David Peterson took the mound for the Mets, facing off against Kyle Hendricks for Chicago.

The long ball was the story of the game for both teams. Christopher Morel hit a lead-off home run for Chicago on the first pitch of the game, and Chicago added another run in the second after a Seiya Suzuki triple and a passed ball. However, Pete Alonso tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on his 35^th home run of the year. It was Alonso’s fourth home run of the three-game series.

Pete Alonso goes deep for the third night in a row to tie it up!! pic.twitter.com/bBCkNOaWwA

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) August 10, 2023

Jeff McNeil then gave the Mets the 3-2 lead in the sixth on a solo home run, his fifth of the season.

Jeff McNeil gives the Mets the lead!! pic.twitter.com/H4B7nMYL9x

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) August 10, 2023

After the Mets’ added an insurance run on a Jonathan Araúz single in the sixth, the last run of the game was also scored on a long ball, from Suzuki, who made it a one-run game on a home run in the ninth off of Adam Ottavino.

After Suzuki’s homer, Ottavino ran into more trouble. Jeimer Candelario then came up and singled to put one runner on. Ottavino was also called for a balk after throwing over for a third time without picking Candelario out, advancing him to second. After Ottavino walked Mike Tauchman to put the go-ahead runs on base, that was all Buck Showalter wanted to see. Showalter turned to Phil Bickford to try to get out of the jam and preserve a win.

Bickford retired Nick Madrigal on a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners to second and third. After a strikeout of Morel, he walked Nico Hoerner to load the bases with two outs. But Bickford was able to he come up clutch with strikeout of Ian Happ to close out the Mets’ 4-3 victory.

John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

“Pretty awesome coming in first and second, a one run ball game. Showed a lot,” said Jeff McNeil of Bickford after the win. “It was a big time strikeout there in the end. Pretty cool to see.”

David Peterson started for the Mets, and, as he continues to get stretched out moving from the bullpen to the rotation, only went 3 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits to go along with two walks and five strikeouts.

The Mets’ bullpen came up big behind Peterson however, allowing only one earned run in the last 5 1/3 innings pitched. Ottavino struggled, but Grant Hartwig, Trevor Gott, Josh Walker, and Bickford all pitched very well Wednesday night.

Hartwig, in particular stood out, earning the win and going 2 2/3 innings while allowing only two hits and no runs. Hartwig’s ERA on the year is down to 3.27.

The other big storyline for the Mets on Wednesday was Alonso, who was on base three times for the Mets and collected two of the team’s four RBIs from his two-run homer.

“He looks great in the box and looks comfortable,” McNeil said of his teammate. “He’s doing a great job all around.”

Alonso also continued his torment of the Cubs. He now has 15 homers in 26 career games against Chicago.

Players of the Game: Pete Alonso and Phil Bickford

Pete Alonso and Phil Bickford are tonight’s Metsmerized Players of the Game.

Alonso reached base three times with two walks and the aforementioned two-run homer, his 35th of the season. Alonso trails only Shohei Ohtani (40) and Matt Olson (39) for the MLB lead.

Bickford came in in a very tight spot for his first save opportunity as a Met. With two on and no outs, he was able to keep the runners from scoring bailing out Ottavino and giving the Mets a series victory.

On Deck

The Mets will have an off day on Thursday. They will welcome the Braves to Citi Field on Friday for a weekend clash in which four games will be played over three days with a doubleheader on Saturday.

The post Alonso Homers Again, Mets Hang On To Beat Cubs, 4-3 appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets (7-4) lost to the Miami Marlins (5-5) by a score of 3-2 on Friday night in South Beach.

Noah Syndergaard pitched for New York and, while not his usual dominant self, was quite good. Thor allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits in 6 innings, walking none and striking out 4. Syndergaard threw just 87 pitches, but slowed down late in his start and was removed well before his pitch limit after the blister he suffered on Opening Day seemed to flare up. With the one earned run allowed, Thor’s ERA ballooned to 0.95 on the season.

Update: It was apparently a fingernail issue for Syndergaard. I believe it was the same finger. Joe and the team will keep us all updated with further posts!

The game got off to a rough start for the Mets, as Marlins pitcher Edinson Volquez cruised through the top of the first and Syndergaard ran into trouble in the home half. Dee Gordon singled to lead off the frame, and a throwing error from Asdrubal Cabrera put runners on second and third with none out. Thor righted himself, however, and managed to get out of the inning with just one run allowed on a sacrifice fly from Christian Yelich.

Volquez lost his command in the second inning, but the Mets left the bases loaded when a hard liner from Rene Rivera found a glove in left. They again loaded the bases in the third, and with the green light to swing on 3-0, Michael Conforto made solid contact for a sacrifice fly that tied the game. But the Mets could not cash in further, as Wilmer Flores grounded out to end the inning.

New York took the lead in the fifth on a monster home run from Lucas Duda, but Syndergaard started to struggle in the bottom of the inning. A pair of singles set the table with one out, and a lucky blooper from Dee Gordon tied the game. Thor also had to battle a bit in the sixth as he struggled with his command, but finished the frame with the game tied.

