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Good morning, Mets fans!

The Yankees staved off elimination in Game 4 of the ALDS, defeating the Guardians 4-2. Harrison Bader smacked a two-run homer off Cal Quantrill, and Gerrit Cole allowed just two runs and six hits while striking out eight in seven innings. The two teams will head back to The Bronx for a winner-take-all game, with Aaron Civale and Jameson Taillon penciled in as the starting pitchers.

Latest MLB News

MLB has released the schedules for the League Championship Series. The Padres and Phillies will begin the NLCS on Tuesday at 8:03 pm EST, followed by a 4:35 start on Wednesday. The ALCS will begin in Houston on Wednesday at 7:37.

Alex Anthopolous told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the team would love to bring back all of its pending free agents. The Braves’ most notable free agents include shortstop Dansby Swanson and closer Kenley Jansen.

The Dodgers will retain manager Dave Roberts despite the team’s disappointing finish to the season, according to Jack Harris of the L.A. Times. Roberts signed a three-year extension to stay in Los Angeles back in the spring.

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Robby Waldrop looks at why the Mets need to move on from James McCann.

James Villani examines how the Mets’ trade deadline should be perceived.

On This Date in Mets History

1973: In Game 4 of the World Series, Rusty Staub‘s three-run homer off Ken Holtzman in the first inning sets the tone for the Mets as they even up the series with the A’s with a 6-1 win. Jon Matlack allows just three hits and one unearned run in eight innings of work to earn his second victory of the postseason.

1999: After falling behind 3-2 to the Braves in the 15th inning, Todd Pratt draws a game-tying walk against Kevin McGlinchy and Robin Ventura crushes a walk-off grand slam to extend the NLCS to a Game 6. Before Ventura gets to second base, Pratt and the rest of the team mob him, leading this moment to be coined the “grand slam single” since Ventura never circled the bases.

2015: Daniel Murphy homers for the third straight game, and Matt Harvey strikes out nine while allowing just two runs in 7 2/3 innings, leading the Mets to a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Cubs. Travis d’Arnaud adds a homer of his own, and Jeurys Familia secures the victory with a four-out save.

Birthdays: Rich Folkers (76), Mark Johnson (55), Chris Mazza (33), Rafael Montero (32)

The post Morning Briefing: Yankees Force Game 5 in ALDS appeared first on Metsmerized.

Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets could not accept anything less than a win. That’s exactly what they got, emerging victorious against the San Diego Padres on Saturday night at Citi Field by a score of 7-3 to tie the Wild Card series at 1-1. Jacob deGrom made his best pitches when he needed them the most, while the offense worked long counts all night before roaring to life in an electric seventh inning. A decisive Game 3 on Sunday with everything to play for looms on the horizon.

The Mets knew the importance of starting off strong, and they did just that. DeGrom looked downright untouchable in the top of the first, striking out Juan Soto and Manny Machado in a quick inning.

Brandon Nimmo led off the bottom of the first with a single against Padres starter Blake Snell, but he was erased on the basepaths when Starling Marte grounded into a double play. The Mets would not be denied, as Francisco Lindor crushed a solo home run to kick off the scoring and give the Mets an early 1-0 lead.

STUD! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/2zerSIueM7

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 8, 2022

The Mets got two more batters to reach in the first before Snell was able to induce a flyout from Jeff McNeil to escape trouble. The Mets had two runners on again in the second inning, but a Marte liner was caught in centerfield to end the threat.

DeGrom was dominant in the first two innings, but he ran into some trouble in the third inning. Trent Grisham took him deep for a solo homer, his second in as many days, to tie the game at 1-1. Grisham has found his power stroke after hitting just .184 with a .341 slugging percentage in the regular season, and he has done so against two of the premier starters in all of baseball in Max Scherzer and deGrom.

The Padres then proceeded to put runners on the corners with two outs in the third on a walk to Jurickson Profar and a single from Soto. deGrom bared down, striking out Machado for a second time to strand a pair of runners on base.

