Mets Destroy Marlins, Take First Place

The Mets took sole possession of first place Monday night by clobbering the Marlins 15-1 combined with a Nationals loss.

Yoenis Cespedes showed why the Mets acquired him. He went 3-5 with three doubles and four RBIs. Two of those doubles would have been home runs in almost every park, including Citi Field.

Michael Conforto was 2-4 with three RBIs, including his first major league home run.

Curtis Granderson was 3-5 with two runs batted in.

Meantime Bartolo Colon went eight innings, allowing a run on seven hits, with five strikeouts and no walks. He evened his record to 10-10 and lowered his ERA to 4.72.

The presence of Cespedes has changed the entire complexion of the lineup. Finally there is a true threat in the middle. As hot as Lucas Duda has been lately, he is streaky and can be pitched to. Cespedes is at another level, both in reputation and in practice.

So now the Mets are in first place. Hopefully they can stay there. Now there is no reason why they can’t.