Saturday’s afternoon affair with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field didn't seem like it was going to be the Mets' afternoon.
Jacob deGrom was not quite his dominant self, though a less-than-dominant deGrom still held the Phillies to just two earned runs over six innings of work. Meanwhile, the offense continued to look lost for most of the game, following an undesirable recent trend.
But when the game was on the line – as has so often been the case the season – the Mets found a way to scrap and claw their way to a 4-3 walk-off victory, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the crowd home happy.
“These guys come in every day ready to win a baseball game,” said deGrom. “We were down three separate times in that game and were able to battle back and get a win. They're locked in every pitch, every at-bat, every out, and they find a way. It's been fun to be a part of.”
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Kevin Pillar delivered a huge solo home run to right field, tying the game and swinging the momentum back to the Mets’ favor.
And then, even after Edwin Diaz allowed the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, the Mets battled for two runs off of Hector Neris in the bottom half to come away with the win.
“I think it’s just the resiliency of this team. We never feel like we’re out of games,” said Pillar. “We always feel like we’re one hit, we’re one at-bat away from getting hot.
“We are confident in each other. The nice thing, the blessing with not having any individual guy carry us to this point is everyone feels as if when they step in the box, they have their moment. We believe in one another. You don’t get that a lot of places. Normally teams struggle offensively, and you hop on someone’s back and you’re kind of waiting for that guy’s turn to come up and you’re hoping for good results.
“I feel like it’s not just one-through-nine, guys are coming off the bench contributing ... We all believe in one another and I think that’s why when things don’t look good offensively, we still find ways to win games.”
In many ways, the Mets have followed the tone set by manager Luis Rojas, who always seems to keep the same calm demeanor no matter the situation, a quality that many players have praised.
After Saturday’s big win, Rojas spoke about the team being able to keep things “in neutral,” which he says has gone a long way towards the Mets’ success this season, despite their hitting struggles.
“I think it’s a group mindset right now where everyone just stays in neutral throughout any type of circumstances, whether it’s in between the lines or it’s something that happens away in the clubhouse. Everywhere we are as a family, as a team, we just stay neutral. We’re just ready,” Rojas said.
“We believe that there’s always a chance, there’s always opportunity. I think we see the positive side of everything … This is the group mindset, man. These guys are like that every day, regardless of what the score is. They’re always going to stay neutral, they’re always going to believe that they’re going to come back, they’re going to fight, that they can win. That’s what we believe every day.”