In what will be at most the second wettest game at Citi Field this week – fan tears on Saturday for David Wright’s final game will be a flood – Noah Syndergaard took the mound against the Braves. Atlanta, having already clinched the NL East, is fighting for home field advantage with Touki Toussaint, one of their bevy of young arms, on the mound.

The Mets, meanwhile, are playing out the string with Austin Jackson in center, Jay Bruce at first, and Peter Alonso at home. Maybe there’s a lesson there.

Game Recap

Noah Syndergaard, looking like he just got out of the shower, was shaky coming out of the gate. The right-hander worked around a Freddie Freeman double and a walk in the first, then a leadoff walk to Kurt Suzuki in the second. Thor finally managed a clean inning in the third, and the Mets offense promptly rewarded him.

After the Mets managed no decent contact against Touki Toussaint the first time through the order, Amed Rosario led off with a hard fly ball to center. That was an out, but the next three Mets all hit the ball hard as well. Jeff McNeil singled up the middle, Michael Conforto missed a home run by about an inch and settled for an RBI double and Jay Bruce ripped a single through the shift for an RBI single. In a three batter stretch, the Mets had built a 2-0 lead.

With the weather drying out and the Mets on top, Syndergaard settled in. He induced a double play in the fourth to erase a single, put the Braves down in order in the fifth and navigated a single from Ender Inciarte in the sixth to finish his outing. Syndergaard tossed six shutout innings, striking out five, walking two and giving up three hits. It wasn’t quite the dominant version of Thor we’ve seen in years past, but it was one of his better outings of the year, especially considering that Mickey Callaway said postgame that Syndergaard was sick and almost didn’t pitch. It also put he in line for his seventh straight win at Citi Field, which had never been done, as well as his first career win against the Braves.

A sacrifice fly from Tomas Nido stretched the Met lead to 3-0. This is the Mets, however, and starting pitchers aren’t allowed to get wins. Robert Gsellman – with the help of a dropped fly ball from Austin Jackson, who is still inexplicably employed by the Mets – gave up a run, recorded one out and left with the bases loaded. Drew Smith entered, threw a wild pitch, then gave up a two-run single to Ronald Acuña.

It seems fitting to mention here that the Mets have the worst winning percentage in the National League when leading after six innings. True to form, the Mets squandered scoring opportunities in the seventh, let the Braves blow things open in the eighth, then went quietly to their 84th loss of the season.

Thoughts from the Game

This game fits an irritatingly common pattern for the season. A starter pitches excellently for six or seven innings, departs with a narrow lead or with the game tied, then immediately watches as the bullpen blows the lead and the offense does nothing to help. It’s extremely frustrating to watch as a fan and must be even more maddening for Jacob deGrom. Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler. It also highlights the most glaring needs on this Met team: at least two and preferably three high quality bullpen arms need to be acquired in the offseason, and the offense must be improved by addressing holes at catcher, center field, and first base.

Given all that, get ready for the Mets to re-sign Devin Mesoraco and Austin Jackson, bring in Brad Brach and call it an offseason.

Other Met News

David Wright is back, making this a very bittersweet week for us all. He most likely will not appear in this series against the Braves, as they still fight for home field advantage in the playoffs. For now, we’ll just have to enjoy seeing him in the dugout again and look forward to his farewell game on Saturday.

The Mets actually put a run on the board in the top of the first before their ace even took the mound. Amed Rosario led off the ballgame with a double and later scored on Jay Bruce hit, giving the road team the early 1-0 lead. After mowing the Nationals down 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the first, deGrom did run into a little bit of a speed bump in the second, however.

After uncharacteristically walking Anthony Rendon to begin the frame, deGrom allowed a single to Washington rookie sensation Juan Soto, placing men on the corners with no out. Ryan Zimmerman then lifted a fly ball to center field to score the tying run via a sac fly.

