Morning Briefing: Mets Take Slim Lead Into Phillies Series

Good morning, Mets fans!

On Friday the New York Mets will face the Philadelphia Phillies to start a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Marcus Stroman (7-10 2.80) takes the mound for the Mets. The Mets hold a narrow half game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies atop the National League East. The Mets lead over the Braves is only a game and a half.

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (7-3 2.86) pitches for the Phillies. Gibson came over to the Phillies in a trade from the Texas Rangers on July 30. He has made one start with the Phils on August 1 and went 6.2 innings giving up five hits and two earned runs in a victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Latest Mets News

Trevor Williams, who the Mets acquired in the trade with the Chicago Cubs at the deadline, had his second start for the Mets Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, New York on Thursday. He went six solid innings allowing just five hits and striking out four while giving up one earned run against the Rochester Red Wings. Williams has thrown 13 innings for the Syracuse Mets since the trade and has allowed just three earned runs. The Mets lost the game 2-1.

Latest MLB News

Major League Baseball is mourning the loss of former All-Star pitcher J.R. Richard. Richard was the starting pitcher for the National League All-Star team in 1980. Richard’s big league career started in 1971 but it wasn’t until 1975 that he came into his own. He won 107 games in 221 starts for the Houston Astros, whom he spent his entire career with. He was a Cy Young Award candidate in the middle part of the 1980 season until he suffered a stroke on July 30 while playing catch before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Astrodome.

Richard would go to the hospital and have life-saving surgery to remove a blood clot in his neck. The stroke slowed his reaction time down and weakened other areas of his game forcing him to retire in 1981 before ever pitching another game.

After baseball, Richard’s life spiraled out of control including a bout of homelessness before becoming a minister at a local church, where he got his life back on track. He passed away in a hospital in Louisiana on Wednesday after complications from COVID-19, according to his family. Our deepest sympathies go out to his friends and family.

At the Olympics, the United States baseball team knocked off South Korea in the baseball semifinals on Thursday by a score of 7-2. The win means that the United States will play Japan in the gold medal matchup on Saturday. First pitch is at 6:00 a.m.

Thursday’s win also meant that Eddy Alvarez becomes just the sixth person ever, and the third American to win a medal in both the summer and winter Olympics. Alvarez won a silver medal in speed skating in the Winter games in 2014. The US baseball is guaranteed at least silver but can win gold with a win on Saturday. South Korea will face the Dominican Republic for the bronze medal on Saturday.

The Boston Red Sox made a minor league trade on Thursday in which they acquired veteran outfielder Delino DeShields from the Texas Rangers. Chris Cotillo for MassLive.com broke the news. While the major league trade deadline has passed, teams can still make minor league trades. DeShields will report to the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worchester, Mass. He has spent the 2021 season at the Texas Rangers Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, Texas. He hit .263 with 5 HRs and 18 RBIs with an OBP of .392.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have designated outfielder Josh Reddick for assignment. The 34-year-old was hitting .258 with two home runs and 21 RBIs in 54 games for the D-Backs this season. Reddick is a 13-year pro and has 1,157 hits in his career. He was a member of the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros.

The New York Yankees had another positive COVID-19 test. This time it is catcher Gary Sanchez. Yankees manager Aaron Boone broke the news to the media prior to Friday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners. Sanchez joins teammates Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery on the current COVID-19 injured list. Catcher Rob Brantley was brought up from Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre to fill Sanchez’s roster spot.

Latest NL East News

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals by a score of 7-6 on Thursday. The Phillies trailed 5-3 going to the ninth inning but scored four runs in their half of the ninth to take a 7-5 lead. J.T. Realmuto & Rhys Hoskins hit a pair of two-run doubles to put the Phillies ahead. Archie Bradley pitched the bottom of the ninth and held on for the save. The Phillies shrank their deficit in the NL East to .5 games behind the New York Mets.

Latest on MMO

Connor Grey has the latest look at the Mets minor league affiliates and how they have fared recently.

On This Date in Mets History

The Mets swept a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs on this date in 1986. Both games ended with a score of 7-6. In game one, a makeup from a June 27 rain out, the Mets won in 12 innings thanks to a two-run single by Mookie Wilson off of Lee Smith, which gave the Mets a 7-5 lead. The Cubs battled back and scored one off of Roger McDowell in the bottom of the frame, but a Manny Trillo fly ball to center field gave the Mets the victory.

In the nightcap, Howard Johnson and Gary Carter homers gave Rick Anderson his first career victory. Anderson went five innings with Doug Sisk and Jesse Orosco holding off the Cubs the rest of the way. The two wins at Wrigley Field extended the Mets lead in the NL East to 17 games over the Montreal Expos.

On this date in 1987, the Mets beat the Cubs again by a score of 7-6, but this time it was at Shea Stadium. Kevin McReynolds was the hero as he hit a walk-off RBI single. Terry Leach struggled for the Amazins’, giving up five earned runs in six innings. However, the Mets’ bats powered them to a tie game by the time they reached the ninth.

Darrell Strawberry blasted two home runs off of Les Lancaster and Howard Johnson added one as well. Lee Mazzilli scored the winning run when he was used as a pinch hitter for Roger McDowell to lead off the bottom of the ninth and walked. He would come around to score the game winning run on McReynolds’ single.

Kevin McReynolds hit a walk-off home run off of Steve Frey to give the Mets a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Expos on this date in 1989. It took 14 innings for the Mets to triumph but that wasn’t because of the effort from Sid Fernandez, who went eight solid innings, giving up just one earned run. Jeff Musselman got the victory in relief after pitching two scoreless innings.

Birthdays: Wilmer Flores (30), Victor Zambrano (46), Herb Moford (1928), Clem Labine (1926)

Let’s go Mets!