The New York Mets had a rough June, and after they went 7-19, they are hoping that the new month has better things in store for them. New York managed to get off to a good start on the first day of the month by snapping their three-game losing streak in a 4-1 victory over the Giants on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field. It also helped that Justin Verlander gave them length.
“We got July off to a good start. We’re hoping to build on it,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.
Verlander was the difference, pitching seven innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out six batters to pick up his third victory of the season. He looked like the Verlander of old in the first six innings, allowing just three baserunners through his first 18 batters faced.
“Verlander pitched a phenomenal game, and we weren’t able to score runs early on,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Historically, we do a really nice job in the first couple of innings of games. Right now, we’re just a little short in that regard.”
Verlander mentioned that he was developing new mechanics before the game, and throughout his start, he appeared locked in. His throw was free and easy, he felt it was his best match of the year.
“It was much better,” he said. “The slider was the best thing I can take from today. I was a bit more around the zone. It wasn’t perfect, but I was able to make pitches when I needed to. I felt better than last time. … It’s a huge step in the right direction and trying to build off that momentum.”
Justin’s toughest inning was in the seventh when he allowed his lone run. With a runner on first, Patrick Bailey struck a ground ball to first baseman Pete Alonso, who threw the ball away hoping to induce a second. With runners on first and third, J.D. Davis came home to deliver the Giants’ only run when Thairo Estrada hit into a double play.
However, the inning did not end easily. After the double play, Blake Sabol doubled, and Austin Slater walked to put runners on first and second. But Brandon Crawford struck out to end the attack.
The Mets gave Verlander all the run support he required in the third inning by playing a home run derby off Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani. With one out, Francisco Alvarez hit a solo shot over the right-field wall to give New York a 1-0 lead. When Luis Guillorme made the second out of the inning, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor hit homers successively. It highlighted the first time the Mets hit three home runs in an inning since last year October 4th.
For Nimmo, the home run happened on the seventh anniversary of his first career homer against the Chicago Cubs Jason Hammel.
“Put a punctuation mark on hitting the hardest homer of my career so far,” said Nimmo, whose knock had an exit velocity of 111.8 mph.
An inning later, he scored the fourth run of the game on a double by Tommy Pham.
“It was huge,” Verlander said. “As a starter, to have those guys put some runs on the board, you can really attack the zone, not really worried about giving up a solo home run and putting your team behind. It felt great.”
New York is off to a great start in July, winning the type of match they prayed 2023 would bring.
“[Saturday’s game] is how you draw it up,” Nimmo said. “It was a well-played game overall. It’s definitely what this team is designed to do, just more of it in the future is what we need.”
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