The Mets’ offense has been on a tear as of late, scoring 34 runs over the last three games, but it was the defense that stood out in Tuesday night’s 8-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Fans saw it all in the fourth inning as Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor teamed up for a 5-6-3 groundout, Tyrone Taylor made an “unbelievable” diving catch near the warning track in center field, and then Lindor closed out the inning with a nice backhand stop. Plus, Pete Alonso flashed the leather on multiple diving stops throughout the night.
“Pretty unbelievable,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the win. “That inning right there is what you call a big league defensive inning… that Taylor play was unbelievable. When the ball went up and I look at Taylor, when he started, I was like ‘there’s no way he’s going to get there’ and next thing you know he’s diving and making a ridiculous play.
“I thought Pete had a really good day defensively too. Nice diving plays. Overall, we played well.”
Even Taylor was impressed with himself on the web-gem play, joking that he’ll be watching the replay of the catch “probably a few” times tonight.
“I shocked myself a little bit. It was a good defensive inning all around. That was a crazy play, that assist from Mark to Lindor. And then Paco making that line drive short hop look easy. It’s a good day all around for us. A good team win.”
Taylor’s efforts earned him three separate hugs from starting pitcher David Peterson, who allowed just one run over 5.0 IP. Even with an early 8-0 lead, Peterson was thankful for the impressive defense in the fourth inning and throughout the night.
“That was more than three,” Peterson said. “That inning, I’ve never seen something like that and I’ve heard multiple guys say that. Mark kicking it to Lindor, Tyrone obviously doing what he did, and then Lindor sticking with that hard hit ground ball at the end was awesome.
“Pete was great over at first today, made a bunch of plays. The defense was spectacular and it’s always nice when they jump on somebody like that and give you some cushion.”
The Mets improved to 13-1 at Citi Field with the win, boosting their MLB-best record to 21-9. Mendoza said the fans have been a huge component in those wins and hopes that support continues for the rest of the season.
“Yeah 100 percent, that’s what you want,” Mendoza said. “You want to play well in front of your fan base, in general you want to play well, but especially here at home. When you get that type of support every night they’re going to be right behind you, it’s a good feeling… Seeing the fans and the connection between the team and the fanbase, it’s a good feeling. Those are expectations that they continue to support us.
“I feel like as a team, it’s a good feeling coming to the ballpark every day knowing that they’re going to be right there with you.”
Taylor expressed similar feelings and thanked the fans for bringing the energy each night.
“It’s always electric here, man,” Taylor said. “We love playing here. I can speak for everybody on that.”
Read the full article here
