Following his last start, Rick Porcello resorted to gallows humor, quipping that it was better than his Mets debut because he “made it out of the second.”
Porcello pitched four innings in that one and wasn’t particularly pleased. So it was with plenty to prove that he climbed atop the Nationals Park mound on Wednesday, delivering seven strong innings in the Mets’ 3-1 win over the Nats.
Unlike in his previous two outings, Porcello coaxed plenty of ground balls in Washington with his signature sinker. After allowing a pair of doubles in the first inning, Porcello retired 18 of the final 22 batters he faced, including the final 10 in a row, to record his first win as a Met and the 150th of his career.
7️⃣ strong innings tonight from @RickPorcello. ? #LGM pic.twitter.com/v2F83nm0Tp
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 6, 2020
Defensively, the Mets shined behind Porcello, with Andrés Giménez, J.D. Davis, Luis Guillorme and Michael Conforto all making sparkling plays. The seldom-used Guillorme chipped in with the bat as well, hitting a go-ahead RBI single off Erick Fedde in the fourth.
.@lguillorme13 keeps 'em coming. #LGM pic.twitter.com/SnXRXYPxfH
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 5, 2020
What ? A ? Play. @JDDavis26 pic.twitter.com/cVOMXYryN7
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 5, 2020
Fedde was pitching in relief of Nationals starter Max Scherzer, who departed after one inning due to an apparent injury.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].