Per Anthony DiComo of SNY, Tylor Megill will begin a throwing program off flat ground on Saturday. The inflammation in Megill’s right elbow has significantly reduced, and it’s expected his ramp-up to speed will not be lengthy. Even though Megill had been struggling prior to his injury, his return would be huge given the current depleted state of the Mets rotation.

Latest Mets News

The Mets (51-38) defeated the Yankees (48-40) 6-5 in the Subway Series opener on Friday. Justin Hagenman battled through 4 1/3 innings in his first major league start, and Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil both homered to power the Mets over their crosstown rivals.

Prior to Friday’s game, the Mets placed reliever José Buttó on the injured list with an illness. To take his spot on the roster, the Mets called up Chris Devenski.

Anthony DiComo of SNY reported in addition to the Megill news that Kodai Senga will make his first rehab start for Double-A Binghamton on Saturday. If all goes well, there’s a chance Senga will return to the Mets rotation without needing further rehab starts.

The Mets received fantastic starts from top pitching prospects Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong in Triple-A and Double-A respectively on Friday. Sproat had his second consecutive scoreless outing, tossing five innings and striking out eight. Tong, meanwhile, allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings and struck out 10.

Brooks Raley had another easy rehab appearance on Friday for Triple-A Syracuse, tossing a scoreless inning. Over the course of his rehab, Raley has thrown 6 2/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts.

The Mets are signing 19-year-old Italian amateur free agent pitcher Matteo Marelli to a contract, becoming the first European amateur signing in Mets history.

Latest MLB News

The Angels signed former Met Brandon Drury to a minor league deal for his second stint with the team.

Latest on MMO

Kai Chang recaps the latest start from David Peterson in Thursday’s win over the Brewers, returning to form after a few ugly starts.

On This Date in Mets History

1962: The Mets signed 19-year-old Cleon Jones to a contract for just $1,000. Jones played a key role on the Mets from 1963 through 1975 and was one of the team’s best players in their 1969 World Series championship season.

Born On This Date: Jeff Innis (1962)

The post Morning Briefing: Tylor Megill to Begin Throwing Program Saturday appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

While neither of the starting pitching options in this game would inspire much confidence, the offense was nearly nonexistent for the entire game. Megill stepped in for Paul Blackburn, who was originally scheduled to start but experienced back tightness before the game, and he had one of his best starts of the season.

Megill got into trouble early, loading the bases in the first inning, but after a 30-pitch effort, he escaped the inning before cruising through the rest of his start. Megill went six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out nine. It was an unexpectedly dominant display for Megill, who has been unusable for most of the year.

Tylor Megill, K'ing the Side in the 5th.

8Ks thru 5. pic.twitter.com/qPlFVGu6Ol

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 10, 2024

On the Blue Jays’ side, Ryan Burr entered play with a 4.44 ERA in 26 appearances, primarily as a reliever. He kept the Mets off the board with two perfect innings out of the gate before making way for Luis Frías, who followed with 1 1/3 perfect innings of his own. The Mets finally did some damage against lefty Ryan Yarbrough in the fourth inning when J.D. Martinez followed a walk and a hit-by-pitch with a ground ball single to get the Mets on the board 1-0.

Both offenses remained dormant until the seventh inning, with both teams having just one hit each. That changed when Danny Young and José Buttó combined to allow two hit-by-pitches, two singles, and a sacrifice fly to surrender the lead and rob Tylor Megill of what would have been a much-deserved win.

More important, however, was that the Mets now trailed by a run with two innings to play and only one hit on the night. If there’s one thing about these Mets, you can never count them out. Just when the momentum shifted in favor of the Blue Jays, the Mets were able to manufacture two runs with some small ball and poor pitch execution from the Blue Jays.

Jesse Winker led off the top of the eighth inning with a pinch-hit walk before Francisco Alvarez dribbled an infield single, with the pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor advancing to third on a throwing error. Francisco Lindor then walked to load the bases with no outs. Taylor scored in the next at-bat on a wild pitch to tie the game before the newly acquired Eddy Alvarez came around to score on a passed ball from catcher Brian Serven. All of a sudden, the Mets were right back in front.

Ryne Stanek was Carlos Mendoza’s answer for the eighth inning, and Stanek responded by halting the late-inning chaos, striking out the side twice on fastballs and finally on a splitter. Stanek has pitched a scoreless outing in six of his last seven appearances after a rough start to his Mets tenure.

Edwin Díaz pitched the ninth inning, and after retiring the first two batters, he allowed an infield single to Ernie Clement before Starling Marte caught a hard-hit fly ball on the warning track to put an end to the game. The Mets won 3-2, improved to 79-65 on the year, and went back up to 1.0 games over the Braves for the final Wild Card spot.