The Mets, meanwhile, slowed down on offense as the game progressed. Jose Reyes drew a walk leading off the sixth against Miami reliever Jarlin Garcia, who was making his MLB debut, and moved to third when Thor laid down a good bunt with the speedy third baseman running on the play. But Rivera struck out and Granderson popped up to strand Jose at third.

In the seventh, it was the Mets doing the heavy lifting to keep the game tied. After Kyle Barraclough breezed through the top half, Rafael Montero came in to relieve the blister-ridden Syndergaard in the home half, and struggled once again. A pair of singles set Miami up with one out, and with a 3-2 count to JT Realmuto, Terry Collins called for an intentional walk to load the bases before bringing in Jerry Blevins. Blevins got Yelich to fly out to fairly deep left field, and with Miguel Rojas sprinting home, Michael Conforto unleashed a perfect throw to the plate, where Rivera tagged Rojas out on a close play that was upheld after video review.

The Mets almost did some damage against David Phelps for the second straight night, but this time could not cash in any runs in the eighth. Reyes and Rivera singled, but the former Yankee worked out of the jam before Josh Edgin scraped through the eighth for the visitors in the bottom half.

In the ninth, the Mets got the go-ahead run on base when Jay Bruce worked a walk against AJ Ramos, but Duda grounded into a double-play to send it to the bottom of the ninth and put the Mets behind the eight-ball. Edgin issued a leadoff walk to Rojas, and after getting two outs and getting to two strikes on Realmuto, the Miami catcher drove one into the right-field gap on a 3-2 pitch. With Rojas running on the play, the winning run easily scored for the Fish, ending the Mets’ five-game winning streak.

After a 16-inning marathon last night, the Mets needed a long outing from Syndergaard tonight to preserve the bullpen. Thor looked like he could answer the call, especially after he worked through a rough first inning. But he faltered in the fifth and sixth, and then exited with the blister. I noted to myself when he first started to stumble that the blister could be the cause— it’s not like him to look so flat and inaccurate with his secondary stuff— so I wasn’t surprised when he left. Still, the fact that he can keep good lineups in check without his best stuff just shows how incredible he is. All Miami managed was that unearned run early and the RBI blooper from Gordon in the fifth. And when things looked like they might go off the rails, Noah reared back and blew one past Yelich at 100 miles per hour. Who needs secondary stuff when you can do that?

But the blister situation isn’t ideal. Tonight was unique in that the Mets were resting several relievers, but they still can’t go through the season wondering if this recurring blister will blindside them at some point in the game, be it early or late. If having Thor skip a start and get 8 or 9 days off before he takes the mound again would help that blister heal fully (it clearly didn’t the first time), I would consider that. Give Gilmartin a start. Or give Montero one last chance as a starting pitcher.

Update: Apparently it was a fingernail issue on the same finger. That’s either really weird and bad luck, or just an extension of some issue with that finger. Either way, Noah didn’t seem concerned at all, joking that he now has an excuse to get a mani-pedi.

And I mean “one last chance,” because Montero has been so, so disappointing as a major league pitcher. He doesn’t throw strikes, which doesn’t add up when you look at what he did in the minors (and even in the spring). He doesn’t seem to trust his stuff. And his stuff isn’t elite like Thor’s, so he can’t rear back and throw triple-digit heat when he’s in trouble. Maybe he can still become a useful reliever or a decent fifth starter, but he’s running out of chances to show that. I’m also not very high on Edgin. He doesn’t throw as hard as he used to, and he doesn’t have great control. He also doesn’t take the best approach at times.

Blevins, however, has been terrific once again this season. He is never fazed by the pressure. I was baffled by Terry’s decision to have Montero intentionally walk a hitter with a 3-2 count rather than trying to get him to chase a pitch out of the zone, but Blevins came in and got ahead of an elite hitter before Conforto made the play of the night to keep the game even.

Conforto’s defensive gem, his base-hit, and his RBI sacrifice fly added up for another very nice game from the young outfielder. He’s really making a strong case for everyday playing time, and putting Curtis Granderson on the bench until he, Bruce, or Yoenis Cespedes cools off might be the right move.

Bruce had another nice day with a hit and a walk, and Duda walked twice to go along with a hit and the absolute bomb he hit to dead-center. If one of those guys is hitting the Mets are in good shape. If both of them are hitting? Good luck getting through this lineup, especially when several key guys (Cespedes, Neil Walker, Travis d’Arnaud) aren’t getting days off.

Rene Rivera has been good this season, and he continued his strong play with a 2-for-4 performance in this one. Obviously, his hits could have been better-timed, as he twice stranded runners in scoring position, but he’s here for his defense, so anything he can provide with the bat is just gravy. Travis d’Arnaud is hitting like an everyday catcher, so Rivera doesn’t need to do too much to thrive in his role as backup catcher and personal assistant to Noah Syndergaard.

A win tonight would have obviously been nice, but at least the Mets were able to give some guys a rest and avoid another marathon game— it certainly looked like we might see the team play deep into the night once again. Hopefully one of our other long-haired aces gets the team back to its winning ways in game three of this four-game set.

Up Next: Jacob deGrom will face Adam Conley when the Mets take on the Marlins on Saturday night at 7:10 in Miami.

