It was another night of quick at-bats and no significant contact from the Mets hitters.
The good news is, the same could be said about the Giants, who’s offense has somehow slumped to the depth the Mets offense has been in for two months.
The Giants were gift wrapping this game for the Mets and putting it under the Christmas tree all night long, but specifically late. The Mets, however, didn’t start rip the wrapping paper off the presents until the ninth inning.
After squandering a chance to take the lead in the eighth inning thanks in part to a base running gaffe by Juan Lagares, the Mets opened the ninth inning with a single from the struggling Michael Cuddyer and a double from the just re-called Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who had been 3-for-38 in his prior stint with the Mets this season.
That set the stage for some revenge, and revenge is always a dish that is best served cold.
Johnny Monell, originally a member of the Giants organization, stepped up to the plate against San Francisco closer Santiago Casilla, attacked a hanging slider and scorched a two-run double into the right field corner to give the Mets a huge two-run lead and needing just three outs to secure a series-opening win against the slumbering Giants in their home ballpark.
“I kind of knew he was going to throw a first-pitch slider,” Monell said after the game. “He didn’t really want to walk the bases loaded with [Lucas Duda] on deck. I’m just fortunate enough to get a good pitch to hit and put it in the corner to drive in two.”
But it was extra satisfying for Monell as it came against the team who originally drafted him. “Absolutely,” Monell said about that hit being extra sweet.
There always seems to be a bit more juice for a player when they get the chance to face their former squad, and for Monell, he was able to turn that emotion into a huge 9th inning hit for this ball club.
While Monell isn’t the kind of player that the Mets will depend on to get big hits on a routine basis, for one night, he was able to come through in the clutch. It just so happened to be extra sweet for him.
Just Mets 