New York responded right away the next inning though, which was really nice to see. With one out, Michael Conforto and Bruce doubled consecutively to reestablish the Mets lead, but they were far from done in the frame. Dom Smith singled home Bruce with a third run, and after Rendon committed an error on a Todd Frazier ground ball, the inning was prolonged for Devin Mesoraco. The Mets catcher, playing in his first game in almost three weeks, pounded a double to plate Smith, and while Frazier was waved home, he was gunned down the end the inning, with the Mets up 4-1.

That would prove to be all deGrom would need as he simply took it to another level after that. The right-hander retired 15 of the next 17 Nationals batters, completing his seven-inning outing with eight strikeouts and just three hits allowed. At only 98 pitches, it was somewhat surprising New York didn’t send him back out for the eighth, instead summoning Seth Lugo for a consecutive day. While the righty did allow a pair of Washington baserunners he was ultimately able to navigate through the inning unscathed, and when the Mets failed to add an insurance run in the ninth, it was Robert Gsellman time.

The final inning was a little nerve-wrecking for the visitors dugout, when Trea Turner led off with a double, and Bryce Harper nearly got the home team within one on a long fly ball to the opposite field that ultimately fell a couple feet short of the fence and into the waiting glove of Conforto. The Mets were not out of the woods though, as Rendon came up next and promptly singled into center, scoring Turner and getting the tying run to the plate. Gsellman stepped up though, striking out Soto and getting Zimmerman to fly out to end the game.

The victory evened deGrom’s record on the season at 9-9 and lowered his Major League best ERA to 1.77. If the Cy Young race isn’t over, it honestly probably should be.

Up next New York will send Corey Oswalt to the bump opposite Tanner Roark as they look to take a thirrd consecutive contest from their rivals in the nation’s capital.

There might be games left on the schedule, but you’ll forgive Mets fans for believing the season over. A day after the team announced that Zack Wheeler would be shut down until 2019 due to workload, fan favorite Wilmer Flores was shut down for the year — diagnosed with early onset arthritis. The games already didn’t matter, but now each calendar day seems to bring new heartbreak.

The heartbreak at Nationals Park was less monumental, but a more-or-less solid Jason Vargas start (5.2 innings, three runs [two earned] and eight strikeouts) was nevertheless squandered by the bullpen who couldn’t protect a two-run lead, surrendering a pair in the eighth inning.

Vargas’ counterpart for the Nationals, Cy Young contender Max Scherzer struck out 13, bringing him to 290 strikeouts on the year, eclipsing his previous season high of 284 strikeouts in 2016. Scherzer went seven innings, surrendering three runs.

Outside their wobble in the eighth, the bullpen managed to hold the tie into extra innings.

Amed Rosario led off the 12th with a single off Nationals reliever Jefry Rodriguez and was sacrificed to second by Jeff McNeil. Two walks — an intentional one to Michael Conforto and an inadvertent one to Jay Bruce — loaded the bases for former National Jose Lobaton, who drove in Rosario with a sacrifice fly. Paul Sewald came in the bottom of the 12th for his second save.

Mickey Callaway was ejected by home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the 12th, Reyburn ejected Bryce Harper after a called third strike, for balance.

Conforto continued his good hitting against Scherzer, one of the best pitchers to ever play the game, with a two-run home run in the third to begin the scoring (and three walks). Bruce followed with a solo home run — but that was as mortal as Scherzer ever got. Anthony Rendon continued to be a Met killer, driving in three runs.

The road trip continues tonight as Jacob deGrom (8-9, 1.78) faces Joe Ross (0-0, 3.60) at Nationals Park; first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Mets are already eliminated from postseason contention. The Phillies are mathematically still in it but realistically out of the race. For this game, the most important thing for the Mets would be getting to Aaron Nola, so that they can actually help Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young resume in a roundabout way. Steven Matz would lead that effort, coming off a solid start against Miami and looking to close out a solid, albeit unspectacular, season strong.

Game Recap

Matz was very clearly off in this game from the get-go. In the first, he walked three Phillies, consistently missing off the plate inside to righties. Despite walking the bases loaded, Matz worked out of the jam without allowing a run. He gave up a single and another walk in the second, but worked around that jam too. Still, with Matz seemingly off his game and one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound for the Phillies, things weren’t looking good.

