The game started out well for the Mets, as after Corey Oswalt hurled a scoreless top of the first, Amed Rosario gave the Mets the early lead in the bottom of the frame, singling home Jeff McNeil with an opposite field hit. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the ballgame for the New York offense.

Oswalt did his part to keep the game on track in the final start of his rookie campaign, keeping the Fish off the board for the first three, but he ran into a patch of difficulty in the fourth. After allowing a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with one out, Oswalt got the ground ball he needed from Magneuris Sierra, but unfortunately the speedy Marlins right fielder beat the return throw to first to allow the tying run to score. It became clear following that inning that Oswalt was done, and that was when the only real drama of the night unfolded.

It was already known Wright would be the first man off the bench tonight, and with Oswalt due up fifth in the bottom of the fourth inning, the stage was set. The Marlins however, delayed the moment, retiring No. 8 hitter Kevin Plawecki to end the frame and leave the captain in the on deck circle. Temporarily.

Paul Sewald entered for the Mets in the fifth and was unimpressive, surrendering two runs on three hits to the middle of Miami’s lineup, but all the crowd really cared about was the next half inning. Wright emerged from the dugout to a chorus of cheers, and the longtime face of the Mets’ franchise looked visibly nervous as he dug in. His at-bat was short lived, when he hit the first pitch he saw from José Ureña directly on the ground to third, but making an out was far from enough to wipe the smile off No. 5’s face.

After that, the rest of the night went downhill fast for the home team. Drew Gagnon entered for New York in the sixth, and while he only allowed one earned run in what  ultimately amounted to 1.2 innings of work, thanks to errors from Todd Frazier and Rosario, the Marlins were able to push five runs across against him, establishing an 8-1 lead that would be the eventual final score.

Tim Peterson pitched very well in the eighth and ninth innings to maybe provide a slimmer of a silver lining at the end, but it’s clear that everyone associated with this team began looking forward to tonight’s contest the minute Wright’s at-bat tonight concluded.

This evening, left hander Steven Matz will make his final start of 2018, but more importantly, Wright will take third base for the final start of his memorable Major League career, and it will be fascinating to see what kind of final moment he can give us.

Photo credit: Wendell Cruz – USA Today Sports

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.

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.

Tyler Oringer: Well, this one is obvious. If you’ve been following any of my coverage throughout the season, you know how much I love the future first baseman for the Mets. The fact that the 23-year old was not called up this season in order to manipulate service time for his age 31 season is beyond belief – but hey, let’s stick to the good part.  Alonso finished his 2019 minor league campaign (65 games at Double-A, 67 in Triple-A) with 36 home runs, 119 RBIs and a triple slash of .285/.395/.579. The changes to his swing from 2017 were real, and allowed him to drive the ball to more fields with major league power, while also advancing his plate discipline to another level. The former Gator saw his OBP jump from .355 to the aforementioned .395.  Alonso finished a full minor league season between Double-A and Triple-A at 23 years old with an OPS of .975. Yes, his defense is not good, but the bat makes him the clear MVP of the Mets’ system in 2018.

Breakout prospect of the year: Jeff McNeil

Alex Rosen: Jeffrey, Jarrett and I were all on McNeil as a future major league contributor before July (and as early as 2014 in Jeffrey’s case) but we’d all be lying if we said we saw this coming. Injuries limited him to just 21 games above A-ball in 2016 and 2017 but McNeil rode a vastly improved frame and a new stomp and pull approach all the way to Queens before the end of July. He’s been the Mets’ best position player since the day he arrived in Flushing – not to mention one of the best players across all of baseball – and gives the organization another cost-controlled above-average regular to build around.

