On Friday, Francisco Lindor appeared on the show Foul Territory, where he was asked if he takes it upon himself to push younger players on the team. Lindor responded, “I talk a lot of s—.” It’s no secret that Lindor is in pursuit of a World Series championship with the Mets, and he’s done a great job building up the young prospects on the team.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Latest Mets News

The Mets defeated the Nationals 7-0 in Friday’s spring training game. Top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat shined with two perfect innings, his fastball looking sharp and reaching 99 mph, while Juan Soto hit his second home run of spring.

Manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Nick Madrigal will likely undergo season-ending surgery on his fractured left shoulder. Madrigal was signed this past offseason and was a candidate to fill the Mets’ utility infield role and the final spot on the bench.

Latest MLB News

According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, Albert Pujols will manage the Domincan Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Reigning AL rookie of the year Luis Gil was shut down from a bullpen session with discomfort in his throwing shoulder. The starter is getting an MRI to determine the severity.

Latest on MMO

Kai Chang breaks down the home run hit by one of the Mets’ top prospects, Ryan Clifford, in Thursday’s spring training game.

Alexis Farinacci highlights the Mets’ pitching, including by Clay Holmes and Max Kranick, in Thursday’s spring training game.

Sean Kenny profiles MMO’s No. 15 prospect, Blade Tidwell.

On This Date in Mets History

Born On This Date: Michael Conforto (1993), Ramón Castro (1976), Rich Rodriguez (1963), Tony Castillo (1963).

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Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

MLB announced its 2022 Comeback Players of the Year Tuesday. Albert Pujols won in the NL after his magical career-ending season in his return to St. Louis, and Astros ace Justin Verlander won in the AL.

Latest Mets News

ESPN released its salary projections, and all seven writers predicted Jacob deGrom would leave the Mets. Most thought it would be for the Rangers.

Latest MLB News

The Angels acquired outfielder Hunter Renfroe from the Brewers in exchange for Janson Junk, Elvis Peguero and Adam Seminaris. Mark Feinsand of MLB was the first to report the news.

The Houston Astros players are getting the largest share of playoff money in baseball history with over $500,000 each. The total playoff pool is $107.5 million, up $17 million from 2021. Don’t let the owners tell you they’re struggling financially.

The Phillies signed team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to a three-year extension, attaching him to the team through 2027.

Former Marlins first baseman Lewin Diaz was claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates on waivers, per Craig Mish. The 25-year-old has a great glove, but he’s struggled to hit at all in nearly 350 MLB plate appearances (.567 OPS, 55 OPS+).

Guillermo Heredia signed with the SSG Landers, per Francys Romero of MLB.

Latest on MMO

Rich Sparago looked at what the potential rule changes could do to baseball action in 2023.

Nick Rucco recapped Ronny Maurcio’s continued rampage of the Dominican Winter League.

With free agency still looking to rev up, Brian Wright analyzed the Mets’ signing of R.A. Dickey, naming it the ninth-best free agent signing in team history.

Mathew Brownstein interviewed Eric Jagers, the Mets’ new director of pitching development.

On This Date in Mets History

1964: The Mets purchased Warren Spahn‘s contract from the Milwaukee Brewers. He won four games in 20 starts for the Mets, they put him on waivers, and his arm fell off about two hours later.

Birthdays: Justin Turner (38), Ryan McGuire (51), Rich Sauveur (59), Tom Hall (75)

The post Morning Briefing: Pujols, Verlander Win Comeback Players of the Year appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Sep 23, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Albert Pujols (5) hits a three run home run and the 700th of his career against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Machine, Albert Pujols, hit his 699th and 700th career home runs Friday against the Dodgers. Not only did he achieve the incredible feat by hitting two home runs in one night, but he did it in Los Angeles, a city which he called home for a decade.

He became the fourth player all time to reach the 700 home run plateau, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth.

To make matters even sweeter for Mets fans, Mets radio broadcaster Wayne Randazzo was on the call for Apple TV for both home runs. That means that his voice will live in infamy over the legendary moment forever.

The Mets also had a great day Friday. The Braves lost to the Phillies, and the Mets beat the Athletics 9-2. This pushed the Mets lead in the division to 2.5 games, and their magic number to clinch the NL East shrunk to 9. Chris Bello wrote a further recap of the victory.

Latest MLB News

Barry M. Bloom of Sportico wrote that Barry Bonds wants Aaron Judge to break his record, then sign with the Giants.

