Game #46: Mets 6, Padres 1

Lucas Duda crushes second-inning home run to tie the score against the Padres on Friday night. (NYDailyNews.com)

With the game inching closer to the variety of yesterday's laugher, the local boy reeled in the ball, the game, and eventually, the win.

Mike Baxter's game-saving catch in the 1st inspired one of Dillon Gee's best career starts and the Mets rebounded to take down the Padres, 6-1.

The Good Stuff:

• Dillon Gee had put runners on first and third with one out in the 1st and appeared in deep trouble as Jesus Guzman launched one to left field. But the Whitestone Kid, Mike Baxter, made a leaping grab up against the wall and made a toss to first to double off Yonder Alonzo for the inning-ending double play. The first run did score, but the play seemed to energize the whole team, and San Diego would score no more.
• The game was tied in the 2nd when Lucas Duda blasted his first home run in about a month. In the next inning, Gee helped his own cause with a 1-out double, and soon came home on another double by "my good friend Baxter over here." Baxter was in turn brought home by Kirk Nieuwenhuis on a line drive single, and all of a sudden the Mets were up 3-1.
• New York put it away in the 5th when after Nieuwenhuis singled and Duda drew a 2-out walk, Daniel Murphy laced a double to left to score one. On the very next pitch, Ike Davis lifted a line drive into center to bring home two more and make it 6-1. It was Ike's second straight game with a 2-run single, and Met fans get more hopeful with every swing of the bat.
• The run support was more than enough for Dillon Gee, who turned in one of his best starts as a major-leaguer, going the Solid Seven, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, and striking out a career-high 9 batters to pick up his 4th W of 2012.
• After Gee made his exit, the New York bullpen came in and did brilliant mop-up duty: Tim Byrdak worked the equivalent of 3 Byrdak appearances by going through a whole inning, and Ramon Ramirez handled a 1-2-3 9th to secure the win.

The Bad Stuff:

• David Wright went 0-3 with a walk to drop his average to .397, but really we're just fishing for Bad Stuff at this point; if the Mets can score 6 runs with David Wright going hitless, that's a pretty darn good day.

Final Analysis:
This is the kind of game we expected last night before the rains came. Better late than never: the Mets had solid pitching, clutch hitting, and fantastic bullpen work, and it resulted in one of the more convincing wins they've picked up this season. Ironically, it can still be counted as a comeback win: down 1, New York scored 6 unanswered runs to secure the victory. Funny how those things happen, right? One of the many, many reasons I love baseball.

MM