it than that, and Grimace fills the bill.
Before we credit Grimace and the Mets this Saturday, let’s give Phillies manager Rob Thomson a tip of our hat. He helped by removing Phillies ace Zack Wheeler in the eighth inning. Wheeler had thrown 111 pitches, but it also seemed that he had enough to go at least one more or, who knows, perhaps pitch a complete game.
You see, there is something called “managing by feel,” and Thomson failed the manager’s test in that regard. Wheeler wasn’t breaking a sweat and didn’t appear to be laboring on the mound. Indeed, Wheeler told Tom Verducci in a postgame interview that he expected to pitch the next inning. The Mets couldn’t do anything the way he pitched, so it made sense to leave him in.
With Wheeler out and Jeff Hoffman in to start the eighth, the Mets knew they had a chance. And did they ever! Francisco Alvarez started the inning with a single, and Francisco Lindor walked. Then Mark Vientos hit a game-tying RBI single. That was the end of Hoffman’s day. Enter Matt Strahm. Brandon Nimmo hit a tie-breaking RBI single off him, and Pete Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game. After Jose Iglesias singled, it was the end of Strahm’s day. Enter Orion Kerkering. J.D. Martinez hit an RBI single, scoring Nimmo to make it a 4-1 game. Starling Marte hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Iglesias and tacking on the fifth run of the game. The Mets scored a final run in the ninth.
While there’s no guarantee Wheeler would have shut out the Mets in the eighth, he would have given the Phillies a better chance than the rest of the Phillies relievers. Credit the Mets, though. They know how to get it done in late-inning situations.
We saw late-inning heroics during crunch time on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday—three instances in one week. The players know they have the goods to win it all, and the fans should feel the same way about the Mets.
Yes, the Yankees should roll over the AL Central teams on their way to the World Series. The Dodgers, Padres, and Phillies have the talent to win. But with all of that said, these Mets have what it takes, including “Grimace magic,” to win a championship. Believe!
