Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, Mets fans!
Yesterday evening, the Mets clobbered Baltimore by a score of 14-1. New York bounced back from a bad defeat on Tuesday night and was able to take the final game of a two-game set vs the Orioles, and split the short series at Camden Yards. The Mets’ bats exploded for 14 runs on 16 hits and six home runs, including tagging former Met Matt Harvey for seven earned runs.
Pete Alonso followed up his two-homer night with a three-hit, five-RBI night including a 1st inning two-run shot. Billy McKinney and Kevin Pillar both added two home runs of their own, and Mason Williams had his first four-bagger as a Met. Taijuan Walker improved to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.07, striking out nine over seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk.
Today, the Mets have their second off-day of the week, as the team travels home to Citi Field in preparation for a seven game homestand, featuring three vs. the Padres, and four against the Cubs.
The first game of the weekend will be on Friday night, and Jacob deGrom (5-2, 0.62) will hope to continue his historic start to the season, this time against San Diego. Jake is coming off of another routinely dominant performance last Saturday night, when he tossed seven shutout innings (3 H, 1 BB, 11K) against these same Padres, shutting down the 7th ranked offense in terms of OBP.
DeGrom has (somehow) continued to improve, and hasn’t allowed a run since the 25th of May. He’ll face off against Blake Snell (2-2, 4.83), who was similarly dominant in his last start, which came against the Mets on Friday. He allowed just two baserunners, one via walk and one via hit, en route to seven shutout innings of his own, complete with ten punchouts. Otherwise, Snell has had a rather pedestrian year, but a FIP (3.94) almost a full run lower than his ERA, combined with a strong recent outing, shows he may have turned a corner, and the best could be yet to come.
Latest Mets News
Carlos Carrasco, who is recovering from a torn right hamstring, has stopped throwing off the slope of a mound, which he was doing last week. Manager Luis Rojas said, “There is no reinjury or anything like that, we still have to put some more strength in that hamstring before we ramp up his baseball progression.” The top of the Mets’ rotation has been as strong as any team’s, with deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Taijuan Walker combining for a sparkling 1.76 ERA, but the rest of the starters have struggled, posting an ERA over 6 (excluding openers). The Mets desperately need rotation help, and the sooner Cookie can return, the better.
The team is switching up the order of the aforementioned starting rotation, as Joey Lucchesi will be pushed back a day this weekend in order to keep Marcus Stroman on regular rest. Now, the starters line up as follows against the Padres this weekend:
Friday: Jacob deGrom
Saturday: Marcus Stroman
Sunday: Joey Lucchesi
During his press conference Wednesday, Alonso made a strong assertion about the state of the baseballs used in MLB. After somewhat surprisingly saying that he doesn’t care whether pitchers use substances on the ball, Alonso said, “it’s a fact” that MLB “manipulates the baseballs year in and year out depending on the free agency class.” Yeah, you read that right.
Pete’s point, to clarify, is that MLB and its owners choose what baseballs to use depending on what types of big names are going to be available in the following year’s free agency, in order to reduce contract size. He points out the huge FA pitcher class of 2019, after the year of the “juiced ball”, and now, the deadened ball in a year after which many big bats are due to hit the free market (see: Trevor Story, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, etc). This is quite the accusation by the Mets’ slugger, and you can read more about it here.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Mets signed right-hander Elliot Johnstone from the Auckland Tuatara of the Australian Baseball League. Johnstone won 2019 Rookie of the Year honors (1.09 ERA) in the ABL, and impressed scouts with a strong physical build, a deceptive delivery, and late movement on his pitches. He’ll report to the Port St. Lucie complex.
Latest MLB News
On Friday, free-agent right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock, who is now 8 months removed from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, will host a showcase for interested teams at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. Peacock threw just 2.1 innings in 2020 for the Astros, but was solid from ‘17-’19, producing a 3.46 ERA, 11 strikeouts per nine innings, as well as a 3.59 FIP and holding opponents to a .217 batting average, in a combination of starts and bullpen appearances. Could Peacock be a worthy addition to an already stacked Mets bullpen?
Red Sox ace Chris Sale, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent in March of 2020, said that he “100 percent” believes he will pitch this year, barring a major setback. Sale hasn’t seen game action since August of 2019, but has begun throwing bullpen sessions, and looks set for a rehab assignment, and subsequent return, in August.
At his best, a healthy Sale is one of baseball’s most dominant starting pitchers– from 2015 to 2019, the left-hander ranked second in pitching fWAR, only trailing Max Scherzer. Over these five seasons, Sale posted a 2.82 FIP, 11.97 strikeouts per nine, and limited hitters to just 1.89 walks per nine, while accumulating 28.3 fWAR. A well-positioned, first-place Red Sox team that is relying on its bats will be ecstatic to welcome back its ace.
Stephen Piscotty was awarded the Lou Gehrig award for his outstanding off-the-field work towards ALS research.
Starling Marte announced that he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Miami, and he hopes to speak with the Marlins about an extension soon.
Latest on MMO
After a slow start to the season, the Mets’ lineup, which was projected to be one of the stronger ones in all of the sport, has picked it up recently. Read Jack Ramsey’s article about the changes in philosophy that have taken this group to the next offensive level.
Nate Olshen wrote about the recent struggles of David Peterson, and what his role looks like going forward for a Mets team deprived of pitching depth.
Albert Almora Jr. is getting closer and closer to a return, playing in a rehab assignment and homering. Read all about what’s been happening in Minor League land here.
On This Date in Mets History
1969: During a glorious season in which the Mets became the Amazin’ Mets, the team won its 11th consecutive game, a 9-4 triumph over the Giants at Candlestick Park, to establish a franchise record. These Mets would go on to have two more impressive winning streaks in the season, including a ten-game streak in September, and a subsequent nine-game one at the end of the month. We all know how that season worked out
Let’s go Mets!
