Morning Briefing: Mets In Last Place For First Time Since 2020

Good morning, Mets fans.

The Mets hit a new low on Friday night, losing to the Angels 3-1 to fall into last place in the NL East for the first time since August 2020. Although the Mets are riding a tough three-game losing streak and have had a rough go of it from the beginning, the Mets being in last place is also a testament to how well the Nationals have played lately, playing at a 24-15 record since the All-Star break. Nevertheless, it is another embarrassing milestone in a season filled with them for the New York Mets.

Latest Mets News

In the Mets’ loss last night to the Angels, their only offense came off of a Francisco Lindor solo home run. On the mound, Kodai Senga was fantastic, giving up just two runs and striking out 10 over 6 2/3 innings.

Mike Piazza met with the sons of Andrew Jordan, a firefighter who lost his life during the 9/11 attacks, at a fire station in Brooklyn. He autographed a collage for them and spoke to Brian Heyman of Newsday about topics surrounding 9/11 and the 2023 Mets.

With their loss on Friday to the Angels, the Mets are now in last place in the NL East, joining their cross-town rival New York Yankees who are also at the bottom of their division. Since the Mets’ inaugural season in 1962, the Yankees and Mets have never finished in last place in the same season. The last time both teams had a losing record in the same season was 1992.

Latest MLB News

Parker Meadows of the Tigers hit the first home run of his career, a three-run shot to walk off Ryan Pressly and defeat the Astros 4-1. Earlier in the game, Framber Valdez had thrown seven no-hit innings for the Astros before being pulled due to a high pitch count.

Mookie Betts returned to Boston for the first time since 2019 and received a standing ovation from the crowd. In his time with Boston, Betts was a four-time all-star and won four gold gloves, three silver sluggers, an MVP, and a World Series in 2018.

Matt Monagan of MLB.com wrote about Victus, the company behind the viral pencil bat used by Bryson Stott in the Little League Classic.

The Brewers signed lefty pitcher Fernando Abad to a minor league deal, per MLB’s transactions page.

The Cubs announced that they outrighted former Met Edwin Uceta to Triple-A.

Latest on MMO

In the latest Mets Minors Recap, Michael Mayer highlights Ronny Mauricio‘s big night at the plate on Thursday.

Michael Famulari argues that the Mets should still pursue Shohei Ohtani despite his injury.

Colby Morris profiles Double-A pitcher Brendan Hardy and his status as a Rule 5 eligible player.

Michael Mayer wrote about Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernandez (both acquired in the David Robertson trade) and their recent promotion to Low-A St. Lucie.