The post Mets’ Winning Streak Snapped as Marlins Walk It Off in the Ninth appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets (2-1) took the rubber game of their season-opening series with the Atlanta Braves (1-2), winning 6-2 on Thursday night at Citi Field in Gotham.

Matt Harvey pitched for the Mets and was as good as anybody could have asked him to be in his first big league start since undergoing Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery last summer. Harvey pitched 6.2 innings of three-hit ball, striking out four and walking none while allowing two runs on a pair of Matt Kemp home runs. “The Dark Knight” threw 77 pitches, 55 for strikes, while sitting around 94-96 MPH with his fastball and living comfortably in the high-80’s with his slider en route to his first win of the season and the 30th of his career.

With the afternoon rain subsiding in time for the game, Mets fans didn’t have to wait to see Harvey take the mound in the top of the first inning, but they didn’t get to see him there for long as the righty got through the top of the order in just six pitches. Atlanta starter Jaime Garcia got through a quick first inning of his own thanks to a diving catch from Nick Markakis to rob Jose Reyes and a ballpark that was just big enough to contain a deep drive from Yoenis Cespedes.

A double play in the second inning helped Harvey work around a Markakis single for another quick inning, and Garcia induced a ground ball of his own in the bottom half to erase Curtis Granderson. Both pitchers continued to keep the opposing hitters in check through the early innings, with Garcia working around a Cespedes double in the fourth to keep things scoreless.

The fifth inning, Harvey’s nemesis last season, got off to an ominous start for the New York pitcher when Matt Kemp crushed a solo shot to center leading off the frame. But rather than crumble as he did on so many occasions last season, Harvey struck out the next hitter and got a couple grounders to avoid further damage.

The Mets picked Harvey right back up in the bottom of the fifth, turning the game around on a Neil Walker single, a Jay Bruce walk, and a two-run double from Travis d’Arnaud that gave the hosts a 2-1 advantage. Pitching with the lead for the first time, Harvey tossed a clean top of the sixth and saw that lead grow in the home half when Garcia walked Cespedes and Wilmer Flores made him pay with a rocket to left that cleared the wall and stayed just inside the foul pole to put New York up 4-1. Walker doubled later in the inning for his second hit of the night, but the team was unable to cash in further.

After striking out Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman to begin the seventh, Harvey, still throwing hard and sitting at just 75 pitches, looked like he might go all night. In reality, he had just two more pitches, as Matt Kemp’s second bomb of the night and Terry Collins‘ quick hook combined to end Harvey’s night after 6.2 very encouraging innings.

After Jerry Blevins got a strikeout to close the top of the seventh, he Mets again responded to an Atlanta run with two of their own after the stretch. After reliever Chaz Roe hit Michael Conforto with a pitch, Reyes, perhaps in retaliation, sent one right back up the box for his first hit of the season. Asdrubal Cabrera singled to make it 5-2 and an error from Swanson on a Cespedes grounder allowed Reyes to score the sixth run of the night for New York.

Fernando Salas came in to pitch the top of the eighth for the Mets, and after a solid single, a cheap hit and then a slight misplay from Cabrera (ruled a single for Ender Inciarte) loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate, Salas fanned Swanson to retire the side and keep the Mets comfortably in front. Addison Reed pitched a much quicker ninth in relief of Salas, getting Atlanta 1-2-3 to seal the win.

Just about every Mets fan out there was nervous for tonight, and for good reason. Last season, Matt Harvey looked like an absolute shell of the pitcher we had come to know, and for no apparent reason. That mystery was solved with another mystery, as the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome diagnosis meant that Harvey would have to face a second major surgery and one that, unlike his Tommy John procedure, presented no clear, established road back for a flamethrower like him. This spring, Harvey showed some positive signs, but certainly wasn’t convincing, and heading into tonight’s start, nobody knew what to expect.

But when the game started, Matt Harvey looked like Matt Harvey. The real Matt Harvey. The no-flab, no-beard, all-business Matt Harvey, going after hitters, trusting his stuff, and finally having stuff he should trust. Mid-90s on the straight fastball, equally fast with the two-seamer, 88, 89 and even touching the 90’s with the slider— all with command. That Matt Harvey. And with the changeup being mixed in and the (very, perhaps unusually so) rare curveball in the arsenal as well, Atlanta’s hitters had no answers for the real Matt Harvey… aside from a slow, gimpy outfielder who, at least with the bat, looks like he might return to being the real Matt Kemp.

Is Harvey back to being a guaranteed ace every time he takes the hill? Of course not. It was one start, and there are a lot of factors that can’t go unmentioned. The Braves are a bad team with a weak lineup. Harvey, who struggled when he got to the middle innings last year, didn’t get his pitch count much past the point where he would normally be through four or five innings, and when he did get to that point, his night ended shortly thereafter with Kemp’s blast. He’s still not throwing as hard as he did in 2015 (and certainly not as hard as he did in 2013). He had more rest before this start than he will going forward. He wasn’t missing many bats (which would be a better indicator of future success, although I do think there is something to be said for pitching to weak contact and keeping pitch counts down), and didn’t avoid the home run ball that has plagued him since last season. So we can’t get ahead of ourselves and feel certain that he will dominate in his next start, and the ones beyond that.

