On Wednesday, it was reported that Justin Verlander will be making his first rehab start of the season as he works his way back to the big league roster. Just like in 2023, Verlander started the season on the shelf. This time, it was due to shoulder inflammation that he was feeling early on in spring training. 

However, Verlander’s return seems to be right around the corner, as Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported that he will be making his first rehab start for the triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys on Sunday. The plan is for the 41-year-old ace to throw 70-75 pitches in Sunday’s start and then to make one more rehab start prior to his return to the major league club.

It is important to note that the Mets would be liable for $17.5 million of Verlander’s 2025 contract if he were to reach 140 innings pitched this season, kicking in a vesting option for the 2025 season.

Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

The game between the Mets and Tigers on Wednesday was postponed, for the second day in a row. A single admission doubleheader is planned to start at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday, weather permitting.

The Tigers’ probable starters for the doubleheader are Casey Mize and Matt Manning. For the Mets, it will be Adrian Houser and Jose Buttó.

Steve Cohen talked about all things Mets in a sit-down interview with CNBC. For a summary of his comments, click here.

The Mets signed former All-Star Julio Teheran to a major league deal. Click here more information on the signing!

Keith Hernandez sat down with Neil Best of Newsday to talk about his beloved cat Hadji, who is turning 21.5 next week.

Latest MLB News

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed outfielder Jason Heyward on the injured list with lower back tightness and added OF Taylor Trammell to the active roster.

The Milwaukee Brewers placed Trevor Megill on the 7-day concussion list, retroactive to March 31. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Megill contracted food poisoning, started feeling faint and fell back and hit his head on the ground. 

The Miami Marlins made history! Unfortunately, for them, not the good type. They became the first team in MLB history to start a season 0-7 after making the postseason the season before, per Christina de Nicola of MLB.com.

The Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association signed former Chicago White Sox slugger Yermín Mercedes.

Rangers third baseman Josh Jung is expected to miss 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured wrist, per Evan Grant of Dallas Morning News. He fractured the wrist by being hit by a pitch earlier in the week.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ and Royals’ futures in Kansas City are in jeopardy after voters in Jackson County, Missouri, overpoweringly voted against a sales tax that would have helped finance new stadiums, per Dave Skretta of The AP.

Latest on MMO

Tyler Antonelle previewed the Binghamton Mets’ 2024 season. 

Steve Cohen is unphased by the Mets’ bad start. 

The Mets make an addition following Tylor Megill‘s injury.

On This Date in Mets History

1988: On opening day, Darryl Strawberry, Kevin Elster, Lenny Dykstra, and Kevin McReynolds combine for six home runs in a win against the Montreal Expos. Strawberry put a blast into his second dinger of the day, hitting the top of Olympic Stadium and going an estimated 525 feet.

Birthdays: Ronny Mauricio (23), Cameron Maybin (37), Eric Valent (47), Tom Herr (68), Ron Locke (82)

The post Morning Briefing: Justin Verlander Making First Rehab Start appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Plagued with injuries and needing to add bats to their organization, the New York Mets made a trade on Tuesday evening, acquiring outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations.

Maybin, an MLB veteran and member of the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros roster, is no stranger to the big leagues. He was drafted in the first round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers.

In his 14-seasons in the league, Maybin has spent time with Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and most recently the Chicago Cubs in 2020.

During the 2020 season between the Tigers and Cubs, Maybin batted .247/.307/.387/.694. Through 10 games at the Triple-A level to being the 2021 season, Maybin is hitting just .103, but will provide some much needed big league depth to this Mets team.

The Mets announced that Maybin has been assigned to Triple-A Syracuse, for now, but it will likely only be a quick stay and he should see him in the big leagues sooner rather than later.

The post Mets Acquire OF Cameron Maybin from Cubs for Cash Considerations appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Four hours after The New York Post learned the Mets aren’t guaranteeing a rotation spot to Michael Wacha, the lanky right-hander helped his case with a successful spring training outing.

