We've raved all season about his range and his glove in center field, at times gushing to the point almost as a sub-conscious ruse to cover up his offensive deficiencies.
Jake Marisnick ain't a dummy. While he recognizes the fans' appreciation for what he offers patroling the middle ground in the outfield, he, too, shares in their anxiety to integrate into the batting order. He recently began to show subtle signs that his bat was awaking from slumber. Monday night, it proved to be an absolute nightmare for the Cincinnati Reds.
Jake raked for Jake, as Marisnick was at the forefront of a run-scoring cloudburst that had to feel a bit foreign to ace Jacob deGrom, who, for the past two season, was an expert on pitching with minimal scoring support.
Such was not the case in his most recent outing, a 16-1 rout in which the Mets manufactured their highest output of the season with the aid of just 10 hits. Equally inciting to the cause was a selective eye that reaped a collective eight walks and thick skin that absorbed a pair of hit by pitches.
But, when it came to applying significant lumber, Marisnick was the delivery man, going 3 for 4 with six RBI, the final four coming on a grand slam in the eighth that punctuated the win with an exclamation point.
In truth, it was the eight-run explosion in the third that defined the victory, an inning in which the Mets parlayed three walks, two HBPs and three hits, including the biggest surprise of all, to pummel Reds' starter Luis Castillo into submission.
deGrom accounted for two of the hits in the frame, leading it off with a single and culminating it with a two-run homer to give himself an 8-0 cushion to work with.
His work at the plate coincided with yet another efficient pitching performance. deGrom surrendered two hits, two walks and a single run over six innings while striking out eight to run his mark to 6-1 and drop his ERA to a mere 1.25.
NOTES: At 24-11, the Mets boast the best record in the National League and trail just the 28-7 Houston Astros for the top mark in MLB.
