FOR AMAZIN’S, A ROYAL CRUSH
Mets head home all set for huge stretch
KANSAS CITY — The Mets will enjoy an uplifting flight back home from the Midwest after breaking out for double-digit runs on Sunday.
The Amazin’s 11-5 win over the Royals was exactly what the doctor ordered before the Mets prepare to host the Indians and Cubs this week. Thanks to a ruthless sixrun rally that put them ahead of Kansas City in the seventh inning, the Mets took the rubber game to win the series and complete their six-game road trip going 3-3.
“We take pride in grinding out at-bats,” Pete Alonso said, who set the National League rookie home run record with his 40th dinger of the year in the ninth inning. “That was classic trying to pass the torch. Especially after being down. That’s the fight we’ve been talking about all year.”
With the Mets trailing 4-3 in the seventh, Todd Frazier got the rally started on a leadoff double to right field. J.D. Davis delivered a pinch-hit, game-tying RBI single to shallow right field that scored Frazier and Amed Rosario gave the Mets the lead with a
two-run single. Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto and Wilson Ramos all collected RBI hits before the inning was over.
Davis, nursing tightness in his left calf, motored to third base on Tomas Nido’s double. Ruben Tejada pinch-ran for Davis, but that left the Mets with no outfielders on their bench. The decision to remove Davis prompted Rosario to play his first career game in the outfield. The lifelong shortstop parked himself in left field from the seventh inning to the final out of the game.
Rosario made his first-ever out as an outfielder on a fly ball off the bat of Whit Merrifield in the seventh inning. He said he was nervous about playing in left field the moment he saw Tejada replace Davis at third.
“Imagine, you can just imagine. I’ve never played left field before, so I was kind of nervous at that point,” Rosario said through interpreter Alan Suriel.
A troubling sign for the Mets is the sudden slide from Zach Wheeler. After giving up five earned runs on a careerhigh 12 hits against the Braves in his last outing, the righthander did not exactly bounce back against the Royals. Wheeler coughed up three earned runs in an ugly fifth inning that included three singles and a throwing error for the starter.
Wheeler cruised through the outing until the Royals tabbed him in the fifth. He retired 10 of his first 11 batters. Wheeler said he plans to work with pitching strategist Jeremy Accardo to fix his mechanics before Saturday – a critical start against the division-rival Braves.
“I felt off mechanically,” Wheeler said. “But that’s the past two starts. I’ve been talking to Jeremy. We’ll try to figure something out. Just watch some video. See if I can notice anything and just work off of that.”
Wheeler’s ERA now sits at 4.40 following the five-inning outing. Lucky for the righthander, the Mets bailed him out with their six-run seventh inning. Seven consecutive Mets reached base via hits on five singles and two doubles. The last time the Mets scored more runs in an inning was May 10 against the Marlins in an eight-run first.
“We battled through this stretch and we’re in a pretty good spot right now,” manager Mickey Callaway said of the Mets’ split road trip and ending the series on a high note.