Wacha pitched two scoreless frames to open up the game for the Amazin’s. In the first inning, he retired Cameron Maybin and Jonathan Schoop before getting into trouble. Miguel Cabrera laced a single to right field and C.J. Cron walked to put two batters on with two outs. However, Wacha was able to induce a harmless infield pop-up from Jeimer Candelario.

In the second inning, Wacha walked the leadoff man, Christin Stewart, before retiring the next three hitters. Overall, Wacha struggled with his command, but was able to exit the game without any runs on his ledger. He reportingly hit 96 mph on the radar gun.

Wacha was signed to a one-year, three million dollar deal in December to give skipper Luis Rojas another option to fill out the backend of the staff. The pact includes incentives that increase the value of the contract to 10 million dollars, should he reach a certain number of starts or relief appearances.

Wacha had his mind on starting after his first outing in a Mets uniform, “They told me I’m a starter, so that’s what I’m here for.”

The 28-year-old pitched to a 4.76 ERA/5.61 FIP and was worth -0.2 fWAR in 29 games with the Cardinals last year.

Although the Mets have not officially said anything, it’s expected that Wacha and Steven Matz are battling for the fifth starter’s spot this spring with the other hurler expected to land in the bullpen. That being said, he said in an interview earlier today that the Mets have told him that they expect him to start this season.

The post Wacha Makes Case For Rotation Spot appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

First it was Seth Lugo with a (minor) injury. Now, it’s J.D. Davis. And we are only a few days into Spring Training.

During Tuesday’s game against the Tigers in Lakeland, Davis injured himself while diving for a ground ball single off the bat off Cameron Maybin while at third base. He stayed down on the ground for a few minutes and trainers came out to look at him. Davis did get back up, but left the game.

Davis told reporters after the game that he jammed his left shoulder. He will have an MRI on Wednesday and said the level of concern is “probably like a 2.5, 3 out of 10.”

The 26-year-old broke offensively in 2019 with the Mets, hitting .307/.369/.527 with 22 home runs in 410 at-bats.

The post J.D. Davis Taken Out Of Game, Will Have MRI On Shoulder appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo: Bruce Beck

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Mets will host their annual Christmas party on Wednesday. Brandon Nimmo will be dressed as Santa Claus while J.D. Davis will be in elf attire.

Latest Mets News

Zack Wheeler already has one offer of at least $100 million, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic.

The Mets entered the winter in a bit of a payroll predicament and are looking for ways to resolve it, including moving the likes of Jeurys Familia and Jed Lowrie along with Dominic Smith, Ken Rosenthal adds.

Latest MLB News

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Oakland Athletics and free agent Jake Diekman have agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for a third season.

The New York Yankees met with Gerrit Cole on Tuesday and they are scheduled to meet with Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday, according to Jon Heyman of MLB.com,

The Chicago White Sox are showing some interest in Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, as per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Major League Baseball informed teams that second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi and right-handed pitcher Shun Yamaguchi have been posted.

The Fort Myers Miracle changed their name to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, according to Benjamin Hill of MiLB.com.

The MLB will allow each of its 30 teams to sell their own streaming deals in local markets ahead of the 2020 season, according to Travis Sawchik of FiveThirtyEight.

Latest on MMO

Ryan Finkelstein examined free agent outfielder Cameron Maybin.

Jack Ramsey analyzed the most notable MLB offseason rumors.

Lindsay Moran rounded up the top 10 fWAR leaders of the decade.

This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Tucker Ashford turns 65, Stan Jefferson turns 57 and Carlos Gomez turns 34.

1997: The Mets traded Butch Huskey to the Seattle Mariners for Lesli Brea. The Mets also traded Willie Blair to the Detroit Tigers for Joe Randa. 

2009: The Mets signed free agent Henry Blanco of the San Diego Padres.

