Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over the Nationals was the most complete game the team has played so far in 2020. Dominic Smith helped drive in some key runs, Rick Porcello was masterful, and the defense behind him was stellar.

The lineup looked a bit different behind Porcello, due to injuries to Jeff McNeil, Robinson Cano, and Amed Rosario. With Luis Guillorme at second, Andres Gimenez at short stop, J.D Davis at third, and the newly acquired Billy Hamilton in center field, the Mets put out one of their best defense lineups of the season, and it showed.

Michael Conforto made a laser of a throw from right field to nab Juan Soto at third base in the bottom of the fourth, with Gimenez keeping the tag down as Soto slid of the base only for a moment, followed up by an incredible diving play by Davis at third to rob Eric Thames of extra bases, plays that Porcello said changed the momentum of the game entirely.

“What a great defensive game we played, from Conforto’s throw to the plays that J.D made to the plays that Gimenez is making,” said Luis Rojas afterwards.

“Behind Rick, a guy that’s going to induce a lot of contact, that was a big key tonight.”

Davis’ play in particular was something to watch, given that he’s spent most of his time with the Mets as a corner outfielder. But Davis has always maintained he feels more comfortable at third, and he came up huge for the Mets on Wednesday.

“Coming off a lefty bat it was kind of spinning away from me, the little slice that it has,” Davis said of his stellar play. “Once I had it, just kind of got comfortable, took it up to a knee and flipped it over to Pete.”

“J.D. is just making that quick transition from left field to playing third base and the last couple days making some plays for us there,” said Rojas. “That play he made from his backhand and throwing from one knee, that was an outstanding play.

“This kid is a natural infielder. It’s nothing that is new for him, but to go to the outfield and bounce back, you've definitely got to come in and get some reps and remind those muscles how to move and how to react when the ball’s off the bat. He looked really good tonight.”

Davis has been known primarily for his hitting prowess, but he proved in the Mets’ win that he can flash the leather as well, and now he just hopes the team can start building something positive.

“It was a great team win today,” said Davis. “Ricky pitched awesome, we played great team defense behind him. … We did a good job and this kind of game is a good step forward as a team to put everything together. Just kind of hitting on all cylinders and hopefully we can get this thing snowballing, get some rest on the day off, and get ready for the next day.”

Popular in the Community