Morning Briefing: Mets Inch Closer to Second Wild Card Spot

Good morning, Mets fans!

Yesterday afternoon, Zack Wheeler and some incredible defensive plays, led the Mets to their seventh straight win! The right-hander threw seven shutout innings and struck out seven White Sox batters in the rubber match of their three game series. With the help of his defense, Wheeler only gave up four hits on the day.

The offense put up four runs for their teammate, two of which came from Robinson Cano smacking a line drive solo homer in the second and a double in the sixth. A ground ball single off the bat of Wilson Ramos scored two and that was all she wrote. Luis Avilan and Jeurys Familia came in for the last two innings holding down the shutout and leading the Mets to their 4-0 victory to sweep their second straight series.

Long Island’s Steven Matz (6-6, 4.32), will take the bump tonight against Trevor Williams (3-4, 4.87) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matz’s last start was against the Pirates at Citi Field where he threw a complete game shutout. Working two straight starts against the same team is difficult, but nonetheless the lefty will toe the rubber to try and get the Mets their eighth straight win.

The game will air on SNY at 7:05 p.m. EST and can be heard on WCBS 880 AM and ESPN 1050 AM.

Latest Mets News

The Mets have won their seventh straight game and are four games back from the second NL Wild Card spot.

General manager, Brodie Van Wagenen, posted a message to Mets fans on Twitter to thank us for the support and to let us know what his intentions are for the future.

Latest MLB News

Following the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds all out brawl Tuesday the following suspensions have been issued. Keone Kela received a 10-game suspension, Amir Garrett eight-game suspension, Jose Osuna five games, Jared Hughes three games, Kyle Crick three games, Yasiel Puig three games, David Bell six games, and Clint Hurdle will serve a two games suspension. There are a few contributors two the fight who did not receive suspensions, but nonetheless the ones given out will be served starting today. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com posted more details regarding each player’s suspension. All players mentioned have also been fined as well as Joey Votto, Phil Ervin, and Trevor Williams.

Jameson Taillon, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, will undergo elbow surgery to repair his elbow flexor tendon. The surgery will have him out of the game for a few months, and if all goes well he can return by mid-May of the 2020 season.

Right-handed pitcher Danny Farquhar has announced his retirement via Instagram.

With the trade deadline now over, MLB has updated their Top 100 prospects list, you can find the list here.

The St. Louis Cardinals threw a combined one hitter Thursday evening against the Chicago Cubs and took sole possession of first place in their division.

Latest NL East News

Former Met Jason Vargas has arrived to his new team in the Philadelphia Phillies and is scheduled to start today against the Chicago White Sox. The club has optioned outfielder, Nick Williams to Triple-A as the corresponding roster move.

The Miami Marlins have called up RHP Kyle Keller, welcome to the show Keller!

The Braves added their trade deadline acquisitions, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Chris Martin, and RHP Mark Melancon to their active roster. The team has optioned LHP A.J. Minter, RHP Chad Sobotka, and RHP Jeremy Walker to Triple-A.