Mets move into first wild-card spot with win over Twins
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
The New York Mets’ demise may have been greatly exaggerated. The club overcame yet another injury Sunday, defeating the Minnesota Twins by a score of 3-2. With the win, the Mets moved into the top wild-card spot in the National League.
If you haven’t followed the Mets closely lately, that may come as a shock. The club hasn’t really lived up to expectations after winning the NL East last year, and the team’s once promising rotation has been ravaged by injuries this season. It was fair to assume things weren’t going all that well in New York, particularly after ace Jacob deGrom became the latest member of the staff to go down with an injury.
Despite that, the team has been able to endure. Saturday’s walk-off win may have briefly lifted spirits, but Sunday’s win put the club in a much better spot.
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Michael Conforto was able to play the hero this time around, singling home two runs in the first inning. The Twins threatened to mount a comeback, but a T.J. Rivera solo shot in the third extended the lead. That was all the Mets needed to push past the Twins during the contest.
Of course, the Mets needed some help in order to move up in the wild-card rankings. The San Francisco Giants continued their second half slide, getting blanked 3-0 by the St. Louis Cardinals. With the loss, New York took over the top spot in the wild-card race. The Giants now sit in the second spot, but St. Louis is just a game back.
The fight for those final two spots should be one of the most engaging storylines as the regular season comes to an end. After Sunday’s win, and the Giants’ loss, the injury-ravaged Mets are currently in the driver’s seat.
TOP PERFORMERS
Hanley Ramirez: The Boston Red Sox overcame a four-run deficit during Sunday’s 5-4 win over the New York Yankees, and Hanley Ramirez was at the center of it all. Ramirez came through with a three-run shot in the fifth inning to pull the game within one run, and then delivered the go-ahead solo shot in the seventh to finally give Boston the lead. He finished the contest 3-for-4, with two runs scored and four RBI.
Alex Reyes: He might be a rookie, but St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes certainly pitched like a 10-year veteran during Sunday’s 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. With the Cardinals fighting for a playoff spot, Reyes came through. The 22-year-old tossed seven scoreless frames against the team’s toughest competition. He gave up just four hits and two walks. Reyes struck out six. With the performance, Reyes now has a 1.03 ERA over 35 innings this year.
Kendrys Morales: The Chicago White Sox couldn’t find a way to neutralize Kansas City Royals designated hitter Kendrys Morales during Sunday’s 10-3 loss. Morales set the tone early, driving in a run on a single in the first inning. From there, things only got better for the 33-year-old. Morales added an RBI double in the fourth and then delivered a two-run shot in the sixth. He finished 3-for-five, with one run scored and four RBI.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The Los Angeles Angels came up with a big 4-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. As if that wasn’t surprising enough, the club also managed to pull off a rare 4-5 putout during the contest.
The play came in the top of the fourth inning. With Edwin Encarnacion on second, Jose Bautista hit a rocket up the middle. Pitcher Alex Meyer attempted to field the ball, but it was hit so hard that it knocked his glove off his hand.
The ball then bounced over to Cliff Pennington at second base. Pennington fielded the ball cleanly, turned to third base and fired a strike to grab Encarnacion as he was attempting to advance. It may not have been the most impressive play turned during Sunday’s game, but it was one of the strangest.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Tigers 9, Indians 5: J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton both homered to give the Tigers the win. Trevor Bauer was tagged for six earned runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Reds 7, Pirates 4: Joey Votto went 4-for-4 at the plate, smashing two singles, a double and his 25th home run in the win.
Orioles 2, Rays 1: Manny Machado and Mark Trumbo each hit solo home runs, while Zach Britton picked up his 45th save of the year.
Braves 6, Nationals 2: Adonis Garcia went 3-for-4, smacking three singles and driving in three runs in the victory.
Marlins 5, Phillies 4: Christian Yelich’s late home run tied things up, but the go-ahead run was scored after J.T. Realmuto beat out an infield single.
Brewers 3, Cubs 1: Wily Peralta gave up just one run over six innings, defeating Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs.
Athletics 5, Rangers 2: Khris Davis smashed two home runs, becoming the first Athletic since 2000 to reach 40 bombs.
Mariners 7, Astros 3: Ariel Miranda gave up just two runs over seven strong innings. Seth Smith blasted two home runs and drove in four in the win.
Rockies 6, Padres 3: Though the Padres lost, they were still able to show teammate Yangervis Solarte they are thinking about him during a difficult time.
Diamondbacks 10, Dodgers 9: Brandon Drury had a huge game, going 4-for-5 at the plate. That included a double, a home run, a single and a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th to win the contest.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
