Our top 10 Mets wins of 2016 countdown continues with #4, a 2-1 win in the Windy City.
For #10, click here.
For #9, click here.
For #8, click here.
For #7, click here.
For #6, click here.
For #5, click here.
I chose this game because it was utterly thrilling. You already had buzz with RHP Noah Syndergaard, returning to where he made his major league debut, facing the defending Cy Young Award winner RHP Jake Arrieta.
The Mets had just lost the opener in their only visit to Wrigley for the year, which was the Cubs first win against the Mets since they swept them in the regular season in 2015. New York had yet to lose two in a row coming off the All-Star break, but they had yet to win two in a row as well, a trend that would continue till August 14th.
Though that ended up being the case, in the moment, the win felt like a miracle and solidified Rene Rivera‘s role on this team going forward.
Box Score
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Reyes 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Curtis Granderson CF-RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Yoenis Cespedes LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| James Loney 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Neil Walker 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Michael Conforto RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Juan Lagares CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rene Rivera C | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| Noah Syndergaard P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jerry Blevins P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alejandro De Aza PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Hansel Robles P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kelly Johnson PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Jeurys Familia P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 34 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 36 | 27 | 12 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/30/2016.
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Syndergaard | 5.2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2.43 |
| Jerry Blevins | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.05 |
| Hansel Robles, W (4-3) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.76 |
| Jeurys Familia, S (33) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.44 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0.00 |
Recap
Though Yoenis Cespedes singled with two out in the first frame, the Mets did not score.
Thor seemed a bit off, the Cubs getting their first two on in both the first and the second. He even threw a wild pitch in that opening inning, but he was able to get out of both jams. When Wilson Contreras doubled with two out in the third, Syndergaard and Rene Rivera combined to help the Cubs score with a wild pitch and a throwing error when Contreras broke for third.
In the bottom of the fourth, Syndergaard got two outs once more but once more gave up a double, this time to his fellow pitcher, Arrieta. On the next play, Jake was first called safe at home after Tommy La Stella‘s single, but the replay showed otherwise.
The Mets seemed to be going through the motions when Jose Reyes, just recently having returned before the All-Star break, led off the frame. He showed just how dynamic the controversial pickup could be.
Two pitches later, Granderson had tied up the game.
Syndergaard walked Contreras to start the sixth and gave up a stolen base to the young catcher. He then proceeded to strike out the next two batters, but Terry Collins had seen enough of Thor for the night and went to LHP Jerry Blevins to face Miguel Montero, who flew out.
Hansel Robles pitched two innings and only gave up one baserunner, a single to Kris Bryant.
The Mets opened the top of the ninth with a James Loney single. The Cubs had thought they had turned a double play when Neil Walker tapped one down to first, but the replay showed otherwise.
Asdrubal Cabrera singled him over to second, bringing up Michael Conforto. He unfortunately struck out, still mired in a terrible slump that eventually saw his demotion.
With two out, up walked Rene Rivera, who was actually the guy you wanted up to bat at that moment having already collected two hits on the night. He continued that hotness.
RHP Jeurys Familia entered the game in the bottom half, and he just didn’t have it. Walk, walk, then a bunt single loaded the bases. What were we to do?
Familia buckled down after his control was off, got the grounders he needed to lock down an excellent game. The Mets were 50-43 after the game, still in 3rd place behind the Nats and the Marlins.
MVP
Rene Rivera.
Not only had he become a much needed veteran captain behind the plate, on this night he pounced on mostly first pitches to collect a 3-4 with one RBI line, getting the barrel on the bat when we needed just a dunker.
He seemed to have propensity for the big hit with his .222 batting average and was a valuable piece to the 2016 ever-adapting puzzle.
Unsung hero
Though Syndergaard battled through an unsharp night, Robles handled the seventh and eighth almost perfectly. Hansel went two innings giving up no runs on one hit and one strikeout, and a sick snare you’ll see in the next section.
What is Hansel?
METS DEFENSIVE GEMS!
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Just say “Metsies” when the other team’s name comes up.
Keep an eye out for #3 of of Top 10 Wins of 2016 Countdown!
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