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Good morning Mets fans! Steven Matz (2-3, 3.80 ERA) led the New York Mets (25-21) to a 5-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers (31-20) on Thursday night at Miller Park. Matz had his best start of the season as he fired six shutout innings. Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores provided four of the five runs of the game. Brandon Nimmo had a fantastic night as he went 4-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.

Latest Mets News

The Mets play the second game of this series with the Brewers tonight. Noah Syndergaard (4-1, 2.91 ERA) will look to help the Mets take the first two games as he faces Junior Guerra (3-3, 2.98 ERA). The game can be watched on SNY and heard on 710 WOR with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m. EDT.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that the Mets and Cleveland Indians could be ideal trade partners.

The Mets congratulated Mike Piazza as his Italian soccer team A.C. Reggiana 1919 advanced to the quarterfinals of the Serie C playoffs.

Juan Lagares underwent surgery yesterday at the Hospital for Special Surgery to repair a complete tear of the plantar plate in his big toe.

Latest MLB News

Nike will get MLB on-field apparel rights instead of Under Armour according to Terry Lefton of SportsBusiness Daily. This change will take place beginning in 2020.

The Oakland Athletics lost catcher Dustin Garneau on waivers to the Chicago White Sox according to Melissa Lockard of The Athletic.

Jared Diamond of The Wall Street Journal shared the results from MLB’s study into the increase of home runs across baseball. The committee that conducted the study concluded that the spike “was due, at least in part, to a change in the aerodynamic properties of the baseball.”

Marc Carig of The Athletic wrote about Ryan Bollinger who recently got called up by the New York Yankees after a long path that included pitching in Germany, Australia and Canada across nine years.

Latest NL East News

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald wrote about Miami Marlins’ outfielder Cameron Maybin receiving his World Series ring from being on the Houston Astros last season.

Dillon Cloud of the Talking Chop wrote about Dan Winkler‘s spectacular performance thus far for the Atlanta Braves.

Patrick Reddington of Federal Baseball tackled the question of whether Juan Soto will stay up with the Washington Nationals if/when they get back to full strength.

Latest on MMO/MMN

Kirk Robinson explained why Marcos Molina is running out of time to establish himself within the Mets organization.

John Sheridan wrote about Ian Strom and Justin Dunn receiving St. Lucie Player of the Month awards for the month of April.

Sheridan also gave his three positives and three negatives from the Mets’ series with the Marlins.

Joe D. contemplated whether the Mets should extend Jeurys Familia or deal him at the trade deadline.

Tim Ryder covered the news from Jon Heyman about the Kansas City Royals preparing to unload their assets.

This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Neil Ramirez turns 29, Eric Young Jr. turns 33, Scott Hairston turns 38, Chris Young turns 39 and Jim Marshall turns 87.

The post Morning Briefing: Syndergaard Hopes to Continue Great Rotation Stretch appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

When Justin Turner walloped a walk-off home run in the National League Divisional Series 29 years to the day of Kirk Gibson’s famous dinger it felt like a sign that the Dodgers were the team fated to hoist the Fall Classic Trophy.

But Los Angeles was competing against a team from Houston whose destiny was etched in metal the moment their city was leveled by a devastating storm.

Wednesday night, given the plot line of Yu Darvish’s date with redemption, the Astros’ may have been considered the underdog, but in the world of baseball poker, the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey gave Houston the better hand.

And after six games that delivered enough drama to fill a television network’s Fall line-up, the final showdown did not live up to the hype as the Dodgers fell in a 5-1 loss, picked the absolute worst time to highlight their untimely hitting.

Game 7 got off to a bad start for Darvish when the man who would become Series MVP, George Springer, belted a leadoff double down line in left. Alex Bregman, who dines on defense, rattled the Dodger infield with a ground ball in the hole, inducing a wild throw from Bellinger that sailed past his pitcher covering first, allowing Springer to score. Bregman dealing with a shaky Darvish, stole third, and Altuve brought him home on a ground out to first.

