The New York Mets only needed four innings to surpass their scoring total from the first three games of the season. They did all of their scoring during innings 2-4 and used three home runs to fuel their 7-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The win was also Michael Wacha‘s first in a Mets uniform.
.@Pete_Alonso20 ain't afraid of no monster. ? #LGM pic.twitter.com/yaeJXNFGjk
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 28, 2020
Two-run home runs from Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso in the second and third inning got things started. Both were monster shots but in different ways. Conforto’s traveled 434-feet while Alonso’s was a missile coming off the bat at 116 mph. Dominic Smith added a three-run homer in the fourth to extend the Mets lead to seven. Wilson Ramos also added a double and single to the Mets offense.
Splendid Debut
Michael Wacha had an opposite debut to Rick Porcello. He gave the Mets five strong innings, allowing five hits, striking out four and the only run coming on a Mitch Moreland home run. Wacha kept the Red Sox off balance throughout his start, using his changeup and cutter very effectively. It is a good sign for the Mets rotation, which had significant concerns after Porcello’s disastrous start.
Chasen Shreve pitched two innings following Wacha with the only blemish coming on a Xander Bogaerts home run. The line for Jeurys Familia was uglier than it was during the game. Outside of a Rafael Devers double, the Red Sox did not do too much damage.
A groundball Jeff McNeil could have thrown home in a closer game resulted in an out, and the other hit came on a seeing-eye single up the middle. Familia’s control was not as sharp as it was during his first outing, but his slider was very sharp.
Very solid first outing for Michael Wacha in a Mets uniform. The changeup — always his most lethal pitch when he’s on — looked really good.
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) July 28, 2020
Seth Lugo cleaned up the mess in the eighth and carried the momentum to the ninth inning to retired all four batters in his four-out save. Through the first two outings, it is evident that Lugo is already the best Mets reliever.
For Tuesday’s matchup, the Mets still have not named a starter as of 11 p.m. on Monday. The likeliest option is either David Peterson to make his MLB debut or a bullpen game. Whoever pitches will be opposed by Matt Hall from the Red Sox. The first pitch is at 7:30 p.m. ET.