But there’s not much more he could have done tonight to make Mets fans optimistic that the ace they once knew might be on his way back— while pitching as the #3 starter in what could be the best rotation in baseball. And remember, Dan Warthen doesn’t expect Harvey to have his best stuff until May. It might just be the third game of the season, but it’s a good day to be a Mets fan.

The only thing that really made Harvey not look like his old self was that the Mets actually got him some run support in this game. And with the Mets down by a run, the biggest hit came from a guy who has been scrutinized nearly as much as Harvey in Travis d’Arnaud. The catcher came up big with a two-run double that put the Mets in front. After Jay Bruce’s big game the previous night, seeing the two other guys with the most to prove this season step up in this game was encouraging.

The Mets only scored in two of their first 25 innings this year, so it was nice to see the team put together multiple productive innings in this one. Wilmer Flores showed why he’s going to be in the lineup against lefties this season, and a couple other guys had good nights as well. Cespedes has hit several balls to the track already this season; the home runs are coming.

It’s always nice to win a series, especially the first of the season. On to the next one.

Up Next: Mets righty Zack Wheeler and Marlins southpaw Wei-Yin Chen will make their season debuts on Friday night at Citi Field when Miami comes to town for a three-game series.

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With all eyes on the game and few eyes on the score, the New York Mets (83-74) fell 7-3 to the Miami Marlins (78-78) on Monday night in South Beach. With the Giants off and the Cardinals losing to Cincinnati, the Mets lead San Francisco by half a game and St Louis by one game in the NL Wild Card race.

The night began with a pregame ceremony to honor late Marlins superstar José Fernandez, after which the two teams spontaneously embraced each other in the infield. Every Marlins player wore Fernandez’s jersey throughout the game.

Dee Gordon led off the bottom of the first for Miami, wearing Fernandez’s helmet and initially batting from the right side to honor his fallen best friend. After switching to his natural left side of the plate, Gordon drove a 2-0 pitch from Bartolo Colon over the wall for his first home run of the season, breaking down as he rounded the bases and embracing his teammates and coaches upon reaching the dugout.

The Marlins controlled the game from there, scoring four more runs in the 2nd inning and two in the 3rd to chase Bartolo early.

The Mets bullpen provided 5.2 scoreless innings in relief of Colon, with Gabriel Ynoa (1.2 innings), Rafael Montero (1), Erik Goeddel (1.2), Josh Edgin (0.1) and Jim Henderson (1) keeping the game within reason. New York scored two in the fifth on an Asdrubal Cabrera double that made it 7-2, but left the bases loaded in the sixth and managed only an RBI single from Lucas Duda the rest of the way, as Adam Conley (who pitched just three innings) and the Marlins bullpen held strong to finish off the 7-3 win.

The Mets need wins down the stretch, but it was hard to watch this game with that in mind.

Up Next: Noah Syndergaard will face Tom Koehler when the Mets face Miami on Tuesday at 7:10 in Miami.

The post Mets Fall 7-3 To Marlins In Emotional Contest appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets (80-70) fell by a score of 7-3 to the Atlanta Braves (59-91) on Monday night at Citi Field. The Mets lead the Giants by half a game and the Cardinals by 1.5 games in the Wild Card race, pending the outcome of tonight’s games.

Noah Syndergaard didn’t have it tonight for the Mets, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 3.2 innings.

Walks hurt Thor in the second inning, when the Braves took a 2-0 lead on RBI singles from Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte. Atlanta added another run on a Freddie Freeman homer in the third. Freeman got to Syndergaard again in the fourth inning for a two-run double before an infield hit by Matt Kemp ended Noah’s night.

Sean Gilmartin pitched well in relief, and the Mets clawed back against Aaron Blair with a two-run shot from TJ Rivera, but New York couldn’t get any closer than 5-2. Swanson knocked in two more runs with a single off of Hansel Robles (the runs were charged to Josh Edgin), and the Mets went quietly after that, getting only an RBI double from James Loney on their way to a 7-3 loss.

The Mets will be back at it on Tuesday night at Citi Field. Robert Gsellman (2-1, 3.08 ERA) will face Julio Teheran (5-10, 3.18) at 7:10 PM.

The post Syndergaard Struggles As Braves Top Mets 7-3 appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets (72-66) topped the Reds (57-79) by a score of 5-0 on a Labor Day matinee in Cincinnati on Monday. The Mets are now half a game back of the St Louis for the final Wild Card spot, pending the Cardinals’ game against the Pirates this evening.

Bartolo Colon pitched for the Mets and was terrific, scattering 5 hits and a walk over 6 scoreless innings, striking out 2. He was backed by a solid offensive performance from the “ReplaceMets,” with several key players getting the day off after a night game and a flight.

The Mets got on the board first in the top of the third inning against Robert Stephenson when a jetlagged, sleepless Matt Reynolds hit a solo shot in his first at-bat back from Triple-A. In the bottom of the inning, Colon put runners on second and third with no outs, but escaped the jam unscathed. Kelly Johnson then padded the lead with a solo shot of his own in the top of the fifth.

