Tonight the Mets got just what the doctor ordered. In dire need of a positive start, Dillon Gee went out there and held the Padres at bay through seven quality innings.
The Mets teed off against Anthony Bass, knocking him around for six runs in five and a third innings. These runs alone were enough to give the Mets a 6-1 victory to even out the first half of this four game set against the Friars.
But back to Gee’s fine line. He walked three in seven, but punched out nine to ensure a quiet night for the opposition at Citi Field. This improves his record to 4-3 sends his ERA down to 4.92. With the state of flux of the back end of this rotation, this quality start could not have come at a better time.
Lucas Duda had a big blast with his fifth home run tonight, a solo shot. In a 1-3 effort, Ike Davis drove in a pair of runs. Daniel Murphy also shoed signs of digging out of a mini-slump.
Dillon Gee even chipped in a double and scored a run.
Mike Baxter of all people, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis are finding a way to click at the top of the Mets ordered. A Queens native, Baxter made a clutch play in the field and collected another double. He’s turning into the kind of hustle player I am always in full support of. Nieuwenhuis has had his slow spots, but he went 2-4 with a RBI tonight and his continuing to show that he belongs.
In an 0-3 effort, David Wright’s batting average DROPS to .397.
After tonight, what I would like to see more of is the Mets’ ability to hit with runners in scoring position. They hit .500 in such situations tonight. The Mets will need to rack up those hits with two outs or with runners in scoring position as they enter the second half of this Padres series, and with the Philadelphia Phillies on the radar.
One team will look to take an advantage in the series at 1:10 tomorrow with Clayton Richard and Johan Santana squaring off.
