Via Mets

The Mets were powered by Brandon Nimmo, who delivered a monster game. He went 4-for-6 with two home runs and nine RBIs, which ties Carlos Delgado for the all-time club record in a single game. All of the RBIs came from the sixth inning onward and included a three-run homer, a grand slam, and a two-run double.

The offensive outburst was desperately needed from Nimmo, who entered Monday’s action seriously struggling. In one game, Nimmo raised his OPS from .575 to .679 and added nine RBIs to the 12 he had through 26 games.

Jeff McNeil also played a pivotal role in the victory, at least early on when the game was still close. McNeil, who has dealt with his own struggles the past few years, went 2-for-5 with a home run, a triple, and a sacrifice fly while playing center field and batting eighth in the order. McNeil drove in the Mets’ second and third runs of the game, hitting his sacrifice fly in the second inning after a 10-pitch at-bat before crushing his homer on the first pitch of the fifth inning. He drove in three runs in total.

The Mets’ 3-0 lead didn’t last long, as the lead was instantly doubled in the sixth inning. Nimmo broke the game open by doubling the Mets’ lead from 3-0 to 6-0 with a 410-foot, three-run home run—his first of the game. He unloaded on a high fastball against lefty Colin Poche, who bested Nimmo in Sunday’s game by getting him to ground into a double play.

In case Nimmo’s sixth-inning home run wasn’t big enough of a statement, the left fielder crushed a grand slam in the seventh inning, pushing the Mets’ lead from 7-0 to 11-0. Nimmo came up again in the eighth inning with the bases loaded yet again, and this time he ripped a double down the right field line, driving in two more runs to give him nine on the day.

McNeil and Luisangel Acuña drove in two more runs following Nimmo’s hit, putting the Mets up 15-0. In the top of the ninth, former Met Amed Rosario was sent out as the sacrificial position player to pitch to the Mets. He allowed four runs, giving up an RBI single to Jesse Winker before Mark Vientos unloaded a three-run homer to give the Mets 19 runs for the day.

The Mets’ shutout was broken by this point, with José Ureña seriously laboring in the eighth inning and allowing five runs. Ureña, who pitched a clean seventh inning to begin his outing, stayed on for the ninth inning and was able to complete the three-inning save to keep the Mets’ bullpen fresh.

Lost in all the offensive fireworks was another great outing from Griffin Canning, who tossed five scoreless innings. With his effort, Canning improved his record to 4-1 and his ERA from 3.12 to 2.61 as he continues to look like a brilliant David Stearns signing. Max Kranick also recorded a scoreless inning as his great season continues.

In the win, the Mets scored 19 runs on 21 hits, with eight Mets batters recording two or more hits. The win also makes the Mets the first MLB team to reach 20 wins this year, as their record now sits at 20-9.

They salvaged a series tie in emphatic fashion and will now head back to Citi Field for their next series.

Stat of the Game: Nimmo Makes Mets History

Brandon Nimmo had a historic game, tying Carlos Delgado for the most RBIs in a single game in Mets history with nine. He also became the first player to record nine RBIs in a three-inning span since Sammy Sosa did so in Colorado in 2002.

Player of the Game: Brandon Nimmo

No surprise here. Nimmo had the best offensive game of his career and willed the Mets to a lopsided victory. He raised his OPS by .104 points and increased his RBI total on the year by 75 percent.

On Deck

The Mets return home Tuesday to begin a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. David Peterson (1-1, 3.29 ERA) will go for the Mets while Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 4.40 ERA) will go for Arizona in a matchup of southpaws.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on SNY.

The post Nimmo, Mets Explode for 19 Runs in Drubbing of Nats appeared first on Metsmerized.

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Lindor entered the Mets’ series opener in Oakland riding a modest three-game hitting streak, but was hitting just .227 on the season. However, he had a huge night to help power the Mets to a 17-6 victory.

Lindor tied a career-high with a seven RBI night as the Mets feasted on the A’s. Both Lindor and the Mets took full advantage of a lack of control from the pitching staff, setting a new franchise record with 17 walks on the night. Twelve of those walks came within the first five innings and it helped to set the tone for what was an offensive explosion from the Mets.

