Final Score: Mets 3, Marlins 0

A big road series win against a division rival for the New York Mets? Yes sir. Steven Matz, Michael Conforto, and Jose Reyes with big performances? Hell yes. What a great way to end the weekend. The dog days of summer still lie ahead, but this was a key win to get under our belt before heading home for a huge home series against the Wild Card contending Cardinals.

Matz Was Back Baby: Steven Matz was 0-5 in the 9 starts before Sunday’s matinee. But Matzy got the W in this game. He went 6 innings, gave up just 4 hits, and struck out 6. He pitched through his bone spurs. His velocity was there all game. I really hope he can continue to push through these damn spurs. We need him out there on the mound putting up zeroes.

We Shut Down Stanton: Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 3! We shut him down! Matz retired him with a man on in the third inning and two men on in the fifth inning. Reed even struck him out with a man on second in the 8th inning. It was nice to see Stanton walking back to the dugout with his head down for a change instead of seeing him admiring a ball he just sent into orbit.

Just Sign Him: Martin Prado went 3 for 3 with a walk. He’s been killing the Metsies this season. We should probably just sign him in the offseason. We need to find a way to get these Met killers off of the streets and on to our roster.

Conforto Was Back Baby: Michael Conforto went 2 for 2 and made a diving catch in center field in this game. If his bat is working, then the Mets are going to play him in center field and cross their damn fingers. It’s certainly promising to see him make a gold glove caliber play in his first career start.

Jose Was Back Baby: In the third inning, Michael Conforto singled and advanced to third on two straight productive outs. Then Jose Reyes slashed an RBI triple making it 1-0 Mets. Jose certainly was in vintage spark plug speed demon form this weekend.

Insurance Again: The Mets added two runs in the eighth inning on two straight RBI singles from Yoenis Cespedes and James Loney. I couldn’t believe the Mets scored any runs in this game let alone runs late in the game on clutch hits with runners in scoring position. I had my TV muted at the time of the late inning rally because I was on the phone. I’m going to experiment with TV muting going forward to see if there’s any correlation between silence and run scoring. I’ll miss Gary, Keith, and Ron, but I have to do my part to help boost this offense.

The Pen Never Left: Hansel Robles, Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia combined for 3 scoreless innings of relief to close this one out. If we get to say that a lot in August and September, we’ll be celebrating a playoff berth. I have a feeling that by the end of this week the Mets will have a new face in the late inning relief conversation. My sources tell me Assistant GM John Ricco aka Ricco not so suave is working the hell out of the phones leading up to the August 1st trade deadline.

Lucroy: Speaking of trades, Kristie Ackert of the Daily News says the Mets are in the Jonathan Lucroy trade conversation. She said Travis d’Arnaud is the piece being floated by the Mets along with prospects. The idea of adding Jonathan Lucroy is very appealing to me. Travis is great, but he’s Mr. Glass. I’d obviously love to have the more durable Lucroy. Let’s see how this plays out this week as the hot stove heats up.

Tomorrow: The Mets kick off a big three game home series against the Cardinals tomorrow night. Noah Syndergaard vs. Carlos Martinez. Let’s hope this game goes better than Saturday’s battle of the aces between Jacob deGrom and Jose Fernandez.