NY METS SECOND BASE COACH: A Walk-off to Remember

BY SEAN SMITH

July 31, 2015 —  As the 4 o’clock trade deadline loomed it seemed as if the New York Mets, although actively pursuing trade possibilities,were going to come up empty. However in the final minute of the final hour the New York Mets made the announcement that they have acquired 29 year old outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers. Cespedes through 102 games this year is batting .293 with 18 home runs and 61 runs batted in, all of which will be team highs on the Mets. When you combine the offense with his above average defensive ability and cannon for an arm, this could end up being a very beneficial move for the Mets. The Mets sent two minor league pitching prospects, Michael Fulmer and Louise Cessa, to the Tigers in exchange for Cespedes. Both prospects are expected to be competing for a major league roster spot by the 2016 season.

On the last day of July the New York Mets find themselves three games out of first place with the first place Nationals coming to town for a three game weekend series. With Matt Harvey on the hill for the Mets, and catcher Travis D’Arnaud back from injury, the “Dynamic Duo,” were clearly on the same page from the onset. Matt Harvey began the evening by setting down the first 16 batters he faced in order. Matt Harvey’s perfect game was broken up by Jose Lobaton with one out in the sixth inning. The Dark Knight ended the day with 7.2 innings of work, allowing one earned run tallying 9 strikeouts while surrendering just five hits and one hit batter. Entering the eighth inning Harvey was nursing a one run lead. After retiring the first two batters with ease, Harvey would skip a ball in the dirt that hit pinch hitter Clint Robinson, who would later be replaced by pinch runner Danny Espinosa. After a visit from pitching coach Dan Warthen up stepped Yunel Escobar with the tying run on second base. Escobar hit a single up the middle, tying the game. This would mark the end of Matt Harvey’s night leaving him with the no decision.

Tyler Clippard came in with two outs in the eighth inning inheriting two runners and Jason Werth up at bat. After a long 13 pitch at bat Clippard was finally able to get Jason Werth looking at a call strike three to end the eighth and keep the game even at 1.

The Nationals threatened in the ninth inning after consecutive base on balls surrendered by Tyler Clippard. Terry Collins had a major decision to make. Should he make the switch to recently underperforming closer Jeurys Familia or see if Clippard can work through the inning. Collins decided to go with Familia, who up until recently has been excellent on the season. Familia got his redemption today. He worked out of trouble in the ninth, and returned to the hill to pitch a 1-2-3 10th inning.

The Mets bullpen would continue to mow down Nationals. In fact the last hit the Nationals had in the game was the game tying hit in the eighth inning. Hansel Robles and Carlos Torres pitched the eleventh and twelfth innings respectively, with Torres ultimately picking up with win.

The Mets struggled on offense throughout the game, totaling just two runs on six hits for the entire game. Two of those hits belonged to Wilmer Flores. Yes thats right the rumored to be traded Wilmer Flores. The man who people have been talking about constantly over the past 48 hours. Whether if it were the topic of him being traded or the topic of him being seen crying on the field, he has created a buzz around him. It had been a rough two days for Wilmer Flores and you could see the jubilation in his eyes as he rounded the bases after hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the twelfth off of hard throwing Nationals reliever Felipe Rivero.

The New York Mets earned a hard fought victory on this warm night in July. This narrows the Nationals lead to only two games on the Metropolitans.