Good Morning,
The Mets played a lot of baseball yesterday — jam packed with dramatic ups and downs (particularly in Game 1) — to ultimately emerge with a wash in terms of the standings. But the doubleheader split did hand them a series win against the unimpressive Yankees, after an 8-3 thrashing of the home team on Saturday.
We’ll catch you up on all the news of the day. But first, let’s recap both of yesterday’s games.
Game 1 Recap
⚾️ IN SHORT: The expected pitcher’s duel didn’t materialize, but Marcus Stroman was able to stick around longer than the Yankees’ $324 million ace Gerrit Cole, who got chased in the 4th. The Bombers led for most of the game, and the once-unhittable Aroldis Chapman came in to close with a 5-4 lead – but it slipped from his hand. Pete Alonso led off with a game-tying blast, the Amazins scored 6 times in the final frame and Seth Lugo threw a 1-2-3 7th to close out a 10-5 Mets victory. [Box Score]
🔑 KEY MOMENT: After making Pete look silly on high heat, Chapman hung a 1-2 slider and the Polar Beat sent a game-tying homer into the Mets bullpen.
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ METS’ OFFENSE SPARKLES: Cole and Chapman have been struggling noticeably since Major League Baseball started cracking down on the use of sticky substances, but they are still among the best pitchers in the game. Despite missing some early opportunities, the Mets managed to score 10 runs on 13 hits against the Yankees’ best pitching.
❷ NIMMO’S IMPACT: Adding a player with a lifetime .393 OBP to the top of the order is having an impact on the Mets’ ability to produce runs. Brandon Nimmo went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI to raise his season average to .338 with a .433 OBP and .875 OPS.
❸ POLAR BEAR’S TALE OF TWO GAMES: Alonso played forgettable defense and left 6 runners on bases … until the last inning, when his homer off Chapman tied the game, and he then caught a bullet off the bat of Aaron Judge to end the game.
Game 2 Recap
⚾️ IN SHORT: Making just the third start in his career, long reliever Nestor Cortes put the temporarily resurgent Mets offense back in check, giving up just 2 hits over 3 and a third. Dom Smith doubled and Pete Alonso followed with a 2-run homer for the Mets’ only offense. Gio Urshela popped up a 3-run homer to spoil Corey Oswalt’s otherwise solid spot start, and Chad Green closed out the 4-2 Yankees win with 3 perfect innings of relief, striking out 6 (including an immaculate inning in the 7th — striking out the side on just 9 pitches). [Box Score]
🔑 KEY MOMENT: With 2 men on in the bottom of the second, Gio Urshela chased a high outside 0-2 fastball and hit a pop fly home run to right that would have been a routine fly ball in 29 other ballparks. That put the score at Yankee Stadium 3 and the Mets 0.
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ POLAR BEAR IS HITTING HOME RUNS AGAIN: Alonso didn’t need the little league dimensions of Yankee Stadium to hit his second home run of the day. Per ESPN, Pete is the first Mets player to hit a homer in both games of a doubleheader since 2006. And since June 18, Alonso is hitting .288/.354 with 5 homers in 17 games. If he can heat up, the Mets’ lineup has the potential to be as scary as advertised.
❷ OSWALT WAS GOOD: Corey Oswalt was strong over 4 innings, striking out 4. He made only one mistake, which ended up in a fly ball that RF Kevin Pillar was clearly tracking as it drifted out of reach and landed in the famed short porch.
❸ CASTRO RUNNING ON FUMES:Miguel Castro gave up a run on a wild pitch, a day after failing to retire any of the 3 batters he faced. Castro was an early season mainstay of the Mets’ bullpen, but has struggled of late. In postgame remarks, Manager Luis Rojas referenced Castro’s heavy workload and suggested the All Star break would be a good time for him to reset physically and mentally.
🧑🏫 SOUND SMART: There have been 103 immaculate innings in MLB history before last night (h/t Baseball Almanac). It’s the fourth ever to be thrown against the Mets. The first was by Sandy Koufax.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Mets enter the home stretch of their marathon sprint to the All Star break with a 3-game series against the Brewers and a 4-game set against the Pirates. Tonight they send impressive recent call-up Tylor Megill (0-0, 4.82 ERA) to the mound against 2021 All Star Brandon Woodruff (7-3, 1.87 ERA).
SERIES OUTLOOK: Tomorrow, the Mets send Jacob deGrom to the hill, and then on Wednesday… the dazzling starting pitcher known as “TBD” (aka, To Be Determined, or Who Knows?). The club can try a bullpen game, or get a spot start from someone. Oswalt likely won’t have enough rest to do it.
