3 UP

1.  Blevins Rebuilding Trade Value

Much has been made about how much Jerry Blevins has struggled this season, and as a result, his name didn’t really come up during the trade discussions before the deadline.

Lost in the disaster that was the 25-4 game was Blevins being the pitcher who came in to stop the bleeding.  This is part of a stretch where Blevins has very quietly become an effective reliever again.

Since June, Blevins has a 3.29 ERA and has limited opposing batters to a .213 batting average in 13.2 innings pitched.  Over that stretch, he has had a scoreless appearance in 12 of his 16 appearances, and he has allowed multiple runs only once.

Currently, Blevins has had three consecutive scoreless appearances.  If he continues to pitch like this, someone will certainly have interest in his services during the month.

2.  Action Jackson

To the surprise of many, the Mets signed Austin Jackson to join the club.  It was a surprise because Jackson is 32, has not been particularly good this season, and this is a last place team who is supposed to be figuring out who is part of the future.

Well, with Jackson hitting .333/.385/.583 with a homer and two RBI in his brief four game tenure with the Mets, maybe, just maybe, Jackson can be a part of that future.

After all, when you look at next year’s team, it will feature three left-handed hitting outfielders, and the team is going to need a credible major leaguer to serve as a fifth outfielder.  With him having a good year in Cleveland last year, and with his start this year, it’s possible Jackson shows the Mets he can be just that next year.

3.  Thor Looked Healthy

After his tendon issues and his bout with coxsackie, Noah Syndergaard took the mound for just the third time since May.  It would take him a few innings to get back into the swing of things, but once he did, he was the Thor we all know and missed.

Syndergaard would retire 12 straight and 15 of the last 16 batters he faced as he pitched seven innings.  If not for his just coming off the disabled list, with him being at just 91 pitches, he probably had at least another inning left in him.

3 DOWN

1.  Worst Loss in Franchise History

As Mets fans, we can all pull out what we believe to be the worst regular season loss in team history. For most of us, that loss features a left-handed pitcher giving up seven first inning runs.

Subjectively, many are thinking of Tom Glavine‘s start to end the 2007 season. However, technically speaking, it Tuesday’s game against the Nationals.

Despite the team knowing he was dealing with a dead arm, Steven Matz took the mound, and he proceeded to surrender seven runs over 0.2 innings.  To make matters worse, we would later discover Matz is dealing with forearm tightness, and he is going to need an MRI.

All told, Matz would be out-pitched by Jose Reyes, who gave up more homers than he had hit up to that point in the season.

Ultimately, the Mets would lose 25-4, and that’s only because the Mets tacked on three ninth inning runs. As it stands, by margin of defeat, it is the worst loss in franchise history.

2.  Milone Dominated The Mets

Last year, Tommy Milone was this year’s version of Jason Vargas. In 11 starts for the Mets, Milone had an 8.56 ERA. Naturally, he came out and completely dominated the Mets.

In seven innings, he limited the Mets to one run on three hits while striking out nine.

Look, it’s one thing to see Daniel Murphy dominate the Mets game-in and game-out. We saw him turning into this type of hitter at the end of the 2015 season and into that postseason.  It’s a whole other thing to see Milone do it.

That is unacceptable.

3.  The Older Age Movement

Yesterday, the Mets trotted out a starting lineup with Jose Bautista and Devin Mesoraco.  After Phillip Evans was injured on a takeout slide at second, Reyes would enter the game.

With that lineup, the Mets had the three oldest active players in the lineup while Luis Guillorme and Jeff McNeil sat.  For that matter, Dominic Smith and Peter Alonso remain in Triple-A.

Logistically speaking, it may not be possible to sit all of your older players at the same time.  At least with Bautista, there is still hope you can move him in an August trade.  That said, there’s no reason why they all need to play.  And if their uninspiring effort against Milone is any indication, there really isn’t any reason why they should play.