“It’s great. It ended up with us scoring a lot of runs,” Lindor said when asked about the sheer amount of walks the Mets tallied on Friday. “Walks nowadays are like hits and it was huge. No one was trying to be the hero, we really focussed on trying to get a good pitch and if it wasn’t there we take it.”

Lindor hit the ball hard his first time up but flew out to right fielder Ramón Laureano. In the second inning, Lindor came to bat with the bases loaded following four straight walks and drilled a first-pitch change-up from James Kaprielian 439 feet for a grand slam, capping a six-run rally. The slam was the sixth of Lindor’s career and his third as a Met. It was also the second-longest homer he’s hit with the team. Entering Friday night’s action, Lindor was hitting just .191./.357/.286 from his left side without a homer.

The shortstop flew out to Laureano again in the fourth inning, but came to bat with the bases loaded in the fifth after another series of walks. Batting right-handed, Lindor drilled a line drive down the left-field line for a bases-clearing double, extending the Mets’ lead to 11-3. After flying out in the sixth, Lindor concluded his night by drawing a walk against former Met Jeurys Familia.

The Mets finally saw a strike and Francisco Lindor deposits in the seats for a grand slam.

439 feet

pic.twitter.com/DFm2KckGBK

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) April 15, 2023

Lindor’s ability to come up in the clutch with two big hits that helped to blow the game wide open was certainly the driving force behind the Mets’ success. You need to be able to beat up on the bad teams and Lindor made sure he took full advantage of the looks he was given all night long.

“I had the same approach that everyone before me had,” Lindor said after the game. “Get a good pitch, be patient, try to hit it and try to drive it. They just didn’t get the pitch, I got the pitch so (Friday) was me, (Saturday) will be someone else. That’s the beauty of having a good team. It was one of those days and we came out on top and that’s good for our offense.”

Lindor became the first Met to drive in at least seven runs in a game since José Bautista drove in seven against the Phillies on August 16, 2018. This is the second time Lindor has driven in seven runs in a game, with the other time coming on July 2, 2018, against the Royals for Cleveland. He also tied the franchise mark for most RBIs in a game by a shortstop and third by a player overall. The record is held by Carlos Delgado, who had nine in June 2008. Lindor had struggled mightily with men on base this season, having gone just 6-for-27 with one homer in those situations entering Friday. Additionally, he improved upon his .368 career batting average at the Oakland Coliseum, which is his highest mark at any ballpark.

If his offensive exploits at the plate wasn’t enough, Lindor also flashed his elite glove in the field. In the bottom of the eighth, the star shortstop made a leaping grab to snatch a Jace Peterson line drive out of the air and retire the side. It was yet another example of how great Lindor is at the shortstop position, and that he’s a real game-changer on both sides of the ball.

Lindor gets UP! pic.twitter.com/MoOoxj3LMY

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) April 15, 2023

With his big night, Lindor vaults himself from 31st to the top spot in the NL in RBIs (15). He also has taken over the team lead in that category from Pete Alonso. Lindor was always going to be one of the straws that stirred the drink for this offense in 2023, and he showed on Friday just how deadly he can be when he’s operating at the full peak of his powers. The key now will be to maintain some consistency for an offense that has struggled through the opening weeks of the 2023 season.

“It feels good. There’s not too many days that my body aligns and feels good from both sides and (Friday) was one of those days,” Lindor said. “We celebrate (Friday), turn the page soon as we get to the hotel and focus on (Saturday).”

The post Lindor’s Huge Night Powers Mets in Rout of A’s appeared first on Metsmerized.

Mets baseball has returned! The team played an intrasquad game of three innings on Friday afternoon with the rosters being split into two teams, New York Mets and New York Mets A.

For the Mets, Joey Lucchesi took the mound while Dominic Hamel was the pitcher for the Mets A squad. The Mets A squad, consisting mostly of Mets prospects, impressed with Brett Baty, Alex Ramirez, Ronny Mauricio all contributing, leading to a 3-0 victory at the end of the three innings.

