Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

Thursday was an off day for the Mets, but their division lead expanded and their magic number went down as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves 1-0, putting the Mets ahead by 1.5 games and tuning the magic number to clinch the NL East to 11.

Now onto the morning briefing!

Latest Mets News

According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the New York Mets have extended the rehab of pitcher Joey Lucchesi past the 30-day limit. In seven rehab games before the decision, Lucchesi had gone 10 1/3 innings, eleven strikeouts, two walks, and a 1.74 ERA. The Mets hope he can be an outside option to help the Mets rotation towards the end of the season.

Lucchesi allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night.

Latest MLB News

Eno Sarris of The Athletic details which players will benefit from MLB’s new rules that will be implemented for next season, most notable, the shift rule, and which players will see an increase in batting average, hits and runs batted in.

Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated highlights the group of minor leaguers who helped spring a union on Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball released the schedule for the 2023 World Baseball Classic for the games taking place in the United States. First round pool play will take place at Chase Field in Arizona and Marlins Park in Miami, while second round and championship elimination rounds will take place in Miami alone.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Soroka has suffered another setback as he’s placed on the injured list with elbow soreness, as reported by Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This injury is an added blow to another injury that the pitcher has dealt with since the start of 2020, as he’s been sidelined with a recurring Achilles injury. Returning to the mound for Triple-A Gwinnett in August, returns have not been favorable as Soroka has pitched in 21 innings and given up 15 earned runs.

The New York Yankees made a flurry of roster moves yesterday as they activated pitcher Zack Britton from the 60-day injured list while placing reliever Wandy Peralta on the 15-day IL (retroactive to September 19th) with thoracic spine tightness and have designated utility man Miguel Andujar for assignment.

Latest on MMO

On the latest episode of MMO Weekly, Sal and Mike speak to former Met utilityman Ty Kelly on his time with the Mets, the unionization of the minor leagues as well as playing in the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic.

Mathew Brownstein chats with Will Graham, co-creator of the Amazon series “A League of Their Own”, which is a TV adaptation of the 1992 film of the same name. The show, just like the movie, focuses on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) which formed in 1943 and lasted until 1954.

Michael Mayer discusses the strong month of September for Mets reliever Joely Rodriguez.

On This Date in Mets History

1967: Mets rookie Tom Seaver pitched to his 16th and final win for that campaign. Seaver pitched nine innings, tossing up nine strikeouts and keeping the Houston Astros to three hits. The Mets would win the game in the bottom of the ninth on a bases-loaded single by Jerry Buchek. Seaver’s 16 wins would stand as the Mets’ single-season record for wins until rookie Jerry Koosman would win 19 the following season.

Birthdays: Trevor May (32), Gonzalez Germen (34), Pete Harnisch (55)