📈 STANDINGS: The Mets are now 43-37, and hold a 3.5 game lead over second-place Atlanta, who won on a Max Fried (yes, the pitcher) pinch-hit in the 10th.
🌟ALL-STAR: Jacob deGrom is the only Met to be named to the National League All-Star team, but he’s unlikely to participate since he is scheduled to pitch two days later against the Pirates.
deGROM: “I’ve been a little beat up in this first half and obviously missed a few starts which I wish I wouldn't have missed, so I don't think it makes sense for me to throw in it.”
NO ONE ELSE? Pete Alonso will travel to Denver to defend his crown in the Home Run Derby. And we could see additional players, such as Taijuan Walker, get the call if replacements are needed for injured stars (or perhaps for players like deGrom who opt out).
🍎 ROSTER MOVES: The Mets optioned outfielder Albert Almora Jr. to Triple-A Syracuse to create a roster spot for Jonathan Villar, who returned from the injured list after being sidelined for right calf tightness. Manager Luis Rojas called it a “really tough decision” to demote Almora.
INJURY: RHP Yennsy Díaz was recalled over the weekend, while Sean-Reid Foley was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.
👀 SCOUTING: The Mets have been scouting Diamondbacks infielder and former Met Asdrubal Cabrera, according to Bob Nightengale.
🗣 RUMORS: Whether or not the Mets are interested in trading for third baseman Josh Donaldson depends on which news-breaker you want to believe. Jon Heyman tweeted yesterday that Donaldson isn’t on the Mets’ radar, while Andy Martino says he is.
From the weekend:
🤕 ANOTHER INJURY: Left-hander David Peterson is expected be sidelined for up to eight weeks after an MRI revealed he has a strained right oblique, considered between a Grade 1 and Grade 2. The Mets will monitor his progress “week-to-week.”
🗓 SEPTEMBER 1: Noah Syndergaard has been playing catch off of flat ground over the past week, and manager Luis Rojas told reporters the Mets are targeting September 1 as a potential return date.
🍎 ROSTER MOVES GALORE: As you probably know by now, the Mets made a flurry of roster moves on Friday. Brandon Nimmo returned to the Mets lineup after spending several weeks on the IL. The team also activated reliever Jeurys Familia, catcher Tomás Nido, and Villar (as mentioned above).
SENT DOWN: In corresponding roster moves, catcher Patrick Mazeika, infielder Travis Blankenhorn and starter Thomas Szapucki were all optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, in addition to Almora.
⚾️ TRADE: The Mets made a minor swap on Friday, acquiring left-hander Anthony Banda from the Giants for infielder Will Toffey. Banda gives New York additional depth on their Triple-A roster, as they cycle through pitchers to back-fill injured hurlers on their major league team.
PEDIGREE: The 27-year-old Banda was once a Top 100 prospect, but injuries slowed his progression. He has bounced around the league over the past several years, last pitching for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, where he was 3-2 with a 6.86 ERA over ten games this season.
🏟 PACKED HOUSE: The Yankees announced a paid attendance of 40,047 on Saturday, which is the largest crowd the Mets have played in front of since 2019 (h/t Anthony DiComo).
⚾️ Shohei Ohtani is the first player in Major League history to make an All-Star team twice — as both a hitter and pitcher.
⚾️ Click here for the full list of All-Star starters and here for the list of reserves and pitchers.
🔗 Sometimes it’s that simple: Mets have juice, Yankees don’t, by Deesha Thosar, Daily News: “Even after the Mets (43-37) knocked Chapman out of his relief appearance, the Yankees couldn’t stop the bleeding against an offense that suddenly turned hostile. The Mets batted around the order and put up six runs in a seventh-inning rally that widened the divide between New York’s ball clubs. The first-place Mets performed like a team at the top of its division, while the Yankees acted like they’d already accepted their fourth place standing in the AL East.”
🔗 Scouting notes on several NL East prospects, by Keith Law, The Athletic ($): “The Mets’ High-A affiliate in Brooklyn came through Wilmington a few weeks ago, with a killer heart of their lineup in Francisco Álvarez, Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty. Mauricio showed incredible bat speed from both sides of the plate, with loose, quick hands, but a tendency to rush himself and commit on pitches before he needs to….Álvarez, a catcher, made some extremely hard contact in the two games I saw, with quick hands and an impressive, balanced approach start to finish…The early returns [on Baty] have obviated any concerns over his age — he’s 21 now, in High A, and hitting .323/.421/.535 through Thursday. We knew he could hit, but I’m more impressed by how he’s trimmed down his body, improving his chances to stay at third base.
And… we leave you with this video of the difference between Mets and Yankees fans:
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Why aren’t Mets announcers traveling now that fans are back?