The game started with Baty lining an opposite field single off of Lucchesi. Baty, who was sidelined for an extended period of his rookie campaign with a thumb injury, would add an RBI double in his second at-bat of the scrimmage off of Luis Moreno and he subsequently scored a run on a Lorenzo Cedrola single. Alex Ramirez, the Mets’ fourth-ranked prospect, singled in his lone at-bat and later scored on a DJ Stewart double that found the gap.

Brett Baty with his second opposite field hit of the day, this time for a double driving in Stewart to give the Blue squad a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/lfX94q0kst

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) February 24, 2023

On the defensive side of the ball, Ronny Mauricio made a great running catch in shallow left field on a blooper that showed off his speed and defensive range from the shortstop position.

For the Mets squad, consisting of mostly major leaguers, offense was tough to find but Eduardo Escobar and Francisco Lindor were able to draw walks off of Hamel, who is listed as the Mets’ twelfth-ranked prospect. In typical Mark Canha fashion, Canha was drilled by an inside fastball in his only plate appearance. Daniel Vogelbach later drew a walk off of Trey McLoughlin and the team ultimately went hitless through the three innings.

Defensively, Escobar made an excellent diving snag going to his right on a bullet off the bat of Jonathan Araúz, a play that rivaled Mauricio’s in terms of defensive difficulty.

Great diving play by @escobardelapica! pic.twitter.com/uJKQrG2W16

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) February 24, 2023

Player of the Game: Brett Baty

It’s difficult to choose a player of the game during an intrasquad scrimmage, but Baty easily stood out among everyone else. He went 2-2 in his two at-bats, including an RBI double, and both of his hits went the opposite way. With Escobar slated to start the 2023 season as the starting third baseman, Baty might begin the year in Triple-A, but if his performance on Friday precedes a dominant spring training, fans should remain optimistic about his bright future.

On Deck

The Mets’ real spring training begins on Saturday, with a split-squad doubleheader against the Astros and Marlins. The first game will take place at the Astros’ spring training site for a 1:05 game with Denyi Reyes expected to take the mound. The night game takes place at home against the Marlins at 6:10. José Butto will be on the mound for that one.

The post Mets Baseball Returns With Intrasquad Game appeared first on Metsmerized.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

Welp, here we are again: Despite their best efforts, the Mets no longer own sole possession of first place. They lost 6-4 to the Marlins on Tuesday, unable to overcome a lackluster Carlos Carrasco start. Meanwhile, the Braves pounced the Nationals 8-2. After all this, New York and Atlanta each own a 97-58 record. With just seven games left in the regular season, it’s a brand new year. The NL East crown will be handed to whichever team performs better in this final week.

The Mets haven’t been playing particular poorly though; they’re still 7-3 in their last 10 and are creeping up on a 100-win season. They’ll play one more game against the Marlins tonight at 7:10 p.m. ET before beginning a three-game set with the Braves starting Friday. With the standings so tight at the top, it’s safe to say that series will carry massive implications.

Despite the loss, Pete Alonso overtook Aaron Judge for the most RBIs in all of baseball with his three-run homer on Tuesday. He leads with the pack with 131. It was also his 40th home run of the season — the second time he’s accomplished that feat in his career.

Latest Mets News

Francisco Lindor shared a fundraiser to help people in Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Fiona.

Anthony DiComo of MLB wrote about how Hurricane Ian could affect the Mets’ crucial upcoming series against Atlanta.

DiComo also wrote about the meaning of James McCann‘s Roberto Clemente Award nomination.

In a bizarre promotional strategy, the Marlins are calling upon Mets fans to cheer on the Marlins as they take on the Braves.

Latest MLB News

The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL Central. They’ll be the NL’s No. 3 seed in the postseason.

Latest on MMO

Patrick Glynn talked about Alonso and Max Scherzer‘s impressive performances in his Players of the Week article.

Nate Mendelson predicted what the Mets’ postseason roster will look like.

Rich Sparago took a look back at Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy.

Glynn previewed the Mets’ series with the Marlins, which began Tuesday with the aforementioned loss.

And for a recap of that loss, check out Matt Lazzaro‘s story.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Mike DeJean (52), Ronn Reynolds (64)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Tied For First With Seven Games Left appeared first on Metsmerized.

Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (97-57) was hunting for a much-needed series victory in Oakland against the Athletics (56-97) Sunday evening. With Max Scherzer on the mound, the Mets came through led by an explosive offense and superb pitching. The big blow was Pete Alonso‘s record-setting, two-run home run. At the end of the day, New York emerged victorious, 13-1.

Note, the Braves beat Philadelphia in extra innings to keep the Mets’ division lead at 1.5 games and magic number at eight.

The Mets got the scoring going in the second inning. Tyler Naquin, who got the nod on the day the Mets were facing another left-handed pitcher, came through. He lined a two-out hit to drive in Pete Alonso who reached on an infield single earlier in the inning.

New York added to their lead in the very next inning. Eduardo Escobar, who continues to play his best baseball of the season, lined a two-strike, two-out single with the bases loaded to plate two. Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil walked, while Francisco Lindor singled to set the opportunity up. The Mets were up three after three innings.

For the third-consecutive inning the Mets scored a run. For the second-straight inning it was multiple runs. Lindor, who had just a superb at-bat, blistered a ball that banged off the high left-center field wall. It scored two runs.

Here’s the record-setting hit resulting in the #Mets’ single-season RBI record.

Boy, did he do it in style.

7-0 #Mets, bottom 4. pic.twitter.com/JblJrKrXkU

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 25, 2022

Then, history was made. Pete Alonso, who trailed Mike Piazza and David Wright by one RBI for the Mets’ single-season record, launched a no-doubt, two-run home run. It was a terrific moment for Alonso, who knew as soon as he hit the ball he got the record. Just a superb season once again for the Mets’ power hitter.

Max Scherzer‘s day came to an end after six terrific innings. He only allowed four hits and walked only one. Scherzer struck out seven and in doing so only allowed a single run. His season ERA is now down to a sensational 2.13.

New York piled it on in the eighth inning. They loaded the bases thanks to three singles by Tomas Nido, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Canha. Francisco Lindor then hit a sharp ground ball to drive in his third run of the game. Then, Alonso continued his mammoth day with a three-run double off the wall. In total, the Mets scored five runs in the inning and owned a 12-1 lead.

The Mets added another in the ninth inning for their 13th run of the game. In total, New York logged 19 hits, five of which were for extra bases. Seven Mets’ tallied at least two hits and three had at least three knocks (Nimmo, Lindor, and Alonso). A terrific offensive performance.

Adam Ottavino, and Drew Smith logged scoreless outings. Meanwhile, Seth Lugo ran into some trouble in the ninth inning but the Mets still won, 13-4.

Player of the Game: Pete Alonso

Who else but the franchise’s new single-season RBI record holder? Alonso had himself a game, and as was mentioned above, included a massive two-run home run that broke the record. Alonso also three other hits and ended the game 4-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored.

On a historic day for Alonso, he also fulled the box score in others way. In total, Alonso is slashing .270/.349/.519 good for a .868 OPS. He has hit 39 home runs and racked up 128 RBI.

On Deck

The Mets have an off day tomorrow before they welcome the Miami Marlins (63-90) to Citi Field for a short two-game set. The probable starters for game one is Pablo Lopez versus Carlos Carrasco, and game two is Jesus Luzardo versus  Taijuan Walker.

Meanwhile, the Braves play their game in hand on the Mets tomorrow against the Nationals. The pitching matchup is to be announced, though the probable for the Nationals is Cory Abbott. That series with Washington is three games long.

The post Alonso Breaks Mets’ RBI Record In 13-4 Rout Against Athletics appeared first on Metsmerized.

Credit: USA TODAY

When David Wright entered his eighth full big-league season, several significant franchise records were in his sights. He’d already attained the most doubles in Mets history. In addition, he’d soon be atop the hits and runs scored lists.

The RBI record was his when he delivered a go-ahead two-run homer off the Marlins’ Mark Buehrle in the sixth inning at Citi Field. The captain’s career was full of exhilarating moments.

Wright took an 0-2 offering from the left-hander into the newly built Party City Deck in left-center field to surpass Darryl Strawberry for the most runs driven in by a Met.

