Morning Briefing: A Tale of Spin City

Good Morning, Mets fans! This afternoon, the Mets will take on the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pitching matchup will be the darlings of spin rate, Seth Lugo and Rich Hill. The game will be on at 4:10 p.m.

Last night was a tough game to watch. Yu Darvish was on his game while Jacob deGrom struggled with his command and the long ball. Amed Rosario singled and stole a base in his Citi Field debut. Michael Conforto had a pair of hits too. Fan favorite, Chase Utley, homered after a rousing chorus of boos.

To add insult to injury, former Met and “Hitting Cult Hero,” Bartolo Colon, tossed a complete game. Colon’s last complete game came against the Marlins while he was with the Mets on Sept. 5, 2015.

Latest Mets News

According to Ken Rosenthal, Jay Bruce has cleared waivers and can be traded at any point the Mets please until the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline.

Sandy Alderson updated the Mets on rehabbing pitchers. Matt Harvey will throw a bullpen this Sunday and next Wednesday. Noah Syndergaard is still a few weeks behind him. Jeurys Familia could also return by the third week of August.

Dominic Smith will be up before Sept. 1 according to Alderson. Smith was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for July, Smith hit .385/.437/.725 with 13 doubles, and eight homers in July.

Latest NL East News

According to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, the Nationals have exceeded their luxury tax thresholds. This likely limits moves for the rest of the year but their offseason budget should come down with Jayson Werth‘s contract coming off the books.

Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes about Giancarlo Stanton‘s latest triumph.

Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Brian Snitker will likely be back in 2018.

Matt Gelb of Philly.com writes about the adjusting Nick Williams.