“Cy Young”: Um… Justin Dunn and David Peterson… I guess

TO: DISCLAIMER: I don’t feel comfortable giving either of these guys a Cy Young vote here, but the Mets didn’t really have any impressive season showings from any of their developing starting arms. Dunn, a 2016 first round pick out of Boston College, was okay this season but did improve greatly from 2017. He did struggle a bit in Double-A but flashed some of the potential the Mets have seen, striking out 156 batters in 135.1 innings. Control has continued to be an issue for the 22-year-old, but next season should be a massive stepping stone in his development. I’ve always felt his relief potential was immense and he could be extremely valuable there, but it would be quite the stretch to move him to the bullpen any time soon. Like Dunn, Peterson was good, not great. The 2017 first rounder dominated full-season A-ball, but was knocked around by Advanced-A hitting, surrendering 74 hits in 68.2 innings pitched. The southpaw already has the control and movement to be a legitimate prospect, he just needs to serve up fewer hittable pitches as he goes on.

Platinum Glove: Luis Guillorme

TO: A favorite of mine who was handled as poorly as he could have been in 2018.  Regardless, Guillorme is already an elite defender. If given the chance to start at shortstop or second base in a full major league season, the 23-year-old would challenge for a Gold Glove.  Guillorme flashes some of the smoothest actions and fluidness that any middle infielder in the minors has shown over the past few years. There is a lot to love about Guillorme, if the Mets could just figure out a way to best utilize his talents.

Comeback prospect of the year: Justin Dunn

AR: Dunn’s full-season debut couldn’t have gone much worse, but he rebounded nicely and took care of business in 2018, tossing about 90 innings in Binghamton en route to winning the organizations minor league pitcher of the year award. It was more of “meh” season by top pitching prospect standards, but even that was markedly better than Dunn’s 2017 in the Florida State League. There’s still a ton of room for improvement, especially with the change-up, but 2018 was without a doubt a step in the right direction. The stuff came back, the command improved and Dunn’s now one step closer to the big leagues.

Most likely to have their service time manipulated: Peter Alonso Andres Gimenez

AR: Oh, this is for the future? (looks at personal pref list…) Andres Gimenez it is! Until the rules change in the next CBA, teams are going to hold down top prospects to gain that extra year of control. It’s going to happen to Gimenez too, unless the Mets find themselves in a pennant race in 2019 with a hole to fill. Nevertheless, Gimenez had a tremendous 2018 season across Port St. Lucie and Binghamton, solidifying himself as one of the best prospects in the game.

The Ty Kelly Memorial Roster Spot: Gavin Cecchini

AR: Cecchini was off to a solid start in Las Vegas before a foot injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. He’s seemingly been around for forever, though he somehow won’t turn 25 ‘till December, but his spot on the 40-man is hanging by a thread. The former first rounder has never really received an extended stay with the big league club, but seems like a prime candidate to hang around as organizational depth for a number of years.

Best early return from the 2018 draft: Ross Adolph

TO: Adolph was drafted in the 12th round of the 2018 First Year Player Draft, but has already shown his value in his first year in Brooklyn. In my live look at Adolph, he did not get any hits or even take good routes to the ball in the field, but the athletically built outfielder owned a noticeably advanced approach at the plate and looked the part. The Toledo alum put up some nice number with the Cyclones, OPSing .857 with 14 stolen bases and an affinity for chasing down balls in the outfield.

Most likely to receive the Dominic Smith treatment: Mark Vientos

AR: Vientos still has a long ways to go before he’s a viable major league contributor, but he’s an early round pick who might find playing time hard to come by at the big league level. Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez look to be franchise cornerstones in the infield and Jeff McNeil’s not going anywhere anytime soon, leaving Vientos without a future home on the dirt as of now. Of course, these things tend to sort themselves out, but it hasn’t with Smith at the big league level for one reason or another. A similar fate could be awaiting Vientos, though we’re at least a couple of years away from having to even entertain the possibility.

Most likely to pitch too many high leverage innings: Kevin Smith

AR: The Mets went reliever heavy on Day Two of the 2018 MLB Draft, using a seventh rounder to grab Smith, a crafty SEC lefty with starting experience. There’s likely some internal hope that Smith can start, but having seen him this summer, I can tell you with confidence that that ain’t happening. He’s a future LOOGY in the Jerry Blevins/Daniel Zamora mold who’ll probably be overused like Blevins was in 2017. To be clear, a major league LOOGY is a fine outcome here, but the Mets have an affinity for Smith that I just personally don’t see.