Bartolo allowed another runner to reach third with no outs in the bottom of the sixth, but again got out of the inning without allowing a run. In the top of the seventh, the Mets scored 3 runs on a walk by Travis d’Arnaud, singles from James Loney, Reynolds, and Asdrubal Cabrera (off the bench), and a sacrifice fly from Alejandro De Aza.

With a 5-0 lead, Terry Collins went to Hansel Robles in the bottom of the seventh and got a scoreless frame from the hard-throwing righty. Jerry Blevins got a couple outs in the eighth before getting into a jam which Fernando Salas was able to work out of to keep the Reds off the board. Salas then pitched a perfect ninth to seal the Met victory.

With the Mets keeping much of their A-lineup on the bench, they looked to be opening the door for a vastly inferior Reds team to steal a game. Bartolo Colon made sure that didn’t happen, keeping a Reds lineup with a few pretty solid bats in check before giving way to the bullpen, which had a solid day as well.

Meanwhile, the offense got the job done, and then some. Reynolds had a big day in his first game back, collecting 3 hits, including the homer, and 2 RBI. Wilmer Flores also had a nice day at the plate with 3 hits of his own, but didn’t fare so well on the basepaths, getting gunned down twice by Adam Duvall and getting doubled up for a third out on a line drive to Joey Votto.

Cabrera continues to rake. He only saw a minute of playing time, as he didn’t put a glove on and was pinch-run for after reaching base, but still made an impact with the base-hit that drove in the fourth run and set up the fifth.

Jay Bruce didn’t make any noise at the plate, but got a nice ovation from the Cincinnati crowd in his first game back since the trade. The only other time the Reds fans made any noise was in the ninth inning, when Ty Kelly became the tenth Met to strike out and in doing so granted the Cincinnati faithful the gift of free pizza.

This was a nice, comfortable win, albeit one against a team the Mets should beat comfortably on a regular basis. Hopefully they’ll keep it going on Tuesday.

Up Next: Rafael Montero (0-0, 3.68 ERA) will make his second start of the year when the Mets take on the Reds at 7:10 on Tuesday in Cincinnati. The Reds will counter with Brandon Finnegan (8-10, 4.19 ERA).

Happy Labor Day, and Let’s Go Mets!

The post Bartolo, Bats Make For A Stress-Free Labor Day As Mets Beat Reds 5-0 appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets (59-59) fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks (49-69) by a score of 10-6 on Monday night in Phoenix. The loss drops the Mets to 3 games back of both the St Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins in the NL Wild Card Race (the Mets also trail the Pirates by 2.5 games).

Bartolo Colon struggled on the hill for the Mets, allowing 5 runs (2 earned) on 9 (hard) hits and 2 walks, striking out just 1 in 4 innings. Bart did draw his first career walk, stripping him of his MLB record for most career at-bats without a walk.

The Mets fell behind early and trailed the entire game, which has happened far too many times this season. Jose Reyes walked to lead off the game, but with Reyes on the move to second, Curtis Granderson‘s rocket down the line found the glove of Paul Goldschmidt for what became an easy double-play. In the bottom of the first, TJ Rivera made an error to start the frame and the Diamondbacks strung together 4 hits to plate 3 runs, giving them a lead they would never relinquish.

The Mets got a pair of singles to lead off the top of the second, but a double-play killed the rally before it got going, helping Robbie Ray through the inning. New York did get on the board in the top of the third when Travis d’Arnaud singled, Colon reached first when a sacrifice bunt turned into a throwing error, and Reyes singled TDA home, but the Mets could not capitalize further, with Colon being stuck on third on a fairly deep Jay Bruce fly ball that would have scored any other player in the MLB.

The Diamondbacks got the run right back in the bottom of the third to make it 4-2, and after Colon’s first-ever walk set up another RBI single from Reyes, Arizona again erased the Mets’ progress with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Erik Goeddel replaced Colon in the fifth and allowed a pair of RBI doubles that put the hosts up 7-1, and the Snakes later stretched that to 8-2 with a run against Seth Lugo.

The Mets got a little something going in the top of the 7th with singles from Granderson and Neil Walker and walks from Bruce and Wilmer Flores forced in a run and set up a bases-loaded situation with no outs and the Mets trailing 8-3, but RBI sacrifice flies from TJ Rivera and Ty Kelly were of little use this late in the game. Hansel Robles gave up a  2-run shot to Yasmany Tomas in the bottom of the 8th to make it 10-5, and Neil Walker’s solo blast leading off the top of the 9th was just a speed bump for Arizona as they closed out their 4th victory against the Mets in as many tries, 10-6.

Colon just didn’t have anything in this game, simple as that. The D-backs hit him, and they hit him hard. Arizona remains the only MLB team that Colon has never beaten.

The Mets hit some balls well against Robbie Ray, but had some rotten luck, with everything finding a glove or slicing just foul. As usual, the Mets also squandered a couple big chances with runners in scoring position, and while 6 runs on 12 hits will usually be enough with our pitching staff, it wasn’t on this day.