That is, until Matz came to the plate with one out in the top of the third. After homering in his last start, Matz set his sights on Aaron Nola, got a hanging curveball over the plate and lined it into the flowers on top of the left field wall. It was a significant home run for multiple reasons (see below), but most importantly, the Mets had a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, they’d stretch the lead to 2-0. After Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier struck out swinging to start the inning, a single from Brandon Nimmo and a weakly hit, poorly played (by Rhys Hoskins in left field) double led to another run. In two innings, the Mets had built a lead and seriously damaged the Cy Young candidacy of one of deGrom’s biggest opponents — giving up a home run to a pitcher is bad enough, and anyone who allows an extra-base hit to Dom Smith (.219/.252/.321, 2.5% BB, 32.8% K) should be immediately disqualified.

Handed a two-run lead, Matz settled in. He started hitting his spots a bit more, working around a single in the third and setting down the Phillies in order in the fourth. Unfortunately, his pitch count was elevated from his early-inning command problems, and the fifth inning looked like it was probably his last. That issue was compounded by a one out walk to Hoskins. Undeterred, Matz capped his outing in spectacular fashion, making what might be the web-gem of the year to catch a ball behind his back and turn an inning-ending double play. He departed after five innings in line for the win.

The 2018 Mets team being what it is — that is to say, bad — Matz wouldn’t get the win. After the Mets left the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Jerry Blevins and Drew Smith managed to give up five runs without recording an out in the bottom half of the inning. The Mets found themselves in a three-run hole 18 pitches after they had a two-run lead.

Watching the rest of the game as very much an exercise in futility. The Mets managed only one more run, while a cavalcade of unremarkable relievers worked around a couple Philly baserunners to keep things close enough to be interesting but not actually matter. Amed Rosario ended things with a weak bounce out to first, and the Mets had their 81st loss of the year.

Thoughts from the Game

Here are some fun facts about Steven Matz’s home run:

• He dedicated it to Jacob deGrom in his Cy Young battle
• Matz became only the third Met pitcher to homer in back-to-back starts, joining Tom Seaver and Ron Darling.
• This was the first time the Mets have lost a game in which their starting pitcher went deep since 7/24/96, when Jason Isringhausen went deep and lost, breaking a 19-game winning streak.

Other than that, I don’t have much to say about this game. Much like you, most of us have checked out at this point of the year. I spent most of this game doing work stuff and making babka (chocolate, because Jerry could not be more wrong about cinnamon in this context). Out of the three activities, only the babka wasn’t a total disaster. Then again, hitting 1-for-3 puts me in the hall of fame, so I can’t really complain.

Other Met News

The Mets are leaning towards shutting Zack Wheeler down for the rest of the season. Wheeler has been brilliant for much of this season after a slow start, and he’s now tossed 182.1 innings with a 3.31 ERA.It’s tough to describe how big an improvement that is for the former top prospect, who missed two whole season with Tommy John before tossing only 86.1 innings last season. With some struggles in his past two starts, shutting Wheeler down now makes sense, as he’s fully established his place in the Mets rotation for 2019.

The other team. I think their socks are red, or something.

WHAT HAPPENED, SUNDAY-GROM:

Another day, another good start by Jacob deGrom. As the soon-to-be National League Cy Young winner has done all season, deGrom truly put the Mets in the best position to win. Without the third inning, deGrom really doesn’t have any messes to escape from. A walk here, a two-out runner there. Never having to deal with multiple runners on. But, alas, the third inning did happen.
It looked like deGrom had a clear path out of trouble, though. Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez singled with one out in the third, putting runners at the corners for deGrom. His first baserunners of a game which, to that point, had seen him match Chris Sale punch-for-punch. Even after a Mookie Betts sac fly to center field scored Devers, two outs to the red-hot Brock Holt seemed preferable. Of course, even preferable scenarios can end badly. Jumping on a fastball deGrom left over the heart of the plate, Holt smashed a ball to right-field for a two-run homer. Given just how…let’s say inept…the Mets have been in deGrom-started games this year, that appeared like it could be enough.

