NEW YORK – For weeks, the implicit promise at Citi Field was that healthy training would benefit the Mets in countless ways. Removing Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto from the injured list would help the Mets with their strength as hitters. But it would also help everyone around them because of their presence.
So it was in Game 1 of Friday’s seven-inning doubles program at Citi Field, where two Mets players who have been in good health all season – Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith – took offense in a win. 2-1 over the Phillies. After Lindor leveled things off on a two-strikeout RBI single in the seventh inning, Smith won it with a hit and a hit in the eighth.
“Resilience – these guys don’t give up,” manager Luis Rojas said. “So that the guys fight and don’t just bow their heads, I think that just tells you who this team is. They won’t do that. They will continue.
Struggling to score all afternoon, the Mets rallied when José Alvarado dismissed a routine ground player for a two-goal error to start in the bottom of the seventh. This baserunner, Luis Guillorme, came to score on Lindor’s RBI single against Alvarado.
Seth Lugo struck out three of four batters he faced in the start of the eighth before Smith hit a Ranger Suárez center pitch to win.
Consider a catharsis after a frustrating first six innings that saw the Mets go 0-for-9 with runners in goal position while falling victim to Phillies starter Aaron Nola, who struck out 10 in a row to tie Tom Seaver, 51 years old. record. In what turned out to be a nice impression of Jacob deGrom, Nola whipped up 12 batters in a 5-1 / 3 shutout, brought home his team’s only point with an produced double …
That was hardly how the Mets worded their victory in Game 1. But given their overall offensive struggles, they will take it more than willingly.
“That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” said starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, who executed five one-run innings. “Looks like we were down, but these guys fight all the time. Bringing in our guys – Lindor getting into the clutch, and Dom there at the end of the game – that says a lot. … We know that if we keep the game close we will have a very good chance of winning the game.