Just two days ago, the New York Mets were looking around the league for a big bat that would help out their lineup. At 9:00 pm EDT on Wednesday night, it appeared that the Mets got their guy in Carlos Gomez.
As rumors were going around, it seemed that the Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a trade that would send Gomez to New York for Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores. News got around quickly through all social media outlets, and Mets fans that were at the game were aware of what was happening. However, manager Terry Collins and the players were a little behind the news.
With the game still going on, Wilmer Flores was due up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. While he was getting ready on deck, fans that were sitting in the few rows behind him were yelling to Flores that he had been traded. Surely, a player normally does not to listen to fans, but, unfortunately for Flores, it was true. During and after his at-bat, it was clear that Flores was beside himself and upset that he heard that news.
Captain David Wright, who is currently on the disabled list, went down into the clubhouse to check out what was going on, and he came back to the bench and said that everything was true. However, Collins never received a call that the trade was official, so he had to play to win the game, and he kept Flores in.
While he ran out to the field in the top of the eighth, Flores was the center of attention, and it was clear that he was emotional as he was crying at his position. Not only is it tough for a player to learn that he is traded, but to hear it from the fans first hurts the player even more. Another reason why this is upsetting to Flores is because he has been with the Mets since he signed a contract at age 16, so the Mets are all he knows.
Then, out of nowhere, the trade between the Mets and Brewers was suddenly off. The reason for it appeared to be medical reasons surrounding Wheeler, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. However, that was no it. Then the issue was Gomez, whom the Mets claimed had a bad hip and were afraid to trade for an injured player even though Gomez has been playing every day. As the two sides battled on the Public Relations front, the real reason appeared to be financial for the Mets as they did not like the money situation in the trade. After all of that, the trade was off, and both Wheeler and Flores were still on the Mets.
Fast forward to Friday night. Just four hours after the Mets made a big trade for Yoenis Cespedes, Wilmer Flores was once again the center of attention.
The Mets and Washington Nationals were set to start an important three-game set as New York trailed Washington by three games in the division. The game started off slow, but that was because Matt Harvey and Gio Gonzalez were on the hill, and they both came out strong. Neither pitcher surrendered a run over the first three innings, and it looked like the lineups for both teams were in for a long night.
Harvey shut down the Nats in the top of the fourth, and Gonzalez was looking to do the same against the Mets. Gonzalez got two quick outs as he got Ruben Tejada to foul out to first and then Daniel Murphy to fly out to left. Unfortunately, Gonzalez committed a pitcher's sin as walked two batters, Juan Uribe and Travis d'Arnaud with two outs. Due up next was Wilmer Flores.
It did not look promising for Flores as he was quickly down 0-2 in the count after looking at two fastballs. Flores then fouled off three straight pitches, which were followed by a ball outside. After that pitch, Gonzalez came back with a curveball but left it over the plate. Flores sat back and ripped it towards shortstop, where Ian Desmond dove to make a play, but it bounced off his glove. The ball went into short left field, and Uribe came around to score the first run of the game.
Harvey got that run and ran with it for the next three innings. Harvey was dominant, and he had pinpoint accuracy the entire night, collecting eight strikeouts through seven innings. He got his ninth strikeout of the game in top of the eighth as he retired Michael Taylor for the first out. Harvey then got Jose Lobaton to fly out, and he was just one out away from getting through eight scoreless innings.
Clint Robinson was due up next, pinch-hitting for pitcher Tanner Roark. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Harvey threw a pitch down-and-in, and as it appeared to just hit the dirt, home plate umpire Jerry Meals awarded Robinson first base. Apparently, Robinson was hit by that pitch, and Collins quickly came out to challenge. The call was upheld, and Robinson remained on first.
Anthony Rendon was up next, and he hit a weak ground ball to shortstop, which he beat out, giving the Nationals runners on first and second and an opportunity to even up the score. Yunel Escobar was up for Nationals, and he was probably the one Washington player who consistently had good at-bats against Harvey all night long.
After throwing two pitches out of the strike zone, Harvey fought back and got the count to 2-and-2. On the fifth pitch, Harvey tried to go back upstairs against Escobar, but he did not get the pitch high enough. Escobar got a nice swing off, and roped the ball up the middle, bringing around Danny Espinosa to tie the game. Washington could not find a way to get a second run in, and the game was now headed to the bottom of the inning.
The Mets could not muster anything together in the bottom half of the eighth, and that remained the story in the ninth, and the game was then headed for extras.
Neither team could put anything together in the 10th or 11th innings, so the game prolonged until the 12th. Carlos Torres was called upon by Collins, and he retired the Nationals in order and gave the Mets another walk-off opportunity.
New York did not exactly have their power bats due up, but the man who was the center of attention, good or bad over the last 48 hours, was at the plate. While Flores already had a big hit earlier in the game, he was just trying to be a good lead-off hitter and find any way to get on base to get a rally started. The first pitch of the at-bat was a ball outside, which was followed by a pitch that caught Flores looking, evening the count at 1-and-1.
The third pitch of the at-bat was a fastball inside, and Flores took a rip at it. He drove the ball towards the right-center field gap, and it was sure to be at least a double. However, the ball just kept going further, chasing Taylor back towards the fence. As Taylor approached the fence, he looked up and watched the ball travel into the Party City Deck for the game-winning home run.
Video courtesy of MLB.com
After an incredible up-and-down week, Flores delivered one of (if not the most) important hits of the Mets' season up to this point. His home run gave the Mets a 2-1 victory and shortened the Nationals lead in the division to two games.
The last week or so has been an exciting time for the Mets and their fans as they became buyers toward the trade deadline. The additions of Uribe, Kelly Johnson, and Tyler Clippard were certainly helpful, but the big trade that brought Cespedes to town was the icing on the cake. And after Friday night's big win, the Mets are certainly looking like a team poised to make a run.