“It felt good to do it like that in the game to give us that lead,” he said. It would eventually become a 5-1 win for New York behind the pitching of R.A. Dickey.

“It’s just a testament of his fortitude,” Dickey said. “That’s fun to watch as a teammate.”

For five games, Strawberry and Wright — two of the franchise’s greatest homegrown talents — shared the record at 733 once David matched Darryl on April 18 against Atlanta. He attained the all-time RBI title with nearly the same efficiency. The third baseman overcame the mark in his 1121st game. It took Strawberry 1109.

Wright tallied 100 RBIs or better five times — including four straight years from 2005-08. He matched the single-season record of 124 first established by Mike Piazza in 2008.

Wright would eventually set the bar at 970. Unfortunately, 2012 was his last healthy season and, therefore, his final year of vintage production. An All-Star for the sixth time, Wright played in 156 games and hit .306 with 21 homers while driving in 93. His 144 OPS+ was his highest since 2007 — arguably the best year in a 14-year career entirely spent in the orange and blue.

More records would fall in his favor as the 2012 season progressed. On June 5, Wright had scored more than any player in club history, and on September 25, he became the Mets’ hit king. By the time he retired after 2018, he was first in at-bats, walks, and total bases and had the highest bWAR among position players at 49.2.

The post OTD 2012: David Wright Claims Mets RBI Record appeared first on Metsmerized.

Following the best performance of his career, the New York Mets were confident shortstop Amed Rosario would be able to carry his impressive results into this season. Unfortunately, the opposite has occurred for the 24-year old, as he has become a major liability in the field and at the plate over halfway through the 2020 campaign.

Considered a defensive-first player earlier in his career, no one expected Rosario to arrive at the major league level and break the rookie home run record. With that said, there was some belief the right-hander would be able to hit for contact and provide above-average defense on the left side of the infield. Well, neither of those things have happened during his fourth season in the majors.

After hitting 15 home runs, 72 RBI’s, and a slashing line of .287/.323/.432/.755 in 2019, the 6-foot-2 shortstop has struggled mightily, producing career-lows in home runs (three), ISO (.119), BABIP (.275), wOBA (.253), AVG (.229), OBP (.243), SLG (.349), OPS (.592), walk rate (1.8%), LD rate (16.9%), FB rate (26.5%), wRC+ (59), and fWAR (-0.1) through 111 plate appearances.

To make matters worse, the former No. 1 top prospect within the Mets’ minor-league system is currently tied for the worst DRS (-4) among all qualified shortstops in the majors. If this season was played over a full 162-game schedule, his DRS would prorate to an alarming -10.8, which is less than ideal for someone who was nearly moved to the outfield last season.

Despite these troubling results, manager Luis Rojas still won’t commit to removing Rosario from the starting shortstop position, although, his recent actions speak much louder than his words. Seemingly taking over the starting role, rookie Andres Gimenez appears to have jumped to the top of the team’s infield depth chart, as he has started at shortstop in each of the last four games.

While most experts questioned the idea of having Gimenez break camp with the team at the end of spring training 2.0, that plan has actually worked out so far, as the youngster is contending for the National League Rookie of the Year award. Even if the 22-year old doesn’t capture the title, and there’s a good chance he will, becoming the everyday starter as a rookie would be a solid second-place prize.

Exceeding his expectations at the plate, the left-handed batter has recorded one home run, eight RBIs, .333 BABIP, .325 wOBA, 5.6% walk rate, 18.9% strikeout rate, 21.9% LD rate, 34.4% FB rate, 32.8% hard-hit rate, 107 wRC+ score, 0.7 fWAR rating (fourth-highest among all qualified rookies), along with a slashing line of .293/.344/.402 over his 80 plate appearances.

While Gimenez has been surprisingly productive at the plate, his stellar defense certainly outweighs his results in the batter’s box. Splitting time between three positions, the versatile infielder has spent the majority of his time at shortstop and has shown to be the superior defender over Rosario, which hasn’t shocked anyone at this point.

Over his 106.0 innings this season, the right-handed throwing shortstop hasn’t committed a single error, producing a 1 DRS (tied for fifth-highest), 0.9 UZR (tied for fifth-highest), and a 16.9 UZR/150 (second-highest) among all shortstops who’ve played at least 100 innings this season.

