The Mets offense came to life in a 9-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon. >> Box score
Six things to know from Wednesday’s game
1. In his second start back on the mound since returning from the Injured List, Michael Wacha once again just didn’t look sharp early. Staked to an early 2-0 lead, Wacha ran into trouble in the second inning, which began with Pedro Severino smacking a tripe off the wall in dead center, with Jake Marisnick crashing into the wall at full speed while trying to make the play. A Ryan Mountcastle single brought in the Orioles’ first run of the day, as Wacha would then allow the tying run to score by hitting Cedric Mullens with the bases loaded on an 0-2 pitch.
Wacha gave the Mets just three innings, needing 69 pitches for those nine outs while allowing four hits, two earned runs and walking a batter. His ERA for the season stands at 7.20.
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2. David Peterson, who had never made a relief appearance in the minors or in college came out of the pen to relieve Wacha in the fourth inning. Luis Rojas called moving Peterson to the bullpen as “a today thing,” meaning Peterson could still end up starting games, but his fist relief appearance was magnificent, as he gave the Mets four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.
Perhaps the Mets will look to use this Wacha-Peterson combination again as the season progressed.
3. Michael Conforto got the Mets’ offense jump-started in the top of the first inning. After a J.D. Davis single, Conforto smashed an opposite-field home run off of John Means. Conforto’s sixth home run of the season put the Mets up early, and he’d deliver again in the top of the fifth with a double off the wall in left-center, scoring Amed Rosario to help the Mets take a 3-2 lead.
In the seventh inning, Conforto smashed another ball off the wall, this time in right, for an RBI double to make it a 5-2 game. He then contributed to the Mets’ big eighth inning with an RBI single to left field, finishing the day 4-for-5 with five RBI and three extra-base hits.
4. Pete Alonso hit a majestic home run in the top of sixth inning. The ball was hit so high that it looked to travel directly over the foul pole in left. It was the fifth home run in the history of Camden Yards to reach the second deck in left field. Alonso’s moonshot gave the Mets a 4-2 lead.
5. The Mets added four more insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning. After Robinson Cano doubled to get things started, pinch-runner Andres Gimenez would come around to score on a Marisnick single. Later in the inning, Jeff McNeil would double on a ball deflected off second baseman Pat Valaika’s glove to drive in another run, a third run would score on a wild pitch, and a fourth on Conforto’s bloop single to left.
6. Todd Frazier had a quiet first game back with the Mets following his trade from the Texas Rangers. Batting cleanup, Frazier went 0-for-5 with a strikeout.
What’s next
The Mets and Yankees will play one make-up game on Thursday at 4:10 p.m. at Citi Field, as Robert Gsellman faces J.A. Happ.
Coverage on SNY begins at 3:30 p.m.