Morning Briefing: Former Met Angel Pagan Rescued at Sea

Good morning to all you Amazin’ Mets fans!

Today the Mets will finish off their four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jason Vargas (1-2, 5.22 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets, in his second start since returning off the IL. In his first start back, Vargas limited the Detroit Tigers to one run across five innings pitched. Vargas will be squaring off against Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-1, 1.65 ERA), who has been a revelation for the Dodgers this year. Ryu had a 32-inning scoreless streak that came to an end in his last start on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m., and the game will be televised on SNY.

Last night the Mets lost in brutal fashion to the Dodgers, as Edwin Diaz blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning to give L.A. the 9-8 victory.

Latest Mets News

After giving Michael Conforto a tip that led to his pivotal grand slam on Tuesday night, Conforto proclaimed Robinson Cano his new hitting coach until he returns of the IL.

Newsdays’ Tim Healey wrote a great piece on Robert Gsellman and a life-changing game he pitched in Dodger Stadium a decade ago, after his mother passed away from her battle with breast cancer.

Mets outfielder Rajai Davis cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Sunday. Since he cleared waivers, Davis will remain in the Mets organization as he was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.

Seth Lugo threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and could return to the Mets this Friday, in time for their next series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Latest MLB News

Former Mets outfielder Angel Pagan was reportedly rescued at sea, after a 15-foot wave capsized his boat in Puerto Rico. Pagan was accompanied on the boat by Orlando Roman, who was a former pitcher that was actually drafted by the Mets in the 31st round back in 1999. Roman never made it to the big leagues, but had a long professional baseball career in Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Mets former top prospect Jarred Kelenic is rising quickly through the Seattle Mariners farm system, after being traded to Seattle this offseason. Kelenic, 19, was just promoted to High-A after hitting .303/.391/.564 in 49 games at Low-A this year, with 11 home runs, 13 doubles, three triples and seven steals.

Houston Astros star shortstop Carlos Correa is heading to the IL after suffering from a freak injury off the field. Reports are that Correa fractured his rib during an in-house massage. The shortstop will likely miss the next four to six weeks, while he recovers from the injury.

Latest NL East News

The Washington Nationals have signed former Braves reliever, Johnny Ventures to a minor league deal. Last year, Ventures won the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award after returning from his third Tommy John surgery, but had a 17.36 ERA this season before being released on May 18th.

Former Marlin Derek Dietrich is making Derek Jeter and company look foolish for releasing him this offseason. On Tuesday, Dietrich had a three-home run game and now has 17 home runs on the season, which is a career-high.