By Barbara Mason

Monday evening the San Francisco Giants (58-84) were looking for a fresh new start taking on the New York Mets (64-77) at Citi Field. The Giants will be trying to shake off a disappointing series earlier this week while the Mets won their last series beating the Tampa Bay Rays. The Mets jumped all over San Francisco starting pitcher Matt Wilkinson scoring three runs in the first inning. New York had more in store for the Giants scoring 4 more runs in the bottom of the second inning taking a 7-0 lead. San Francisco got up on the scoreboard in the top of the third scoring 2 runs when they loaded the bases. The Giants offense got something going in the top of the fifth inning when they again loaded the bases with no outs. San Francisco squandered the opportunity to score more runs and the Mets took a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth. The Mets scored a 2-run home run in the sixth inning now leading 9-2. In the seventh inning the Giants closed out the inning leaving three runners stranded but did score one run the score now 9-3 in favor of New York going into the top of the eighth inning. San Francisco had squandered numerous opportunities and they were running out of innings. With two outs and two runners on base the Giants Rafael Devers hit his 33rd home run of the year a three-run homer and San Francisco had pulled to within three runs trailing 9-6. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Francisco Alvarez hit his second home run of the game and the Mets extended their lead to 10-6. New York had hit 5 home runs in the game. Going into the ninth inning San Francisco was down to their final three outs. Jung Hoo Lee flied out, Andrew Knizner grounded out and Nate Furman grounded into a fielder’s choice and that was the ball game. The Mets had won the first game of this series 10-6

GAME RECAP

The Giants opened the game quietly with only a walk in the top of the first inning. The Mets had a far more favorable start scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the inning putting San Francisco behind the eight ball early. The game had just begun and the Giants had some catching up to do. Mark Vientos hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the inning, the New York offense jumping all over San Francisco starting pitcher Matt Wilkinson.

The Giants went three and out in the top of the second inning their offense stalled out. New York added four more runs in the bottom of the third hitting two more home runs, one off the bat of Francisco Alvarez and a second one a solo shot from Bo Bichette giving New York a 7-0 lead.

San Francisco finally got up on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning. Christian Koss walked followed by a Drew Gilbert single. Rafael Devers doubled bringing both Gilbert and Koss home and the Giants had scored two runs. The Mets still had the lead going into the bottom of the inning 7-2 but the San Francisco offense was coming to life.

There was a pitching change for the Giants in the fourth inning. Yunior Marte relieved Matt Wilkinson in his second MLB appearance pitching for San Francisco. He last pitched in late August against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The score remained 7-2 going into the fifth inning. The Giants once agains loaded the bases. Rafael Devers doubled followed by a Bryce Eldridge walk and a Turner Hill single. San Francisco had a great opportunity to score more runs with no outs. Jung Hoo Lee struck out and Drew Cavanaugh hit into a double play and that was the inning the Giants squandering a huge opportunity. The Mets went three and out and Marte had a nice solid inning to start.

Mets starting pitcher was having a great outing running into some problems in the fifth inning but reeling it back in going three and out in the top of the sixth inning. Marte did give up the Mets fourth home run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, a 2-run homer from Francisco Lindor with Jared Young scoring taking a 9-2 lead.

The Giants had a couple of runners on base in the top of the seventh inning with only one out. Turner Hill singled Jonah Cox home for the only San Francisco run of the inning. Austin Warren, relief pitcher for the Mets closed out the seventh inning with three strikeouts. The score was 9-3 going into the eighth inning.

The Giants needed some offense trailing by 6 runs. Christian Koss singled and Jonah Cox hit an infield single. With two outs and 2 runners on base Rafael Devers hit his 33rd home run of the season and the score was 9-6. Bryce Eldridge doubled and the Giants were looking for more but Turner Hill lined out for the third out. The San Francisco momentum was stalled in the bottom of the eighth when Francisco Alvarez hit his second home run of the game. The Mets had hit five home runs in this game taking the early lead and the Giants were just not able to recover heating up just a bit late offensively. The Mets got the seven early runs that made all the difference in the game. New York easily got out of the top of the ninth inning and that was the ball game. The Mets had won the first game of this series 10-6.

GAME NOTES

Although there were some positives in this game for San Francisco the pitching and missed opportunities ultimately made the difference. The Giants showed some real fight. They scored six run after falling behind significantly early.

A huge bright spot in this game was once again the performance of Rafael Devers. He had a two-run double in the third inning giving the Giants some momentum and the team showed – cased the ability of the middle of the order to produce against Mets starter Nolan McLean. They really came up short in the fifth inning when they had the bases loaded with no outs and came up empty. This inning could have changed it all for the Giants had they cashed in.

One of the biggest problems was the start by Matt Wilkinson. He gave up a lot of damage in the opening innings. He finished going three innings, allowing 5 hits, 7 runs, 4 of them earned with 2 walks. Yunior Marte also had a rough outing giving up a two-run homer in the sixth inning helping the Mets pull away. He gave up 4 hits, 3 runs and 2 walks. Wilkinson gave up three home runs and Marte gave up two.

The Giants put themselves in too deep of a hole way too early. The team had to play catch-up for the rest of the evening.

Game two of this series will get underway tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for a 1:10 start. Anthony Molina will take the mound for the Giants. He has a 2-0 win/loss record and a 3.83 ERA. The Mets will start Zac Thornton who comes into this game with a 3-4 win/loss record and a 2.93 ERA.