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Photo: MLB.com
Welcome back to the Amazins in Astoria, a season long chronicle of my life in relation to the 2022 New York Mets.
For the first entry in this series, click here.
For the previous entry in this series, click here.
Homestand Against The Padres (58-35 Pre-Series Record)
On Friday afternoon, John Heyman reports that the Mets have traded Colin Holderman to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Daniel Vogelbach. He's no Soto, but with an Isolated Power of .202 this season, he'll be a huge help at DH. While he has shown plenty of times that he's got some sneaky speed, I really think his success will be determined by his ability to drive Alonso and Lindor home on a nightly basis. Plus, if the Mets fail to get Soto and can still improve their bullpen at the deadline, he'll still be considered a solid pickup.
Considering the fact that Vogelbach is pretty solid against righties, I really wished they would have gotten him just a bit earlier, as RHP Yu Darvish lights up the Mets in Game 1 of the 2nd half. Striking out 9, 6 Mets go down thanks to Darvish's splitter, which he keeps low and slightly outside pretty much all night. Scherzer, while only allowing a home run to Eric Hosmer, is getting a lot more work than usual tonight, allowing 5 hits and leaving after 6 innings. I'm sure he could have cleaned it up if he stuck it out, but I'd rather see him leave now and risk the loss than be too tired to start against the Yankees next week. It's a tough 4-1 loss, but against a team like the Padres, I wasn't expecting a sweep.
On Saturday, the Padres keep the Mets at bay once again with their top tier rotation. When healthy, I really think the Mets starters can be very dangerous in any 3-4 game series, but against the Padres, who could hit you with Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove in any given stretch, you'll need some serious power at the plate to gain an advantage. Even then however, you'll still need to hold down their own power at the plate, specifically guys like Manny Machado. While he hasn't been playing up to the MVP caliber most were expecting, he can still crank it when he needs, which he does against Chris Bassitt in the top of the 6th, giving the Padres a 2-0 lead which they would not relinquish. With that shot to left center, the Mets pitching staff has now allowed 104 homers in 2022, and while still not in the top 10 most in the league, it's definitely the biggest drawback of this team defensively.
As Daniel Vogelbach takes the field on Sunday evening, I don't think anyone expected him to take on the hero role he would tonight. After 4 straight innings without allowing a single hit, Joe Musgrove finally cracks as Vogelbach steps up to the plate and rips one into right field. While Vogelbach's 1st hit as a Met doesn't lead to any runs, it's enough to illicit a big ovation from the Citi Field lower bowl, as well as spark a huge late Mets run.
In the 6th, Alonso homers on a perfectly placed slider to center, sending Marte and Lindor home to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Vogelbach walks, heads to 2nd on a Canha groundout, and then immediately turns on the jets to score on a Luis Guillorme single. Making up for just the 2 runs scored on Friday and Saturday, the Mets are up 8-1 on the Padres by the end of the 7th, and while the Padres begin to mount a late comeback, it's way too big of a hill to climb in just 2 innings.
It's a great team win to shake off a 3-game slump, but in the postgame, the focus is pretty much all on Vogelbach, who gets hounded in the locker room postgame. While he took some time to appreciate his 1st game as a Met, I was stoked to see how excited he was for the upcoming Subway Series. While the Mets will hold on to 1st place in the East regardless of how this series goes, this trip to Yankee Stadium will be their biggest 2022 test yet, and Danny V will provide some serious power against possibly one the best offensive teams this century.