Morning Briefing: Stroman Looks to Lead Mets to Four-Game Sweep

Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

Wednesday night, the Mets took their third consecutive game from the Cubs, this time by a score of 6-3. New York has now won six out of their last seven games. However, it’s not all sunshine in Mets Land — after three perfect innings, including eight (yes, eight) strikeouts, Jacob deGrom was removed from the game with right shoulder soreness. For more information about Jake’s early departure, read Ryan Finkelstein’s article.

Despite this blow, the Mets’ bullpen was strong per usual, striking out eight of their own — Sean Reid-Foley got through the fourth and fifth, working around an Anthony Rizzo solo shot. Reid-Foley was followed by Aaron Loup and Miguel Castro, who each struck out two in perfect innings. Then, Trevor May bounced back from a rough outing Monday night by striking out the side in the eighth. Drew Smith gave up a two-run home run to Rafael Ortega in the ninth, and Edwin Diaz had to come in and shut the door, which he did so successfully, earning his 14th by save recording just one out.

The Mets’ bats got started in the second inning when Kevin Pillar doubled in Billy McKinney, and deGrom followed that up with a well-struck RBI single. Dominic Smith and Pillar tacked on solo homers, and you can read more about the offense in the game recap here.

Tonight, the Mets hope to finish off a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. It will be Marcus Stroman (6-4, 2.33) on the bump for New York. The shifty right-hander is having an All-Star season, and has turned it up as of late to the tune of a 1.44 ERA over his last four starts (25 IP), and he’s consistently given the Mets depth in games, going at least six innings in seven straight starts. Stroman will oppose Chicago’s soft-throwing Kyle Hendricks (8-4, 4.46), who is coming off a solid start vs the Cardinals (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K).

Latest Mets News

There were many updates on the injury front on Wednesday, so let’s get into what Mets we might be seeing making a return to the diamond soon.

Dellin Betances, who is recovering from a right shoulder impingement, pitched in his second minor league rehab appearance on Wednesday afternoon. After a scoreless inning his first time out, the second go-around didn’t go as well for the veteran. His line: 0.1 IP, 5 ER, 3 H, 2 BB. However, manager Luis Rojas says the team isn’t looking at performance, but rather how Betances feels after the outing. Sitting at just 93 MPH with his fastball, it’s hard to imagine the four-time All-Star working his way into a meaningful role with the big league club, but stranger things have happened.

Michael Conforto, who went down with a hamstring injury on May 16, is well ahead of schedule, and began a rehab assignment with the Syracuse Mets on Wednesday evening. Rojas mentioned that Conforto has “started a lot sooner than we thought,” and the outfielder is believed to be about a week away from rejoining the team, barring a setback. After a slow start to the year, Conforto was starting to round into form, and sports a .369 OBP, second on the team only to Brandon Nimmo (min. 50 PA). In a week’s time, Conforto, along with Jeff McNeil, could be back at the top of New York’s lineup.

Carlos Carrasco resumed his throwing program on Wednesday. Carrasco has been working back from a torn right hamstring, and is now throwing off of flat ground once again. The Mets are hopeful that the veteran starter acquired in this offseason’s blockbuster trade could rejoin the team by next month.

Latest MLB News

The Nationals placed Starlin Castro on the restricted list, and Castro will be taking a leave of absence for an undisclosed reason (non-COVID related). In a corresponding move, the team called up infielder Luis García.

Over in Los Angeles, the Dodgers selected the contract of outfielder Steven Souza Jr. Souza Jr. was bad for the Cubs in 2020, slashing just .148/.258/.333, but the 32-year-old brings a veteran presence to the Dodgers, and he will play in his seventh MLB season with his fifth team. Most memorably, Souza Jr. hit 30 home runs and was worth 3.8 fWAR for the Rays in 2017, but has failed to be a contributor to an MLB club since. To make room, the team designated Nate Jones for assignment.

The dialogue regarding the banning of “sticky substances” in MLB has gotten louder and louder, and there’s been more back and forth between players and other baseball minds since MLB released its memo. Scott Boras, high-profile agent who owns the Boras Corporation, released a statement on the matter. Andrew Baggarly wrote an article for The Athletic on the history of foreign substances used to doctrine baseballs, which you can read here.

In related news, the Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen said that his former team, the Marlins, helped teach pitchers about the benefits of using foreign substances while Mike Hill worked as general manager.

The Rays placed former Met Collin McHugh on the COVID-19 related IL, and in a corresponding move, recalled fellow former Met, stirrup-wearing Chris Mazza from Triple-A Durham.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, it’s been a strange season. Bryce Harper has underperformed and been hurt, the team has lost Didi Gregorius, Jean Segura, and others to injuries, and Zack Wheeler has pitched like a Cy Young candidate. Matt Gelb wrote a piece on all this, and more, for The Athletic.

Latest on MMO

Citi Field will return to full capacity on Monday, and other COVID-related restrictions will be lifted. Read more about what’s changing next week in Haley Zemek’s article.

Get a full recap of all Mets injury news here, as Ryan Finkelstein went into depth regarding Carrasco, Conforto, and others.

Beyond the Blog

Locked On Mets: On today’s episode, host Ryan Finkelstein reacts to Jacob deGrom‘s latest injury and whether the Mets should hold him out of his next start to make sure he is right for the long run.

Ryan is also joined by MMO’s Brian Wright for another “Throwback Thursday”, as they continue their conversation from last week about the best rookie seasons in Mets history.