Despite this, however, deGrom quickly returned to form. Against a lineup known for its ability to not strike out — specifically against right-handers — deGrom recorded 12 strikeouts across seven innings. And this time, he was even rewarded for keeping the Mets within reach! What a concept! Even if the game was ultimately decided with Seth Lugo on the mound, deGrom held the Red Sox long enough for the Mets to tie things up in the seventh inning.

For those keeping track at home, this was also deGrom’s 10th start in 2018 with double-digit strikeouts. It was also his fifth 12+ strikeout game. Sunday also saw deGrom extend his career-high season-strikeout total to 250, and gives him 982 career strikeouts. Translation? Jacob deGrom, the 2018 National League Cy Young award winner, has been really freaking good.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

This week doesn’t feature an offense portion because, well, not much happened at the plate. Jay Bruce got caught stealing. Michael Conforto recorded a multi-hit game for the sixth time this month, and has generally been on fire. Given Conforto’s weird overall season, it’s pretty incredible that he’s clawing his way back to the .800 OPS mark. After Sunday, Conforto owns a .776 OPS with two weeks left to play. Largely enough, the same can be said for the other guy who recorded two hits on Sunday — Amed Rosario. It’s probably fair to say he’ll eclipse the .700 OPS mark before the season ends (currently .693) and he has shown flashes of what could (eventually) be a usefully hitter down the stretch.

Even if Sale kicked off a bullpen game for the Red Sox, their bullpen proved insurmountable in the end. The Mets fought hard to tie it up, and Lugo surrendering one extra-base hit proved to be all it took for the Red Sox to put it away. The positive, sort of? This series was the first the Mets have lost all month, as they have played much better down the stretch. Maybe it’s fool’s gold going into 2019. Well, no maybe. It is fool’s gold. But it keeps us going. You can feel free to decide if that’s a good or bad thing.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets square off against the Philadelphia Phillies in their penultimate road series of the year. Zack Wheeler will face Jake Arrieta, as the Mets look to end things on a high-note leading up to the final week of the 2018 regular season.

Photo credit: Winslow Townson – USA Today Sports

Syndergaard went seven scoreless innings, holding baseball’s best team to only three hits, and the visitors were able to take the series opener 8-0.

The Mets offensive attack got off to a fast start in the top of the first, as Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce rocketed back-to-back two out doubles against William Cuevas to hand Syndergaard a lead before he even took the mound; he never let go of it.

In the top of the it, after New York’s starter had retired the first six Boston hitters, the offense came alive again to extend the lead. Scorching hot Amed Rosario led off with an infield single that chased Cuevas from the game in favor of southpaw Robbie Scott, a move that did not pay dividends for Boston manager Alex Cora. Scott was able to get Jeff McNeil to fly out, but he then hit Conforto and allowed Bruce to launch a three-run homer to right to push the lead to 4-0. McNeil would add a homer of his own against Brian Johnson the next inning, and the way Syndergaard was cruising through the Red Sox lineup (even picking a baserunner off first base!) you got the impression this one might be over.

The Mets added some icing in the 8th inning when Austin Jackson and Rosario both launched long home runs over the green monster against struggling righty Tyler Thornburg, and at 8-0 the rout was officially on. Jerry Blevins and Tyler Bashlor tossed a scoreless inning each to complete the victory and get the Mets to within nine games of .500.

Today, New York will send Corey Oswalt to the bump in hopes of securing an exciting series victory against an incredibly good team.

Photo credit: Greg M. Cooper – USA Today Sports

Thor allowed 12 hits and walked more (5) than he struck out (4) in almost seven innings of work. It was no matter though, as the offense exploded for 10 runs off Phillies pitching in just eight innings. Once and future prospect Tomas Nido started the scoring with a bases-clearing double in the second off Philadelphia starter Zach Eflin.

