Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Good morning, Mets fans!
The Mets enjoyed a day off on Thursday, but will be right back to action on Friday as they host the Philadelphia Phillies for the start of a three-game set. Taijuan Walker (7-9 4.29) takes the mound for the Mets, who come into the game having lost three straight games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets now have a record of 72-75 and trail in the NL East by 5.5 games. They trail the St. Louis Cardinals by five games in the Wild Card.
Former Met Zack Wheeler (13-9 2.86) is pitching for the Phillies. The Phillies enter the series with a record of 73-72 and are 3.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The Phillies are just 2.5 games back of St. Louis in the final Wild Card spot.
Latest Mets News
Mets pitcher Jordan Yamamoto threw four innings in a rehab assignment on Thursday for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets. Yamamoto has been sidelined with a right shoulder injury since May 25. He threw 58 pitches and gave up three hits in his start. No word on whether he will join the Major League club before the season is out.
Mets prospect Mark Vientos started at DH and played his first game for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Prior to the game Vientos spoke to Joe DeMayo and Jacob Resnick of SNY.com on this week’s episode of Mets Prospective. During the chat, Vientos shared something that Mets star Francisco Lindor told him this season that has helped him in his growth in becoming a major league player.
Will Leitch of MLB.com wrote an article highlighting the best player in each season since 1969. Both Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden are featured in the piece.
Latest MLB News
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Daniel Lynch left his start on Thursday with what the team is describing as tightness in his left calf. The southpaw threw two innings of his start before exiting in the third. Initially it looked to be a more serious injury, but after additional tests there are no major concerns. The team says he should be able to make his next start sometime next week. Lynch started the 2021 season as the Royals third best prospect.
The Baltimore Orioles claimed right-handed pitcher Brooks Kriske off of waivers from the New York Yankees. The 27-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona pitched in eight games for the Yankees in 2021, throwing 7.2 innings and having an ERA of 15.26. He was placed on waivers by the Yankees on Tuesday.
The San Diego Padres signed former Phillies starter Vince Velasquez to a minor league contract on Thursday. The team also announced that he is expected to start in one of the games this weekend versus the St. Louis Cardinals. The move comes after the Friars had to place Blake Snell on the IL with a left adductor groin strain. Velasquez started 17 games for the Phillies this season, going 3-6 with a 5.95 ERA before being released on September 12. The 29-year-old will look for a fresh start with the Padres.
Latest NL East News
Thursday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies was postponed due to rain. The game was scheduled to be the series finale between the two but is now in jeopardy of even being played. The teams do not have any mutual off days the rest of this season and will be made up on the day after the regular season on October 4 but only if there are playoff implications.
Latest on MMO
Matt Musico discusses the evolution of Marcus Stroman and how he has evolved into the pitcher his today.
It was a rough series for the Mets against the Cardinals this past week. Dilip Sridhar writes about some of the positives and negatives from the three-game set against the Cards.
What did you think of ESPN’s documentary “Once Upon a Time in Queens?” Brian Wright talks about some of the key points of the series and catches you up on anything you missed.
Connor Grey features Mets top prospect Francisco Alvarez in his latest piece.
It was an off-day on the field for the Mets, but it was eventful off the field. Mets owner Steve Cohen had a beef with an article written by the New York Post and let the fans know about it on his Twitter page. Read all about that and more from the incident as Matt Musico has you covered.
On This Date in Mets History
Jerry Koosman threw a complete game shutout to give the Mets a 5-0 victory at Jarry Park on this date in 1969. The Mets scored three runs in the fourth inning thanks in large part to a two-run single by Wayne Garrett. They would add two more as Koosman would shut down the Montreal Expos offense. The win gives the Mets a 3-game lead in the NL East with just 14 games left in the season.
The Mets clinched the NL East on this date in 1986. Doc Gooden threw a complete game, giving up just two runs on six hits against the Chicago Cubs. Gooden won his 15th game and the Mets scored three runs off of Cubs pitcher Dennis Eckersley, knocking him out in the fifth and Gooden was able to hang on. The win clinched the National League East division title for the third time in club history. The would go on to win their second World Series title.
Curtis Granderson became just the eight player in baseball history to hit multiple home runs in extra innings when the Mets beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 on this date in 2016. Seth Lugo started for the Mets and went five innings, giving up just one run. The Mets tied the game in the eighth inning on a Yoenis Cespedes RBI single, plating Jose Reyes. The game went into extra innings tied at one. The Mets fell behind in the 11th when Byron Buxton hit a home run off Hansel Robles. Granderson tied it in the 11th with a solo blast off of Brandon Kintzler. In the 12th the Twins bullpen retired the first two batters and Ryan O’Rourke came in to pitch to Granderson who hit a walk-off home run to right field to win the game for the Mets. The victory gave the Mets a record of 79-69 and put them in a tie with the San Francisco Giants for the lead in the NL wildcard.
Birthdays: John Franco (61)
Let’s go Mets!
