Great game. Tylor Megill gave up 4 runs in 6 innings, increasing his ERA from 0.00 to 2.20. The Mets fought back in the bottom of the 5th with hits by McNeil and Lindor, tying the score at four. Lindor had his first great game as a Met; in addition to his hits, his defensive play was on a higher level. I listened to the game on the radio so I didn't see his plays but the way Howie and Wayne described them, Lindor was pumped up.

In the 9th inning with the score still tied at 4, Buck brought in Edwin Diaz. At that moment, I got a bad Mickey Callaway flashback (regarding management of pitchers) and briefly lost all hope. But Amazingly, Diaz did not allow a run to score in a non-save situation.

In the bottom of the 10th, Lindor got a walk-off hit. The celebration at home plate is really what stands out about this game, because later in the day I saw a picture of Pete tugging at Lindor's jersey like some drunk prom king and Lindor giving him "the Heisman" like the homecoming queen who was having none of it. It was the Mets' first walkoff win of 2022, so it's a good omen that Lindor's jersey survived its ordeal.

The "jersey attack fail" was even mentioned by Howie during the broadcast on the following day. Howie said he asked Lindor if he had asked Pete not to tear his jersey apart, and Lindor said no. Then Howie said he asked Lindor something like, "So what then, the jerseys are extra strong this year?" And Lindor said yes.

Who knows if the Mets' 2022 home jerseys are extra strong this year, but if they are, we all know why. To protect against polar bears.

The second no-hitter in Mets history! It was similar to the one pitched by Johan Santana ten years earlier in that it came at Citi Field on a Friday night against a team whose color is red. Also, both Santana's game and this five-pitcher gem ended with a swinging strikeout of the last batter of a perfect top of the ninth. A nice case of Mets deja vu.

Wow. Darryl Strawberry was in the house for this game, wearing a Darryl Strawberry jersey.

Notably, this is the first day I ever had a nice thought about Edwin Diaz. Sugar was sweet, baby!

After the Escobar error in the top of the ninth, I started wondering if he is this year's version of Joe Foy. Because of that error on a potential game-ending groundout, that is the one rare blown save you can't blame on Diaz. Nevertheless, in my mind, he lost his "sugar" status and went back to his nightly impersonation of John Franco with his shaky outing (1 IP, 2 Hs, 2 Ks, 2 BBs, and a blown save of a would-have-been C Bass victory).

That was all made irrelevant in the bottom of the 10th inning when Polar Bear Pete powered a ball deep into the left field stands, two or three decks up; it was hard to tell because it was hit so fast. That game-winning homer set off a wild celebration at home plate. First, Pete threw his helmet like a basketball free throw before stomping on the plate, then he got doused with numerous water bottles whilst getting his jersey torn apart in a free for all. I was hoping they would leave his jersey alone to set a good example, but the desire for a vendetta was strong and that jersey stood no chance.

A special and bittersweet day. Bittersweet because it was the day the long-time Mets coach Joe Pignatano passed away, but for the 2022 squad it was a day of celebration because it was Buck's birthday. Before the game the players decorated the batting cage area and Eduardo Escobar led his skipper out there blindfolded to destroy a pinata with a baseball bat.

The Mets were down early, causing me to put on my (lucky) Mets hat. And just like that, a 2-0 deficit turned into a 5-2 lead. After three singles, Lindor hit a double, scoring two to tie it up. The next batter Pete Alonso hit a 3 run home run and the Mets never looked back.

Then in the late innings a memorable moment occurred when McNeil silenced a heckler who screamed," You got no power McNeil!" in range of the SNY and radio microphones. On the next pitch, McNeil hit a ball 408 feet into McCovey cove. Then Canha hit another one right after him for good measure, shutting that heckler up for good.

A good team win, the Met's biggest margin of victory for the year (so far), and a fitting tribute to Piggy.

Francisco Lindor had four RBIs on this night. His first one came in the first inning on the 8,000 regular season home run in Mets history. He also had a bases-loaded double that scored all three runners. Both of these hits were solid shots to center field.

I sat in expensive section 12 club seats. Had a good look as this team clobbered Marlins pitching.

Got to see Francisco make history, and saw a beautiful full moon over the stadium. lfgm.

The legend of the lucky "Luis Guillorme" Mets hat was cemented in this game.

With the Mets down 4-0, I realized it was my birthday and the 2022 Mets could not lose on my birthday, so I went to the closet and got the Mets hat. In short order, Canha got hit by a pitch, Lindor singled, and Alonso smashed a three-run homer. The moment of the homer, I swiped the bill, as if to say, "Good job, hat."

The Mets were still down 4-3 though. I kept the hat on even though I don't like wearing hats indoors because the Mets just had to complete the comeback. Sure enough, the next inning, Lindor hit a grand slam and I was like, "Ok, hat. You da boss." Lindor was pretty clutch too.

Kept the hat on the rest of the game to seal the win; Diaz made it look easy. Following the speed limit can be easy too. Keep your turns to five miles an hour and always look out for pedestrians.

LET'S GO METS!

The Mets' 100th win of the season, their first 100 win season since 1988. Those 34 years really flew by. Not!

A cute golden retriever named Renegade went to this game and ended up with Lindor's home run ball. It was the second of three homers in a row to start the game, and I'm sure half the people in the stadium were saying to their friend, "Why couldn't they do this in Atlanta?"

In the 6th inning, Francisco "the Natural" Alvarez hit a no doubt laser shot to the second deck in left field. It was his first major league hit after going 0 for 8 to start his career. Too bad he was only called up with 6 games left to go. This guy is for real.

This was also the day the Mets slipped out of first place for good, since Atlanta won their game at Miami and clinched. The defending World Series champs set a record for being in first place the least amount of days (10) before they clinched the division. They have Billy Eppler to thank for that.

I know the NY tabloids would salivate over this scoop, but I'm going to give it to my long-time peeps at ultimateMets.com:

I did NOT wear my lucky "Luis Guillorme" Mets hat during this game. Repeat: I did NOT wear it. 

When the score was 4-0, the thought flashed in my mind that it was "hat time" and I should get up off the couch and run to the closet and grab the hat, just like the first day of spring training.

But in that moment, I thought to myself, "No, Hot Foot, don't get up. They can do it without your help. After all, those smart BASTARDS traded Colin Holderman!!!!! They deserve to lose!"

Then I crawled into bed, fell asleep, and when I woke up, Howie Rose was giving the recap of the loss.

Sorry kids, maybe next year.

This was the second most despicable game in Mets history. Only the season finale against the Marlins in 2007 was more agonizing than this defeat to the Padres. In the decider of a best-of-three post season series, the Mets got only one hit and were beaten solidly. Even worse is that the series itself never should've even been played. Adding an extra Wild Card team to create it cheapened the Major League playoff system more than it had been already. With their 101-win regular season and a tie for first place in the N. L. East Division, there was no legitimate reason why the Mets should have had to go through this inexcusable early round.