Statistic of the Game: 16 Straight Retired

Tylor Megill didn’t allow a single baserunner after the first inning, retiring 16 in a row to finish his night. For a pitcher who has battled walk issues and constant traffic on the basepaths throughout this year and his entire career, it was a fantastic sight to see Megill work through the Blue Jays’ lineup with ease for the final 5 1/3 innings of his outing.

Player of the Game

It wasn’t announced until early Monday that Paul Blackburn would miss his start and Tylor Megill would step in. Nobody could have expected this kind of start from Megill, who looked like an ace rather than someone who appeared set to be demoted for good.

On Deck

The Mets and Blue Jays continue their series at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday evening. David Peterson (9-1, 2.75 ERA) will take the mound against former Met Chris Bassitt (9-13, 4.30 ERA). Both pitchers have made just one career appearance against their opponent, with Peterson allowing two runs in five innings in his only start against the Blue Jays and Bassitt tossing 7 2/3 shutout innings in his only start against the Mets.

First pitch is at 7:07 p.m. ET, and the game will air on SNY.

The post Mets Squeak Out 3-2 Win Against Toronto appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The team began the year with a formidable group of top prospects in Brett Baty, Francisco Álvarez, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio, and ended the year with just two of MMO’s top 30 prospects (Mike Vasil, Justin Jarvis), neither of whom started the season on the Syracuse Mets’ roster. That roster transformation, along with Syracuse becoming a home for older guys unable to obtain roles on big league clubs, might explain why it was another disappointing year for the Triple-A team.

Dick Scott, Photo by James Farrance

Syracuse finished the first half of the season with a 33-41 record. The sub-.500 record was mostly a result of poor pitching, with the offense finishing the first half with an above-average 5.6 runs per game. Over the second half of the season, though, the offense worsened and the already-poor pitching did too. That led to a 28-44 second half record and a 61-85 record overall.

Pitching was undoubtedly the weak link of this Syracuse team, for a couple of reasons. First, the extremely run-friendly environment of Triple-A makes pitching in that league very tough. Second, the pitching staff was mostly comprised of fringe major leaguers and lower-level prospects.

Leading the Syracuse Mets pitching staff in innings in 2023 was Denyi Reyes with 91 2/3 innings pitched. Reyes spent some time with the big league club, appearing in nine games with them, but spent the bulk of his year in Syracuse where he appeared in 20 games (18 starts) and posted a 2-3 record with a 5.79 ERA.

Following Reyes on the innings pitched leaderboard were José Butto and Joey Lucchesi, neither of whom pitched admirably in Triple-A. While both wound up in the majors down the stretch and pitched at a high level, Butto recorded a 3-7 record with a 5.93 ERA and Lucchesi recorded a 6-5 record with a 4.74 ERA during their times in Syracuse.

The most exciting pitcher on the staff was Mike Vasil, a midseason call-up who is currently MMO’s No. 10 prospect within the organization. While his 4-4 record and 5.30 ERA in 16 starts doesn’t appear great at first glance, Vasil flashed the potential of what the Mets are hoping he can become. He did so most notably on August 8, when he carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. He also pitched much better down the stretch for Syracuse than he did when he was first called up, with a 7.04 ERA and .973 OPS against in his first eight starts dropping to a 4.04 ERA and .575 OPS against in his final eight starts.

While Vasil wasn’t the only pitcher in Syracuse to pitch well, with excellent performances out of the bullpen from guys like Josh Walker (1.84 ERA) and Nate Lavender (3.27 ERA), it really was a season defined by poor pitching. There were a few more notable pitchers who contributed to that, such as David Peterson, Tylor Megill, and Justin Jarvis.

Peterson was demoted to Triple-A following a stretch of poor starts at the big league level. Peterson didn’t experience much more success in Syracuse, as he finished with a 1-2 record and a 4.86 ERA over seven starts with the team before becoming a fixture in the big league rotation down the stretch and pitching well.

Megill followed a similar path as Peterson: he was demoted from the big league team due to struggles, pitched poorly with Syracuse, but was recalled to the big league team and pitched well down the stretch. In Syracuse, he started six games and went 0-3 with an 8.67 ERA.

Jarvis was an interesting midseason acquisition, coming over from the Brewers in the Mark Canha trade. Jarvis had pitched well with Milwaukee’s Double-A affiliate, posting a 3.33 ERA over 14 starts, but struggled in 12 total starts with two Triple-A teams. With Syracuse, he started nine games and went 0-5 with an 8.04 ERA. Jarvis currently ranks as MMO’s No. 16 Mets’ prospect.

