New York Mets SS Asdrubal Cabrera Keeps Showing His Worth In NL Wild Card Push
Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera has been a godsend to the New York Mets (81-72) this season, and that fact cannot be overstated.
Certainly not when the Mets, on the brink of losing a fourth straight game to an inferior National League East opponent, get bailed out the way that did by the 10-year veteran’s walk-off, three-run home run in the 11th inning of Thursday night’s thriller against the Philadelphia Phillies (69-84) at Citi Field.
Cabrera’s extra-inning heroics made the Mets 9-8 winners, ending their three-game losing streak.
Most importantly, New York comes into Friday tied atop the NL Wild Card standings with the San Francisco Giants (81-72), with whom it now shares a half-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals (80-72).
“As soon as I hit it,” Cabrera said after the game, “I knew it would be out.”
No kidding. Cabrera, 30, emphatically flipped his bat off to the right side and raised arms in victory—well before the ball actually cleared the right field fence—after squaring up a 1-0, 80 mph slider up in the zone from reliever Edubray Ramos (BS, 2) (L, 1-3).
Before Cabrera’s at-bat as the potential winning run in the 11th inning, Ramos got Brandon Nimmo to ground out to first, walked Michael Comforto on four pitches, and gave up a single to Jose Reyes—who tied the game at 6 with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning with a two-run homer off of Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez (BS, 6).
With merely 10 games remaining on the regular season schedule beforehand, Thursday’s four-game series opener versus Philly was a must-win for New York.
“We battled every inning,” said Cabrera, who signed his two-year, $18.5 million deal with the Mets last winter. “We never put our heads down, and I think that was key for us.”
Asdrúbal Cabrera reminds us, it ain't over, 'til it's over. https://t.co/Z1CIPgYASk pic.twitter.com/3riZnu0FjT
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 23, 2016
Addressing Cabrera’s importance to the Amazin’s after the game, Mets manager Terry Collins described his shortstop as a player who is “such a professional.”
“There are days he doesn’t take batting practice because he knows he has to take a break from moving around,” said Collins, referring to the strained left patellar tendon that landed Cabrera on the disabled list last month. “He’s another huge piece to this team. If he wasn’t around, I don’t know where we would be.”
The injury to Cabrera’s left knee forced him out of the lineup for much of August. But since returning on Aug. 19, the switch-hitter is batting.365 (42 hits in 115 at-bats), has homered nine times, collected 20 extra-base hits overall, and driven in 22 runs.
Earlier this week against the Atlanta Braves, Cabrera set a club record by homering for the 20th time as a shortstop this season. The Mets’ single-season record for homers by a shortstop was previously held by Reyes, who slugged each of his 19 homers in 2006 manning the position.
After the win over Philly, Cabrera is hitting.281 with 22 homers and 55 RBI on the season.
Mets reliever Addison Reed, who entered the game in the eighth inning to protect a 4-3 lead, was charged with his fourth blown save after giving up a three-run homer to Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (23).
New York closer Jeurys Familia was brought in following Reyes’ game-tying blast in the ninth. He pitched a scoreless 10th inning, but gave up two runs—including a run-scoring single to A.J. Ellis—on a pair of hits and a walk (intentional) over 1.2 innings.
Later that inning, Jim Henderson (W, 2-2)—in for left-hander Jerry Blevins—walked Franco, forcing in a run (charged to Familia) that gave Philly an 8-6 lead. He’d escape the bases-loaded jam by getting Peter Bourjos to ground out to third.
The scheduled starters for Friday night’s game are Mets rookie Gabriel Ynoa (1-0, 9.00 ERA) and Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (12-9, 3.57 ERA).
[Featured Image by Mike Stobe/Getty Images]
