Michael Conforto Wakes Up with 4-Hit Effort

METS 3 - D'BACKS 1

Michael Conforto’s bat came to life Friday night in a big way as the Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 at Citi Field to open up a 3-game weekend series.

For a young player who has done so much, Conforto has taken a lot of criticism this year for his slow start to the year. Fans and media alike have pointed to his lack of power, fearing that the Mets brought him back too soon in his recovery from shoulder surgery.

For one night anyway, Conforto was the star of the show. A 4-for-4 evening with two RBI in a game the Mets had to win to stay above .500 against a quality team in the Diamondbacks, who have been atop the NL West since they said ‘play-ball’ on March 29.

Conforto started his big night in earnest when he caught a hanging knuckler from Zach Godley and stroked it in to left-center, scoring Asdrubal Cabrera to make it 2-0 Mets. It was the first time the Mets had scored multiple runs in the first inning since May 6, a 3-2 loss to the Rockies.

Conforto would keep the good feeling going two innings later when he lined a single over the head of third baseman Jacob Lamb for this second hit of the night. Then, in the fifth he pounded a base hit to right, driving home Wilmer Flores with the final run of the night, giving the Mets a 3-0 advantage.

The three runs was more than enough for Mets starter Jacob deGrom. Last weekend deGrom couldn’t last more than one inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. On Friday night against Arizona, Mets fans saw the deGrom they have grown accustomed to seeing on a regular basis.

He wheeled and dealed for seven inning, allowing only one run, a Jacob Lamb RBI single in the sixth inning, while tying a career high with 13 strikeouts.

It was a truly dominant performance. Five of the Diamondback’s hitters deGrom struck out multiple times, including K’ing MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt four times, and Lamb three times.

Perhaps deGrom’s biggest inning came in the seventh. After giving up a lead-off double to Danny Descalso, deGrom came back to retire the next three hitters, including striking out Alex Avila and jamming Jared Dyson on a lazy infield popup.

With the win, deGrom improved his record to 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA. For a team that many have given up on in the month of May, deGrom is giving the Mets a chance to win every time he toes the rubber.  That should be enough to garner serious All Star Game consideration in about a month or so.

Friday’s 3-1 win wasn’t the only good news for New York. The Marlins defeated the Braves 2-0, bringing the Mets a game closer at 3-1/2 games out of first.