Gurriel stepped into the box to a chorus of boos and tipped his helmet toward the mound as a mea culpa for his disrespectful gesture. He then forced the righty to toss 13 pitches before flying out to Puig in left.

Chris Taylor led off the home half with a double to center off Lance McCullers, who was actually warming up for Game 7 immediately after Game 6. He got Seager swinging on his signature curve then hit Justin Turner on a 0-2 count. Cody Bellinger coming off a four strike out night made it five in a row on a breaking ball down and in. McCullers played with fire hitting Yasiel Puig to load the bases for Joc Pederson, who stepped to the plate giddy at the prospect of a grand slam, only to end the inning on a ground out to Altuve.

In the second Brian McCann drew a walk, Marwin Gonzalez sent him to third on a double to right, Josh Reddick’s infield chopper kept the runners intact. McCullers made it 3-0 with an RBI groundout.

Springer then put Darvish out of business on his 47th (and final) pitch with a two-run blast to center, putting LA five in the hole. Dodger manager Dave Roberts sought relief in Brandon Morrow who delivered, striking out Bregman on three straight pitches. Morrow became only the second pitcher in MLB history to pitch in all seven games of a World Series. A’s pitcher Darold Knowles was the first to do so and he did it against the Mets in 1973.

Logan Forsythe led off the bottom frame with a base hit to left, landing at second on Austen Barnes’ infield ground out to Altuve. Roberts, desperate to capitalize on a runner in scoring position, removed Morrow for Enrique Hernandez, who was plunked by McCuller’s 94 MPH four-seam fastball. The best-laid plans were dashed when Taylor hit into an inning-ending double.

Clayton Kershaw came in to restore some order in the third, and did just that retiring the side on 10 pitches. Altuve flied out to center, Correa to right, and Gurriel got the count 3-2, before staring at a called strike three.

The crowd was pumped with the stuff their ace was offering, hoping it would ignite LA’s listless lumber. Seager answered the call with a sharp liner to center, Turner took another ball off of his body, and Bellinger, baited by knuckle curves, went down swinging. Brad Peacock came in for McCullers and put away Puig on a fly ball to Springer then enticed Pederson to swing past a 2-2 80 MPH slider for another golden scoring opportunity that turned sour.

Kershaw mowed down McCann to start the fourth and after surrendering a single to Gonzalez that eluded Seager’s glove, he erased Reddick on a grounder to short and retired Peacock on a fly ball to center.

In the bottom of the inning, Peacock plowed through the order getting Forsythe on a ground out to third, Barnes with a pop up to the same vicinity, finishing off his counterpart swinging on a 2-2 two-seam fastball.

The Dodger ace took the ‘Stros to the cleaners in the fifth with back-to-back punch-outs to Springer and Bregman, keeping Altuve hitless with a pop up to Bellinger in foul ground.

More run scoring was squandered in the bottom half when Seager drew a one out walk, reaching second on Turner’s single to left. With Bellinger coming to the plate, A.J. Hinch pulled Peacock for Francisco Liriano, who punched out the struggling rookie, the only hitter he faced, in Game 6. The one batter wonder got Bellinger to ground into a force at second, and was lifted for Chris Devenski who put away Puig on a liner into the first base glove of Gurriel.

Correa led off the sixth with a line drive to left. After Kershaw retired McCann and Gurriel on a couple of infield ground balls he intentionally walked Gonzalez and pinch-hitter Evan Gattis, escaping a bases loaded jam on Cameron Maybin’s pop out to Turner in foul territory. The ace of the place pitched four innings of two hits, four punch-outs and a pair of walks.

Charlie Morton, the starter who moonlights as a reliever replaced Devenski in the bottom of the inning and immediately surrendered a lead off single to Pederson, followed by a walk to Forsythe. After Barnes popped to short, Andre Etheer, the longest tenured Dodger, pinch-hit for Kershaw, and delivered an RBI single to center. But Morton reclaimed his cool, striking out Taylor then got Seager on a soft grounder to short.

