Morning Briefing: Mets Head to San Diego After Beating Diamondbacks

Good morning, Mets fans!

On Wednesday afternoon, the Mets took the rubber game from the Diamondbacks in steamy Arizona, winning a thriller afternoon matchup 7-6. The offense came out rolling, putting up a four spot in the top of the first inning against Madison Bumgarner, thanks in part to a three-run homer by the red-hot James McCann.

Despite a nightmare start from David Peterson (0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 ER), the Mets’ bullpen was able to put together a tremendous performance, aided by multiple shutout innings from both Robert Gesellman and Miguel Castro, as well as a strong season debut for Seth Lugo. Pete Alonso came through with a big RBI single in the late innings to plate Francisco Lindor, and the Mets came out of Arizona with a series win. Read the full game recap here. 

Tonight, the Mets continue their west-coast road trip, taking on the Padres in the first of a four-game set, which will be the biggest competition New York has faced this year. It will be Taijuan Walker (4-1, 1.84) toeing the rubber for New York. Walker has dazzled in his first couple of months as a Met (1.6 fWAR), and looked sharp in his first outing off of the injured list last Saturday, striking out eight Braves over five strong shutout innings. Walker has been particularly dominant as of late, allowing just one earned run over his last four starts. That’s good for a 0.41 ERA over those 22 innings of work, and the free agent acquisition has walked just four and struck out 22 over that span. 

San Diego will send newly acquired right-hander Yu Darvish (5-1, 2.16) to the hill for game one of the series. Since coming over from Chicago after a dominant season in which he finished second in Cy Young award voting, the Japanese veteran has impressed for the Friars. Across eleven starts, Yu has twirled 66.2 innings to the tune of 1.9 fWAR, striking out 10.67/9 and walking just 2.16 per nine. Yu is coming off one of just two starts this year during which he’s given up 4 earned runs (5 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 ER, 5 K, ND). 

Latest Mets News

The Mets signed right-handed pitcher Jose Chacin to a minor league contract on Wednesday. Chacin, a 24-year-old who was released by the Dodgers in April, last pitched in A-ball, and will be organizational depth within the Mets’ system.

Jonathan Villar was removed from Wednesday’s game with hamstring tightness, the Mets say. However, manager Luis Rojas optimistically stated that the veteran infielder is day-to-day, and has full range of motion and strength in that right hamstring. 

J.D. Davis has had another setback in his attempt to return from injury, and has been unable to swing a bat, sources say. You can read more about the latest update on the Mets’ missing third baseman here. 

Latest MLB News

Starting Wednesday, June 2 has become Lou Gehrig Day. The Yankee all-time great was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, now commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease), and Gerhig’s legacy has helped to contribute to millions of dollars, and a priceless amount of awareness about the disease. 

Diamondbacks announcer Bob Brenly made a comment with racial undertones regarding Marcus Stroman’s du-rag during Tuesday night’s game, saying, “I’m sure that’s the same du-rag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets.” On Wednesday afternoon, Arizona’s broadcaster came out with a statement of his own, after Stroman tweeted voicing his displeasure with the incident. 

John Heyman reports that of all 30 MLB clubs, 21 are expected to have reached the 85% vaccination threshold (of tier 1 players and staff) for eased restrictions by the end of the week. Heyman did mention that the Mets are one of the remaining teams with “work to do”.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of “suspicious” baseballs collected from games this year, and, in combination with the lackluster offense around the league, there’s a desire to crack down on foreign substances. Jon Heyman reported that team owners were expected to be present at meetings as soon as Wednesday in order to discuss an effective way to crack down upon the use of these substances, and send spin rates back to normal. 

Atlanta outfielder Christian Pache was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Wednesday afternoon, after the Braves sent their young prospect on a rehab assignment. Pache will return to AAA to work on his offensive game, instead of being brought back to the big leagues right away.

Tommy Phamand Ha-Seong Kim of the Padres collided in short left field Wednesday night, and there was some tension between the two players, as Pham seemed upset that the middle infielder ranged into his territory. 

Latest on MMO

Ryan Finkelstein wrote more about how MLB should hold Brenly accountable, and you can read more about the incident here.

By many metrics, the Mets have had one of, if not the, best bullpens in baseball this season. On Monday, the pen got even stronger– enter Seth Lugo. Lugo worked mostly as a starter in 2016 and 2017, but since transitioning to a relief role, Lugo has been lights out. After a strong 2018 season in which Lugo appeared in 54 games (only five starts), and pitched to a 2.66 ERA and 3.01 FIP over 101.1 innings (1.6 fWAR), the right-hander turned it up a notch in 2019 (2.70 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 2.3 fWAR), solidifying his role as the strongest arm in that Mets ‘pen. Lugo came back on Wednesday, and despite scattering a run over a few weakly-hit balls, looked sharp.

Read more about Lugo’s long-awaited return here. 

John Flanigan wrote about the excellent months of May that the Mets received from Taijuan Walker and Tomás Nido. These two carried a beat-up Mets team through what was a persevering effort from the Mets

Beyond the Blog

Locked On Mets: On today’s episode, host Ryan Finkelstein is joined by the host of Locked On Padres, Javier Reyes, to preview the Mets upcoming series against the San Diego Padres. They talk about an exciting offseason for both NL teams and how those moves have translated on the field so far this season.

On This Date in Mets History

1980: With the first overall pick in the draft, the New York Mets select Darryl Strawberry. During his eight-year tenure with the team, Strawberry went on to set all types of franchise records, racking up 252 home runs and 733 RBI’s while carrying an elite 145 OPS+. Strawberry was a true superstar for the team, being selected to seven All-Star games and finishing top-3 in MVP voting twice after winning Rookie of the Year in 1983.

During the slugger’s time with the team, the Amazin’s established themselves as one of the premier teams in the National League, finishing either first or second in the division every year, and taking home a ring in ‘86. 

Let’s go Mets!