Resilient Mets notch comeback win over Rockies
NEW YORK — Monday night, the Mets kicked off their seven-game homestand with a win over the Rockies (NYM 4, COL 2). The Rockies jumped out to an early 2-1 lead thanks to Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run homer — his 13th homer since the All-Star break, by the way — but New York rallied for three runs against the Colorado bullpen in the seventh inning.
That three-run rally in the seventh certainly was not the prettiest. Rockies righty reliever Justin Miller retired just one of the four batters he faced, loaded the bases on a single and two walks. Lefty Boone Logan came in, plunked Curtis Granderson to force in the tying run, then allowed the two-run go-ahead single to Daniel Murphy. Here’s the go-ahead hit:
It will go down as a line drive in the box score even though it was nothing more than a ground ball with eyes. Hey, it got the job done. There are no style points in baseball. Logan made a not-terrible pitch — 94 mph on the outside black? that usually works — but Murphy just reached out and poked it through. Nice piece of hitting, as they say.
“It was one of those games that, probably a year ago, we don’t win that game. This year, we do,” said Mets manager Terry Collins after Monday’s game, the team’s eighth win in their last 10 games. “(Murphy) gets big hits and he did that again tonight.”
For the Mets, the win was their 27th come-from-behind win of the season, sixth most in baseball behind the Royals (28), Yankees (28), Astros (29), Cardinals (32) and Pirates (34). It’s probably not a coincidence all of those teams are legitimate contenders and five are in first place. Good teams come from behind. That’s what they do.
The Mets had 31 come-from-behind wins in both 2013 and 2014, and in 2012 they had only 23 such wins. They’re now on pace for 39 come-from-behind wins in 2015. Furthermore, five of their eight wins since acquiring Yoenis Cespedes have been come-from-behind wins, including the final two wins during their three-game sweep of the Nationals a week and a half ago.
During the first three months of the season, the Mets struggled to generate offense and had to rely on their stellar pitching to keep them in games. The additions of Cespedes, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe, as well as the call-up of top prospect Michael Conforto and the healthy return of Travis d’Arnaud, have given the team a competitive lineup, making these comebacks possible.
The calvary is still coming too. Captain David Wright, who has been out since April due to hamstring and back problems, played in his first minor-league rehab game Monday night, going 1 for 3 with a walk as the DH. He’ll play third base on Tuesday and is expected to receive 30 rehab at-bats before being activated, which could happen within 10 days.
The Mets right now are a much different team than they were even two weeks ago. The offense is much improved, Wright’s return is finally close, and they no longer go quietly when they fall behind. Monday’s win was a perfect example of what the Mets have become: dangerous on both sides of the ball and resilient.
“We’ve got some weapons for you,” added Collins. “The next eight weeks should be really fun.”
The Mets rallied from behind to win for the eighth time in their last 10 games Monday. (USATSI)
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