Offensively, Syracuse received massive contributions from a number of players. Most notably was Ronny Mauricio, who led the team in nearly every statistical category. Game after game, Mauricio flashed the power and speed that made him a top prospect in the organization, finishing his time in Syracuse with 23 home runs and 24 stolen bases over 116 games. His final OPS in Triple-A of .852 was dragged down by a midseason slump that doesn’t capture the fact that he finished three months with an OPS over .900.

Mark Vientos was the next biggest contributor in Syracuse despite playing in a little over half the games that Mauricio played in. In those 61 games though, Vientos shined by posting a slash line of .306/.387/.612/.999 while recording 16 home runs and 21 doubles.

Brett Baty was another top prospect who began the year in Syracuse and recorded more time with the team after struggling mightily at the big league level. Any time he was with Syracuse, however, Baty was one of the best players on the field. He played in just 26 games with the team but posted a slash line of .298/.388/.625/1.013 with 10 home runs in just 104 at-bats.

One of the better seasons by a non-top prospect at the plate was by DJ Stewart, who became somewhat of a sensation with the big league club late in the year. While in Syracuse, he accumulated 16 home runs, which tied Vientos for second on the team behind Mauricio. He also posted a .516 slugging percentage during his 51 games in Triple-A.

Outside of those performances, Syracuse received middling contributions from a number of fringe major leaguers. Among them were Danny Mendick (.793 OPS in 373 at-bats), Tomás Nido (.728 OPS in 135 at-bats), Abraham Almonte (.776 OPS in 134 at-bats), José Peraza (.681 OPS in 134 at-bats) and Rafael Ortega (.777 OPS in 113 at-bats).

The team even received cameos from two former Yankees in Luke Voit and Gary Sánchez. Both of them impressed in short stints with the club, with Voit crushing 14 homers in 129 at-bats for a fantastic 1.058 OPS and Sánchez accumulating a 1.014 OPS in just 26 at-bats.

The overall story of the offense is that it just wasn’t good enough. The bulk of the contributions came from top prospects who wound up with the big league club. Those that were left were older veterans whose subpar performances weren’t enough to carry the team. That, coupled with one of the worst pitching staffs in the International League, led to yet another disappointing year in Syracuse.

MMO Top 30

• 10. Mike Vasil, SP
• 16. Justin Jarvis, SP

Coaching Staff

• Manager — Dick Scott
• Bench Coach — J.P. Arencibia
• Pitching Coach — Kyle Driscoll
• Hitting Coach — Collin Hetzler
• Bullpen Coach — Jordan Kraus
• Athletic Trainer — Hiroto Kawamura
• Athletic Trainer — Vanessa Weisbach
• Performance Coach — Alex Tavarez

Team Batting Leaders (Minimum 50 Plate Appearances)

• G: Carlos Cortes — 118
• AB: Ronny Mauricio —490
• R: Ronny Mauricio — 76
• H: Ronny Mauricio — 143
• 2B: Ronny Mauricio — 30
• 3B: Ronny Mauricio/Jonathan Araúz — 3
• HR: Ronny Mauricio — 23
• RBI: Ronny Mauricio — 71
• SB: Ronny Mauricio — 24
• TB: Ronny Mauricio — 248
• BB: Carlos Cortes — 65
• OBP: Luke Voit — .415
• SLG: Luke Voit — .643
• OPS: Luke Voit — 1.058

Team Pitching Leaders (Minimum 20 Innings Pitched)

• W: Joey Lucchesi — 6
• ERA: Zack Muckenhirn — 0.88
• SV: Dennis Santana — 5
• G: Eric Orze — 39
• GS: José Butto — 19
• IP: Denyi Reyes — 91.2
• K: José Butto — 82
• WHIP: Josh Walker — 1.091

The post 2023 Syracuse Season Recap: Top Prospects Shine in Disappointing Season appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Megill was fantastic in what is his final start of the year, concluding a really good string of starts as he makes a case to be a member of the rotation in 2024. After battling with control in the first inning, Megill settled in and dominated what was admittedly not the Phillies’ most potent lineup. Nevertheless, Megill’s performance was another positive sign as he continues to show improvement.

After seven brilliant innings, Megill stayed on to start the eighth inning and got into his first trouble of the game by allowing back-to-back hits to start the inning. Megill stayed on for one more batter, recorded the out, and was pulled in favor of Brooks Raley. Megill’s night ended after 101 pitches and 7 1/3 innings, officially the longest start of his career.

