Snake Bytes Sim Season: 5/11 - Home Cooking

A cursory glance at the box score might lead one to believe that, once again, Robbie Ray got by while playing with fire. Well, yes and no. It is true that the New York Mets tagged Ray for three runs in the opening inning. After getting two quick outs, Ray allowed a single to Pete Alonso. Alonso advanced on a passed ball. Then, another single brought a sprinting Alonso home. It turns out that, even if Alonso had stayed at third, it would not have mattered. The next batter, Michael Conforto, took Ray deep. That put the Mets up three. Ray then got Jake Marisnick to fly out to left on a play where David Peralta didn’t even have to move to make the catch.

As has been the case in the past, Ray was clearly bitten by the long ball. This one was a two-run shot that quite easily could have been three. There is, however, another Robbie Ray; the one who can, and sometimes does, dominate an opponent’s lineup. That particular Ray showed up for the next five innings. Ray only allowed three hits during the course of the next five innings (two of them in a one-run sixth). More importantly, he didn’t walk a single hitter. He also added eight more strikeouts in those five innings. This was 2017-esque Ray.

Once the Diamondbacks returned to the dugout for the bottom of the first inning, David Peralta wasted no time in assuring Ray that the offense was not going to roll over quietly. Peralta took the very first pitch from Noah Sydergaard and hit a home run of his own to trim the New York lead to two. The Diamondbacks continued to chip away at the Mets’ lead when Ketel Marte hit a lead-off triple in the bottom of the fourth. He came home on a sac fly by Christian Walker.

The sixth inning was the big inning of the game. For the Mets, Branon Nimmo finall figured out how to get to Ray. He bunted for a hit, giving the Mets only their second base runner since their three-run first. He then came home on a double by J.D. The rest of the frame consisted of two strikeouts and a lazy pop fly to shallow center by Conforto.

His offense finally having found a way to extend the lead back to two runs, Syndergaard took the mound to pitch the sixth inning. He lost Christian Walker to a base on balls after an extended at-bat. Kole Calhoun was next up. Despite struggling mightily of late, he was ready when Thor tried to bring the heat. He took Sydergaard deep, tying the game. That brought up Carson Kelly. Kelly seemed to think that Calhoun was having fun and decided to try that home run thing for himself. Boom! Arizona was up one, just like that. Kelly’s home run brought an end to Syndergaard’s evening, the power righty not having recorded an out in the inning.

Andrew Chafin came on to pinch the seventh. The Mets, via a single, a productive ground out, and another single, managed to tie things back up. Both teams were then scoreless in the seventh.

In the eighth inning, Nick Ahmed reached safely after an error by Luis Guillorme. The second baseman was unable to field the ball cleanly and then made a rough throw to first. This brought Stephen Vogt to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Vogt poke a pitch the other way, leading to a double into left. With the ball coming in from left, Ahmed was forced to hold up at third. The Mets then walked Peralta intentionally, loading the bases. Ildemaro Vargas then worked the count full before drilling a single through the 5.5 hole at 111.9 mph. That gave the Diamondbacks another one-run lead.

Virtual Lovullo turned the ball over to Archie Bradley for the ninth inning. The right-hander did not disappoint, notching another save.

Final Score: NYM 5 - AZ 6

The player of the game was David Peralta. The Arizona outfielder was 3-for-4 on the afternoon with a home run and an intentional walk. Honorable mention goes to Robbie Ray for the way he dominated once he settled in.

These two teams will meet again tomorrow evening. Steven Matz will pitch for the Mets. The Diamondbacks will counter with Madison Bumgarner.