It didn’t get much better for Eflin in the third, as Todd Frazier continued his annual late-season surge with a three-run homer to really break things open. The Phillies used seven relief pitchers on the evening, but the game wasn’t as close as the final score may indicate.

Jay Bruce reached base in every one of his four plate appearances, showing what he may be still capable of when actually healthy. There’s no doubt the Mets would like the contract back, but Bruce played through a multitude of injuries earlier in the season and surely isn’t as bad when completely healthy. He’s likely going to enter 2019 as the starting first baseman, though Peter Alonso may (read: should) steal the starting gig before the end of June.

Jeff McNeil did Jeff McNeil things, picking up three hits in five at-bats to raise his average up to .329. He’s been a breakout star in the organization this season and looks primed to begin 2019 as the starter at second. While the .329 average is likely to decline, the home run rate (and extra-base hit rate) should increase in the near future. It’s those power changes that have improved McNeil’s outlook drastically from prior seasons.

Syndergaard was hit around on Saturday, but he’s having a strong season that has somehow been underwhelming for a pitcher of Thor’s stature. He’s admitted that his stuff should be leading to better results, but he’s doing an above-average job at preventing runs despite the command issues. Pending future health, the Mets 2019 starting rotation projects as one of the best in all of baseball, as long as Zack Wheeler’s improvements are for real.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

New York actually got off to a nice start in this one, as Steven Matz breezed through the first two innings with little difficulty, and Jay Bruce deposited Nola’s first offering of the home second into the bullpen to give the Amazins the early lead.

Philadelphia responded quickly in the next inning, however, as  two batters after Matz issued a leadoff walk to Jorge Alfaro, Carlos Santana crushed a long homer to left center to flip the game and give the Phillies a 2-1 edge. New York got it right back in the bottom of the frame though, when Jeff McNeil plated Brandon Nimmo with a double.

The 2-2 score held through the middle innings, and a high pitch count forced Matz to depart after only five innings. Eric Hanhold entered for the Mets in the sixth and was greeted rudely by pinch-hitter Odubel Herrera who led off with a double. Two batters later, former Met Asdrubal Cabrera gave the road team the lead with a run-scoring single, but the Mets again responded an inning later when first baseman Dom Smith crushed a game-tying opposite field long ball.

The Mets summoned Tyler Bashlor in the seventh and the hard-thrower tossed a 1-2-3 inning prior to Smith’s tying home run, but the righty was not as fortunate in the eighth, when Rhys Hoskins crushed a lead-off bomb that would prove to be the difference in a 4-3 victory for Philadelphia.

Up next, New York will send Noah Syndergaard to the bump in search of his 11th win, opposing Phillies’ righty Zach Eflin.

Photo credit: Gregory Fisher – USA Today Sports

Monday night was a frustrating but still enjoyable experience, because we had the pleasure of watching Jacob deGrom. Watching the best of the Mets’ three-ish homegrown aces is a reminder of the sort of potential this team had and still has. Tuesday, we got Jason Vargas, a reminder of why that potential has been and will continue to be squandered. At least Brandon Nimmo was in the lineup – batting eighth.

Game Recap

This episode of the Jason Vargas experience got off to a pretty good start, as the left-hander was perfect through the first two innings. Because his name isn’t Jacob deGrom, the Mets offense scored for him too, with Jay Bruce hitting a two-run home run in the second, and Michael Conforto adding a two-run bomb of his own in the third. Entering the bottom of the third, the Mets had a 4-0 lead.

Then, the cracks started to appear. Vargas walked Chris Taylor leading off the inning, then allowed a two-run home run to Austin Barnes. He worked around another two singles from Rich Hill (the pitcher) and Manny Machado, but the Met lead was cut to two. A home run from David Freese leading off the bottom of the fourth cut that lead to one, and the Dodgers followed that with a single and a double to put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

At this point, the New York defense wanted to prove to deGrom that they’re not just terrible behind him, they’re terrible behind every pitcher. Todd Frazier botched a ground ball off the bat of Austin Barnes, allowing Enrique Hernandez to score and tie the game. Two batters later, Tyler Bashlor replaced Jason Vargas, and he allowed the Dodgers to take the lead with a steal of third and an RBI groundout from Brian Dozier. L.A. led 5-4.