The seventh brought an early arrival by Kenley Jansen who kept Springer off the bases with a line out to center, got the best of Bregman on a foul tip, gave Altuve a free pass then coerced Correa on a cutter for an inning ending pop up to Seager.

Morton put the Dodgers down in order in the bottom half with a four-seam fastball that Turner popped up to first, a curve that caught Bellinger for a called strike three, and 97 MPH heat that Puig grounded into Correa’s glove. Bellinger set a new major league record with 17 strikeouts in the entire postseason.

Alex Wood relieved Jansen in the eighth, retiring the side on a Gurriel line out to center, McCann looking, and Gonzalez on a grounder to third. Morton prevented Pederson from any further offense with a three-pitch strikeout, gave Forsythe a 96 MPH fastball that he couldn’t get past Springer in right, and said good-bye to Barnes on a fly out to center.

Wood’s work was done with a pair of strikeouts to Morton and Maybin, along with an inning-ending line out by Springer to Taylor. Hinch, not going analytical, trusted his eyes over some data, and let Morton close out the show with a strikeout to Chase Utley, and consecutive ground outs to Altuve by Taylor and Seager for Houston’s first World Series title in franchise history.

With all of the seconding guessing that filters in during a hard fought series, the decision made by Dave Roberts to start Yu Darvish over his sensational southpaw will haunt the Dodgers forever. I get the redemption aspect, but Darvish entered Game 7 with a postseason record of 2-3, and an ERA of 4.74 with seven home runs allowed in just 24 innings pitched. Kershaw would have been pitching on three days rest, but with the numbers that Darvish displayed, Kershaw was the surer bet for a crucial Game 7 in the World Series.

I’m officially exhausted, and will go into withdrawal counting the days until pitchers and catchers report next season.

The post Astros Secure First World Series Title In Franchise History appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

One manager pulled his starter too soon, the other saw his perfect closer cough up the lead and the blue crew bullpen that banked a streak of 28 scoreless innings succumbed to an Astros’ team that’s not buying into the hoopla of the Dodgers destiny.

Wednesday night at Chavez Ravine Houston’s stars staged a stunning comeback to beat Los Angeles 7-6 in an 11-inning slugfest that may go down as the greatest Game 2 in World Series history.

The end result may have changed radically if not for a questionable pitching change in the top of the fifth by Dave Roberts who got bitten by a formula that has been very good to him.

With the Astro’s clinging to a one-run lead, the reigning manager of the year removed Rich Hill after 60 pitches, three hits, seven strikeouts and walks. Kenta Maeda replaced a not-so-happy Hill then mowed down the side.

In the home half Astros ace Justin Verlander, undefeated in a Houston uniform, silenced the crowd with four innings of no-hit ball. But in the bottom of the fifth, Joc Pederson blasted his breaking ball that didn’t into the right centerfield seats to even the score.

After Maeda gave up a leadoff single to Carlos Correa to start the sixth, Yuli Gurriel’s pop out behind the plate brought Tony Watson to the mound who’s first pitch induced an inning-ending double play.

Verlander became vulnerable in the bottom of the sixth surrendering a two-out free pass to the pesky Chris Taylor. And just like Game 1, the guy who always seems to draw a walk in front of the guy who hits it out scored on Corey Seager’s home run to left for a 3-1 Dodger lead.

The seventh inning brought the fourth Dodger pitcher to the dance, Ross Stripling, who was pulled after walking the first batter Marwin Gonzalez on four pitches. Brandon Morrow brought better location doubling up Josh Reddick and Gonzalez then getting Gattis, who had singled, on a force out at second via George Springer’s ground ball.

Will Harris took over for Verlander and survived a throwing error by Alex Bregman, and a wild pitch of his own that placed Cody Bellinger on second, then to third on Yasiel Puig’s grounder to short. The righty kept it a two-run game with clutch back-to-back strikeouts by Pederson and Austin Barnes.

