NY Mets: Luisangel Acuna gets BP before his first home start at Citi Field
Luisangel Acuna was scheduled to make his first home start as a member of the Mets on September 17, 2024 at Citi Field.
NEW YORK – Carlos Mendoza isn’t ready to call this the Mets’ last home game of the 2024 season.
Now with four home games left in the regular season, the Mets are looking to fight for a return to Citi Field and are determined to make their fans sound like October for the rest of the season.
“We just have to keep riding the wave and keep coming to the ballpark, enjoying it and embracing it,” Mendoza said.
The Mets temporarily forgot any anxiety that comes with battling for the playoffs on Wednesday night, scoring nine runs in the fourth inning and getting another brilliant play from Jose Quintana to cruise to a resounding 10-0 victory over the Nationals in front of 34,196 fans at Citi Field.
“This is what you play for,” Brandon Nimmo said. “The regular season is tough and you get through it and do what you have to do every day, but this time of year the energy is high, the weather cools down a little bit and you just have this feeling that everything means more. Every pitch means more.”
Where the Mets stand in the playoff race
With the win, the Mets improved their record to 85-68 and maintained their two-game lead over the Braves in the National League wild-card race. They also defended their second wild-card spot, keeping pace with the Diamondbacks. (The Mets have the tiebreaker between the two teams.)
Now the Mets begin the gauntlet as they host the Phillies, who hold the best record in Major League Baseball, for four games beginning Thursday night. The Mets finish the season on the road with three games against the Braves and Brewers on their way back to the playoffs.
“We don’t want to look too far into the future,” Mendoza said. “The Phillies are coming to town. They’re really good. We’ve just seen them. But we’re good, too. The guys will be up to the challenge. One day mentality – keep believing.”
The Mets must be pleased with their performance heading into the final phase.
Brandon Nimmo and Luisangel Acuna lead a breakout
After allowing only one walk and one hit in the first three innings against DJ Herz of the Nationals, the Mets increased the pressure in the fourth.
They scored seven runs on five hits and two walks against the Nationals starter. After Nimmo walked and Pete Alonso singled to start the inning, Tyrone Taylor opened the scoring with an RBI double to right field and Mark Vientos followed with a two-run single to center.
Luisangel Acuña hit an RBI single through the left side that helped lead to Herz’s departure. Jacob Barnes didn’t fare much better against the red-hot Mets offense. Starling Marte hit a two-run single to right field and Nimmo hit a three-run home run – his 20th of the season – into the bullpen in right-center field to make it 9-0.
“I think that shows how strong our lineup is,” Nimmo said. “We can do damage from one through nine and have really good hitting chances from one through nine. I think we just have to keep putting pressure on them and make sure the dam finally breaks.”
Taylor continued to be one of the Mets’ best hitters on Wednesday with two hits in four at-bats, including a run and an RBI. In his last six games, Taylor is 8-for-20 with four doubles, three runs and three RBIs.
And the void left by Lindor’s injury has been covered by a collective offensive effort and the immediate success of Acuña. The rookie shortstop hit his second home run in as many days in the eighth inning after hitting his first major league home run on Tuesday. In his first five games, he’s gone 7-for-15 with four RBIs.
“You don’t have to be more than yourself,” Nimmo said. “You can’t replace Francisco Lindor, but we’re good enough that if we all play our best, we can still win games and be a very, very good team.”
Jose Quintana’s great September
Quintana is proving that he is built for the season’s crucial moments and is making it difficult for the Mets bosses to be clear about who could come out on top in the playoffs.
Every win is critical to the Mets’ chances of making it there. The veteran left-hander has been arguably the team’s most consistent starting pitcher over the past three weeks. On Wednesday, Quintana finished seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts while allowing two hits and two walks.
In his last five starts since Aug. 25 against the Padres, Quintana has allowed just one earned run in 32 innings. His 22⅔ innings scoreless streak is the longest of his career. He won four of those starts, improving his record to 10-9 while lowering his ERA from 4.57 to 3.74.
“This is unbelievable. I feel great. It was a great night for us to complete the sweep and keep going,” Quintana said. “I talked to my teammates to just keep going and take one day at a time.”
The left-hander struggled through a chaotic opening inning, allowing a leadoff single and allowing runners to get to the corners after a fielder’s choice and walk. Quintana got Juan Yepez out of trouble with a groundout, but still needed 25 pitches to get through the inning.
From there, Quintana had an easy time over the next six innings, allowing just two baserunners, a walk and a single, and getting 11 outs on the ground.
“I said I have to get the first strike and win the count and if I get it, win the 1-1 count,” Quintana said. “The sinker was really good. I doubled a couple times and I think in one inning I threw all the sinkers except probably one breaking ball. The quick outs gave me the time and the chance to get back in the pitch count and go a little deeper.”
