According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, the Mets are calling up utilityman Pablo Reyes when rosters expand Sunday. Reyes is batting .294/.376/.491 (.867 OPS) in 218 at-bats for Triple-A Syracuse.

After a 5-1 victory during the first game of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, the Mets followed up a strong performance with a 5-3 win on Saturday to clinch the series victory. Their bats caught fire early as the Mets scored four runs throughout the first three innings of the ballgame.

With this win, the Mets are at a season-best eight games over .500.

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Wild Card Update

The Phillies beat the Braves 3-0 behind a shutout performance by Zack Wheeler. With that, the Mets are two games behind the Braves for the third Wild Card spot.

The Padres’ loss to the Rays has them to two games above the Braves and four above the Mets.

The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, lost 8-6 to the Dodgers for their third-straight defeat. They’re essentially tied with the Padres, four games up on the Mets.

The Mets are four games behind the Padres and Diamondbacks, but have the tiebreaker with both teams.

Latest Mets News

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn is scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse. That said, Blackburn is expected to return to the Mets’ rotation five-six days after his rehab start on Tuesday.

Healey also reported that the Mets will add left-handed pitcher Alex Young when rosters expand today.

Latest MLB News

According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Royals have claimed former Mets outfielder Tommy Pham off of waivers. Pham is batting .254/.321/.378/.699 in 374 plate appearances this season.

According to Talk Nats, the Nationals will call up second baseman Darren Baker when rosters expand today. In Triple-A this season, Baker is batting .285/.348/.354/.702 in 483 plate appearances.

According to Cardinals Player Development, the Cardinals have signed former Mets catcher Chance Sisco to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Memphis. Cisco has spent the last two seasons with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, slashing .274/.416/.609 (1.025 OPS) in 96 games.

According to John Heyman of the NY Post, the Royals have acquired first baseman Yuli Gurriel. Gurriel has spent this year with the Braves on a minor-league contract while batting .292/.378/.485 (.863 OPS) in 291 at-bats.

Latest on MMO

The MMO roundtable breaks down who the Mets’ two September call-ups should be. Matt Mongin also recaps Jett Williams’ return to the Double-A Binghamton lineup.

On this Date in Mets History

1962: The Mets played their first regular season, as the National League returned to New York City for the first time since 1957.

1975: Tom Seaver struck out 10 batters, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to record at least 200 strikeouts in eight consecutive seasons.

Birthdays: Derek Wallace (51)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Call Up Pablo Reyes As Rosters Expand appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

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The most significant blow and dagger delivered to last night’s 9-2 New York Mets victory over the Oakland Athletics came in the form of a grand slam from none other than Eduardo Escobar. In the top of the fifth inning, the Mets loaded the bases. With Francisco Lindor and Darin Ruf failing to drive in any of the baserunners, Escobar stepped up with a chance to add to his scorching September. A’s starter Cole Irvin tried to slip a first-pitch breaking ball over for a strike, and Escobar didn’t miss it, drilling the first pitch over the 367 sign in left field, pushing the Mets’ lead to 7-0.

Escobar’s first career grand slam blows the game wide open. pic.twitter.com/OpODvbyCDw

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 24, 2022

The struggles have been evident for Escobar this season. The 33-year-old third baseman slashed .218/.269/.383 from April 7 to August 31, to go along with 12 home runs and 44 RBI. His struggles from the left side of the plate were even more concerning, where he seemed to be missing every fastball thrown above the belt. However, things were proving to be a lot easier from the right side of the plate. It was not long before Mets’ manager Buck Showalter started platooning Escobar and making him hit strictly against left-handed pitchers.

Despite the struggles, September has proven to be Escobar’s resurgence, slashing an impressive .329/.388/.671 for the month. With seven homers in 21 games, Escobar is giving the Mets another bat that they can count on to provide big-time offense. Already a solid defender at third base, Escobar’s bat was due to breakout at some point this season. So far in September, he has not disappointed.

“I’m happy that I can contribute, but when you look at our lineup from one through nine, we’re all able to contribute,” Escobar said. “It’s nice that I can do my part, but it’s not just me. We’re a tight-knit group when we’re together.”

Showalter has faced some difficult decisions regarding his lineups, and he has seen firsthand the struggles from Escobar. But, Friday night Showalter praised the veteran third baseman.

“[Escobar] is an easy guy to show confidence in because he cares so much and he works hard at his trade,” manager Buck Showalter said. “I think it does a lot for a team when a guy like him repays the confidence his teammates have in him. It’s always good for the morale of a team when somebody you really pull for responds the way he has in a time of need.”

This Mets team comprises many veterans, and Escobar is one of many that is key as the group rides into the 2022 postseason with World Series aspirations.

The post Escobar Continues September Surge with Grand Slam Against A’s appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

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The New York Mets have spent the entire 2022 season looking for a reliable lefty reliever to get outs. GM Billy Eppler decided not to acquire a lefty at the trade deadline and instead cited that they were hopeful in-house lefty Joely Rodríguez would turn his season around.

To the surprise of most, Rodríguez has done just that. In August, the former Yankee posted a 3.27 ERA over 11 innings. His strong August did come with the caveat that he suffered two losses in his last three appearances of the month. That didn’t stop Joel from having his best month (so far) as a Met this September.

In seven September appearances, Joely Rodríguez has allowed only two runs in 8 1/3 innings, good for a 2.16 ERA. He’s allowed only four hits and two walks in that span while striking out 12. His last four outings have been even better, he’s faced 18 batters and retired them all including half of them via strikeout.

The big reason for the recent success of Rodríguez is limiting walks significantly compared to his early season outings. From the start of the season through July, Rodríguez was walking an unsightly 6.59 batters per nine innings. Over the last two months, that number is all the way down to 2.7 walks per nine innings. A stark improvement for a pitcher the Mets needed to badly step up.

Limiting walks for Rodríguez is such a big key because when hitters do make contact against him it’s among the softest in the majors. Rodríguez ranks in the 98th percentile in average exit velocity and 95th percentile in hard hit percentage this season.

Rodríguez doesn’t have significant platoon splits this season with righties currently at a .638 OPS and lefties at .651 vs the left-hander.

If Rodríguez can continue cutting down on the walks down the stretch and into the playoffs, I’m sure manager Buck Showalter will feel more comfortable in using Joely in important spots.

The post Joely Rodríguez Pitching Well in September appeared first on Metsmerized Online.