On Sunday, however, the Mets were thrown back into reality with a thud.

They lost 23-5 in the series finale as Anthony Rendon smacked a trio of home runs and became the 13th player in MLB history to notch 10 RBIs in a single game, but the real story is Noah Syndergaard. The Mets’ ace held his side after throwing a second inning changeup to Bryce Harper, causing Ray Ramirez and Terry Collins to rush the mound and end Syndergaard’s day. It was a possible lat strain, per the team.

Thor gave up five runs in an ugly first inning, issuing his first walk of the season, just three days after he was scratched from a scheduled start against the Braves with biceps soreness. He will undergo a MRI back in New York, and it might be awhile before the beloved fireballer is back on the bump.

Sean Gilmartin entered for Syndergaard and threw gas on the Mets’ 5-2 deficit, giving up five runs in three innings of work. Fernando Salas and Josh Smoker made it even worse, and it got so bad Kevin Plawecki was forced to pitch the seventh and eighth. He allowed three home runs.

A rough weekend for Thor

Who knows how severe Syndergaard’s latest injury is, but it’s extremely troubling nonetheless. For a hard-thrower like him, with a history of arm injuries, to leave a game in the second inning just days after missing a start raises obvious red flags and throws an already tumultuous Mets season on the verge of pure disaster.

As Gary Cohen and Ron Darling noted on the SNY broadcast, while a lat strain may not be directly related to Thor’s previous injury, it could signify other arm problems. We won’t know for sure until the test results are released, however.

It has been a crazy couple of days for Syndergaard, from not pitching on Thursday to his alleged berating of Mets’ PR man Jay Horwitz for allowing reporters to approach him about his status. He likely would have gotten a reprieve from that incident had he pitched well on Sunday; instead, leaving with yet another injury will — rightfully — cause many to question both how he and the team handled the situation. Remember that he refused to undergo an MRI on Thursday, with Sandy Alderson lamenting how the Mets can’t “strap [Syndergaard] down and throw him in the tube.”

How the rotation can forge ahead

The Mets didn’t sign a single player — either pitcher or hitter — from another organization to a major league contract this offseason, and that conservative (some may say cheap) decision is resulting in a nightmare for the pitching staff. With Seth Lugo and Steven Matz still sidelined due to their own injuries and Robert Gsellman struggling so far, the Amazins just don’t have many options to fill Syndergaard’s spot in the rotation.

Gilmartin may be forced into service, but his performance on Sunday was far from promising. He’s a mop-up guy at best. It always pains the Mets to do this — heaven forbid the Wilpons shill out some extra money to pay a temporary replacement — but they might have to bite the bullet and look elsewhere for starting pitching help if Syndergaard is out for the long term, because Gilmartin, Rafael Montero or (gasp) Adam Wilk just aren’t going to cut it.

Some offensive life

It feels trivial to even talk about the offense on such a day, but after two weeks of lifeless offensive performances, New York seems to be perking up a bit. Michael Conforto ripped an RBI single off a two-strike pitch from Joe Ross after a pair of ugly at-bats while Jose Reyes’ first inning triple down the first base line led to an early run. Both guys, batting in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the lineup Sunday, had a strong series at the plate. Rene Rivera added his first home run of the season.

Jay Bruce, the Mets’ best batter all season, continued to drive the ball well with a third inning solo homer to center field and a deep double in the seventh. The same can’t be said for Curtis Granderson or Neil Walker, who went a combined 0-7 and saw their averages dip further below the Mendoza Line.

What’s to come

Although it may be hard to believe, the Mets took two of three from the Nationals this weekend and actually cut into their 7.5-game deficit in the NL East. This week, they’ll head to Atlanta — and new SunTrust Park — for the first time this season for  a four-game set with the resurgent Braves as the Mets look to regain some stability and edge back toward .500.

Photo credit: Geoff Burke – USA Today Sports

Having lost the last three games of their four game set in Miami, the Mets returned home to start a three game series against the Phillies with Zack Wheeler on the mound. Wheeler has been flashing his potential in an up-and-down start to the season, suffering from some bad luck with a 7.45 ERA despite a 3.21 FIP. Opposing Wheeler was right hander Zach Eflin, a 23 -year-old making his 2017 major league debut after 63.1 bad innings in 2016. Perhaps most excitingly for Met fans, Michael Conforto got another start in center field and batting leadoff, a role many (including myself) hope becomes his permanently.

