David Peterson made his Mets debut last night at Fenway Park and looked like a future mid-rotation starter. His breaking ball had good movement on it, and that allowed him to wiggle out of a jam in the third inning that saw Boston load the bases with nobody out. If J.D. Martinez gets a big hit there, Peterson’s evening looks a lot different, but the rookie came through with a big strikeout after Martinez missed an extra-base hit by a couple of feet.
The next batter, Rafael Devers, hit a sharp one-hopper into the shift that Amed Rosario turned into an unconventional double play. Rosario tossed to Jeff McNeil covering second base for one out and the Mets caught Andrew Benintendi in a rundown for the second. That completed a huge sequence that allowed New York to hold onto an early lead and eventually cruise to an 8-3 victory.
The win made the Mets 3-2 on the season as their series vs. the Red Sox moves to Queens tonight. Jacob deGrom will take the hill opposite Nate Eovaldi, which gives New York a solid shot at a third straight dub.
Pete Alonso continues to struggle, but it was nice to see Robinson Cano come through with a key RBI hit. The offense has feasted on Red Sox pitching these last two nights after slumping through the opening series, so it will be interesting to see if the mashing continues in front of the friendly cutouts tonight.
Meanwhile, Jose Reyes has retired.
What a bum. Just kidding. I’ll always remember Reyes fondly for his first run with the Mets and how he fulfilled the promise of the electric prospect we were always hearing about. He quickly developed into one of the most electric players in baseball and won a batting title in his final season with the Mets in 2011.
I was mad when Reyes signed with the rival Marlins, but ownership was in the midst of the Bernie Madoff mess and probably didn’t make a competitive offer. Poor Jose was quickly betrayed by his new team, as it shipped him off to Toronto after one season. Reyes was a nice player for the Blue Jays, but he never returned to becoming the All-Star he was in his younger days.
Reyes’s eventual return to the Mets as a nostalgia act would have gone over better if he was not coming off of an alleged domestic violence incident in October 2015. Reyes just wasn’t the same player anymore and Terry Collins put him in the lineup way too often. Oh well, the great ones don’t often retire at the top of their game.
Instead of dwelling on that, let’s watch La Melaza effortlessly hit for the cycle in 2006.
Hat tip to Austin Kearns for being a very lousy outfielder. 2006 was an incredible year of Mets baseball. Thanks Jose.
Inside Yolk 