Marcus Stroman announced that he will be releasing a book to inspire young kids to become baseball players.

Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reported that while the Orioles are likely not being sold any time soon, they added Goldman Sachs to the board.

Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported that Byron Buxton is having season-ending arthroscopic knee surgery.

Latest on MMO

Christian De Block wrote on the Mets extending their NL East lead.

Michael Mayer wrote that Mark Vientos and Darin Ruf need to get their bats going in the series against the Athletics, in which they will face three lefties.

Christian De Block wrote a series preview of the Mets series in Oakland.

Nick Rucco wrote the daily Mets Minors Recap, highlighted by Joey Lucchesi tossing another relief outing.

Scott Engel did an interview with rookie Met Brett Baty.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Drew Smith (29)

1969: The Miracle Mets clinched the National League Eastern division title with a win. The Mets that year were 9.5 games out of the division six weeks earlier, and they managed to clinch the division with over a six game lead. The club would go on to win the World Series that season, the first in franchise history.

2020: It was announced that if the sale of the Mets to Steve Cohen goes through, that he would bring former general manager of the club Sandy Alderson back for the ride.

The post Morning Briefing: Albert Pujols Hits Number 700 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good morning, Mets fans!

After a quiet night offensively in the series opener, the New York Mets busted out the lumber and scored 11 runs in a must win game against the Miami Marlins Saturday night. Contributions on offense from Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, Francisco Lindor assisted Carlos Carrasco‘s rebound start on the mound to lead the Mets to a victory by a score of 11-3. For more on this win, check out our recap!

Furthermore, with help from the Seattle Mariners, the New York Mets are back in the division lead by a half game. Seattle defeated Atlanta 3-1 late last night.

Latest Mets News

Another member of the team is working his way back to Queens, as Mets’ reliever Drew Smith was added to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies roster. He pitched a scoreless inning with two strike outs in his first rehab assignment.

As was documented yesterday, Starling Marte was placed on the injured list with his fractured finger. He is eligible to return on the 17th. Though, it remains to be seen as to when he actually will return.

In a corresponding move, the Mets called up one of their top prospects, Mark Vientos. Buck Showalter said that Vientos will make his major league debut this afternoon against Miami.

Latest MLB News

The Yankees will look to get support in their bullpen soon as Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Miguel Castro will all pitch in a Double-A rehab game Sunday, per The Athletic‘s Lindsey Adler. Harrison Bader will also play in the game.

The Chicago White Sox announced that manager Tony La Russa, who stepped away from the club with heart-related issues, was cleared to travel with the team to attend the number retirement ceremony of former A’s pitcher, Dave Stewart. Doctors have not cleared La Russa for in-game action as of yet.

Mike Petriello of MLB.com created a Twitter thread detailing how teams can shift players under the new rules that were voted in on Friday. One of those rules is the elimination of the shift, where infielders will need to stay on their respective sides and on the infield dirt. The previously mentioned Twitter thread explores ways to shift within the parameters of the new rule.

Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers of ESPN write that the MLB and the MLBPA finalized a card-check agreement on Saturday for minor leaguers to join the MLBPA. If all goes well, the next step will be collective-bargaining negotiations.

The Milwaukee Brewers announce that they have placed pitcher Eric Lauer on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to 9/8) with left elbow inflammation. Pitcher Trevor Kelley has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville.

Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports that Miami Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisolm Jr will not return this season after rehabbing from a stress fracture injury in his back.

St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Albert Pujols hit home run number 696 against the Pittsburgh Pirates last night. Pujols’ home run ties him with Alex Rodriguez for fourth all time.

6⃣9⃣6⃣ pic.twitter.com/ofsJ2NvEkz

— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2022

Latest on MMO

Andrew Steele-Davis detailed Mets’ manager Buck Showalter‘s latest struggle in managing the bullpen in key moments. He also explained the news of Mark Vientos’ call up.

Anthony Caraturo explained the Mets placing Starling Marte on the injured list.

Nick Rucco recapped the Mets’ big 11-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.

On This Date in Mets History

1997: John Olerud hit for the cycle against the Montreal Expos in a 9-5 win. Olerud doubled in the first, singled in the third, homered in the seventh, then came up with the bases loaded in the eighth and tripled.

Birthdays: Frank Francisco (43)

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Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets are heading to St. Louis to face the Cardinals in the final series of their second road trip. The Mets took two of three games from the lowly Diamondbacks in their last series. The Dbacks played a sloppy series, making four errors in the previous two games. The Mets will face stiffer competition in St. Louis, as the Cardinals are one of the league’s most prepared and defensively sound teams. Since the Mets have won their first five series of the season, the hope is that they will continue that streak by taking at least two of the three games against St. Louis. The Cardinals also have not yet lost a series, but they split their third series with the Brewers.