Raley allowed one of Megill’s baserunners to score after allowing a two-out bloop single off the bat of Edmundo Sosa, breaking up the shutout that Megill had been throwing. Still, it was an extremely impressive performance. Over his 7 1/3 innings pitched, Megill allowed one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Megill’s best start of the season lowered his season ERA considerably from 4.92 to 4.70.

In addition to Megill’s dominance, the Mets helped their chances by going ahead early with a three-run first inning. The three runs in the inning were made possible due to aggressive baserunning by Rafael Ortega, Ronny Mauricio, and Francisco Lindor, who all made assertive moves on the base paths and subsequently came around to score. Pete Alonso (fielder’s choice) and Brett Baty (single) recorded RBIs in the inning, while Lindor scored via a wild pitch to give the Mets an early 3-0 lead.

Omar Narváez joined the party the very next inning, leading off the second with a solo homer to extend the Mets’ lead to four. Despite this early offense, the Mets’ bats quieted down as Walker settled into the game, and Walker finished his outing without allowing another run. Walker was pulled after seven innings, which is remarkable considering how disastrously the game started for him, and he allowed the Phillies to remain in the game.

After Raley was able to limit further damage in the eighth inning by allowing just one run to score, Adam Ottavino was called on to pitch the ninth inning in a 4-1 game. Ottavino made things interesting, starting off the inning by allowing a four-pitch walk to J.T. Realmuto. He missed on his next two pitches before ultimately getting Bryson Stott to ground out, but he then allowed an RBI ground-rule double by Brandon Marsh and an RBI single by rookie Weston Wilson to make it a 4-3 game.

Taking advantage of Ottavino’s extremely slow motion to the plate, Wilson stole both second and third base, putting the tying run just 90 feet away. Ottavino bent but didn’t break, striking out Jake Cave to bring the Mets one out away from a win before he got Cristian Pache to fly out, ending the game and securing a much-deserved win for Megill. With the victory, the Mets’ record improved to 73-86.

Player of the Game

There’s no question that Tylor Megill is the player of the game for the Mets. He looked comfortable all afternoon on the mound and didn’t even allow a baserunner to reach second base until the eighth inning. Over his last eight starts to finish the season, Megill allowed 15 runs in 45 innings pitched, which equates to a 3.00 ERA. Fighting for a spot in the 2024 rotation, Megill pitched about as well down the stretch as one could have hoped.

On Deck

There is still one more baseball game to be played tonight, with the Mets and Phillies meeting for the second game of the doubleheader. José Quintana (3-6, 3.39 ERA) will get his final start in what has been a really good debut season with the Mets. Quintana will match up against Michael Plassmeyer (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who is making his 2023 debut and just the third major league appearance (first start) of his career. The game will be broadcast on PIX11.

The post Megill Dominates, Mets Defeat Phillies 4-3 in Game 1 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brett Baty. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets got the scoring started early, putting a run up against former Met Taijuan Walker in the first inning. With Brandon Nimmo standing on second, Pete Alonso hit a blooper into shallow right field that just stayed fair before bouncing into the seats. With the ground rule double, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead.

The Mets didn’t score again until the fifth inning, still in a 1-0 game. With Walker’s pitch count rising, he started showing signs of fatigue as he allowed three straight hits off the bats of Rafael Ortega, Omar Narváez, and Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo’s hit came with runners on the corners, and he hit a laser into right field to double the Mets’ lead to make it 2-0.

With the Phillies still not on the board in the fifth inning, it’s no surprise that Mets’ starter Tylor Megill was pitching well against what is a really good lineup. Outside of a Trea Turner walk in the first inning and a Kyle Schwarber double in the third inning, Megill had everything working for him early. Even in the fourth and fifth innings, when he found himself in trouble by allowing a leadoff baserunner, he was able to work around them to avoid putting the Phillies on the board.

Megill then found himself in trouble again in the sixth inning and that’s where things went south. With one out already recorded, Megill spiked a breaking ball in the dirt that came up and hit Bryce Harper who appeared to be in a bit of pain afterwards. Alec Bohm then reached on an infield single, putting two runners on with one out.

Megill then struck out Bryson Stott, needing just one more out to get out of trouble and likely secure a six-inning, no-run outing. However, J.T. Realmuto played spoiler and put a jolt into the Philadelphia crowd by unloading a fastball into the seats in left field, giving the Phillies a 3-2 lead for their first lead of the night.

