3 UP

1. Alonso’s Record

At a certain point, it became a matter of not if but when Pete Alonso was going to break Cody Bellinger‘s National League rookie home run record. For a split second on Saturday, it appeared he was going to do it with a huge grand slam.

Upon review, New York didn’t see enough to overturn the call on the field. Being Alonso, he still came up big with a go-ahead two run single.

The fireworks would have to wait for Sunday. After having a replay not overturn a call on Saturday and having a ball hit the foul line on the right field wall for a double, he’d come up in the top of the ninth and hit the record setting homer off Jacob Barnes.

With 40 homers, next up is the Mets single season of 41 shared by Todd Hundley and Carlos Beltran. Once he clears that hurdle, it’s Aaron Judge‘s all-time rookie record of 52.

With Alonso homering 40 times over the Mets first 124 games, he’s on pace for 52.3 homers, so it’s going to be a fun finish.

2. CyGrom

On Saturday, when the Mets really needed it, Jacob deGrom was great.

Over seven innings, he allowed just one earned on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. It marked the 12th time this season he pitched 7.0+ while allowing two earned or fewer. This is a Major League best mark he shares with Hyun-Jin Ryu.

On that point, there are some who mistakenly believe Ryu deserves the Cy Young over deGrom. That’s more of a reaction to a great year for Ryu than an in-depth analysis of the stats.

So far this year, deGrom has pitched more innings and struck out more batters than Ryu. He also has a higher K/9, K%, K-BB%, FIP, xFIP, fWAR, bWAR, and other categories. All told with how he’s pitching and continues to pitch, deGrom continues to put himself in position for a second straight Cy Young.

3. Don’t Panik, Lagares Has This

When Jeff McNeil needed to go on the Injured List, the Mets needed Juan Lagares and Joe Panik to re-emerge as everyday players and not defensive first players who have taken a step back defensively while seeing their bats regress even further.

For his part, Lagares hasn’t been this good and this clutch since the 2015 postseason. Since August 13, Lagares is 11-for-24 with a double, triple, and two RBI.

Panik has been rejuvenated since joining the Mets. In his nine games with the Mets, he’s hitting .333/.379/.444 with a double, triple, and two RBI.

The Mets could not have asked for more from either player. Their play is a key reason why the Mets are 3-2 so far during McNeil’s stay on the IL.

3 DOWN

1. Not Calling Up Herrera

When Jeff McNeil went down, and the Mets stubbornly carrying an eighth reliever they’re not using, they needed to replace him on the roster with someone like Dilson Herrera who could play infield and outfield. Instead, the team went with Ruben Tejada, a player with zero outfield experience.

On Sunday, and already hobbled J.D. Davis pinch hit for Aaron Altherr. That meant when Davis had to leave the game with an aggravation of his calf injury, Amed Rosario would have to play left field for three innings. On the bright side, Rosario played well and would double in his first at-bat as an outfielder. This is probably because Rosario has been great in the second half.

This is unlike the .085 hitting Altherr, who has been starting games for a Mets team contending for a Wild Card spot.

The irony is the Mets suggest versatility was the reason Tejada was the replacement for McNeil. Perhaps, the Mets think versatility means sentimental and not ability to play infield and outfield.

Making matters worse is Tejada is 0-for-8 at the plate and is somehow already a -0.3 WAR. Conversely, Herrera is 5-for-17 with a double, two homers, six RBI, and two walks while playing second and left in Triple-A.

The Tejada move made little sense when it was made, and it took less than a week for it to backfire.

2. Wheels Off 

In his previous start against the Braves, Zack Wheeler struggled through five innings allowing five earned on 12 hits. His next start against the Royals promised to go back to the Wheeler we saw last year in the second half.

For the first four that seemed the case as it took a catcher’s interference and wild pitch for the Royals to score their first run. Despite that inning, Wheeler looked good.

In the fifth, the Wheels came off with the Royals scoring three runs on three hits. None of the balls were hit that hard, but the Royals jumped on Wheeler early in the count for base hits. It also didn’t help Wheeler pulled Panik off the bag on a sacrifice attempt.

This is now two poor five innings starts for Wheeler at a time he’s supposed to be taking off. It’s too early to try to surmise if this is a blip, the pressures of his first postseason race, or just plain bad luck.

3. An Apple A Day Makes You Want Gary To Go Away

When you consider he’s the host of Irrational Tweet Theatre mocking Mets fans, he probably deserves much worse than this, but being nice, Gary Apple has no business doing play-by-play for the Mets.

The Mets going with Apple looks all the worse when you consider what the White Sox did. On Friday, they had Bill Walton, who was hilarious. The next day was Michael Schur of The Office, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place, and Fire Joe Morgan fame.

At its core, baseball is a game which is supposed to be fun. With no Steve Stone, the White Sox had fun. As noted on Mets Daddy, the Mets should follow suit with Mike Breen and Walt Clyde Frazier.