Wellington Castillo killed the Mets tonight with 4 hits, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. This was his first game back from the paternity list, which means his newborn child appears to be a good luck charm and also means that I forgot to put him back in my fantasy baseball lineup. Rats. Paul Goldschmidt also killed us tonight with 3 well-struck hits (including a triple and a double), but he kills everybody.

Travis d’Arnaud had a terrific game for the Mets with 3 hits and is suddenly red-hot. Neil Walker continued to be red-hot with 3 hits of his own including the solo home run in the final inning.

It’s one thing to lose games, but it’s downright deflating to give up crooked numbers in the first inning and play a feeble game of catch-up the rest of the way. It’s hard to watch, and it’s happened twice in the last four games and several times this season. When the Mets are doing well, they’re usually the ones striking in the first inning or two. Right now, they’re letting other teams set the tone. That has to change.

The Mets are now 0-4 against the Diamondbacks. They’re 3 games out of the playoffs, so that’s the difference right there. You have to beat the bad teams. The Mets have gotten beat over and over against by this bad team, and that has to change starting Tuesday night.

Up Next: Noah Syndergaard (9-7, 2.75 ERA) will face Braden Shipley (2-1, 2.96) ERA when the Mets take on the Diamondbacks at 9:40 on Tuesday night in Phoenix.

The post Mets Trail All The Way In 10-6 Loss To Diamondbacks appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets (45-37) won their fifth straight game on Monday afternoon, beating the Miami Marlins (43-40) by a score of 8-6 at Citi Field. The Independence Day win and the Washington Nationals loss pulls the Mets to within 4 games of first place.

Early in the game, it was all Marlins. Matt Harvey struggled mightily for the Mets, allowing 6 runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings.

The Fish jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second, when Giancarlo Stanton singled, moved to second on a wild throw in from Brandon Nimmo, and scored on a two-out hit from Chris Johnson. Johnson appeared to get tagged out trying to stretch a single into a double, but was deemed to be safe at second on replay and the inning continued. Miami capitalized, scoring a second run on a double by Adeiny Hechavarria and a third on a single from pitcher Tom Koehler.

After the Mets left the bases loaded in the third (thanks to some bad baserunning by Curtis Granderson and some good defens by the Marlins), Harvey ran into trouble again in the fourth as Miami loaded the bases with 1 out. Martin Prado then hit one right back to Harvey for what should have been an inning-ending double-play, but Harvey’s throw home was wild and a run scored to make it 4-0 while the bases remained loaded. Christian Yelich then knocked in two more runs with a single, and while the Mets got an out on the basepaths on the play, Harvey’s day was done and the Mets were down 6-0.

After Erik Goeddel got an out in relief to end the top of the fourth, Travis d’Arnaud hit a solo shot in the bottom of the frame to chip away at the deficit and make it 6-1. Logan Verrett tossed a scoreless top of the fifth and another solo home run, this one off the bat of Curtis Granderson, cut the gap to 6-2. Some more bad baserunning, this time by Cespedes, cost the Mets a chance to do some more damage, but that damage was on the way.

Verrett worked in and out of trouble in the top of the sixth and the Mets loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the inning against the Marlins bullpen. D’Arnaud came through again with an RBI single up the middle to make it 6-3, and Kelly Johnson hit a double-play ball that, while stalling the rally, drove in a fourth run.

After Hansel Robles pitched a clean top of the seventh, the Mets got going again in the bottom half with a leadoff walk from Neil Walker and a double from Cespedes. James Loney drove in a run and moved Cespedes to third with a grounder to the right side, and after an intentional walk to Asdrubal Cabrera, Wilmer Flores tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center that enabled Cespedes to cross the Delaware plate.

Robles got himself into a jam in the top of the 8th when Ichiro Suzuki hit a leadoff double and JT Realmuto walked while trying to bunt, but the Mets came up with a huge defensive play, turning a 3-5-4 double-play on a Prado bunt to get 2 outs with the go-ahead run moving to 2nd base. Jerry Blevins came in to face Yelich and, after Realmuto stole third base, the lanky lefty struck out the young Marlins star to keep the game tied.

Newly acquired Fernando Rodney came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth for the Marlins, and there would be no celebrating for the demonstrative righty on this day. D’Arnaud led off with a single and Lagares moved him over with a bunt (Lagares was initially called safe at first when the umpire said Derek Dietrich dropped the ball, but after an NFL-like “what is a catch?” review, the call was overturned. Granderson then flied out and Walker drew another walk. With runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 out, Cespedes hit a double into the gap to score a pair and give the Mets their first lead of the day at 8-6.

Jeurys Familia made things interesting in the top of the ninth, but got a double-play ball to end the game and pick up his MLB-leading  29th save of the year in as many tries.

What a game! The Mets have struggled to pull off comebacks this season, but chipped away at an early 6-0 deficit and it paid off.

Harvey really struggled in this game, but with several good outings preceding this rocky performance, the panic is unjustified. The bullpen, meanwhile, did a heck of a job. Jerry Blevins has been getting some huge outs lately, and he’s showing more emotion each time out. Familia rarely makes it easy in a save situation, but he gets the job done every time, and that’s what matters.