The game did not stay tied for long, as the Mets cashed in on an ineffective Snell in the fourth inning. The first two batters of the inning reached on walks, and after Tomás Nido failed to advance the runners with a sacrifice bunt, Nimmo picked up his third hit of the game with an RBI single to score Eduardo Escobar. That hit knocked Snell out of the game after just 3 1/3 innings pitched, having allowed two runs on four hits and issuing six walks. The Padres brought in Nick Martinez, who got Marte and Lindor to fly out to keep it a 2-1 game.

Those outs proved crucial, as the Padres immediately tied it in the top of the fifth. Grisham walked to lead off the inning, and Austin Nola advanced him to second on a sacrifice bunt before Profar drove him in with an RBI single. The Padres again put runners on the corners, but deGrom did what deGrom does best, striking out Machado and Josh Bell to prevent a blow-up inning.

The back-and-forth continued into the bottom of the fifth, as Pete Alonso hit a solo homer on the first pitch he saw in the frame to put the Mets back up 3-2. It was Alonso’s first career postseason homer, and it could not have come at a better time for a team that squandered plenty of opportunities to score earlier in the game.

DeGrom saved his best for last, pitching a clean sixth inning on just nine pitches to finish out his night. He went six strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out eight. He did walk two batters and allow another home run, his fifth straight start giving up a long ball, but he was able to step up to the moment and keep his team in the game with timely punchouts.

The Mets turned to Edwin Díaz for the seventh inning, trusting their best reliever in a high-leverage situation. Díaz did not pitch much down the stretch in the regular season, and things got dicey when Nola reached on a single that was just out of the reach of a jumping Lindor, bringing the top of the lineup to bat. Díaz handled it masterfully, inducing groundouts from Profar and Soto to preserve the 3-2 lead.

McHits #Postseason edition. #TheseMets pic.twitter.com/Zd5FjRO8iA

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 9, 2022

Adrián Morejón took the ball for the Padres in the bottom of the seventh. He promptly gave up a single to Lindor before issuing back-to-back walks to Alonso and Mark Canha on a pair of epic 10-pitch at-bats. McNeil made him pay, squaring up a pitch for a two-run double to knock Morejón out of the game.

Escobar kept the line moving against the new Padres reliever Pierce Johnson with an RBI single, making him the fifth straight batter to reach base to start the inning. Daniel Vogelbach came through with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to drive in the fourth run of the inning and push the Mets’ lead to 7-2. Johnson got Nimmo and Marte to strike out to end the inning, but the damage was more than done.

The Mets stuck with Díaz for the eighth inning, who got two outs before giving way to Adam Ottavino for the final out of the frame. Ottavino stayed in for the ninth but was not able to get the job done, walking in a run to bring Bell to the plate representing the tying run. Seth Lugo was the man tasked with facing Bell, and he got him to ground out to survive the threat and secure the victory.

The Mets will enter Sunday’s game having posted an 18-4 record in rubber matches this season. Of course, this is no ordinary rubber match, and the stakes have never been higher for this team.

Player of the Game: Francisco Lindor

Lindor has been the Mets’ most well-rounded player all season, and every one of his skills was on full display on Saturday. His first-inning homer was his sixth career postseason long ball, and he is only the second Mets shortstop to go yard in the postseason, joining José Reyes in Game 6 of the 2006 NLCS. He also made big plays on the basepaths, taking extra bases on multiple occasions and scoring two runs. This Mets offense will only go as far as Lindor can carry them, and on this night, he was more than happy to shoulder the load.

Final line for Lindor: 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 R, BB, SO

On Deck:

The Mets will look to earn a spot in the NLDS when they face off against the Padres in Game 3 on Sunday at Citi Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, and the time for the first pitch will be at 7:07 p.m. ET. The Mets will have Chris Bassitt on the mound, while the Padres will counter with Joe Musgrove.

The post Mets Bounce Back, Win 7-3 Against Padres to Force Game 3 appeared first on Metsmerized.