In the Arizona series, the Mets got production from some players struggling to start the year. J.D. Davis and James McCann each hit their first home runs of the season. Davis also went two for three in the final game. In addition, Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil continued their solid starts to the season. Lindor got a hit in all three games, and McNeil hit his first triple of the season, going two for three in game two. In Arizona, Pete Alonso cooled off, managing only two hits (both singles) in the entire series.

The starting pitching was also solid in Arizona. David Peterson pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in game one. Tylor Megill showed again that he is an integral part of this rotation, tossing 6 2/3 innings in game three and giving up only two runs. Unlike the starters, the bullpen faltered a bit in the series. In game one, Trevor May gave up a home run late that put the Diamondbacks back in the game, and Edwin Diaz blew his first game of the season. Game two was a bullpen game, and it was the only game the Mets lost in the series.

The Cardinals are coming into the series against the Mets with a 9-4 record, and back-to-back series wins against the Marlins and the Reds. Nolan Arenado has gotten off to a hot start for the Cardinals- he is batting .346/.426/.727 with five home runs and 14 RBIs. Albert Pujols seems to be rejuvenated in his return to the red birds- he has two home runs in eight games and even managed to score from first on a double in the gap hit off the bat of Tommy Edman. Edman is also off to a good start and is batting .313/.400/.563. The Cardinals’ bullpen has been superb, and they have not lost a game yet this season. The Mets will miss Adam Wainwright in this series but should hopefully see some of Yadier Molina and Pujols during this series. While both Molina and Pujols have confirmed that this year is their final season, Wainwright keeps the door open for more.

Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Preview

Monday, April 25, 2022: RHP Max Scherzer (3-0, 2.50 ERA) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (1-0, 1.76 ERA)

Max Scherzer could not have written a better script for his first start at Citi Field as a New York Met. He had a no-hitter going through 6 2/3 innings before giving up his only hit of the night. Scherzer likely would not have gotten the chance to complete the no-hitter, as his pitch count was high for so early in the season. But there’s a good chance we’ll see more greatness from him as the season goes on.

This year, Miles Mikolas has started three games for the Cardinals but has only thrown 15 1/3 innings. His low innings total likely explains the two no-decisions he has so far. Mikolas struck out five batters in five innings in his last start against the Marlins.

Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, April 26, 2022: RHP Chris Bassitt (2-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Jordan Hicks (1-1, 1.29 ERA).

Chris Bassitt’s last start was the only Mets’ loss to the Giants during their four-game series at Citi Field. He gave up five earned runs in his six innings of work. That start was Bassitt’s worst start as a Met so far.  Bassitt has only faced the Cardinals once in his career, in 2019. He did not pitch well, throwing 95 pitches in 3 1/3 innings and giving up three runs. Hopefully, Bassitt can shake off his early inning struggles from the Giants’ game and his previous Cardinals’ game and give the Mets a solid start in game two.

Jordan Hicks has exclusively been a reliever for the Cardinals through his first three seasons. He is transitioning to full-time starter in 2022, though a couple of rainouts have slowed the transition, and he has appeared as a reliever in two of his three games this season. As a reliever, Hicks could throw his fastball as fast as 105 mph. As a newly minted starter, he throws about 22% of his pitches faster than 100 mph. However, because of his injury history and a missed season during 2020 (Hicks has type 1 diabetes and opted out of the season due to health concerns), Hicks is working to build up his arm strength and is deliberately throwing at less than max effort. As a result, he was limited to only three innings in his first outing as a starter.

Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday, April 27, 2022: RHP Carlos Carrasco (1-0, 1.47 ERA) vs. LHP Steven Matz (2-1, 5.27 ERA)

The Carlos Carrasco Mets fans have been treated so far in 2022, as this is the Carlos Carrasco fans were hoping they were getting in 2021. With his hamstring injuries behind him and his surgically cleaned-up pitching elbow, Carrasco has proven this year that he can still pitch to the back of his baseball card. This season, he has struck out 20 batters and pitched into the eighth inning in his last start against the Giants, making him the first Mets starter to do so this year.

