Mets score eight runs in first inning to rout Marlins
Mets shortstop Amed Rosario is greeted by Brandon Nimmo, Wilson Ramos and Michael Conforto after his grand slam against the Marlins during the first inning at Citi Field on Friday Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It’s a recurring nightmare, something akin to falling off a cliff, and it’s stayed with the Mets for a year now.
Mickey Callaway knows as well as anyone how quickly things can sour — at this point, “11-1” probably sends a cold snap of fear down his spine — and as the Mets on Friday stared down a pivotal homestand, there was no downplaying how much the next few games could mean.
It was abundantly clear before the game, when Jeff Wilpon met with Callaway and Brodie Van Wagenen for 90 minutes to discuss how they can avoid a repeat of 2018. There were no ultimatums and no job threats, according to a source, but the troubleshooting session made something clear: The Mets need to snap out of this funk, and fast.
Fortunately for them, they were playing the last-place Marlins.
The Mets gave a resounding response to Wilpon’s meeting, scoring eight runs in the first inning of an 11-2 victory. Amed Rosario hit a grand slam in the first and Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil hit solo homers in the second and third. Zack Wheeler allowed two runs, nine hits and a walk in seven innings, striking out 11.
“I just called Jeff and told him we’re having another one tomorrow,” Callaway joked. “This meeting had a different focus [than their usual meetings]. This meeting was about how can we be better? How can we get going in the right direction? It was very productive. It was more about, hey, what do we have to do to put ourselves in a better position, because none of us are satisfied with what’s been going on to this point.”
It was a promising start to a stretch the Mets absolutely need to take advantage of. Despite entering the day three games under .500, they were only 4 1⁄2 games out of first place. That, combined with a soft stretch against the Marlins, Nationals and Tigers, means this team has a chance to not fall off the same cliff that claimed it last year.
It also could mean Callaway’s livelihood, though the Mets generally don’t make a habit of firing managers at midseason (Willie Randolph being the exception in 2008).
Friday also was a prime opportunity to get some bats going. Conforto’s homer was his first since April 21 and his single in the first broke a four-game hitless streak.
“There’s no secret we’ve been struggling,” Callaway said. “Nimmo has been struggling, Michael Conforto has been struggling, Ramos has been struggling . . . There comes a point where you’ve just gotta forget it, whatever has happened. If you’re not injured, you’re the same player you were two weeks ago when you were raking. The only thing that’s different is your mindset, because you’ve been struggling.”
Callaway couldn’t have dreamed up a better first inning, then, a veritable feeding frenzy for the offense-starved Mets, who sent 13 men to the plate against Pablo Lopez and had eight hits, two walks and a hit batsman. It’s the first time they’ve scored eight in the first inning since June 16, 1989. It also was the first time they had performed that feat at home since 1979.
McNeil got it started with a bunt single, and though he eventually was thrown out trying to go first to third, Callaway said it energized the dugout. J.D. Davis scored on a wild pitch and Ramos legged out an infield single for the second run of the game. Nimmo walked to force home a run and Rosario went the opposite way for the first grand slam of his career, a drive to right-center. Robinson Cano later singled to make it 8-0.
Everyone in the lineup reached base in the inning except for Wheeler. The Mets managed only 15 runs total in their six-game road trip, and seven came in a single game.
The second inning was quieter, though Conforto did homer into the second deck in right, making it 9-0. Every player Callaway mentioned pregame — Nimmo, Conforto, Ramos — had good offensive nights, especially Conforto, who went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.
“This is one game,” Callaway said. “We can feel good about this tonight. We have to come in tomorrow and have the same persistence, the same effort, the same focus that we did tonight and continue to win, and start piling those on.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