BRETT BATY OFF CRAIG KIMBREL IN THE 9TH TO TIE THE GAME!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/nzqmAUeFG1

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 23, 2023

Despite allowing the home run to Realmuto and that being the moment that will define his start, Megill still had a really solid outing. Over six innings, he allowed three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six, and with the performance, he now has a 2.89 ERA over his last five starts.

Phil Bickford relieved Megill out of the bullpen and the Phillies immediately tacked on to extend their lead. After Johan Rojas reached on a single, he advanced to third after a bad throw on his stolen base attempt at second base. Schwarber then poked a ball into left field, scoring Rojas, giving the Phillies a 4-2 lead.

The Mets wouldn’t go down quietly, though. With two outs in the eighth inning, Francisco Lindor launched a solo homer into left field for his 27th of the year to bring the Mets back to within one run. Jeff McNeil singled after him to bring Pete Alonso to the plate as the go-ahead run. Alonso popped up on the infield, failing to bring the runner home to end the inning.

With one final chance to tie the game or take the lead in the ninth, the Mets found themselves two outs away from another disappointing loss after Ronny Mauricio recorded the first out. Brett Baty then stepped up to the plate and provided a heroic late-game moment the Mets haven’t experienced much of this season, sending a fastball from Craig Kimbrel 432 feet to dead center to tie up the game at 4-4.

The Mets were able to hold the Phillies at bay in the bottom of the inning, setting the table for extras. In the top of the 10th inning, the Mets loaded the bases against Seranthony Domínguez with a chance to really put pressure on the Phillies in the bottom of the inning. Domínguez, however, struck out Alonso in a crucial moment in the game, sending it to the bottom of the 10th in a tie game.

Just as Megill’s start ended in disappointing fashion, so did the game for the Mets. Despite the late-inning heroics provided by Lindor and Baty, Adam Ottavino couldn’t keep the Phillies from scoring as Alec Bohm dumped a ball into right field on just the second pitch of the inning. Trea Turner scored easily, giving the Phillies a 5-4 victory for the second consecutive night. With the loss, the Mets are now 71-83 on the year and are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Stat of the Game

With his home run in the eighth inning, Francisco Lindor broke his own record that he set last year for the most home runs in a season by a Mets shortstop. He is now just three home runs shy of a 30-home run, 30-stolen base, 30-double season and could become the first Mets player to achieve those numbers since David Wright did so in 2007.

On Deck

The Mets’ series with the Phillies will continue on Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET. José Quintana (3-5, 3.02 ERA) will get the start for the Mets as his fantastic debut season with the team winds to a close. For Philadelphia, former Met Zack Wheeler (12-6, 3.63 ERA) will take the mound. The Mets roughed up Wheeler in his only start against the team this year, attacking him for five runs over 5 1/3 innings. The game will be broadcast on SNY and can be listened to on WCBS 880.

The post Phillies Spoil Mets’ Late-Game Heroics With 5-4 Walk-Off Win appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Prior to the game, Francisco Lindor was a late scratch from the lineup due to right-side soreness, making this the first game he didn’t play in all year. The Mets announced during the game that Lindor will undergo imaging tomorrow to hopefully diagnose the issue.

Without one of their best hitters in the lineup, the Mets couldn’t find the big hit against Morton who struggled with command all game. He allowed nine baserunners over the first four innings by issuing a career-high seven walks and allowing two hits, but he was able to keep them all from scoring as the Mets failed to pull ahead early.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Following a 1-2-3 fifth, Morton exited the game after allowing a leadoff single in the sixth. His night ended with a zero in the score column despite throwing more balls than strikes and allowing ten baserunners over five-plus innings.

For the Mets, Megill had everything working for him early, even with some hard exit velocities given up. Through three innings, he allowed just one hit with his fastball topping out at 99 miles-per-hour. Megill’s luck ran out soon after, though. You can only silence the Braves’ lineup for so long.

An Austin Riley double was followed by a Matt Olson broken-bat single and a Marcell Ozuna dribbler that stayed fair to load the bases in the fourth inning. Eddie Rosario took advantage by dropping a ball into center field which cleared the bases after Brandon Nimmo couldn’t field the ball cleanly, putting the Braves ahead 3-0.

The Braves tacked on in the fifth with a pair of runs before adding another run in the sixth to put them firmly ahead, 6-0. This offensive onslaught chased Megill out of the game with one out in the sixth inning. Over his start, he allowed five earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three batters. His ERA on the season rose slightly from 5.45 to 5.64.

Jimmy Yacabonis served as the mop-up man for the Mets, finishing out the game by throwing 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball. His lone blemish was a solo homer off the bat of Austin Riley in the seventh inning. With a seven-run deficit late in the game, the Mets pulled Nimmo from the game for DJ Stewart, moving Jeff McNeil to center field for the first time in his career.

