By Violeta Pietronico
Good Morning, Mets fans!
On Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Rays took down the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card game by a score of 5-1. The Rays now head to Houston, where they will take on the Astros in the ALDS.
Before A’s fans could even get comfortable, Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz belted a leadoff home run to put the Rays up 1-0 in the first. Diaz, not satisfied with just the one homer, added another solo shot in the third.
Rays rightfielder Avisail Garcia and DH Tommy Pham joined the party with home runs of their own, and by the end of the fifth, the Rays had built a 5-1 cushion.
Tampa Bay’s Charlie Morton went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out four.
Oakland’s Sean Manaea went just two innings, giving up four hits and four runs in his short outing.
A’s rightfielder Ramon Laureano drove in the lone run for Oakland with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Latest Mets News
Jeff McNeil had successful surgery on Wednesday in order to repair a right distal ulnar fracture in his wrist, which happened as a result of being hit by a pitch during an at-bat. Recovery time is said to be six weeks, and the outfielder should be good to go for Spring Training.
The Mets climbed the ranks in terms of fan attendance in 2019, thus strengthening the argument that fielding a winning team will pack the house. Over the course of this season, the team saw the fourth-highest increase in fan attendance, adding 217,537 paying customers to their total from 2018.
Tim Britton of The Athletic poses what he believes are the most important questions for each Mets player going into the 2020 season.
Latest MLB News
The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports that Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler “anticipates” the Halos making some additions to their pitching staff for the 2020 season. Eppler’s comments follow recent criticism of the team’s lack of attention- i.e., spending- when it comes to pitching.
Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer, ever-opinionated, will be given his own show on MLB Network radio, says C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The show will reportedly air twice a month starting Tuesday, October 8th.
David Purdum of ESPN introduces us to Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale, a furniture salesman in Houston, Texas who has bet a whopping $3.5 million on the Houston Astros to win the World Series. The eye-opening wager is believed to be the largest ever placed in the United States.
Latest NL East News
Later tonight, the Atlanta Braves open up Game 1 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals in their home ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 5:02 PM, and the broadcast can be found on TBS.
The Washington Nationals, winners of the NL Wild Card game on Tuesday night, will play Game 1 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in California. First pitch is scheduled for 8:37 PM, and the broadcast can be found on TBS.
Latest on MMO
Logan Barer explains how a disappointing 2019 season and upcoming salary troubles for the Boston Red Sox could translate into a winning offseason for the Mets.
The Mets are in need of a center fielder for the 2020 season, so John Sheridan takes stock of both internal and external options for the team.
Marshall Field dives further into the career of Mets legend Jerry Koosman and shines a deserving light on the pitcher’s talents and achievements.
The Simply Amazin’ podcast, led by MMO’s own Tim Ryder, presents end-of-season awards to our 2019 Mets.
This Date in Mets History
1964: The Mets- with 108 losses to their name- arrived in St. Louis to play Lou Brock‘s Cardinals, who were fighting for the NL pennant. The lowly Mets ultimately crushed the Red Birds 15-5, bashing a total of five home runs.