The Reliever of the Carousel of Relievers Who Is Legit:  Drew Smith

TO: Bad timing – I know.  Anyway, Smith possesses true back-end relief talent which has come through in his every stop in the minors and more recently, the majors. I wrote about Smith back in Week 7 of the Prospect Watch, and stand by those previous comments.  Smith’s fastball and slider combination poses the potential for some elite late-inning stuff which has already come to fruition in 2018. When Sandy Alderson traded a fading Lucas Duda for a relief arm, people were concerned, but it would not be crazy to me if Smith is closing with success for New York in the near future.

Biggest Disappointment: Desmond Lindsay

TO: When Lindsay was drafted in the second round of the 2015 draft, big things were expected. The centerfielder looked to have the tools, body, and pedigree to turn into a major league regular, but things have just not transpired that way. Lindsay is still stuck in Advanced-A ball, and has not shown any reason to get out of it. The right-handed hitting high school pick has OPSed .715 and .640 in consecutive seasons – and unless he makes the necessary adjustments to his approach, his athleticism may end up going to waste. Injuries have hampered the 21-year old throughout his short career, so there is still a bit of hope – but change must come fast.

Happiest Met to head to Syracuse: Nabil Crismatt

AR: If Crismatt pitched the entire season in Binghamton, he’d have been my choice for the Cy Young award. Unfortunately, we can’t erase those nine starts in Las Vegas and Crismatt will instead have to settle for the “Happiest Met to head to Syracuse” designation. His strong season in Double-A proved there’s a future major league contributor here, but the disaster in the desert muddied things. The Mets will need to protect Crismatt from the Rule-5 draft this offseason by adding him to the 40-man roster, which currently seems like a toss-up at best. He should absolutely be protected, but this is the Mets and they’ll let him go to Oakland, where he’ll suddenly become a No.3 starter.

Best trade deadline acquisition: Franklyn Kilome

TO: This is quite obvious, but not because the other acquisitions were bad – it’s because Kilome, the only player from the Asdrubal Cabrera deal with the Phillies, is that good. The 6’6,” 175-pound 23-year old, has shown to have an advanced upper-90s fastball along with an impressive curveball which has a swing-and-miss movement. In Double-A, Kilome struck out 125 batters in 140 innings, but did walk 61.  Kilome needs to work on his control, but the young right-hander does flash the stuff to succeed as a major league starter – and should see time on the big league club at some point next year.

Most excited to see in 2019: Thomas Szapucki

AR: Szapucki missed the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but is set to return to the mound in 2019. He’s only thrown a total of 83.1 innings in his brief career and will turn 23 next June, but Szapucki has undeniable upside that enticed virtually everyone who saw him. He flashed three potential plus offerings from a tough slot prior to the injury, giving him top of the rotation upside if he could simply stay healthy. There’s no question he’s behind the developmental curve, but 2019 could be a make or break season for the left-hander.

Tim Tebow Award: Tim Tebow

TO: Sorry, I just had to.

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports

The AL East-leading Red Sox were the latest team to take advantage of an inefficient Oswalt, who recorded just five outs despite throwing 61 pitches on the afternoon. Trouble found the 25-year-old immediately, as he hit Mookie Betts to lead off the game. It struck again during the very next at-bat, though Dom Smith’s throwing error was no fault of Oswalt. Betts came around to score on a Xander Bogaerts single to center two batters later, the only run charged to Oswalt, who wasn’t a factor in the decision.

Mets skipper Mickey Callaway turned to Daniel Zamora to secure the final out of the third inning against the left-handed hitting Jackie Bradley Jr., who struck out swinging. Zamora struck out the side in the fourth in what was clearly his best outing as a major leaguer thus far. He’s a prime candidate to replace Jerry Blevins as the LOOGY in the 2019 bullpen, althought that says more about the Mets than it does about Zamora.

