Players of the Week: Davis and Conforto Stay Red Hot
The New York Mets had a very successful homestand this past week, winning six of their seven games and vaulting themselves even closer towards a Wild Card spot. The week began with the Mets sweeping the Marlins in a double-header on Monday, before finishing off the series sweep on Wednesday. After an off-day on Thursday, the Mets were ready to face the Washington Nationals, in what turned into a very memorable series.
On Friday night, the game ended with Michael Conforto getting his shirt ripped off after his first career walk-off hit propelled the Mets to an improbable victory. Then on Saturday, New York won behind it’s most unlikely hero, when Luis Guillorme hit his first career home run to tie the game late, as the Mets once again came back to beat the Nationals.
J.D. Davis and Conforto were two of the Mets hottest hitters this past week, as the duo combined to hit six home runs and 13 RBIs, while each picked a up game-winning RBIs against the Nationals. Seth Lugo tied a Mets franchise record and twice pitched two innings to close out a pair of tight games for New York.
Hitters of the Week – Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis
It was very difficult to decide which hitter to spotlight this week, as the Mets received great production up and down the lineup. Ultimately, two hitters stood out this week, so Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis will have to share the honor of Hitter of the Week.
Conforto led the Mets in RBIs this past week, as he continued what has been an excellent second half to his season. Since the All-Star break, Conforto is hitting .308/.387/.596, with a .983 OPS. He has nine home runs and 22 RBIs, racking up half his RBI total from the first half in one-third as many games.
In the second game of the double-header on Monday, Conforto had three RBIs and hit one of the Mets three home runs in the seventh inning of a pivotal comeback victory over the Marlins. After an off-day, Conforto followed that performance up by hitting his 100th and 101st career home runs on Wednesday, adding three more RBIs to his season total. Finally, Conforto picked up his biggest RBI of the season, when he got the walk-off hit on Friday night.
Conforto’s stats this past week: .350/.440/.800, 7 H, 5 R, 8 RBI, 3 HR, 3 BB, 1 SB, 1.240 OPS
It is not far-fetched to call J.D. Davis the X-factor for this current hot streak that the Mets have been on, as they have gotten elite production from a player that spent a majority of the season on their bench. In Davis’ last 15 games, he is hitting .383/.446/.809, with five home runs and 12 RBIs.
Playing in all seven games this week, Davis recorded hits in every game but one and had three multi-hit affairs. In the second game of the double-header on Monday, it was Davis that hit the first home run in the seventh inning, before Conforto and Pete Alonso went back-to-back to put the Mets ahead. Davis also homered in each of the first two games against the Nationals and had the game-winning RBI on Saturday night, as his sacrifice fly gave the Mets their ultimate 4-3 lead.
Davis’ stats this past week: .429/.440/1.000, 9 H, 8 R, 5 RBI, 3 HR, 3 2B, 2 BB, 1.440 OPS
Pitcher of the Week – Seth Lugo
While the Mets got great starts up and down the rotation this week, it was Seth Lugo that was on the mound in the tightest spots and he once again delivered.
Lugo first pitched on Monday, in the second game of the Mets double-header against the Marlins. After New York hit the three home runs to take a lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, Lugo was asked to come in and close out the game. He ended up retiring all six batters that he faced, striking out two, in route to picking up just his second save of the season. From the way they deployed Lugo this week, he is sure to pick up plenty more saves this season, as the Mickey Callaway can no longer trust Edwin Diaz to close out tight games.
We next saw Lugo pitch on Saturday night, when he was brought in to a tie game in the eighth inning. Lugo had no trouble getting the first two outs of the inning, making a little bit of Mets history in the process. By retiring those two batters, Lugo tied Bobby Parnell‘s franchise record for consecutive batters retired by a reliever with 26. He was not able to set a new record though, as Juan Soto hit a solo home run off Lugo to give the Nationals a lead. After the Mets rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Callaway had Lugo go back out to finish the game, despite giving up the homer an inning prior. Lugo pitched a perfect ninth inning and earned his fifth win of the season.
Lugo’s line this past week: 2.25 ERA, 4 IP, 1 HR, 0 BB, 5 K