Considering Gimenez has been outproducing Rosario through 42 games and with the Mets just one game shy of the final Wild Card spot, they need to continue putting their top players out of the field and that includes the Venezuela native. Regardless of his lack of experience in the majors, the 5-foot-11 shortstop has proven he deserves additional playing time and his performance could potentially help his team climb back into a playoff spot.

Showcasing his timely hitting in two of the past three games, the speedy infielder has produced runs in three of his last 13 plate appearances, including his two-RBI single on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Utilizing his impressive sprint speed (28.7 feet per second), he has also been able to make an impact on the bases, resulting in seven stolen bases (tied for fifth-most in the majors).

With the Mets owning the third-worst DRS (-17) in the majors, Gimenez’s defense in a starting role would definitely help his team improve that metric through the remainder of the season. As a result, they would likely allow fewer runs and feature outstanding run prevention within their infield as they attempt to make a late postseason run.

So with Gimenez becoming the everyday shortstop, where does that leave Rosario? Well, he’s certainly in a tough spot and there likely isn’t an easy solution to his problem. Looking to find a new position, it would make a ton of sense to resume his transformation as an outfielder, preferably in center field.

In 2017, the struggling shortstop’s sprint speed (30.1 feet per second) sat in the top one percent of the major leagues. While he’s lost a step or two over the last three seasons, creating a sprint speed of 28.7 feet per second in 2020, he still possesses enough quickness to have success in the outfield. But, the Mets can’t afford to allow any critical errors during this pivotal stretch of the season, so moving him to a new spot early in September probably isn’t the greatest idea. Still, that move seems inevitable.

Considering Rosario will become eligible for arbitration this offseason, it’ll be very interesting to see if he’s still on the Mets’ roster by the start of next spring. One thing is for sure, it seems his time as the starting shortstop has come to an end and his future will likely come as an outfielder.

The post Andres Gimenez Needs to Continue As Starting Shortstop appeared first on Metsmerized.

On Monday, the Mets lost by a score of 9-8 to the Philadelphia Philles. David Peterson got the start in this one, and had the worst start of his career, giving up five runs in just two innings.

Offensively, the Mets were quiet to start the game, however they broke out in the big way, starting in the fifth inning. Jeff McNeil continued his hot streak at the plate, hitting the go-ahead three-run home run in the seventh inning to give the Mets a then 7-6 lead. Both McNeil and Michael Conforto collected three hits in the contest.

Pitching

In his first start since being moved to the bullpen, David Peterson quickly found himself in trouble. In the first inning, Jean Segura hit a bases-clearing double to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Things weren’t easier for Peterson in the second, as Rhys Hoskins hit a two-run home run to increase the Phillies lead to 5-0.

Erasmo Ramirez replaced Peterson in the third for a long relief outing and did phenomenal, lasting five innings and giving up just one run on two hits.

Jeurys Familia came in for the eighth inning and lasted one inning, giving up the game-tying run on two hits and a walk.

Edwin Diaz got the ball in the ninth and set the Phillies down in order, striking out one.

Mets newcomer Miguel Castro came in for the tenth inning and did not fare well, giving up a two-run home run to Segura to give the Phillies a 9-7 lead.

Offense

Michael Conforto jump started the Mets offense in the fifth, driving in Andres Gimenez with an RBI double to cut the Phillies lead to 6-1. J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith followed Conforto’s lead, giving the Mets three straight RBI doubles.

In the seventh, Conforto scored the Mets’ fourth run thanks to an error from Didi Gregorius. Jeff McNeil followed up with a three-run blast to give the Mets a short-lived 7-6 lead.

Brandon Nimmo tacked on the Mets’ eighth and final run with an RBI single in the tenth.

On Deck

The Mets will start a two-game series against the Orioles on Tuesday. Michael Wacha will face off against John Means. The game will be at 7:10 pm EST and can be seen on SNY and heard on WCBS-880.

Let’s go Mets!

The post Mets Comeback Falls Just Short in 9-8 Loss to Phils appeared first on Metsmerized.

