Gut Reaction: Mets 3, Royals 1 (7/12/25)
Juan Soto hit a monster two-run homer and Edwin Diaz got a six-out save, leading the Mets to a 3-1 win over the Royals Saturday afternoon in Kansas City. The Mets are now 55-41 on the year and have won seven of their last 10 games.
Francisco Lindor led off the fourth inning with a single and Soto followed with a 435-foot homer to right field to put the Mets up, 2-0. It was nice to see Soto hit a homer with a man on base, after he had been criticized for hitting so many solo shots. It doesn’t make sense to me criticizing a guy for hitting solo homers. Shouldn’t you criticize the guys who didn’t get on base ahead of him? If a guy hits 50 solo homers, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
That gave Frankie Montas the lead. After giving up a leadoff double, Montas cruised thru the first five innings, retiring 10 in a row at one point. But he allowed back-to-back doubles leading off the sixth, which cut the lead to one.
Carlos Mendoza came out with the hook and called on Reed Garrett to replace Montas. Garrett, who was so good on Friday, carried over with another strong outing on Saturday, as he retired three straight batters and stranded Montas’ runner at third base.
But it was an open question who was going to pitch the rest of the way. Chris Devenski put two runners on base in the seventh inning but kept the lead intact. And Edwin Diaz came out to start the eighth. He was a touch shaky but was bailed out by a caught stealing, one that came thanks to a replay review.
Jeff McNeil drove in Pete Alonso, who hit a one-out double, for an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Diaz closed it out with a 1-2-3 inning for his 19th save of the season.
The Mets will try for a rare Sunday win and a sweep, with Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea both expected to pitch.
Kudos to the Padres for waiting out Zach Wheeler and helping the Mets leap frog back into first place. You have to love that the Braves are 12 games back and also buried as a wild card contender. It’s about time they felt our pain. Five strong from Montas was critical and he did it with no walks. Nice way to follow Senga’s effort. Stearns might just be a genius but this team still needs more than five innings from their starters. 34-year-old Chris Devenski came out of nowhere and he’s been strong. This is his 6th or 7th team and he’s making the most of his chance to help this team. Another Stearns reclamation project.
Was worried when the Royals pushed across a run that the Mets needed some insurance and just like that Alonso and McNeil make it happen. Soto has the best eye at the plate that I have seen in years. Can’t he teach that to Alonso? Holmes against Cameron for a chance for a sweep this afternoon. Cameron might be their 5th starter but he can pitch. Let’s see how Mendoza crafts the lineup against this young lefty.
Agree on Acuna bringing strong defense to the team and he clearly showed that yesterday. Now if he could only hit. Questionable overturned call at second base but it was in our favor so who cares. In some cases it makes you sense that a lot of out calls have been wrong. How is it that the umpire, who was in great position, could not see the runner momentarily lose contact with the base while the tag stayed on him but it could be seen on a replay. Kudos to the Mets announcers with their honesty that they did not think there was enough to reverse.
Gelds did an okay job with play by play but he’s no Gary Cohen. Also on the radio broadcast, when Howie Rose takes some time off, his replacements leave much to be desired. Great to whine about things but still be in first place.
Showcasing Vientos and Acuna. Could that package bring back a decent pitcher?