Mets Outslug Guardians, 13-6, To Get Rare Series Sweep

The New York Mets pounded the Cleveland Guardians, 13-6, to sweep their three-game series as they hammered out 18 hits and three home runs and win in a route.

The game went back and forth early with the Guardians scoring first off Mets starter Nolan McLean with a pair of runs. Angel Martinez brought both runs home with an RBI single, but the 2-0 Cleveland lead didn’t last long. 

The Mets started their home run barrage in the second as Marcus Semien hit a solo shot, and Luis Torrens followed up with a two-run homer off Cleveland starter Foster Griffin, who was making his first start for the Guardians after being acquired at the deadline from the Washington Nationals. 

The Mets padded their lead with two more in the third as Carson Benge tripled home a run, with Semien driving in Benge with a sac fly. They added a run in the fifth on an RBI single from Jared Young, and it looked like the Mets were in good shape. 

But McLean wasn’t sharp in this one, and the Guardians came back to make it a game in the fifth with three of their own. Nathaniel Lowe did the damage with a three-run homer, and just like that it was a close game at 6-5. McLean managed to make it through five, but his line was an unsightly five runs and eight hits to go wth three walks and eight strikeouts. 

The Mets broke the game open with three runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth as they destroyed the Cleveland bullpen. Francisco Lindor did the initial damage with a three-run homer, and the Mets scored two of their next three runs on bases-loaded walks with Bo Bichette singling home another run. 

The Mets added a token run in the ninth, and the reconfigured Mets bullpen did another excellent job to finish up. The names aren’t familiar, but Nate Lavender, Kodai Senga and Xzavion Curry combined to give up just that line run. 

The Mets now head to Pittsburgh with a three-game winning streak, and they’re undefeated after the trade deadline. The wins don’t matter in the standings, but the Mets are playing loose right now, and they look like they’re actually having fun after forced-march first half of the season. Zac Thornton will toe the rubber against the Pirates tomorrow night, with Pittsburgh not announcing a starter so far.