The Mets turned to the bench for their catcher on Thursday and befriended Johnny Bench.
Tomas Nido barely hit enough to stay in the big leagues last season, but a winter spent working with a private swing instructor may have been the best $ 25,000 the Mets backup catcher has ever spent.
“Hard work deserves it,” Nido said after hitting two home points, including a grand slam, in an 8-2-pound victory over the Nationals at Citi Field that gave the Mets two straight wins and a split in the four-game series. series. “I have worked hard this offseason and it feels good to help the team win.”
It was not all smiling with the Mets, who lost Jeff McNeil in the first inning after crashing into the left field after sniffing Asdrubal Cabrera, saving two saves. McNeil left the field on a cart and underwent an X-ray of his left knee, which was negative. A subsequent MRI examination showed a contusion for the knee, and the Mets give it as day after day.
David Peterson (3-1) gave the Mets a fourth straight solid start to starting his premiership career. The left-hander allowed one run on one hit and two walks over five innings and lowered his ERA to 2.91. Jared Hughes allowed a run in two innings of relief before Edwin Diaz and Brad Brach threw a scoreless frame piece.
Plate-umpire Carlos Torres issued a warning to Peterson and both banks after Juan Soto was plundered in the fourth inning. JD Davis had previously been drilled by the Nationals’ Austin Voth. On an afternoon in which neither was satisfied with the regional zone, Stephen Strasburg – sitting in the stands behind the Nationals dugout – was suspended by Torres for complaining about talks.
Mets manager Luis Rojas said he was surprised the warnings were issued after Soto was drilled. Soto later went deep, giving him five homers in the last three games of the series.
“[Soto] was the bat really swinging against us and boys trying to mix where they will locate against this man, “said Rojas.” They try to do different things and it was in no way meant to hurt him. It’s a part of the game. ”
Last season, Nido produced an anemic .561 OPS in 247 at-bats, curtailing his potential playing time behind Wilson Ramos. The Mets have long been honored with Nido’s skill behind the plate.
Nido hit a two-run homer in the fourth against Voth who grabbed a 1-1 draw before coming on the next inning against Seth Romero and clearing the box again in the left center for a grand slam that gave the Mets a 7- 1 pillow. The multi-homer game and grand slam were both first careers.
“I was watching some video of how they hit me when we were in their place,” Nido said, referring to the Mets’ trip to Washington last week. “I just wanted to see if those were patterns and if I was pursuing, so when it came to a particular count, I was more confident in what I was looking for and paying it.”
Dominic Smith homerated for a second straight day as part of the Mets’ 13-hit attack. After a frustrating stretch in which the Mets sputtered with rounds at base, they combined to score 19 runs over the last two games of the home game.
“We’re just on the verge of breaking out,” Smith said. “We are just on the verge of a run that we know this team can continue. We just have to stay positive and play for each other. We know that if we keep putting pressure on these pitchers we will eventually break through. ”
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