Game Recap

Things got off to a fast start for both teams. Odubel Herrera launched a home run to right field off a Wheeler curveball in the top half. The Mets responded quickly against Eflin however; Conforto worked a leadoff walk and came around to score on an RBI single from Jay Bruce. Yoenis Cespedes would score during the next at bat to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.

Wheeler settled down very nicely after the Herrera home run, holding the Phillies off the board for the next four innings. He wasn’t terribly efficient, throwing 99 pitches (26 of which came in his challenging first inning) in five innings of work, but struck out seven while walking two and surrendering four hits. The outing lowered his ERA to a still unsightly 5.52, but his final four innings were probably the best he’s looked since returning to the mound this season.

The Mets offense, meanwhile, was absolutely silent. They managed only four hits in the game, and had only one hit after the fourth inning. Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera continued to struggle, both going 0-for-4, and while Jose Reyes managed a hit, he didn’t look any more comfortable at the plate. Conforto went 0-for-4 as well with a pair of strikeouts. Nevertheless, the Met bullpen was strong, making the 2-1 lead hold up until the eighth inning.

Fernando Salas, having relieved Josh Smoker with two outs in the seventh (more on that later), fought through an outing where he clearly didn’t have his best stuff or his best command. With a runner on first and two outs, he induced a mile-high pop up from Freddy Galvis, seemingly ending the threat and setting up Addison Reed for the save. Instead, Jose Reyes dropped the ball (at least he used two hands, unlike Luis Castillo against the Yankees all those years ago) and the Phillies tied the game one batter later.

With the Met offense still failing to do anything of note, the game went to extra innings, and that meant it was time for Rafael Montero to enter the game. Predictably, that went poorly, as Montero faced five batters and gave up hard hit balls to all of them, four of those going for hits. All four of those runners would score, including two against Sean Gilmartin. Montero’s ERA has now ballooned over nine and it’s clear that he has no place in a major league bullpen right now.

Down 6-2 in the bottom of the tenth, the Mets managed a two out walk but nothing else, as Cespedes weekly squibbed a Joaquin Benoit fastball to second to end the game.The fourth straight loss drops the Mets to 7-7, with the bullpen being taxed even further with another five innings of work. In a fun bit of trivia, this was the first time since 2010 that five straight Met games have been won in the winning team’s final turn at bat.

Thoughts from the Game

Terry Collins continues to be an absolutely incompetent bullpen tactician, constantly over managing and being blatantly oblivious as to when someone just doesn’t have it. Smoker, looking very solid in the sixth and seventh innings, was removed from the game for Fernando Salas with two outs after allowing a two-out hit. Salas has appeared in nine of the first 14 games now, and the excessive use has been evident in his last two outings. To be fair, Salas is not responsible for blowing the lead (that falls to Reyes, who dropped a pop up with two outs), but Collins needs to reign in his excessive use of his favorite relievers. He won’t of course, but that won’t stop us from hoping.

On Jose Reyes, he simply does not belong in the starting lineup right now. Wilmer Flores certainly has his warts, but Reyes is playing about as poorly as is possible. Furthermore, it’s not as if he’s been hitting into hard luck – Reyes’ bottom half is entirely unengaged, and he’s late on fastballs and flailing at anything with spin.

“He has earned the right to try to fight his way out of it,” Collins said after the game, before mentioning that he was going to ride the third baseman for 125-130 at-bats before he throws in the towel.

The free agent market was admittedly a bit thin at the hot corner this offseason, but going into the year with Reyes as the starting third baseman continues to look like a big mistake. At the very least, Terry could stop batting Reyes ahead of Travis d’Arnaud, who is rocking a cool .946 OPS but continues to languish in the eighth spot in the order.

Other Met News

Steven Matz (strained flexor tendon) and Seth Lugo (partially torn UCL) both are set to begin throwing programs in Port St. Lucie. The Mets starting rotation has been excellent to start the season with a 3.27 FIP that ranks third in the majors, but the depth options are currently thin. It’ll be interesting to see how the Mets handle Matz if he can keep himself on the field – the only Met starter that possibly deserves to be bumped from the rotation at the moment is Robert Gsellman, but he should get a longer leash to make good on the promise he showed last season. Perhaps piggybacking Matz and Wheeler would allow the Mets to keep both healthy and contributing to the major league team while giving the bullpen potentially a night off each cycle through. More realistically, the Mets could adopt a six-man rotation if all the starters can stay on the field (knock on wood).

