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Reporting from ORACLE PARK
In a midseason series tinged with playoff atmosphere, the New York Mets rolled hot into Saturday night.
Winners of five straight, and after a Friday knocking-around of Giants ace Logan Webb, the Mets (61-44) came in with all the juice to spoil the start of the second Giants All-Star pitcher, southpaw Robbie Ray.
Ray (L, 9-5, 2.92 ERA) managed to mosty muzzle the same Mets that battered Webb, giving up just one hit to the same group that went 7-for-15 last night before buckling in the sixth for the game’s two decisive runs.
Ray said:
“I try pitching deep into the game every week so there’s no added pressure or anything like that. I don’t think there is anything different about a situation like this [tonight].”
Ray would throw five shutout innings to begin the game, though things got interesting in the fourth.
Mets first baseman slugger Pete Alonso singled to right center before DH Starling Marte doubled to left field, moving Alonso to third. Giants slugger and freshly minted first baseman Rafael Devers then misplayed a Brett Baty roller to load the bases, breaking toward the plate to play a ball that Ray had well in his sights, all while leaving first base unattended for a throw.
Ray and Devers would come together to shut the door on the inning, with Ray striking out Mark Vientos and then coaxing a bases-loaded, double play from Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez that Devers dug out a Chapman throw at first to end the inning.
Ray said:
“It’s not an easy thing to do, go from third base, to DH, to first base. [Devers] kind of learning it on the fly, so he’s giving his max effort out there for sure. It’s not easy to do that, especially in the middle of the season like this.”
The Giants mirrored the Mets energy in the bottom of the fourth with timely hits.
Shortstop Willy Adames singled to lead off. followed by another from 3B Max Chapman. Second baseman Casey Schmitt walked, loading up the bases for CF Jung Hoo Lee, who grounded out to score Adames and give the Giants their first lead of the series, 1-0.
It was Lee’s 42nd RBI of the season, and at 3-for-4 with a double, was a lone bright star Saturday night within an lineup struggling to produce runs.
Lee said:
“I tried to get that feeling back when I was hitting really good back in the season. We’ve been talking to the hitting coaches a lot, and communicating. For sure the hitting coaches have been helping a lot and the communication is really essential here.”
Ray was cruising until he walked both Mets superstar Juan Soto to open the sixth. Soto stole second base, setting a new career high in a season with 13 stolen bases before Ray walked Marte.
Vientos was next and doubled to left, scoring Marte and Soto to put the Mets up 2-1, a margin that held despite some ninth-inning comeback tension.
Lee smacked a rocket into triples alley in the ninth, which could have been a homer in just about any other ballpark, to build drama of a comeback from the Giants againts Mets closer Edwin Diaz.
Lee said:
“I thought it was a home run as soon as I hit it. But Oracle Park is Oracle Park.”
Diaz struck out Mike Yaztrzemski and before Pete Alonso snared a Patrick Bailey rocket destined for the right field corner to end the ninth inning. With Lee’s should-have-been-a home run, Yastremski’s missile, and a Casey Schmitt line drive to open the frame that was snared by a leaping Baty at third, Diaz definitely earned his 22nd save of the season.
The announed home crowd of 39,029 was once again electric, having surpassed the most sellouts at Oracle Park since the ballpark changed their name in 2019.
Even on a beautiful Saturday night where fans received a Steph Curry bobblehead, something had to give.
Ray finished pitching the game with two earned runs, on five hits, while walking three in 5 ⅔ innings.
Melvin said his team had decent at-bats overall, just not much to show for it:
“That’s [Ray]’s game right there. He did a nice job with everything and there was one pitch he didn’t do the entire game. They had one at bat where they drove in a couple of runs in, and we didn’t. We got pretty unlucky today with some of the lineouts that we had.”
Up Next
The Giants will try to avoid being swept by New York at home Sunday evening, sending lefty Matt Gage (9-2/3 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA) against Mets starter Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.79 ERA) for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