Steven Matz will make his second start against his former team since he was traded from the Mets to the Blue Jays in 2021. In his first start against the Mets in 2021, Matz threw 5 2/3 innings and gave up two runs; he was ultimately the losing pitcher in that outing. Matz’s 2022 season with the Cardinals has gotten a bumpy start. In his first game of the season, he gave up seven runs in three innings against the rebuilding Pirates. He bounced back and threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Brewers in his second start, followed by five innings of one-run ball against the Reds.

Prediction

The Mets will continue their winning ways in St. Louis and take at least two games in the series. The pitching match-ups are favorable, and because of a couple of rainouts and one extra day off for the Cardinals, the Mets’ starters are more stretched out than the Cardinals’ starters. One obstacle to winning two of three might be the Cardinals’ bullpen, but hopefully, the Mets’ hitters can find a way to score some late-inning runs.

The post Series Preview: Meet Me In St. Louis appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

If it wasn’t already known Jacob deGrom ruled New York baseball now it’s official.

During 2021 the most popular player searched on Baseball-Reference in New York was the Mets ace.

Jacob deGrom the most popular player searched in New York and…South Dakota? pic.twitter.com/nmtO29iMUS

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) December 16, 2021

DeGrom also appears to have a growing and devout fanbase in South Dakota where he was also the most popular player page.

But everybody has their own tastes to random players they Google stats for when they’re bored at work or when they can’t sleep. Alaska loves Christian Yelich. New Mexico loves Miguel Cabrera. Mississippi loves Adalberto Mondesi. Look at Tennessee throwing it all the way back to Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Maybe the Mets fan contingent in Connecticut isn’t as strong as once thought with Aaron Nola as their top searched player. It’s possible that’s why former Mets manager Bobby Valentine lost the mayoral race in Stamford.

As part of their 2021 Sportify Wrapped, Baseball-Reference released the list of the top-10 most searched players. Francisco Lindor was No. 9 on the list with deGrom at No. 7. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and obviously Shohei Ohtani were third, second, and first, respectively. Barry Bonds at No. 10 was the only non-active player to broach the top 10.

The Mets team page was the second-most viewed in the NL East, behind the Braves. The Dodgers were the most-viewed NL team and the Yankees the top-viewed team overall.

The most-viewed page on a single day was January 22 when the baseball world collectively eulogized Hank Aaron after passing away at age 86.

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According to an article by Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich in The Athletic, MLB owners have made a new proposal to address a key issue in the expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). This time, the owners are focusing on a key metric used in player evaluation.

There are several important issues in the current CBA negotiations. Among them are the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT), the overall level of competition in baseball (do all teams try to compete?), salary arbitration, and expanded playoffs.

On the issue of salary arbitration, on Wednesday, November 10, the owners proposed to discontinue the entire process and begin free agency at 29 1/2 years of age (both have been proposed already). This time, in lieu of salary arbitration, the owners volleyed that pre-free agency players are paid from a pool of money coming from a percentage of the game’s revenues. Players would draw from that pool based on their fWAR.

From the article:

There are multiple variants of WAR, but MLB proposed to rely on FanGraphs’ version, or fWAR. A player’s career WAR would be part of the calculation, weighted for recency. Whether a player has been in the majors for three-plus, four-plus, or five-plus years would affect the calculation.

This is a unique proposal, open to significant criticism. One flaw with this system would be the bias that fWAR has toward certain positions. For example, relief pitchers are generally undervalued when using fWAR as a sole metric.

Further from the article:

Some strong defenders would be helped by the defensive component of fWAR, but the potential will exist for teams to game those numbers, which currently do not account for defensive opportunities in extreme shifts. Pitching fWAR, meanwhile, is mostly based on strikeouts, walks and homers, potentially hurting pitchers who thrive on soft contact.

Looking at some of the pre-free agency Mets, here are their 2021 fWAR numbers:

Brandon Nimmo: 3.5

Pete Alonso: 3.0

Jeff McNeil: 0.5

Seth Lugo: 0.0

Here are a few pre-free agency non-Mets and their 2021 fWAR numbers:

Ozzie Albies: 4.2

Austin Riley: 4.2

Juan Soto: 6.6

Tyler O’Neill: 5.4

Harrison Bader: 3.4

If the owners’ proposal were to go forward (it likely will not), this gives an idea of how some players would proportionally be paid using their fWAR numbers (career fWAR would also be factored in, as noted above).

This proposal is likely dead on arrival. Drellich and Rosenthal aptly used this quote from an agent to describe its chances:

“Albert Pujols has a better chance of leading the majors in stolen bases,” a player agent said. “The central theme of professional sports from the labor side is the ability to negotiate your salary and make a case for what you’re worth.” 

