The Mets are Leading the Rockies 12-9, in the Bottom of the Seventh, but May Need 20 to Win

By Nicholas Stix

Injury plagued Travis D’Arnaud and rookie call-up Michael Conforto just hit back-to-back solo shots off ex-Met Rockies reliever Gonzales Germen in the top of the seventh inning, to give the Mets a four–run lead, but that won’t suffice in this track meet, which had the Mets winning 8-7, after only four innings.

The Mets have so far hit five home runs, three of them, including a grand slam, by season-changing trade deadline acquisition Yoenis Cespedes, while the Rox have three.

In the second inning, the Mets were ahead 7-1, off Rockies rookie starter Jon Gray, who only got five outs, but 42-year-old Mets starter, Bartolo Colon, couldn’t keep it. In the second inning, Colon got hit by a pitch in the wrist while trying to bunt, and was ineffective thereafter. Mets skipper Terry Collins removed Colon with two outs in the fourth, after Colon gave up a three-run dinger to Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, to make the score 8-7.

The umps just violated their own challenge rule by reviewing a play at second on a seventh-inning steal by the Mets’ Curtis Granderson, at the request of Rox manager, Walt Weiss, even though Weiss had already used his challenge.

Mets announcer Gary Cohen did a plug for a sponsor during the unauthorized challenge, “Mazda, where driving matters, but apparently the rules don’t.”