Brandon Nimmo did Brandon Nimmo things, launching a three-run home run off Rick Porcello in the fourth, which was good for one of the Mets two hits on the day. It’s perplexing to even try and begin to construe why the Mets — I’m looking at you, Mickey Callaway — continue to bat Nimmo in the bottom of the order. There isn’t a single good reason he’s stuck behind Jay Bruce or Todd Frazier every night. Nimmo’s AVG (.267) and OBP (.392) are tops on the Metropolitans, and his 17 home runs and nine stolen bases rank him second. Please, please stop batting him sixth.

It seemed as if the Mets had things under control until mop-up man Paul Sewald entered in the home half of the fifth. The Red Sox pieced together a two-out rally to tie things at three via a Bradley Jr. two-RBI double. That would be the end of Sewald’s night but the damage wasn’t done, as Drew Smith entered and allowed another two-RBI double, this time to pinch-hitter Brock Holt. Sewald was charged with all four earned runs, raising his season ERA to 6.15 in 42 appearances. He was also charged with the loss, his sixth of the season, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.

I’d be remiss not to mention Jeff McNeil’s spectacular diving catch to rob J.D Martinez of a base hit in the sixth inning. McNeil’s finally getting an opportunity to show everyone what he’s truly capable of and let me tell you, it’s a beautiful thing to watch. That’s Jeff McNeil, 2019 starting second baseman to you, folks.

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

After being scratched due to weather concerns on Sunday and rained out on Monday, Jacob deGrom finally got to take the mound against the Marlins on Tuesday night. Miami has been something of a bugaboo for deGrom; he’s only 4-5 against them in his career, though he did memorably strike out the first eight batters in September 2014. For once, the Mets actually built a close-to-optimal lineup behind their ace, with Amed Rosario, Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto in the first three spots in the order.

Arguably, the Mets should have just let deGrom pitch on Sunday, as he’s now set to make only four starts the rest of the way rather than five. On the other hand, I get to recap a game started by deGrom rather than one started by Jason Vargas, so I’m not going to complain.

Game Recap

Rather than dragging this out and waxing poetic about how good deGrom was at the start of this game, let’s just jump straight to the part where the BABIP fairy sprinkled her magic dust on the Marlins, as she always seems to do at Citi Field. With two outs and nobody on in the fourth, deGrom gave up an infield single, a bloop single and a double that scored two. The infield single was off the glove of Jeff McNeil (would have been a tough play) and the double was a total misplay by Austin Jackson (also a tough play, but probably should have been made). As a reminder, the Mets like Jackson, a horrifically bad defensive outfielder, specifically for his center field defense.

Fittingly, a Michael Conforto double leading off the bottom half of the inning was wasted. deGrom went back to dominating and only got a solo home run from Conforto in run support. He left for a pinch hitter in the seventh, when the Mets squandered another leadoff baserunner and left the ace without a chance for a win. He finished with nine strikeouts, two walks and three hits allowed, with both runs coming due to the BABIP misfortune and poor defense behind him in the fourth. The outing raised deGrom’s ERA on the season to a still ridiculous 1.71, and lowered his FIP to an equally insane 2.06.

Anthony Swarzak replaced deGrom and served up a solo home run to J.T. Riddle that stretched the Marlins’ lead to 3-1. Todd Frazier got ejected at some point for arguing balls and strikes (he was right). Robert Gsellman gave up two runs in the ninth, with the help of an ill-advised dive from Brandon Nimmo that turned a single into a triple.

Kevin Plawecki hit a two-run home run in the ninth and a two-out walk to Jack Reinheimer brought Amed Rosario to the plate as the tying run. Rosario could only manage a weak dribbler to second, and that was that. The 5-3 loss was the Mets’ 78th of the year and dropped deGrom’s record below .500, now at 8-9.

Thoughts from the Game

The latest installment of Jacob deGrom facts:

• Lewis Brinson’s double was the first extra-base hit on 0-2 allowed by deGrom this season.
• deGrom has now broken Leslie “King” Cole’s single-season record with his 26th consecutive start allowing three runs or fewer, a record that stood for 108 years.
• Still the most deserving Cy Young candidate in the National League. But you knew that already.