In the eighth, Alex Bregman got a hold of Morrow’s 98 MPH fastball for a ground-rule double to deep left that glanced off the glove of a diving Puig. Kenley Jansen entered for a premature save, but after getting Jose Altuve on a chopper to second, Correa belted an RBI single up the middle, breaking the Dodger bullpen’s 28 inning scoreless streak with a dose of some bragging rights for finally getting a run off of their star closer.

Marwin Gonzalez jacked a leadoff home run off Jansen in the ninth to knot it up at three and Astro closer Ken Giles put the side down in order to send the game into extras. It was the first postseason blown save for Jansen after a record 12 straight successful tries.

“I wanted it up and in and it was down the middle,” said Jansen. “Hit a line drive the other way, the ball was carrying tonight. Just one missed pitch, he got me, that’s it.”

The Houston power that had sat dormant in Game 1 and the better part of Game 2 awoke in the top of the tenth off of Josh Fields with back-to-back homers by Altuve and Correa. Gurriel’s double sent in the eighth Dodger reliever, Tony Cingrani, to contain the damage, which he did with a double play ball.

And just when you thought the Astros were home free up by two, Yasiel Puig, madder than hell for missing the play that put his team in this predicament, pounced on Giles four-seam fastball to bring LA within one.

After retiring Yasmani Grandal and Barnes on a pair of swinging strike threes, the Houston reliever had Logan Forsythe on the ropes with a 1-2 count then lost him on three straight pitches. With drama dripping in the 90-degree air, Enrique Hernandez, an earlier defensive switch, delivered an RBI base hit to right, landing at second on the throw to the plate. Chris Devenski replaced Giles, ending the rally on Chris Taylor’s fly ball to center field.

In the eleventh, Roberts put his faith in Brandon McCarthy to keep it a 5-5 game, but the Astros bats had other plans. Cameron Maybin, in his first at-bat of the World Series, singled on a line drive to center, then Springer sailed an 88 MPH slider into the right center field seats to bring Houston up by two.

“Like I’ve told you before, we’re never out of it,” said Correa after the game. “We have a lineup that is really scary. When we swing at strikes and put great at-bats together, we are very scary. You saw it tonight. We were able to score runs off the bullpen and we were able to come up with the win.”

But no lead seemed to be safe as in the home half the Dodgers were determined to keep their undefeated postseason record intact. Devenski got Seager and Turner out on sharp line drives.

One out away from evening the series, defensive sub Charlie Culberson took Devenski deep to bring the Dodgers within one. It was a record setting fifth home run in extra innings, not just for the playoffs but in a major league game. The teams also combined for a World Series record eight home runs.

Puig revved up with redemption, coming to the plate. He pushed it to a full count until finally flailing at the ninth pitch, a nasty 84 MPH changeup that dipped in the dirt, giving the Astros a sigh of relief heading back to Houston.

The post Houston Triumphs in Record Setting Extra Inning Battle appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Houston Astros advance to their first ever ALCS, as starting pitchers were the new relievers in the playoffs at Fenway Park Monday afternoon.

It was a heartbreaking 5-4 loss for a Boston team all too familiar with a big comeback when on the brink of elimination.

A day after David Price saved the Red Sox season with four scoreless innings, Chris Sale looked to mimic his pitching pal until Alex Bregman’s leadoff game tying home run in the eighth altered his plans.

“We envisioned ourselves being here since the beginning of the year and nothing really changes on our end,’’ Bregman said.

After surrendering a sharp single to Evan Gattis that barely bounced fair of the third baseline, Sale was sent to the showers after 72 pitches for closer Craig Kimbrel.

Kimbrel was clearly fired up but his fastball got the best of him. With the hot hitting George Springer at the plate he uncorking a wild pitch putting pinch runner Cameron Maybin in scoring position, paving the way for ex-Red Sox outfielder, Josh Reddick.

