THE METS HONOR THE FALLEN AND GET THE WIN ON 9/11

On a day that we don’t want to remember, but never forget, the Mets held their moment of silence for an uncomfortably long time. It lasted 8 innings, to be exact. The pitching by Sean Manea, Reed Garrett and Danny Young ensured that the Blue Jays didn’t make too much noise, holding them to only 1 run on 3 hits. However, as the Mets took off their special FDNY/NYPD hats and put on a batting helmet, they maintained a deafening silence. Jays pitcher, Bowden Francis, had a no-hitter going into the ninth. Only striking out one batter early, he held the Mets to nothing but popouts, groundouts and flyouts. He was 3 outs away of giving the Blue Jays their second no-no in franchise history.

 

Historically speaking, the Mets don’t fare very well on 9/11. Going into today, they were 8-12 on this day of remembrance. In 2004, they lost to the Phillies, 9-11. In 2019, they trounced the Diamondbacks, 9-0 in a cosmic act of revenge for upsetting the Yankees in the 2001 World Series. They went out the next day and won again, 11-1. One of the things that I love about baseball is that sometimes, numbers will line up and it feels like an unknown force is controlling the game. And if those unknown forces exist, surely they’ve been watching Francisco Lindor and his unexpected late-season MVP campaign. I would like to think that they were. Because in the 9th inning, Bowden Francis threw his 111th pitch and as it left his bat, Francisco knew it was gone. Numbers are a beautiful thing. 

 

It had to have been Lindor. He’s the one player that has captured the energy and charisma of the team. He has adopted New York as his home and even sported a remarkable glove that honored all of the first responders on 9/11. His home run might not go down in history to be as big as Mike Piazza’s, but it was still remarkable. After the entire city breathed a sigh of relief, the Mets put their heads down and got to work. Francis was replaced by Chad Green, who promptly loaded the bases on a Jose Iglesias single and walks to Vientos and Nimmo. Pete Alonso knew that it wasn’t time to be a hero and got a productive flyout to take a 2-1 lead. Green continued to melt down, walking JD Martinez and giving up another sac fly to Starling Marte. He was quickly replaced by Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a 3 run homer to Francisco Alvarez on the first pitch. The team effectively ended their slump when it mattered the most. Nothing can kill The Grimace.

 

When the half inning was all said and done, they batted around the order and both Francisco’s went yard. What was at risk of being a no-hitter ended up being a 6-2 romp. It was your quintessential New York Mets game. The defense held it down the whole time and the offense exploded when they got their groove. New York loves a comeback story and the Mets personify that to a tee. A true blue collar team that only knows how to grind. And on a day that New Yorkers will always mourn, they gave us something to celebrate.

 

As of writing, the Mets are 80-66, with a half game ahead of the Braves in the final Wild Card spot. They’ll travel to Philadelphia on Friday for a hotly contested weekend series. After that, they go back home for a few games against the Nationals and, you guessed it, 4 more games against the Phillies. Here we are. The final stretch. Aside from the 3 games against Washington, all of their remaining opponents are against playoff teams. And then, with a little bit of luck and a whole lot of grit, they’ll have the playoffs. After seeing the run they’ve had lately and the heroics they performed today, this brutal run couldn’t come at a better time. They’re hungry and they’re ready. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: buckle up.