The Mets couldn’t muster up any comeback, dropping the game 7-0 to fall to 52-63 on the year. They fall to 1-6 on the year against the Braves, with six games still to go against the National League leaders.

Stat of the Game

Per OptaSTATS, the Mets are the only MLB team in the modern era to record at least seven hits and nine walks in a nine-inning game and not score a single run. The Mets were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position tonight and bailed out Charlie Morton in what should have been a far worse outing.

The Mets are the only MLB team in the modern era to collect 7+ hits and draw 9+ walks in a 9-inning game but not score a single run.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 12, 2023

On Deck

The series with the Braves will continue on Saturday with a doubleheader. Denyi Reyes (0-1, 6.14 ERA) has joined the Mets and will get the start in the first game, while José Quintana (0-3, 3.42) will start the nightcap. Spencer Strider (12-4, 3.94 ERA) and Allan Winans (0-0, 4.15 ERA) will both start for the Braves, though which games they’ll pitch in is yet to be determined.

The first game will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SNY. The second game will start at 7:15 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FOX.

The post Mets Set Embarrassing Record in 7-0 Loss to Braves appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

In his return to the big leagues after a shaky stint in the minors, Megill was hit hard right from the outset. The electrifying one-two punch of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson led off the game with a single and a home run, putting the Mets in an early 2-0 hole to try to climb out of.

Megill managed to limit any further damage before settling in for a scoreless second inning. However, he allowed a run in each of the next three innings to end his night, including a fifth-inning homer off the bat of Anthony Santander. Megill exited the game having given up five earned runs over 4 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and striking out three.

“I know that some people might not look at it that way, but I thought it was a good step for him stuff-wise,” Buck Showalter said of Megill after the game. “They did a nice job with him down in Syracuse. He looked more like himself and it’s got a chance to progress better as we go.”

On the other side, Gibson pitched well against the Mets’ lineup aside from two hiccups in the fourth and sixth innings. After throwing three perfect innings with six strikeouts his first time through the order, Gibson allowed a double to Brandon Nimmo and a two-run homer to Jeff McNeil, McNeil’s fourth long ball of the year and his first in nearly two months.

Jeff McNeil gets the Mets on the board with a 2-run homer! pic.twitter.com/PXNM76zmzs

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 6, 2023

McNeil delivered again in the sixth inning after Francisco Lindor reached base via a two-out bloop double. He lined a ball into the outfield which scored Lindor to make it a 5-3 game, keeping the Mets firmly within striking distance. Gibson finished strong, though, exiting after seven strong innings and never allowing the Mets to take the lead.

Baltimore responded to McNeil’s RBI hit in the bottom of the inning, scoring for the fourth consecutive inning with an RBI double off the bat of Ryan McKenna to give the Orioles a 6-3 lead. The O’s added on again in the ninth against Phil Bickford, with Rutschman hitting an RBI double to extend the lead to four.

That proved too much for the Mets to overcome as they never threatened to take the lead, let alone score, over the final three innings. With Megill struggling on the mound and McNeil providing all the offense, the Mets once again gave themselves little to no chance to win. With their fifth consecutive loss following the trade deadline, the Mets now sit at 50-60 on the year.

Megill’s Return to the Rotation

Tylor Megill returned to the big league rotation out of necessity with both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer out of the picture. He struggled against a potent Orioles lineup, giving up a run in four of the five innings he was on the mound to raise his season ERA from 5.17 to 5.45. If there’s one positive that can be taken away from his outing, it’s that the velocity on his fastball looks as if it’s back to normal after it dipped in several of his starts earlier in the year.

On Deck

The Mets will wrap up their series with the Orioles on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. José Quintana (0-2, 3.57 ERA) will be on the mound for his fourth start of the year for the Mets, while Kyle Bradish (7-6, 3.32 ERA) will look to continue his strong season for Baltimore. The game will be broadcast on SNY.

The post Mets Drop Fifth Straight, Lose 7-3 To Orioles appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Daniel Vogelbach. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Mets defeated the Cardinals 6-1 on Friday night, giving them consecutive wins for the first time in June. The Mets entered the game with a 3-9 record during the month, struggling mightily and failing to gain any sort of momentum. Now with two straight wins and two more games against the reeling Cardinals on deck, the Mets have a chance to get back on track.

During the Mets victory, Tylor Megill pitched six excellent innings, giving up one earned run. Additionally, Daniel Vogelbach homered for the first time since May 7 as he looks to turn his season around.