“This is what we’ve been doing all year long,’’ said ex-Yankee catcher Brian McCann, “Bregman’s home run, [Josh] Reddick’s knock and then Carlos’ huge insurance run. Being in the ALCS is incredible. What I get to witness every day is pretty special.’’

Looking for redemption for the elusive ball that Jackie Bradley, Jr. laced off his glove for a three-run homer on Sunday, Reddick stroked a sharp single through the hole for the go-ahead run.

In the bottom frame, Ken Giles got Boston out in order on three ground balls, bringing the off-kilter Kimbrel back for seconds in the top of the ninth. With two out and two on, Carlos Beltran came off the bench and belted an RBI double to deep left for the added insurance they would badly need.

The Red Sox last stand was rife with drama when rookie Rafael Devers ignited the crowd with an inside-the-park home run to pull Boston within one, which was as close as they would come to forcing a decisive game five in Cleveland.

In trying to preserve Boston’s place in the postseason, manager John Farrell pulled starter Rick Porcello in the third after he surrendered three earned runs.

Ironically, home plate umpire Mark Wegner tossed Farrell, after arguing back-to-back borderline strikeouts to Bradley and Dustin Pedroia.

Houston’s man at the helm, A.J. Hinch, risked being haunted for prematurely giving the hook to Charlie Morton, who was pitching a fairly decent game. In 4 1/3 innings of work he surrendered three runs on seven hits, striking out seven while giving up a pair of walks.

Replacing his starter for Justin Verlander didn’t seem so savvy after the veteran gave up a go ahead two-run homer to Andrew Benintendi, the first batter he faced.

The 34-year-old settled down, allowing a couple of batters to reach base via a pair of walks, and it doesn’t matter what would have been if Hinch kept Morton on the mound because they’re moving on to the ALCS where more hindsight is bound to be in store.

“The city of Houston is still rebuilding, and it’s easy for us to look in the rearview mirror and think that the hurricane is over,” Hinch said. “The rebuild starts and is not going to stop for a long time. We’re proud to wear our patch — we’re proud to wear that Houston Strong patch. It was very emotional.’’

The post Astros Advance to ALCS After Feisty Game 4 at Fenway appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Astros made Chris Flexen look exactly like he is at the moment: a Double-A pitcher throwing to MLB hitters. He struggled to the tune of allowing seven runs on nine hits to go along with two walks. He also only was able to strike out one batter in his four innings of work.

The Mets actually got out of the gates hot and scored two runs in the first inning. However, Flexen gave one of those right back in the bottom of the inning on a Josh Reddick RBI single.

The Mets came back to give him extra cushion as they added another two runs to the scoreboard to extend the lead to 4-1.

That proved to not be enough to stop Flexen from collapsing in the third inning. Carlos Correa and Reddick both drove in runs on RBI singles to let the lead slim to only 4-3. However, Cameron Maybin hit the blast that destroyed Flexen’s chances – a three-run shot to give the Astros a 6-4 lead.

George Springer added insult to injury and hit a solo-shot in the fourth that proved to be a difference maker after the Mets eventually lost 8-6.

“That’s a really good lineup,” Flexen said after the game. “Obviously, they have good hitters one through nine. They’re a good, winning team. It was pretty difficult. I thought I made a few good pitches, and tried to pitch to contact today, and got burnt.”

This outing, and many others so far in his career, just go to show that Flexen isn’t ready to pitch in the Majors. He currently has a 7.85 ERA, which as bad as the Mets pitching staff has been, actually ranks as the worst in the current rotation alignment with Tommy Milone being sent to the bullpen.

He also has a 2.07 WHIP and .333 AVG against him. Both those numbers are symptoms of a pitcher who lacks control and is struggling with location, which is mostly developed in the minor leagues. He was rushed to the Major Leagues from Double-A, but the best thing for him is probably to spend some time in Triple-A to further refine his command.

The post Chris Flexen Continues To Struggle In Major Leagues appeared first on Metsmerized Online.