After a 15-2 tromping on Monday night at Citi Field, the Mets did things differently in this one, as they secured a 2-0 shutout victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Here are some takeaways...
- Sean Manaea came into the night having not provided the Mets with much length over his past two outings, but he was absolutely brilliant in this one, completely overpowering the Minnesota lineup. The southpaw had his signature sweeper working from the get-go as he worked his way efficiently and effectively through the night. He allowed just two hits and one walk while setting a new season-high with 11 strikeouts across seven shutout innings to lower his ERA to 3.50 on the season.
- Just like Monday night, the Mets were held scoreless by Twins starter David Festa over the first three innings, but they were finally able to scratch one across against him in the fourth, as J.D. Martinez lined an RBI single up the middle. The veteran slugger picked up a double in his next at-bat, and he's been settling back into a groove at the plate of late, driving in seven runs over his last four games.
- An inning later, Mark Vientos followed that up with a line drive homer into the left-field seats. He now has extra-base hits in three straight contests and he continues to be a revelation in the middle of the Mets' lineup, producing 15 homers and a .898 OPS across 62 games. Former Mets captain and star third baseman David Wright was in attendance and he offered some high praise of the youngster during his interview with SNY's Steve Gelbs.
- Jesse Winker was pulled in the top of the seventh for the second straight night as the Mets look to ease him back into right field for the first time in over a year. The sweet-swinging lefty did pick up another base knock up the middle, giving him a pair of hits across his first six at-bats since being picked up in a trade with the Nationals.
- After recently acquired right-hander Ryne Stanek worked into some trouble because of a Pete Alonso error in the top of the eighth, Edwin Diaz came on against the top of Minnesota's order and recorded his first shutout save of the year to secure the victory. The star closer has now allowed just one earned run while striking out 10 batters across eight appearances since returning from his sticky substance suspension.
Game MVP: Sean Manaea
The left-hander was absolutely dominant as he provided New York with some much-needed length in what was easily his best outing since donning the orange and blue.