The post Owners Propose Using fWAR To Determine Players’ Salaries appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s go Mets!

Beloved Red Sox broadcaster and former player Jerry Remy died on Sunday at the age of 68. He was in the midst of his seventh battle with cancer. The entire baseball community mourns his loss.

On a lighter note, Halloween is in the rearview mirror as we swerve into November. There will be November baseball this year, as the Astros kept their World Series hopes alive with a 9-5 victory over the Braves.

Atlanta went up 4-0 in the first inning on Adam Duvall‘s grand slam, and appeared to have the series all but won. But the Astros rallied to come back and win. The teams will travel back to Houston for Game 6 on Tuesday, with the Braves still leading the series 3-2.

Latest Mets News

It was another quiet day in Mets land. They’ve still made little traction in their POBO search, despite numerous candidates being rumored.

Latest MLB News

ALBERT PUJOLS WALK-OFF INFIELD SINGLE IN HIS FIRST CAREER LIDOM GAME pic.twitter.com/e5iqeKWRnO

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 31, 2021

Albert Pujols hit a walk-off infield single in his first career LIDOM game, after recently taking an early postseason exit with the Dodgers.

Latest on MMO

Ben Reimer brings you the latest on Mets prospects in AFL action.

In the spirit of Halloween, Joe D. talks about his most haunting Mets moments.

Patrick Glynn recaps the fourth week of the Mets’ offseason.

Michael Mayer ponders if the Mets could be a potential trade match with the Athletics.

On This Date in Mets History

1973: Tom Seaver won his second Cy Young award with an MLB-best 2.08 ERA. He threw 18 complete games and struck out 251 batters.

6 years ago today, Michael Conforto homered twice in Game 4 of the World Series:

– Only 2nd Mets player to homer twice in a WS game
– Only player to hit a homer in Little League WS, College WS, and MLB WS
-3rd youngest player to have 2-HR game in WS

pic.twitter.com/VYuOJ7Z7H3

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) October 31, 2021

2015: Michael Conforto hit two homers in Game 4 of the World Series.

Birthdays: Jose Moreno (64)

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Red Sox Broadcaster Jerry Remy Dies at 68 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

In front of a sold out crowd sans the presence of super fan Mary Hart, and Gavin Lux in the lineup, the Dodgers dusted off their humiliating loss to stave off elimination.

Chris Taylor, the guy responsible for his teammates donning uniforms late into October, launched a postseason record three home runs in a win or go home, showing Braves offensive man of the hour, Eddie Rosario, whatever you can do, I an do better.

It was an ominous start when Joe Kelly, the first of many bullpen bodies to take the mound, left the game with bicep tightness after surrendering a sneaky Ozzie Alibies single, followed by a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman, one batter shy of completing the inning.

Former Atlanta reliever Evan Phillips came to the rescue earlier than expected, striking out Adam Duvall, preventing any further damage.

Braves ace Max Fried, who looks like an older version of the boy who took me to the sixth grade prom, surrendered a lone single to Trea Turner in the bottom frame, hopefully a sign of good things to come for the slumping second baseman.

Evans returned for seconds in the top of the second, getting Joc Pederson on a pop up to center, fanning Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud looking and swinging at a series of nasty sliders – prompting Ron Darling to share through Braves skipper Brian Snitker, that the righty didn’t have that stuff when pitching for Atlanta.

In the bottom half leadoff batter A.J. Pollock took Fried’s 94 mph four-seamer into the left field seats. Albert Pujols proving he’s still got game, delivered a sharp single to left, and Taylor, hammered a first pitch fastball, much further in the same direction, 406 ft. to be exact, putting LA ahead, 3-2.

Alex Vesia and his porn mustache, reminiscent of Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s, replaced Phillips. As Will Smith flashed a sequence of signs, my husband complained that he was getting mixed signals. Max Fried, a good hitting pitcher, was punched out on a called strike three. Rosario singled to center, Albies flied out to left and with Freddie Freeman and his scorched bat at the plate, Smith nailed Rosario trying to swipe second.

In the bottom of the third, we learned that Sandy Koufax was Fried’s favorite player, sharing not only their Jewish heritage, but also his number 32, that he wore in high school. Unable to channel his hero, the lanky lefty lost Pollock on a base hit to left, followed by Pujol’s single to right center, and Taylor’s RBI single up the middle.