Travis D’Arnaud is hitting very well of late. The guy is a great player, and his only issue is the injuries. If he can stay healthy, he’s one of the best hitting catchers in the game, and I’d like to see him hitting higher in the lineup than 8th.

Granderson has two homers in two games since coming back from that calf injury, and if the Mets can really get him going, that would be huge. He’d been hitting better before the injury, so this is a good sign.

Wilmer Flores always seems to get the job done when the team needs it the most. He put up a great at-bat in the seventh and finally came through with the fly ball the Mets needed to tie the game.

You can’t really talk about the offense without talking about Yoenis Cespedes. The guy is an unbelievable hitter and he came up big today, especially with the double that proved to be the game-winning hit.

The Mets haven’t lost since David Wright returned to the stadium. This is a fact.

I’m pumped. Happy Fourth, and Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets will look to keep on rolling Tuesday Night at Citi Field. Wei-Yin Chen will pitch for Miami, while New York will counter with a southpaw of their own in Steven Matz.

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The New York Mets (40-37) fell by a score of 4-2 on Wednesday night in DC to the Washington Nationals (47-32). The loss capped off a sweep at the hands of the Nats and dropped the Mets to 6 games back in the NL East.

Logan Verrett pitched fairly well for the Mets in a spot start, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings.

But the Mets did nothing against Nationals stud Max Scherzer, who struck out 10 and allowed just 2 hits and a walk in 7.1 scoreless innings.

The Mets fell behind early, as they have done far too often lately, when former Met Daniel Murphy let off the bottom of the second with a solo shot. Washington scored again in the next inning when Brandon Nimmo misplayed a fly ball that turned into a double for Danny Espinosa, who later scored on a sacrifice fly from Jason Werth.

The game crawled on uneventfully for several innings until the top of the eighth. With Scherzer cruising and the Nats up 2-0, Nimmo put together a terrific at-bat that ended in a single up the middle. Former Met Ollie Perez came in and allowed a pinch-hit single to Curtis Granderson, before being replaced by Blake Treinen. Treinen got a slow roller from pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud for the second out, but the tying runs both moved up a base, bringing Alejandro De Aza up with a chance to tie the game with a single. But De Aza continued his monumental struggles, striking out against Shawn Kelley to end the inning.

The Nationals tacked on what seemed like unnecessary insurance against a lifeless offense in the top of the 9th, when Murphy took Sean Gilmartin deep with a man on base for his second home run of the year, tying his career high of 14 in a season (it’s June 29th).

But that insurance proved to be the difference, as the Mets put together a rally in the top of the ninth against Kelley. After Neil Walker struck out, Yoenis Cespedes singled and James Loney hit a two-run shot to make it 4-2. Asdrubal Cabrera then whiffed before Kelly Johnson doubled to bring Brandon Nimmo up as the tying run, but for the second time in his week-old Major League career, Nimmo struck out looking to end the ballgame.

Verrett did his job tonight. He kept us in the game, which is all you can ask from a guy making a spot start against one of the game’s best pitchers. The only thing he could have done better was give the Mets more length to rest a tired bullpen. If Verrett stays in the game longer, Gilmartin doesn’t pitch the ninth and give up that crucial home run. But Verrett’s shaky control ran his pitch count up early in the game.

The Mets led 4-0 in the third inning of game 1 of this series, but trailed after all but 2 innings the rest of the series. We didn’t make the Nationals work too hard en route to what was a huge sweep for our rivals, who are now six games up in the division.

There’s plenty of baseball left to play, but the Mets are in gut-check mode as far as the divisional race is concerned. They have 4 games with the MLB-best Cubs, while the Nationals will play 4 with the Reds (probably the worst team in baseball right now). We then play 3 with the Marlins while the Nats play 3 with the Brewers (another bad team, albeit one that has given both the Mets and the Nationals trouble recently) before the two teams meet again for a 4-game set, this time at Citi Field.

If things break well for the Mets between now and then, they will likely still be about six back. Winning three or possibly even four against Washington at home would keep the Mets right on the Nationals’ heels going into the break, so that series will be huge, and the Mets will need to play much better than they did over the last three days. If Washington wins that series, the standings will start to look ugly.

It was nice to see the Mets put together a rally in the ninth in this game, even if it was a bit frustrating (we needed 2 runs most of the night, and finally got 2 when we needed 4). The bats looked better in those final two innings, and maybe that’s what the team needs heading into a meeting with a team hell-bent on revenge.

Let’s sweep the Cubbies again, for old times’ sake.

Up next: Steven Matz, who pitched game 4 of the NLCS, will face the Cubs again on Thursday at 7:10 PM in New York. John Lackey will pitch for Chicago.

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The New York Mets (40-35) fell to the Washington Nationals (45-32) by a score of 11-4 on Monday night in DC. With the loss (and obviously, the Washington win), New York fell 4 games back in the division, while also falling half a game behind the now-second-place Miami Marlins.

