Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, Mets fans!
Another day, another rainout. Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was postponed. It will be made up as a split doubleheader on Saturday.
That means the four-game series will begin on Friday night, rather than Thursday night. Thursday’s starters were scheduled to be Taijuan Walker (7-3 2.44) against JT Brubaker (4-8 4.09). Barring any changes, they should be scheduled for Friday’s series opener.
Walker comes into the game having gone at least five innings in each of his last seven starts. Walker last threw on Saturday against the Yankees going 5.2 innings in a 8-3 victory. JT Brubaker is 0-4 in his last five starts, having last won on May 29 against Colorado. Brubaker last pitched on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers going six innings and giving up five earned runs and picking up the loss.
The Chicago Cubs are sellers, according to their General Manager Jed Hoyer. Hoyer admits the club has changed gears in the last couple of weeks, due to the team’s poor performance. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, the club was planning on buying and adding pieces to their team to make a run at a title. Since then, the Cubs went on a nine game losing streak and now find themselves 8.5 games out of the lead in the NL Central division, entering play on Thursday. The team is also 7 games out of the wild card hunt.
Hoyer admits that teams are now calling to see what the Cubs have available and that the Cubs are open for business. Patrick Mooney from The Athletic had the story.
Latest Mets News
Jon Heyman is reporting the New York Mets are interested in Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier. Frazier will represent Pittsburgh in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Entering Thursday night’s game the left-handed hitter was batting .326 with four HRs and 28 RBIs in 85 games with the Pirates this season.
The New York Mets will honor military families on Friday, July 9. The Mets have teamed up with R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) the game and there will be festivities throughout the day. The first 12,500 fans that show up to Citi Field will get a Military themed T-shirt from the Mets and Fiserv. R.E.D. representatives will throw and catch the first pitch. They will also have representatives on Mets plaza and the main concourse where fans can donate to support active military and their families.
Veteran baseball writer Jayson Stark gave his mid-year awards this week. Included in the awards were a couple of Mets. Stark gave Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom both the National League Most Valuable Player Award and the National League Cy Young Award. He also gave Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor the award for the National League’s Least Valuable Player award through the first half of the season. You can read more on the decisions here.
Former Mets infielder Howard Johnson’s grandson is going through a tough time right now and the family is asking for support from the Mets and the baseball community. Johnson’s grandson Tanner had a horrible injury with a lawn mower that will require multiple surgeries and long hospital stays. Tanner is 2 years old and is in a tough battle right now. If you want to help the Johnsons you can click the link to donate to a Go-Fund-Me.
Latest MLB News
Major League Baseball announced that they have extended the Administrative Leave for Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer for an additional seven days, effective Friday, July 9. The league is currently investigating the 30-year-old right-hander for allegations of assault on a female companion. The leave now runs through July 15.
Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa has elected to skip Tuesday’s Major League Baseball All-Star game in Denver, Colorado. Correa, who was also an All-Star in 2017, said the decision was made because his wife is pregnant and he wanted to take some time off to be with her. Correa entered Thursday with a .291 average with 16 HRs and 52 RBIs.
An interesting detail has emerged about the 2021 MLB HR Derby scheduled for Monday, July 12. The Derby will take place in Colorado, but unlike the games that are played in Coors Field the baseballs used for the Home Run Derby will not be in the humidor prior to the event, according to Mike Petriello from MLB.com. The humidor is used to help keep the home run rates down in Colorado with the less humidity in the air due to the high altitude at Coors Field.
The New York Yankees placed right-handed pitcher Michael King on the injured list on prior to their series finale against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. King is nursing a right middle finger contusion. The club called up utility man Tyler Wade from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Berre to take King’s place on the roster.
The Chicago White Sox announced that 24-year-old outfielder Eloy Jimenez will begin a rehab assignment on Friday. Jimenez, who is recovering from a left pectoral injury, will start the assignment with Single-A Winston-Salem. Jimenez injured himself in Spring Training when leaped at the wall and attempted to pull back a home run from A’s catcher Sean Murphy.
Trade rumors are picking up rapidly and will continue to do so as the July 31 trade deadline approaches. Jon Heyman says that one slugger that could be on the move is DH Nelson Cruz. Cruz is hitting .304 with 18 HRs and 45 RBIs in 260 at-bats this season for the Minnesota Twins. Hayman says that both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics are possibilities to land the 40-year-old slugger.
Current Colorado Rockies interim General Manager Bill Schmidt is a strong candidate to be hired as the club’s full-time General Manager, this is according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. Saunders talked to Rockies President Greg Feasel who confirmed the news.
San Diego Padres relief pitcher Daniel Camarena hit a grand slam off of Nationals starter Max Scherzer on Thursday night. Camarena had just been called up from Triple-A El Paso and had one career at-bat prior to the grand slam.
Latest NL East News
Marlins general manager Kim Ng has confirmed that manager Don Mattingly’s mutual option for the 2022 season has been picked up, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The news means that the 1985 American League Most Valuable Player will be the club’s manager through at least the 2022 season. Mattingly has been the manage of the Marlins since the 2016 season. His record with the organization is 345-446. Prior to managing the Marlins, Mattingly was the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-2015.
Phillies utility man Brad Miller hit not one, not two, but three home runs against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night. Miller hit two home runs off Cubs starter Adbert Alzolay and hit another homer in the 7th off of reliever Cory Abbott. The Phillies won the game 8-0 and improved their record to 42-43. They trail the Mets by 4 games in the National League East.
Latest on MMO
Seth Lugo has been nasty this year. Matt Musico shows you just how nasty Lugo has been so far in 2021.
Jeff McNeil & Ichiro Suzuki? That similarity may seem odd but Nihar Maskara writes that the similarities between the two players is striking.
On This Date in Mets History
On July 9, 1969, Tom Seaver takes a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs. Jimmy Qualls broke up the no-no with a one-out single to left-center field. The 59,083 fans at Shea Stadium cheer Seaver for the effort in which he struck out 11. He recorded the final two outs with ease as the Seaver shut out the Cubs 4-0.
In 1970 on the one-year anniversary of his near perfect game, Tom Seaver hits his first career home run at Shea Stadium off of Rich Nye of the Montreal Expos. Outfielder Ron Swaboda adds a homer as well. Seaver also did great work on the mound, giving up just three hits in a 7-1 victory.
On this date in 2000 the largest crowd at Shea Stadium since 1970 witness the Mets shut out the New York Yankees by a score of 2-0. Todd Zeile homered off Andy Petitte in the fourth to break a scoreless tie. The Mets got one more as Mike Hampton started for the Amazins’ and went seven strong innings. and Armando Benitez went two innings for his 19th save of the season.
Birthdays: George Stone (75)
Let’s go Mets!