Eric Hanhold worked around some serious traffic in the fifth in his first major league appearance, and he and Daniel Zamora combined for a perfect sixth. Corey Oswalt took over for the seventh, and the Dodgers proceeded to blow the doors off. Three doubles, a wild pitch that allowed Manny Machado to score from second and a handful of walks and singles put the Mets in an 11-4 hole. They managed to load the bases in the top of the ninth with no outs, but amphibious ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte shut down the rally, and the Mets failed to score.

The loss drops the Mets to 62-76, snaps their three-game win streak and ends a recent string of successful starts from Jason Vargas (real shocker on that last one). Zack Wheeler takes on Hyun-Jin Ryu this evening in the series finale.

Thoughts from the Game

Austin Jackson is really, really bad. Everyone except Met management knew this when he was signed, but at this point he’s batting second everyday while Jeff McNeil and/or Brandon Nimmo bat eighth or ride the bench. It’s patently absurd, and an insult to the younger players who are clearly superior and are a core part of the team’s future. Even a barely above-average OPS+ isn’t worth forfeiting the development of players who actually need it, and there’s no justification whatsoever for his place on the team at this point, let alone his prominence on it.

Jason Vargas is also bad, but that’s less revelatory. Hopefully the Mets get creative with him next year (hoping for a cut is wishing for a miracle), perhaps as a bullpen arm or in some sort of pseudo-Rays arrangement at the back of the rotation. He’ll probably just get shoehorned into a starting spot, however, simply because he’s a veteran making real money.

Other Mets News

No major happenings for the Mets today. Still maybe committing pseudo-insurance fraud with David Wright. Still not planning to end their service time farce with Peter Alonso. So it goes.

Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA Today Sports

One start removed from being the only offensive contributor in a game where he pitched eight innings of one-run, 10-strikeout ball, the should-be Cy Young and his orange and blue counterparts were back to their old ways.

deGrom promptly surrendered a solo home run to former Met Justin Turner in the bottom of the first. Of course, though, New York’s ace settled down in typical fashion and proceeded to totally blank hitters the rest of the game with his seemingly unhittable fastball and filthy slider.

This was business as usual for deGrom. The ability to mix in his changeup with his primary pitches along with a uniquely cerebral approach and forward motion to the plate predictably dominated a lost Dodger lineup.

But like I said, this was close to being another unfair joke. deGrom found himself with no run support for the infinity-th game this season and yet again took matters into his own hands with the bat. Alex Wood was on top of Mickey Callaway’s squad, allowing one run over five innings. That one run, however, was thanks to a deGrom single. Deja vu… kind of.

Things were looking unsettling for the Mets as they could not execute on their seventh inning bases-loaded chance. But like so many other times this season, Brandon Nimmo saved the day.

In the ninth, after Jay Bruce doubled to right and Jeff McNeil was hit by pitch from a shaky Kenta Maeda, Nimmo uncorked a pinch-hit three-run homer which would eventually be the obvious difference-maker in another almost Metsy loss.

And MLB record alert: Last night was the 25th consecutive start Jacob deGrom has allowed three runs or fewer.

What is truly incredible about all of this is that deGrom still holds an unfathomable 8-8 record with an MLB-leading 1.68 ERA and eye-popping 0.98 WHIP. His season is the best argument people have against the importance of pitcher wins. What more can a starting pitcher do to help his team secure a victory night in and night out?

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P.S. I, along with everybody else, would like to see Brandon Nimmo starting every single day.

P.P.S. Why was Jeff McNeil batting eighth? Entering last night’s whirlwind of a game, McNeil was hitting .346 against lefties.

Photo credit: David Mackson – USA Today Sports