Yesterday, the Mets won 7-3 over the Washington Nationals in a game which featured the return of Max Scherzer to the team he recently won a World Series title with. However to me the star of the game was Starling Marte.
So who is Starling Marte? Before coming to the Mets for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics. Prior to the Marte signing with the Mets he had a career batting average of .289, while also being a stolen base threat, and playing a great outfield. So what has Starling Marte done thus far for the New York Mets? So far in just two games played in this young season, he has driven in four runs in key spots, a key characteristic the Mets have lacked in the past.
One of the problems with the Mets of recent years has been lack of two out hits with runners in scoring position. Marte hit a two-run single with two outs in the sixth inning breaking the 3-3 tie and putting the Mets in the lead, a lead they would not relinquish. The game prior the Mets found ways playing small ball to get two runs in the top of the sixth which led to two runs, putting the Mets in the lead 2-1, again a lead that they would not let get away. Marte grounded into a fielder’s choice, but got the job done scoring Mark Canha from third.
Should we be excited about Marte being a Met? Although this is an extremely small sample size, the Mets seem to be a different team this year and a large part of that has been the play of Starling Marte. He brings to our team a sense of confidence and quite simply the ability to get the job done. We’ll see what the season brings, but so far it would be tough to argue that he hasn’t been a breath of fresh air!
