BALTIMORE — One night after getting blown out by the Orioles, the Mets returned the favor and took over Camden Yards with six home runs and an excellent performance from Taijuan Walker.
Pete Alonso, Billy McKinney, Mason Williams and Kevin Pillar all homered, with McKinney and Pillar busting out for two-dinger days in the Mets’ 14-1 rout over the Orioles on Wednesday. It was the kind of offensive performance fans expected against a last-place Orioles team, made possible in part because the Mets’ former ace was on the mound for Baltimore.
Matt Harvey pitched like his career is coming to an end. The Mets tagged him for seven earned runs on eight hits and knocked him out of his start after just three innings. Combined with the last time he faced his old team, complete with an emotional ovation from fans at Citi Field, the Mets have rallied for 14 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings against Harvey this season. His ERA shot up to 7.41, nothing like the All-Star pitcher who helped the Mets get to the World Series in 2015.
But this is 2021, and the Mets were happy that Walker (5-2) was on the mound twirling nine strikeouts across 93 dominant pitches. He lowered his ERA to 2.07 after seven innings of one-run ball, retiring 17 of his last 19 batters faced. Walker’s 2.07 ERA ranks fifth in the National League and sixth in the majors. Owning the lowest in MLB is, of course, Jacob deGrom with an almost invisible 0.62 ERA.
Mets hitters boosted their confidence in their home-run party against the Orioles’ pitching staff on Wednesday. Even when they held a 10-run lead in the ninth, they poured it on for more. McKinney, whom the Mets picked up just two weeks ago in a trade with the Brewers, has four home runs in just 12 games since coming to Queens. The outfielder has flashed a quick bat speed and strong defensive plays, making a case for himself to remain on the roster ahead of the Mets’ roster crunch in the coming weeks.
The Mets (30-24) finished strong in their nine-game, three-city road trip with a 5-4 record. With most Orioles fans out of the stadium by the seventh inning, the large assembly of Mets fans turned Camden Yards into a home-field vibe. “Let’s Go Mets!” chants broke out in earnest after Pillar and Williams crushed back-to-back homers in the eighth.
