Just when things were looking grim, the miracle Mets struck again.
New York was completely shut down by old friend Zack Wheeler for the first seven innings of Saturday’s NLDS Game 1 matchup, but as has been the case over the past couple of weeks, they just found a way to come through.
“We believe in ourselves and we know that if we just keep pressing on the dam, eventually it will break,” Brandon Nimmo said.
Well, when Philadelphia finally handed things over to the bullpen in the top of the eighth, things finally broke, as the Mets were able to get the first two men on base with a Francisco Alvarez single and Francisco Lindor walk.
Mark Vientos then got New York on the board with an RBI single to left, followed by a go-ahead opposite-field single from Nimmo, and Pete Alonso tacked on an insurance run with a sacrifice fly.
After Jose Iglesias worked a tremendous at-bat for a single, J.D. Martinez came off the bench with a much-needed RBI single of his own, then Starling Marte capped off the thrilling five-run inning with a sacrifice fly.
“We found a way to get it done,” Martinez told SNY’s Steve Gelbs. “Everybody in front of us just found ways to battle. Nimmo. Big hit. Vientos. Big hit. Iggy battled, then to get that hit up the middle was huge. That’s what you gotta do in the playoffs.”
“Really good at-bats against some elite arms,” Carlos Mendoza said. “This is something we’ve done throughout the year. When we’re clicking as a team offensively, these are the things we do. We put the ball in play, use all fields, and we’re not thinking too big.”
After being held to just one hit through seven innings, the Mets came through with six runs on seven knocks over the closing two frames to help them pull out yet another thrilling come-from-behind win.
It’s now their third comeback in the past week as they continue to roll right along in this incredible playoff run.
“One of the things we’ve talked about is finishing the game to the ninth,” Vientos said. “The game is never over, we’ve been running with that mentality for the past week in Atlanta and the last game in Milwaukee and it’s given us a ton of confidence.”
While they know there's still a long way to go in this five-game set, this club also understands how important it was for them to be able to come out and grab the first game in such a hostile environment.
"It's a longer series than we have been playing," Nimmo said. "In Atlanta, we had the two-game series for our lives and in Milwaukee, it was three, so you still come in understanding you have to win three games and it doesn't matter how long you get there, as long as you get there.
"So winning Game 1 is important, it puts a lot of pressure on the other team. But there are a lot of professionals here, that side has a ton of mature players who have been here before, so they understand losing Game 1 doesn't put them down and out and they'll come ready tomorrow."