The New York Mets welcomed rookie outfielder A.J. Ewing to Citi Field, and he gave the offense a huge jolt.
The New York Mets got an energy jolt from their newest rookie outfielder tonight in their 10-2 win over the Tigers, as A.J. Ewing tripled, walked three times and stole a base while driving in a pair and scoring twice to add a spark to the Mets offense.
The Tigers got on the board first off starter Freddy Peralta, though, starting with solo shot by Dillon Dingler. Wendell Perez singled and Gage Workman doubled after that, and Spencer Torkelson brought home the second run on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
It was all Mets after that, and it was also all about Ewing and fellow rookie Carson Benge. The two outfielders generated traffic on the bases all night, as the Mets scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, then seven runs in the last three innings to put this one away.
The Mets also pounded out 13 hits, getting multi-hit games from Benge, Juan Soto and Brett Baty as the Mets received offense from up and down the lineup. It was impossible not to notice the difference in the energy level in this one, and the Mets can only hope it continues going forward.
Peralta was the beneficiary, as he went six strong innings to get the win. The starter finished with seven strikeouts as he rebounded from a shaky second inning to give up just those two runs while striking out seven.
Tiger starter Jack Flaherty had a rough night, giving up three runs in just 3-2/3 innings. He struggled with his control as he walked three and gave up six hits. Detroit’s relievers weren’t much better, as Burch Smith, Emmanuel De Jesus and Ricky Vanasco gave up seven more runs to let the game get completely out of hand. Several of the runs weren’t earned as the Tigers had a tough night in the field, too, committing a couple of bad errors to contribute to the Mets cause.
The lone dark spot for the evening came when catcher Francisco Alvarez had to leave the game in the sixth inning after wrenching his knee on a violent swing. The injury didn’t stop the Mets offense from scoring more runs, but Alvarez’s situation bears watching given how many players the Mets already have on the IL.
Christian Scott goes for New York tomorrow night against Framber Valdez for the Tigers as the Mets try to follow up in game two and earn a series win.