BUFFALO, N.Y. _ If you want to know how Friday's Mets-Blue Jays game went, here goes: The SNY trio of Wayne Randazzo (filling in for play-by-play man Gary Cohen), Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling began talking about SEC football in the top of the fourth inning. By then, we were almost two hours into this game.
You can thank the Mets' offense for that.
At Sahlen Field, the makeshift 2020 home of the Toronto Blue Jays, the visitors unloaded. Behind a 10-run fourth inning, the Mets hung a season-high 18 runs in an 18-1 victory over the Blue Jays. It continued a hot week at the plate, which the group hopes extends further into September as it chases a postseason berth.
The Mets' scoring totals this week, beginning with Sunday: 14 (previous season high), 8, 2, 7, 19 (season high).
Friday marked the second time in Mets history that the team scored at least 14 runs in consecutive starts by the same pitcher (the last time coming in 1992 when the club did so for Sid Fernandez). That Jacob deGrom, known for the lack of run support he gets, found himself on the receiving end might have been most surprising.
Nine Mets collected at least one hit.
Other than deGrom, New York's starting pitching has mostly been bad. Its bullpen has faltered at times. The team may not be able to remedy these issues at this point of the season.
The Mets (21-24) are showing they might be able to grab a postseason spot despite those problems. Yes, this offense can be that explosive.
In this inning, when the floodgates opened, the Mets sent 14 batters to the plate. The first six reached before Anthony Kay, one of two arms sent to Toronto last summer for Marcus Stroman, recorded an out. By that time, the Mets had already scored five runs, punctuated by Dominic Smith's first-career grand slam.
After Kay struck out Pete Alonso for out No. 1, the Blue Jays went to Jacob Waguespack.
The Mets hammered him, too.
The first batter he faced, Jeff McNeil, singled. He then hit Andres Gimenez to load the bases.
Wilson Ramos, who has struggled at the plate this season, scorched a bases-clearing double. The Mets led, 12-1.
They still weren't done.
Michael Conforto hit an RBI single before J.D. Davis smoked an RBI double. New York led, 14-1.
Some context on how dominant the Mets were in this inning (and the one before it): Kay, who entered with a 2.45 ERA over 11 relief appearances, required 42 pitches to record two outs between the third and fourth innings. DeGrom, on the other hand, threw 44 pitches ... through three full innings.
The fourth began like this:
Ramos walk. Nimmo single. Conforto walk. Davis fielder's choice. Smith grand slam.
It ended, mercifully for the Blue Jays, when Smith struck out on the next turn through the order.
Still, the inning showed what this offense is capable of on a given night. The Mets did not receive much luck, other than one play (more soon). It was no fluke. The hitters simply strung together quality at-bats and, as the adage goes, "passed the baton" from one man to the next.
The inning made you forget that Toronto actually scored first as it scratched a first-inning run off deGrom. It also allowed the SNY guys to begin debating which college football rivalry game would be best to attend.
The Mets didn't need the two good breaks they received, but they were still strange.
1. In the third, when Kay entered, he got Jeff McNeil to hit a fly ball to right-center field. It should have been an out to end the inning, but the Blue Jays' outfielders couldn't find it in the lights. The ball fell and a run scored, giving the Mets a three-run lead. Once he reached second, McNeil flashed a huge smile toward his teammates in the dugout, indicating he would take the double any way it came.
2. In the fourth inning, the Blue Jays helped fuel the Mets' outburst. With the bases loaded, Davis hit a ball to short. It was hit sharply and Ramos, who was at third, thought it was caught so he did not run home. But once he Toronto shortstop Santiago Espinal began to throw home, Ramos ran. Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen couldn't catch it and the ball squirted away, which allowed Ramos, who isn't fast, to touch home.
DeGrom, who allowed a run on three hits over six innings, lowered his ERA to 1.67. That figure leads the National League.
DeGrom's bid for a third consecutive Cy Young Award is looking good through nine starts. If he performs to his potential the rest of the way, he should take home the award again.