With a 4-2 lead, Dodger reliever Brusdar Graterol, always appearing hopped up on Adderall, retired the side in order in the fourth, striking out Duvall on a 90 mph slider after three servings of 100 mph heat.

Fried answered back with his first 1,2,3 inning on milder in comparison pitches in the mid-90’s.

In the top of the fifth, Graterol used eight pitches to erase the side in order, getting Pederson swinging and looking at a cutter, sinker and slider.

Leading off the bottom frame, Smith drew a walk and was eliminated along with Pollock on a 643 double play. Pujols free pass on seven pitches ended Fried’s outing, bringing Chris Martin to the mound. On his third pitch, Taylor took his namesakes 95 mph four-seam fastball into the center field seats for two more ribbies, extending the Dodger lead 6-2, receiving another hug at the plate from Pujols.

Blake Treinen, a calmer version of Graterol, took care of business in the top of the sixth keeping the hot-hitting Rosario from cashing in on his double by getting Albies and Freeman to fly out to left.

Braves brought in Dylan Lee to stop the bleeding in bottom half, which he succeeded, allowing a sole single to the surging Turner, who for the first time in the NLCS, was sitting at 2-3.

It took Treinen six pitches to retire the Braves in order in the seventh. And in the bottom of the inning, it took Taylor the same amount to drive in his sixth run, with a solo blast to left center, his third, living up to his moniker, CT3.

Corey Knebel struck out the side in the top of the eighth after surrendering a lead off single to Swanson. Jacob Webb had the dubious honor of pitching to the Dodgers in the bottom half, and didn’t fare better than those who preceded. Betts was back to playing like Betts, singling and stealing second. Turner brought him home on his first RBI base hit of the NLCS. Seager singled to center and Pollock, playing second fiddle to Taylor, knocked in three more runs with his second homer on a 94 mph four-seamer.

Kenley Jansen closed it out, retiring the Braves heart of the order, in order, with his signature hip twitching pitching.

So, for the Dodgers it’s now on to Atlanta with a hopeful, let’s win there.

The post Dodgers Say, ‘Not So fast,’ Beating the Braves to Survive Another Day appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

No ball club wanted to face St Louis in a one-off Wild Card game. Winners of 17 straight down the stretch, with a veteran 40-year-old pitcher and his killer curveball, they seemed destined to be this postseason’s Cinderella story.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Boys in Blue who hail from a show biz city hatched their own Hollywood ending that was literally Taylor-made.

Dodger outfielder Chris Taylor, who came late to the party as a double switch in the sixth, launched a walk-off two-run homer off Redbirds reliever Alex Reyes to clinch a NLDS play date with the San Francisco Giants – their first in playoff history.

Taylor, who was having a banner year, struggled so much in the second half, manager Dave Roberts dropped him from the starting line up. The 2021 All-star was 8/72 before his season saving blast into the centerfield seats, and his clutch diving catch in the seventh saved a possible go-head run.

When Albert Pujols got the call to pinch-hit in lieu of Gavin Lux, it appeared that the stage was set for some redemption against the team he left with some bitterness.

But the alternate ending, call it a rewrite if you will, gave Taylor a leading role, and Cody Bellinger, banished to eighth in the line up, second fiddle for a single, and a pair of walks he converted into stolen bases.

Dodger ace Max Scherzer had uncharacteristic control issues – laboring through 4 2/3 innings in front of a sold out crowd, which included two of his former Washington Nats.

The blue and brown-eyed right-hander was lifted in the fifth with one out, two men on base and a 94-pitch count. His only mistake was a run scored on a wild pitch – He scattered three hits, three walks and fanned four.

When Roberts came to the mound and put out his hand, a disappointed Scherzer shook it instead of delivering the ball. Although it seemed like the right move, it reeked of Monday morning quarterbacking until reliever Joe Kelly saved his manager’s hide, getting out of the inning on a 3-2 strikeout, securing the 1-1 tie.

Cardinals counterpart, Adam Wainwright was sharp shutting down LA on a steady diet of sinkers, cutters and curves. His one misstep, a 75 mph curveball Justin Turner took 401 feet for the game tying solo shot to left.

The Dodgers brilliant bullpen kept the Cards off the scoreboard with a pair of singles, a walk, punching out six.

So on a night when it was win or clean out your locker, the baseball gods got it right by giving the team with 106 victories a seat at the NLDS table over the ball club who coughed up a mere 90.

The post Dodgers Move to NLDS With a Better Hand Over Cards appeared first on Metsmerized Online.