Latest Mets News

Wednesday night’s game between the Mets and Yankees was ESPN’s second-most watched MLB game of 2023, averaging just under two million viewers.

Before Friday night’s game, Edwin Díaz took some time to throw on the grass at Citi Field.

Mets’ Vice President of Media Relations Jay Horwitz posted on Twitter congratulating his grandson, Spencer Horwitz, for being promoted to the Blue Jays. Spencer played for Team Israel during the W0rld Baseball Classic.

Danny Torres of the Talkin’ 21 Podcast caught up with former Met Joe McEwing, the current Cardinals bench coach. McEwing talked about his time with the Mets, the fans, and more.

Latest MLB News

Former Met Stephen Nogosek signed a deal with the Diamondbacks just days after refusing an outright assignment from the Mets. Nogosek thanked Mets fans in a Tweet on Friday night.

Another former Met in Adeiny Hechavarria had his contract with the Long Island Ducks purchased by the Royals who assigned him to Triple-A Omaha.

Daniel Brown of The Athletic wrote a piece on Drew Robinson, the former major leaguer who has used his attempted suicide from 2020 to spread awareness for mental health.

Latest on MMO

In the latest Mets Minors Recap, Mike Mayer wrote about Ronny Mauricio hitting two home runs while also making his debut in left field.

Jack Markowski detailed how sloppy play continues to hinder the Mets.

In the latest MMO Weekly, Mike Mayer and Sal Manzo discuss Buck Showalter’s job security among other topics.

Michael Famulari analyzed the Mets’ decision to sign Rafael Ortega to a minor league deal.

MMO fans have a chance to win a $50 gift card to Chiddy’s Cheesesteaks. If Chiddy’s reaches 750 Twitter followers by June 19, you can enter to win by following both MMO and Chiddy’s on Twitter.

On This Date in Mets History

2008: Manager Willie Randolph was relieved of his duties along with pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. This came just hours after a victory against the Angels, with the team’s record sitting at 34-35.

Birthdays: Brian Ostrosser (74)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Win Consecutive Games for First Time This Month appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When Francisco Lindor bobbled what would have been an easy double play to get through a clean third inning, a team like the 2022 Mets might have rebounded and put up a clean inning anyway. Not the 2023 Mets. What resulted was a five-run inning, highlighted by multiple defensive blunders, which led the way for an embarrassing 14-7 defeat in the first game of a three-game series against the Pirates.

Rich Hill got the start for Pittsburgh, another of a handful of former Met pitchers recently tasked with facing their former team. Among those other pitchers were Marcus Stroman and Chris Bassitt who dominated the Mets for a combined two runs in 15 2/3 innings. Hill was certainly hoping to do the same and hand the Mets their seventh straight loss.

Hill struggled early in the game, as a Mark Vientos RBI single and a Francisco Lindor solo home run put two runs up against him in the first three innings. He settled in, however, and shut down the Mets for the next four innings that he pitched. Throwing 119 pitches through seven innings, he gave up seven hits and two walks while also striking out six batters.

For the Mets it was Tylor Megill who took the mound. His last outing against the Blue Jays was a step in the right direction, as he gave up just one run in 5 1/3 innings after two poor starts in a row. With the bullpen taxed following the high-scoring series in Atlanta, Megill had the massive responsibility and added pressure of trying to pitch deep into the game, something he has struggled with throughout his career.

Although he didn’t have his best stuff and would not have gone deep into the game regardless, it was mostly poor defense that did Megill in. He gave up an early two-run ground-rule double off the bat of Austin Hedges in the second inning, which was his own doing, but in the third, Lindor’s blunder on a sure double play allowed the inning to continue which resulted in five runs coming across the plate. Another error, this time by Eduardo Escobar, contributed to the nightmare inning.

Lindor mentioned before the game, “Guys have to step up – including myself.” Lindor had been stepping up more at the plate, with his home run earlier in the game giving him a hit in each of his last five games, but his error that led to a massive inning and Megill exiting the game much earlier than anticipated is the type of mistake that can easily be avoided and the type of mistake that has defined the Mets’ season up to this point.

After the game, Lindor owned his mistake: “Today’s on me. That play right there… Mental mistakes like that cannot happen.”

Ultimately, Megill couldn’t escape the fourth inning. A combination of poor pitching and poor defense knocked him out after 79 pitches and just 3 2/3 innings. In total, he gave up eight hits, three walks, and seven earned runs, striking out just one. With the performance, his ERA on the year ballooned from 4.40 to 5.14.

