Wilmer Flores, who gained national attention for weeping on the field Wednesday after he was traded in a later nullified trade, hit a walk-off homer in the 12th inning to lead the New York Mets (53-50) past the Washington Nationals (54-47), 2-1. But due to a failed Carlos Gomez physical, the trade did not go through. He retired his first 16 batters before Jose Lobaton singled in the sixth, prompting a collective groan and then a warm hand from fans who began chanting “Harvey!” Despite a replay that appeared to show the ball missed Robinson, the Mets’ challenge was unsuccessful.
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A couple of bonus trends for you to consider: The under is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams when the game is played in New York and 3-1-3 in Gonzalez’s last seven starts versus the Mets.
Flores’ expression didn’t change much as he rounded the bases, but he broke into a wide grin upon nearing home plate and flinging his helmet in the air before he was mobbed by teammates.
But there could be some clubhouse issues, asThe Washington Post and MLB.com reported that Storen and his agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, met with Washington general manager Mike Rizzo in New York July 30, presumably to talk about Storen’s role with the club after the addition of Papelbon. Only to Flores thoughts that it would be the last time he will be in Citi field.
Needless to say, it was a disaster of an inning for Gonzalez. And now on July 31st, 2015, Wilmer Flores has proven to Mets fans that he belongs. With Gonzalez facing Matt Harvey in the pitching matchup, the total sits at 6.5 runs.
For his part, Gio Gonzalez, put together another in a string of solid starts.
But called upon to pitch a third inning, Flores buckled, giving up the deciding home run to the inning’s first batter.
That run nearly held up for the entire game. It was the first game-ending home run for Flores, who has played in the big-leagues since 2013. It forced the Nationals to use Dan Uggla at first base and Ryan Zimmerman in the outfield. If anyone deserves a good day, it’s Flores, but it was tough to see the Nationals drop such a critical game.
“We’ve got to make up some ground here so we can stay in the hunt”, Collins said before the game.
After throwing two pitches out of the strike zone, Harvey fought back and got the count to 2-and-2.
Carlos Torres pitched the twelfth for the Mets, and retired the side on three strikeouts. He kept the ball away from both.
The Baltimore Orioles came from 6-0 down to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7 with a three-run homer by Adam Jones and a two-run shot from Manny Machado.
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.
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Give credit to Mets fans here: they realized the hard experience Flores went through the other night and awarded him with a standing ovation. He gave up three runs and five hits while striking out seven at Pittsburgh last time out after limiting the Mets to two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings in his previous turn.