While their pitching woes have garnered more attention, the Mets offense has struggled with inconsistency all season, as hitting with runners in scoring position has been a real soft spot for this ball club.

Coming into the month of September, the Mets ranked 21st in the MLB in runs scored with 151 over 35 games played. Things have started to turn around though, as a 14-run outburst on Sunday catapulted the Mets into top 10 for runs scored with 196.

While you cannot attribute this turnaround to Todd Frazier alone (although Pete Alonso  has benefited from using his bat), the Mets offense has been prolific ever since their deadline acquisitions were activated on Wednesday. Over the last five games, the Mets have scored 40 runs, going 4-1 across that span.

Guys like Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith and Robinson Canó have been steady contributors all year long and have continued to produce this past week. The brightest sign for the Mets offense however has been Jeff McNeil and Alonso, as the 2019 All-Stars appear to have finally turned the corner.

After an 0-for-3 performance on Monday, Alonso was nearing the Mendoza line, hitting .208/.324/.376, and having homered just once in his last 38 at-bats. Then Frazier arrived and let the Polar Bear swing his bat for a few days.

Suddenly Pete has homered four times in his last four games played.

Alonso went 6-for-18 this past week, with five runs scored and five driven in. Sunday marked Alonso’s best game in some time, as he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and a hustle double. All of that production has helped the sluggers slash-line immensely.

The 25-year-old is now hitting .224/.329/.462, with 10 home runs and 25 RBI. Despite all his struggles this year, Alonso once again has the team-lead in homers and trails only Smith when it comes to runs batted in.

Now for McNeil, his hot streak stretches a little beyond this past week, as he has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games. McNeil has raised his average over 30 points during that span, going from .252, all the way up to .291 after Sunday’s game.

When looking back at his season, McNeil’s collision with the wall likely played a large part in his midseason struggles.

Incredible catch by Jeff McNeil at the wall, however he was carted off of the field after trying to walk back on his own.

(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/qLzqCFVysy

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 13, 2020

After only missing a few days after that collision, McNeil went 3-for-21 across his first seven games back. Since then, McNeil has gone 14-for-38, with seven doubles over his last 11 games. Maybe the best sign for McNeil came on Sunday, when he hit his first home run of the season in his 116th at-bat.

McNeil was just one of four Mets to homer against the Phillies on Sunday, as New York’s hitting parade included five total blasts and 17 hits overall. The Mets got three or more hits from Brandon Nimmo, Conforto, Smith and Alonso in that game, while the team hit 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

One of those clutch hits with runners in scoring position came from Andrés Giménez in the fourth inning. After both Alonso and Wilson Ramos struck out with two runners in scoring position, Gimenez laced a single into the outfield to drive in two runs. The rookie extended the Mets lead to 4-1 at the time, giving Jacob deGrom some breathing room before the game was really broken open in the later innings.

Gimenez may now be the starting shortstop on this team, after replacing Amed Rosario in the starting lineup in each of the last three games. To his credit, Gimenez has made the most of the playing time, hitting 5-for-11 in this series, with four RBI and three runs scored.

With just 19 games left to play, the Mets are going to need to score every last run if they want to make a push at making the playoffs this year. It is clear that there is plenty of talent stacked in this potent lineup, all they have to do is live up to their potential.

The post Mets Bats Clicking in Time For Playoff Push appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets (16-21) snapped their five-game losing streak and evened out the two-game series against the Orioles (16-20) with a 9-4 triumph in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon.

New York took home the win behind a strong outing from rookie David Peterson, who took home the win in relief, and Michael Conforto’s fourth career four-hit game. 

Michael Conforto’s clutch gene shined through his three extra-base hits and five RBI this afternoon. The outfielder went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a homer. He’s now hitting .331 with a .960 OPS on the season.

The team as a whole notched 14 hits, and walked three times with just one strikeout.(Box Score)

PITCHING

Michael Wacha got the start for New York on Wednesday afternoon. In his fifth outing, and second since a stint on the injured list with a shoulder issue, Wacha came out of the gate strong with a 1-2-3 first inning.