Why the Mets have decided to rush Swarzak back this season is a mystery. This is a reliever who they need to contribute to the bullpen next year if the team wants to contend next season. He’s dealt with shoulder issues multiple times, and pushing a 33-year-old to come back quickly in a lost season rather than just shutting him down and protecting him for the future is silly. It’s also a great juxtaposition against the extreme “caution” the team is taking with David Wright. Nothing fishy there at all, no sir.

Austin Jackson is terrible. He doesn’t make contact — 32.7% K%. He doesn’t hit for power — .078 ISO. He doesn’t walk a noteworthy amount — 7.2%. His defense has been a travesty for three seasons; -12.5, -7.7, and -16.8 UZR/150 in the outfield the past three seasons. He’s not a prolific basestealer or a particularly good baserunner. His presence in the Met lineup hinders the offense, and his defense might’ve cost deGrom two runs and a win last night. Given all of this, get ready for Austin Jackson, 2019 Opening Day center fielder.

Other Mets News

A report by Andy Martino today had some troubling news regarding the Mets’ GM search. First, Terry Collins is expected to assume a larger role in the organization. Terry Collins, who was one of the most inept managers in baseball largely because of his inability or unwillingness to use or develop young players, will likely be playing a larger role in player development. This is the sort of hiring that reeks of interference from Fred Wilpon.

Secondly, Martino mentions Mark Shapiro as a name to watch in the GM search. Shapiro has a long track record, serving as GM and later team president of the Cleveland Indians, and more recently as CEO and president of the Toronto Blue Jays. He’s most notable for his obsession with young cost control, which, in and of itself, is not a bad thing to focus on; young, cheap players provide the core of most winning teams. But Shapiro seems to focus more on being cheap for the sake of being cheap, rather than for the purposes of building winning teams. In short, he offers perfect cover for the Wilpon not spending money.

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

Well…..

At least six of the Mets’ hits were bloopers. And I don’t mean lightly-hit base hits that fell in front of the outfielders, either. I mean legitimate duck snorts. You know, the pop-ups with awful launch angles and even worse exit velos that just found grass. The Mets scored a run on a sac fly where the throw home beat the runner by 10 feet, but Yasmani Grandal dropped the ball. They scored a run on a ball deflected off the pitcher into no-man’s land. They scored a run on a wild pitch. They hit no home runs, and only one extra base hit the entire game.

The Mets aren’t usually associated with good fortune, but sometimes, the BABIP Fairy is just smiling down upon you.

But seriously what the hell was that?

Anyway, Zack Wheeler had another solid outing, tossing seven innings of three-run ball while walking two and striking out nine. The gopher ball was Wheeler’s main enemy tonight, as he only yielded the runs via the long ball. Max Muncy got him in the fourth inning for a two-run home run, and Cody Bellinger hit a towering solo shot to right in the seventh, his fourth home run off Wheeler in his career.

Nobody on offense really stood out much since the Mets were just hitting 145-foot Texas-Leaguers the whole game and somehow kept scoring runs. It was something out of Little League. Anyway, Jeff McNeil got two more hits, as did Michael Conforto. Kevin Plawecki had the only double in the game, before he was removed from the game after a hit-by-pitch.

After Wheeler, Relief Ace Seth Lugo locked down the last two innings with nary an issue, and the Mets won 7-3 to suprisingly take the series from the Dodgers. This is probably the best team the Mets have taken a series from all season long.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

Both Wheeler and Plawecki will undergo CT scans for injuries suffered in last night’s affair. Wheeler took a ball off his chest, while Plawecki had the aforementioned hit-by-pitch to the ribs.

WHAT’S NEXT

The still-David-Wrightless Mets return home to take on the Phillies tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. Cy-Young runner-up Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies against Steven Matz for the Mets.

Photo credit: Kelvin Kuo – USA Today Sports