“Consistency, to say the least,” is what Megill replied when asked after the game what he’s most frustrated with. On why he’s lacked consistency: “Walks, hits, and getting taken out of the game. As simple as that.”

The Mets turned to Zach Muckenhirn, who was just called up earlier today, and he immediately got hit hard. When he finally put the fourth inning to bed, the Pirates had already built up a mammoth 10-2 lead.

While it may have been difficult, the Mets could have attempted a large, late-inning comeback, the type of game which defined their magical 2022 season. At the very least, they could have fought offensively to put some more runs on the board even if a win was out of reach. Nevertheless, the offense fell dormant as if to end the game as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, the Pirates continued adding on as they put up two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 12-2. The Mets left Muckenhirn in the game simply to eat up innings, eventually relieving him for Tommy Hunter after soaking up 2 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs. Two more runs were added in the eighth after Hunter gave up back-to-back homers, also allowing Ke’Bryan Hayes to pick up his fifth hit of the night in the process.

The Mets offense finally woke up again in the ninth as they plated five runs. Francisco Álvarez and Luis Guillorme drove in one run each while the other three runs in the inning were scored via two separate errors, although the errors resulted due to hot shots off the bats of Vientos and Pham. Of course, the rally in the final inning was too little too late and did nothing to cover up the embarrassment of giving up 14 runs and losing the team’s seventh game in a row.

When asked after the game if there was any hangover effect from Atlanta, Buck Showalter replied, “Looked like it. Didn’t pitch well, that usually does a lot of it.”

Player Focus

Mark Vientos was a rare bright spot in the game, as he went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a walk. A batted ball in the ninth inning plated a run, but it was ruled an error and thus he was not given an RBI despite hitting the ball hard. Vientos is set to play more with Alonso expected to miss at least a few weeks and maybe up to a month, and the hope is that consistent playing time will get his bat going.

Stat of the Game

For just the third time in Mets history, the team has allowed 13 runs in consecutive games, also doing so in 2003 and 2017. While the offense is far from perfect, there have been too many games this season where the pitching has simply given the team no chance to win and tonight was another one of those nights.

This is just the third time in #Mets history that they've allowed at least 13 runs in consecutive games.

They also did so in 2003 and 2017.

— Matthew Searle (@searlebaseball) June 10, 2023

On Deck

The series with the Pirates continues Saturday with the game scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET. Kodai Senga gets the start for New York, coming off a rough outing in which he allowed nine baserunners (four hits, five walks) and three runs in just 2 2/3 innings in his last start. Pittsburgh will send out Johan Oviedo who gave up two earned runs in seven innings in his last start. The game will be broadcast on SNY.

The post Mets Extend Losing Streak to Seven With Sloppy Loss to Pirates appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Tylor Megill. John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Tylor Megill entered Friday night without a win since April 12 and had allowed at least three runs in each of his last four starts. Facing off against the Nationals, Megill dodged traffic to allow just one earned run in the Mets’ 3-2 win in their series opener in Washington.

Megill continued the trend of the Mets’ starters struggling in the first inning – allowing a two-out RBI single to Joey Meneses. The run marked the fifth straight game in which a Mets starter allowed a run and was the 35th run the Mets have allowed in the first this year. Megill walked Dominic Smith but escaped further trouble by striking out Jeimer Candelario.

Megill got into trouble again with two outs in the second – allowing a single to Jake Alu and walking Lane Thomas. He was able to get out of the inning unscathed though on a Luis García ground out. Megill walked Keibert Ruiz to lead off the third inning, but worked around it for another scoreless inning, striking out Candelario again.

Megill allowed a lead-off double to Alex Call in the fourth inning, and he came around to score on an error by Francisco Lindor. The right-hander limited the damage again, getting García to fan to end the inning. Megill pitched the only clean inning of his night in the fifth, inducing three ground outs. Thanks to  Lindor’s bases-clearing double in the top of the sixth, Megill was able to earn his fourth win of the season.

Megill didn’t register a single swing and miss on his fastball, but it averaged 94.6 miles per hour, slightly above his season average of 94.3. His breaking pitches, however, were sharp. He generated 14 whiffs on 22 attempts, including seven on his curveball. Megill recorded all four of his strikeouts on breaking balls – three on his curve and one on a slider. Megill also generated nine outs via the ground ball.

While Megill hasn’t worked very deep into games, he’s kept the team in the game in every start he’s made. His walks have continued to be an issue, but he has done a solid job at limiting damage. With the current way the rotation lines up, Megill’s next start is slated for Thursday afternoon against the Rays.

The post Tylor Megill Battles Through Five Innings Against Nats appeared first on Metsmerized Online.