The twenty-nine-year-old struggled in the second frame, tossing 36 pitches and allowing two earned runs to tie up the game, 2-2. His first hit allowed was a Pedro Severino triple with one out-despite the best efforts of Jake Marisnick. The Mets’ center fielder crashed into outfield wall in an attempt to catch the fly ball and it looked ugly- but he shook it off and was able to stay in the game. Ryan Mountcastle subsequently notched a base hit to left to drive in the catcher. 

With one on, Pat Valaika hit a two-out single and a Wacha changeup gone wild sent Valaika to third as the started continued to scramble with his control. He then walked Andrew Velazquez to load the bases and nicked Cedric Mullins with a pitch to force in the tying run. Anthony Santander flew out to leave the bases loaded, but not before the O’s could make it even.  

Wacha allowed a leadoff single to Jose Iglesias in the third but retired his next three and final batters. The right-hander exited after three innings. He gave up two runs on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts. His ERA is now at a 7.20. 

David Peterson took over for Wacha in the fourth and earned the win with four shutout innings in relief. He allowed just two hits and walked two with a strikeout. 

The rookie gave up singles to Rio Ruiz and Mullins in the fourth, but got out of the frame without allowing any damage. He walked Severino in the fifth and Valaika in the sixth, but the O’s had nothing else across while Peterson was on the mound.

In his Mets debut, Miguel Castro worked around a two-out Mountcastle base hit for a scoreless eighth. 

Justin Wilson came in to close out the ninth but immediately gave up a pair of leadoff singles to Valaika and Velazquez. After striking out his next two batters, the lefty allowed another base hit to Iglesias that drove in the pair of runners and made it 9-4, with two throwing errors from Alonso and Wilson on the play. With Iglesias on second, Wilson got his third strikeout to finish off the ballgame. 

OFFENSE

New York took an early 2-0 lead with a J.D. Davis single and a Michael Conforto homer to drive him in. The blast to right field was Conforto’s sixth of the season. 

The next three frames did not look promising as the Mets left four stranded. Back-to-back one-out singles by Wilson Ramos and Jake Marisnick in the second were wasted. Davis knocked a leadoff hit in the third, but Conforto hit into a 4-6-3 double play to put the pair away. Ramos grabbed another knock with two outs in the fourth and was left on base. But the tides would change as the offense rallied to break out in the fifth.

Amed Rosario drew a leadoff walk to put the tie-breaking run on first, and with two outs, Conforto hit a clutch RBI double to center field that put the Mets back ahead, 3-2. Snapping an 0-for-13 stretch, Pete Alonso tacked on another one for New York in the sixth with a solo shot to deep left field to make it 4-2. It was his seventh of the year. 

In the seventh, Rosario reached in the leadoff spot again with a single and Davis was hit by a pitch with one out. Then once again, Conforto came through with his third extra-base hit of the game with an RBI double off the wall to drive in Rosario. Davis was out on the play. 

Nine came to bat, four scored, and the Mets took a 9-2 lead in the top of the eighth. Cano notched a leadoff double and Alonso walked. Marisnick then got the scoring going with a one-out single on a line drive to center field that drove in Andres Gimenez, the pinch-runner for Cano. With two outs, McNeil brought Alonso home with a double and Marisnick scored on a passed ball. Davis drew a walk for first and third, and Conforto, the player of the game, lined a ball over short for an RBI single for the ninth and final run of the evening. New York would not let this one get away from them. 

ON DECK

The Mets will play a make-up game against the Yankees tomorrow afternoon at Citi Field.  The Amazins’ dropped 3-of-5 in their series with the Yanks last weekend and look to even it up on Thursday.

Robert Gsellman (0-0, 5.19 ERA) will take the mound for the home team, facing off with J.A. Happ (1-1, 4.05 ERA). Both pitchers are making back-to-back starts against their cross-town rivals.

In his last battle with Happ, Gsellman threw four innings and allowed one run on four hits. He had four strikeouts. Happ threw seven and a third shutout innings with five strikeouts against the Mets at Yankee Stadium. With the win on Wednesday in Baltimore, the Mets are now 5-10 against lefty starters. 

First pitch in Queens will be at 4:05 PM on September 3rd. The game will be televised by SNY and broadcast on WCBS 880-AM.

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