Good morning, Mets fans.
Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound for the first time in two weeks, but it was short-lived as he only recorded four outs prior to being taken out due to arm fatigue. After the second half of a doubleheader against the Reds, in which Shohei DH’d and batted second, Angels GM Perry Minasian told reporters that he had a tear in his UCL. While it is still unknown whether Ohtani will need surgery or not, the Angels did say that he will be not pitch for the rest of the 2023 season. The star two-way player has a history of elbow injuries which includes Tommy John surgery in October of 2018 and his recent problems with arm fatigue. Even though Ohtani is an MVP-caliber player with his bat alone, this will surely hurt him during his impending free agency negotiations.
The Ohtani news seemed bad enough for the Los Angeles Angels, but things only got worse for the club as Rhett Bollinger of MLB reported that Mike Trout is heading back to the IL. The Angels star center fielder was just reinstated from the IL after suffering a hamate fracture in his hand, but Trout’s injury struggles continue as he will miss time again.
Shohei Ohtani. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Wednesday night, the Mets fell to the Atlanta Braves in the rubber match of a three-game set down in Atlanta by a score of 7-0. José Quintana put up the worst outing of his short Mets career as he went 5 1/3 IP while allowing five earned runs, four of those coming in a frustrating sixth inning for the veteran lefty. But, the Braves did not need much with Charlie Morton scorching through the Mets lineup, as the Mets did not get a hit until the fifth inning and failed to scratch across a run. Wednesday night’s matchup was the final of 10 games against Atlanta, with the Mets finishing 3-7 against the Braves on the season.
The Mets have an off day Thursday as they prepare to host the struggling Los Angeles Angels this coming weekend.
Latest Mets News
Pete Alonso was awarded MLB Players Trust Most Valuable Philanthropist for the month of July. Alonso and his wife Haley have many philanthropic ventures off the field, and along with winning the award they will receive a grant to be used towards The Alonso Foundation. Alonso was commended for his wide ranging support, while mainly focusing on first responders, kids, and animal shelters, he also jumps in whenever there are people in need. In a video released by the MLBPA, the Mets slugger said, “I just want to do the best I can to use the platform and have this opportunity and use it for good.”
Per Mike Mayer of Metsmerized Online, the Mets will remember Joan Payson with a tribute video on the outfield scoreboard as part of Women’s Equality Day on Saturday at Citi Field. Along with that, the Mets will also be hosting the Massapequa International 12-and-under softball team.
Mets prospects Jett Williams and Luisangel Acuña had good nights at the plate as they each got three hits a piece. Williams went 3-for-5 with four RBIS and has raised his OPS to 1.112 in 20 games with High-A Brooklyn. Acuña went 3-for-4 with a walk as he has been on base 14 times in his last six games with Double-A Binghamton.
Sean Reid-Foley put together a 1-2-3 eighth inning against the Braves Wednesday night as he made his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of 2022.
Latest MLB News
In an article detailing the White Sox’s decision to fire GM Rick Hahn and VP Kenny Williams, USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale mentioned how Tony La Russa is back in the fold in Chicago. The White Sox former manager, who stepped down in 2022 due to health issues, has been cleared to work again and is back with the club as a consultant as he recently scouted Chicago’s minor league system.
The Oakland Athletics officially submitted their Las Vegas relocation application to Major League Baseball, and with that their owner John Fisher spoke to the media for the first time since the A’s relocation saga began. In an article with the Las Vegas Review Journal‘s Mick Akers, Fisher touched upon many things, but most importantly noted that he has not considered selling the team throughout the process. The A’s owner also mentioned how the move to Las Vegas will help in the process of fielding a competitive team, hoping for success which parallels to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, which would be winning a championship within six years.
Latest on MMO
Rivka Boord did a deep dive into Jeff McNeil’s midseason turn around.
Petey Pete looked at how the Mets 2024 Triple-A rotation could be key parts of the big league club’s future.
Chris Bello detailed the reports of the Mets opening up a new pitching lab.
On This Date in Mets History
2015: David Wright hits a second inning home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in his first at-bat in over four months, returning from a back injury. Wright’s home run was part of a record setting day for the Mets offense as they set a franchise record with eight home runs in a single game.
2014: Bartolo Colon induces a ground ball from Dodgers’ outfielder Matt Kemp to turn the eleventh triple play in Mets franchise history. Lucas Duda completed the 5-4-3-2 triple play as he threw Yasiel Puig out at the plate as he attempted to score from second on Kemp’s double play.
Birthdays: Jamie Callahan (29), Bartolome Fortunato (49), Butch Benton (66)