More immediately, Jeurys Familia is set to return to the major league team on Thursday. He’ll provide a welcome boost to a bullpen that has been stressed by multiple extra inning games early in the season as well as covering for the short starts of Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler. Team brass have indicated that Familia may not immediately retake the closer role, but reinforcement in any inning would be welcome at this point.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Entering last night’s game, the first-place Mets had won five in a row. I’d say the Mets were “fresh off their fifth straight victory,” but nobody was fresh after Thursday’s five-hour-and-thirty-eight-minute, 16-inning affair. Except Sean Gilmartin. He was recalled from Las Vegas today to bolster a bullpen that had thrown 18 innings over the past three games. And Yoenis Cespedes, probably. Hitting five home runs in three games is a natural amphetamine — as discussed in the Joint Drug Agreement. Cespedes was suffering from the flu while he carried the Mets’ offense this week, so he took Friday off.

MEANWHILE, Gilmartin never got into the game. J.T. Realmuto doubled off Josh Edgin to walk off in the bottom of the ninth. Marlins 3, Mets 2.

Fake News

Given Miami’s large and growing Latin population, many of whom identify as Catholic, the Marlins announced that this Good Friday, all concession stands that typically sell meat products like hot dogs and hamburgers would instead sell fish. “The flesh of warmblooded animals [is] off limits” during Lent, explained Michael Foley, an associate professor at Baylor University and author of Why Do Catholics Eat Fish On Friday? Although Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was raised Jewish, it was his idea for the promotion. “Half our fans refer to us as ‘the fish’ anyway, so why not serve more fish here in the stadium?”

No word on whether leavened bread products at Marlins Park would be replaced by matzoh.

Punditry

The Mets ratcheted up Noah Syndergaard’s level of difficulty in the first inning. After a leadoff single by Dee Gordon. Realmuto grounded to Asdrubal Cabrera’s right. The shortstop fielded it cleanly but threw well wide of Wilmer Flores covering second base. The ball tipped off Flores’ glove and rolled into right field, allowing runners to reach second and third. Syndergaard got the next three in order: Christian Yelich hit a sacrifice fly to center, Marcell Ozuna grounded to third, and Justin Bour struck out on three straight offspeed pitches. The run matrix says that runners on second and third with no outs and the heart of the lineup batting results in two-run innings, on average. So Thor outperformed expectations in the first inning, allowing just the one unearned run. He’s good. #Analysis

The Mets worked Edinson Volquez hard. They drew two walks in the third inning, sandwiched around a Jay Bruce single. Volquez went to 3-0 on Michael Conforto. Although the second offering to Conforto bounced in front of the plate, Terry Collins gave him the green light on the next pitch. Managers don’t give 3-0 green lights to just anyone, right? So you figure Collins was showing confidence in a guy who he’s jerked in and out of the lineup. On the other hand, 3-0 green lights aren’t the wisest strategic move when the opposing pitcher can’t find home plate. In any event, Conforto flied out to medium-depth center field on a 3-0 fastball down the middle. Curtis Granderson tagged and scored from third to tie the game at 1.

Duda put the Mets on top in the fifth inning by bombing the shrubberies in straightaway center field, over 400 feet away. The Mets’ 21 home runs in 11 games leads the National League by a significant margin. The Marlins tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on three straight singles. The RBI hit was an excuse-me blooper by Dee Gordon, a BABIP anomaly. Syndergaard threw 87 pitches, striking out four Marlins, uncharacteristically few for a thunder god with a 100 mph fastball and a 93 mph slider. The likely reason is the same blister problem that affected Thor on Opening Day and cut shot his outing for the second time in three starts.

Rafael Montero relieved Syndergaard for the seventh, despite having thrown 33 pitches in Thursday’s marathon. He promptly gave up a bloop single to no-hit shortstop Miguel Rojas. The Marlins sent up Giancarlo Stanton to pinch hit. Montero got Stanton to strike out on a 59-footer, but gave up a single and a stolen base to Dee Gordon. Montero was touching 96 in this appearance because he was overthrowing — velocity isn’t everything. He intentionally walked J.T. Realmuto to load the bases for Christian Yelich, who would face lefty Jerry Blevins with one out. Yelich sliced a hard line drive to left field. Conforto got himself in position and caught the ball running toward the infield. He took a bit of a windup but threw a perfect strike to Rene Rivera at home to nail the runner.

No Yo, no problem. https://t.co/xT4cYfK4Tg pic.twitter.com/GRJTMtjVQM

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 15, 2017

Maybe — just maybe — this guy should play every day.

