Morning Briefing: Well, That Road Trip Is Over

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Mets wrapped up a grueling road trip with another ugly loss to the Mariners Sunday evening. Unlike the first two games of the series, they scored a run this time, but they still got blown out 12-1. They were outscored 22-1 in the series. The sweep comes off the heels of a series win in Colorado.

The slumping Braves lost on Sunday too, though, allowing seven runs in the eighth inning of a stunning 9-8 defeat to the Rockies. That means the Mets are in the same position they were in at the start of Sunday, 0.5 games behind the Braves for the third Wild Card spot.

The Mets now get a much-needed day off before starting a home series with the A’s on Tuesday. The Braves, meanwhile, begin a road series with the Giants at 9:45 p.m. ET. It’s a matchup of veteran aces, with Atlanta’s Chris Sale going up against Blake Snell, who threw a no-hitter earlier this month. A Braves loss would give them the exact same record as the Mets (61-57), while a win would put them a full game ahead of New York.

Francisco Alvarez. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

Former Mets interim manager Mike Cubbage died at age 74. He managed just seven games in the 1991 season. However, he spent many more years as the team’s third base coach. He also wrapped up his playing career with the Mets in 1981.

Latest MLB News

Eddie Rosario elected free agency, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The Braves designated him for assignment on Thursday. He was hitting just .154 with a .463 OPS in 24 games for the Braves, and .175 with with a .531 OPS overall this season between the Braves and Nationals.

E60 is releasing a documentary about the infamous Armando Galarraga game in 2010, when Galarrago was robbed of a perfect game by an incorrect call on the would-be 27th out. It premieres August 18 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Dodgers pitcher River Ryan suffered a season-ending UCL strain on Sunday, multiple reports confirmed. Ryan, brother of former Mets farmhand Ryder Ryan (Jay Bruce trade), had a 1.33 ERA in his first 20 1/3 big league innings.

Injured Rangers pitchers Max Scherzer and Nathan Eovaldi returned to Texas for evaluation.

Latest on MMO

James Villani looked at the metrics behind Francisco Alvarez’s struggles.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, Christian De Block wrote about the Mets getting shut out by Seattle’s strong pitching staff in the first two games of the series.

John Wilson did a weekly statistical spotlight on Pete Alonso.

Villani recapped the disastrous series finale.