New York Mets: Neil Walker Saves the Day Again

By Michael Addvensky | Aug 8, 2016

Apr 25, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker (20) and left fielder Michael Conforto (30) celebrate scoring during the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

Neil Walker has been a clutch player this season for the New York Mets. On Sunday afternoon the slugging second baseman delivered in another big spot, leading his team to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The New York Mets desperately needed a win on Sunday. After suffering a pair of tough one-run losses to open their weekend series against the Tigers, they were suddenly dangerously close to the .500 mark. Going into the day, they were 56-54. Terry Collins‘ club desperately needed to get out of Detroit with a victory to avoid the sweep.

The Mets offense was silent for the first six innings. They were unable to get anything going against Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez. Luckily, Jacob deGrom was having equal success against the Detroit’s lineup, holding them scoreless through the sixth inning.

More from New York Mets

Mets left fielder Michael Conforto broke the scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the Tigers loaded the bases against deGrom in the bottom half of the inning. Jerry Blevins came in to clean up the mess but allowed the tying run to score on an Ian Kinsler RBI infield single.

Neither team scored in the eighth inning. Former Met Francisco Rodriguez entered to pitch the ninth inning for the Tigers. He got ahead of the first batter Alejandro De Aza but hit him with the pitch.

Neil Walker, the next man up, sent the second pitch from Rodriguez over the right field fence. This clutch home run gave the Mets a 3-1 lead. Jeurys Familia picked up the save in the bottom of the ninth, striking out three Tigers in the process. The Mets were able to scrape out a win in a situation where they needed one in the worst way.

This was the second time in a week that Walker bailed the Mets out. Last Sunday, New York trailed the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in the seventh inning. Walker came up to bat with two outs and runners on first and second. Facing lefty Boone Logan, he hit a three-run home run to give the Mets a 6-4 lead.

Up until that point, the Mets had a rough weekend. They lost the first three games of the series against the Rockies. Walker saved the Mets from a sweep two weekends in a row.

On July 26, I covered Neil Walker going 0-3 in Game 2 of doubleheader to drop his BA to .237

12 games later, he's hitting .268
— Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) August 7, 2016

The Mets have to like what they’ve seen out of Walker over the last couple of weeks. After getting off to a good start in 2016, he really struggled in June and most of July. It wasn’t until a few weeks after the All-Star break that he started heating up again.

Next: Who are the 5 greatest first basemen in Mets history?

Overall, his stats are relatively solid, as he’s batting .268 with 19 home runs and 49 RBIs. If the Mets are going to make the playoffs this year, they need Walker to produce in the middle of the lineup.

Beginning Tuesday, the Mets return home for a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. After losing two out of three games in Detroit this weekend, they need a series win. For that to happen, the bats need to wake up. After all, Walker can’t be the hero all the time.

Home/New York Mets