The Mets' offense was historic on Friday night, at least in franchise standards.
The 19 runs scored were the most the Mets have ever scored at home in their 64-year history. Six home runs contributed to that mark, with 12 coming in the first two innings alone.
New York chased Marlins young phenom Eury Perez after just two outs in the first inning and never looked back. One way the Mets got to Perez was by being on his fastball.
"He didn’t have his best stuff today, but he’s a really good arm," Mendoza said of Perez after the win. "[Juan] Soto staying on the fastball, and [Brandon Nimmo] the same thing. We knew we had to be ready for the fastball and we did that. It comes down to attacking the fastball and not missing."
Soto and Nimmo provided three of the team's six homers in the win. Nimmo launched two, one off Perez in the first inning, which capped off five straight Mets getting on base to start the game.
"The guys were on his fastball pretty well," Nimmo said after the game. "He has an elite fastball. Guys were able to put it in play and have quality at-bats against him, keep the line moving…he’s a good young arm. The guys did a good job of turning the fastball around."
If you want some more historical facts about the Mets' offensive onslaught on Friday, here are a few:
- Tonight marked the fourth time in franchise history that the Mets scored five or more runs before recording their first out of the game
- The team’s 12 runs through the first two innings of tonight’s game were the most in franchise history, breaking the previous high of 10 set on four separate occasions
- The Mets had 20 plate appearances through the first two innings of the game, a franchise record
- The team’s seven runs in the second were tied for their most in any inning this season. Their five runs in the first inning were tied for their most in any opening frame this season
"Good at-bats, up and down the lineup," Mendoza said of the performance. "We got to a really good starter today. Hit the ball out of the ballpark, went the other way when we needed to with two strikes. With runners in scoring position, we controlled the strike zone. Offensively, we know what we're capable of. It was good to see Nimm, Pete, Soto, all of those guys putting together some really good at-bats. It's always good when you're talking about records and things like that. It was a good performance."
"It’s a testament to this offense and what we’re capable of," Nimmo said. "We’ve seen it during the Phillies series and over the last 10 days. Guys really coming together and putting good ABs. It shows what this offense is capable of when it’s clicking. We did it against good arms, too. I’m very impressed and proud of this offense and what we’re capable of."
Latest on Ryan Helsley
Helsley has been dealing with a pitch tipping issue, which he believes is the cause of his struggles with the Mets.
The right-hander allowed a leadoff double in his one inning of work. While there were some hard-hit balls and a nifty play by Francisco Lindor and Alonso ended the inning, putting up a zero and getting out of trouble was good for Helsley.
"The fact that he's making adjustments, he's trying. It was a different hand positions today, threw strikes, got out of the inning. It was good to get him some work. There's only so much you can do dry side, and getting on the mound. But when you're facing batters in real competition, that's what's going to tell you. For him to get that inning was good."
Read the full article here