The Mets had a nice start to the game, getting a run in the top of the first against Nationals pitcher Joe Ross. Curtis Granderson led off with a single, moved to third when Yoenis Cespedes hit a ball through a hole opened up by a shift, and scored on a well-hit sacrifice fly by Neil Walker. James Loney hit another ball well against a pitcher who was clearly missing his best stuff, but Ben Revere ranged back to make a nice catch and end the frame. Still, the Mets had given an ace a run to work with.

But it quickly became clear that Noah Syndergaard did not have his best stuff either on this night. Ben Revere led off with a single and swiped the first of many bases the Nationals would steal in the game. A pair of walks then loaded the bases with none out. Syndergaard got out of the jam on a force-out at the plate (thanks to a nice play by James Loney) and a double-play ball, keeping the lead intact despite failing to keep his pitch count low.

The Mets tacked on another run in the next inning, with Brandon Nimmo‘s first career hit setting things in motion. Another single from Travis d’Arnaud put runners on the corners and Granderson drove in the run with a liner that Bryce Harper just failed to reach. A walk loaded the bases for Cespedes, but the Mets could not blow the game open as Ross fanned the Met slugger.

Thor had a much cleaner second inning, striking out three around a lone single. And a few minutes later, the Mets seemed to be in complete control of the game. Neil Walker singled to lead things off and Loney doubled to set the stage for Wilmer Flores, who drove in a pair with a base-hit. Nimmo then beat out an infield single for his second hit to put runners on 1st and 2nd with none out and the Mets up 4-0. But the team could not capitalize further. After Flores moved to third on a sacrifice fly by d’Arnaud, Flores was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Syndergaard bunt, and Granderson grounded out to end the inning.

From that point on, it was all Nats. Revere led off the bottom of the third with another single, stole another base, and Werth walked again after a seven-pitch at-bat. Harper then singled to drive in Revere and stole second. Harper was then thrown out at third on the next play as Werth scored to make it 4-2. Wilson Ramos singled and a wild pitch put runners on second and third before a strikeout put Thor an out away from escaping the inning with the lead. But with 2 out, Anthony Rendon hit a slow grounder that somehow got through the hole on the right side (Loney could have had it) and the game was tied. Rendon then stole second and scored to give the Nats the lead on a Danny Espinosa single, before Syndergaard finally put out the fire.

That’s how the game was lost. The Mets wouldn’t score from that point on. Ross settled in a bit, the Mets’ bats faded, and Washington began to pile on. Sean Gilmartin got pounded, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in 2 innings, and the Nationals added another run against Erik Goeddel in the sixth to make it 11-4 before Goeddel tossed a scoreless 7th and Antonio Bastardo pitched a clean 8th to stop the onslaught. The Mets managed several singles against Ross and the Nats bullpen, ending up with an impressive 14 by the game’s end, but didn’t make anything of it.

That was as rough as it gets. The team appears set to cut the gap in the division to 2 games, and it ends up at 4 games. The struggling offense gave their best pitcher a solid lead and it ended up being a blowout in the other team’s favor. The success and the meltdown both came so early that most of the game was spent wondering how this could happen.

But even when the Mets went up 2-0 and 4-0, the lead didn’t seem as safe as it usually would, because Thor was clearly, as they say, “battling” tonight. It was like watching Jacob deGrom in Game 5 of the NLDS, without the happy result. Because Thor pulled the rabbit out of the hat in the 1st inning, but couldn’t do it the 2nd time he got into trouble. I completely agree with the decision to pull him early, after 71 high-stress pitches (pitches which the human arm isn’t built to throw— not that Thor is human).

The Nationals ran all over the Mets tonight. The Mets are the worst team in the league at holding runners and Washington knew it coming into the game. They made us pay. Every single was essentially a double, and there were far too many singles. The Nationals had 17 hits tonight, 14 of which were singles (The Mets, to their credit, had 14 hits of their own).

The Mets had an ineffective pitcher on the ropes early and didn’t make him pay. 4 runs is a nice tally early in the game, but it could have been more, and as we saw, the Mets could have used more. For all the complaining about home runs in the Mets fan community, a home run after a pair of singles does a lot more damage than another single. But the Mets also could have done with some better luck, and, in the top of the third, better baserunning.

Wilmer Flores being thrown out at the plate was the turning point in this game. I’m not sure if it was a safety squeeze or a sacrifice bunt, but Flores is not fast enough to take many risks, and he already got burned doing so last week against the Braves. It wasn’t a great bunt if the goal was to get Wilmer home, and he almost made it, but we ended up doing Ross a huge favor on that play.

Speaking of the Braves, this is why the Mets need (or needed) to fatten up on those teams. If we had taken 5 of 7 from the Braves in our recent meetings, we’d have been tied going into the series and only 1 game back after this bummer of a contest. Now, we’re 4 games back, and really need to win at least 1 of the next 2 before a 4-game set with the Cubs, 3 games with the Marlins and a huge 4-game series with these Nationals before the All-Star Break.

Congrats to Brandon Nimmo on a solid game and his first two hits— the first of many to come. Tomorrow is a new day, and let’s hope it’s a much better one for our Mets.

The Mets will look to get back on the horse on Tuesday night in the nation’s capital. Matt Harvey will face the MLB’s top prospect in Lucas Giolito, who will be making his MLB debut.

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