In the end, the Mets were down to the dregs of the bullpen; they let Josh Edgin throw 36 pitches in the eighth and ninth. The lack of high-quality relievers for high-leverage innings bit the Mets before it could bite the Marlins. Edgin walked Miguel Rojas (career .288 OBP) to lead off the ninth inning. Miami tried to re-gift the walk when rookie J.T. Riddle couldn’t get a bunt down. Edgin even got Dee Gordon to pop up to left for the second out. With Fernando Salas being held back for the save situation that never came, the tired lefty pitched to on-fire righty J.T. Realmuto, who promptly drove the ball into the right field gap. By the time Bruce reached it, Rojas was around third and scoring the winning run.

Social Media

Confortomg

— Ted Berg (@OGTedBerg) April 15, 2017

GKR-isms

Where are the hits? The Mets are trying to seek them out. — Gary

Volquez always wearing the bill of his cap like a frying pan. Very flat. Never liked that look. — Keith.

I cannot wait to try the toasted grasshoppers. You? … I’m gonna pass. — Gary, Keith.

Forecast

The Mets could use more than six innings out of Jacob deGrom tonight, in the third game of the Marlins series.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports

In many spots, this approach was entirely sensible. After bringing Yoenis Cespedes back, the Mets have too many outfield candidates, with nowhere obvious to play potential star Michael Conforto. At least until the David Wright situation comes to what feels like its inevitable conclusion, the Mets also have too many infield candidates, with planned leadoff hitter Jose Reyes currently lacking a defensive home. At catcher, no available option was clearly any better than the Travis d’Arnaud/Rene Rivera/Kevin Plawecki triumvirate–and certainly not in the age where we consider framing and other metagame aspects of catching so strongly. The Mets come to camp with at least eight worthy MLB starting pitchers. That’s a situation likely to shake itself out between injuries and implosions, but outside of moving Amed Rosario-and-more for Chris Sale, no move the Mets could’ve made for starting pitching would’ve projected to do much for the 2017 squad.

That leaves the bullpen as the one potential missed opportunity to add folks from the outside. With Jeurys Familia likely facing a league suspension of a month or more, and assuming the Mets open with seven men in the pen, Robert Gsellman is the fifth starter, and Zack Wheeler’s season is delayed by a visit to extended spring training, here’s what the Met pen could look like on Opening Day, with their weighted-mean 2017 ERA projection from PECOTA in parentheses:

Closer: Addison Reed (4.13)

Eighth Inning Guy: Fernando Salas (4.14)

Seventh Inning Guy: Hansel Robles (3.98)

Primary LOOGY: Jerry Blevins (3.71)

Second Lefty: Josh Smoker (3.49)/Josh Edgin (4.65)/Tom Gorzelanny (5.13)

Middle Relief: Erik Goeddel (4.09)/Paul Sewald (3.97)/Kevin McGowan (5.55)

Long Relief: Sean Gilmartin (3.72)/Seth Lugo (4.26)/Rafael Montero (4.46)/Adam Wilk (4.52)

There are reasons to believe some of those guys will outpitch projections, most obviously Addison Reed, who has been an absolute force after righting the narrative ship in ways PECOTA cannot know. You’d expect Reed to continue being more like Met Addison Reed than Diamondback Addison Reed given the real advancements in his slider and command profile. Jerry Blevins is coming off his best season by most standards, and PECOTA projects him to backslide not just to his career norms but to be over a quarter of a run worse.

But even if you give Reed credit for being a top-flight reliever now, that’s not a great bullpen, and I’m not sure I’m much more bullish on the overall set than the projections are. PECOTA projects Josh Smoker as the most effective reliever on the team, and he’s currently far from a lock to even make the team. Sean Gilmartin is projected as the third-best reliever, ahead of Reed and just behind Blevins, and while he could put up a shiny ERA again a la 2015, I think his inability to fool batters in 2016 more accurately represents Gilmartin’s true talent. It’ll get better when Familia (projected ERA: 3.34) gets back and everyone gets knocked down a peg in Terry’s order, but the inevitable set of injuries could reveal that there’s not a lot of depth here. Nor is there much more help coming this season; the Mets now lack the kinds of upper-level pitching prospects who would take well to the ‘pen. Marcos Molina and Chris Flexen might well be good major-league relievers someday, but the day is probably not in 2017. Perhaps Wheeler ends up relieving by mid-season, though he’s fighting it.

Why didn’t Sandy Alderson do more here? I think it comes down to two repeating refrains for the Met fan: money and familiarity. Baseball Prospectus affiliate Cot’s Contracts currently estimates the total 2017 Mets payroll to come in around $158 million when league-minimum and 40-man salary costs are added to current guarantees. That’s a couple million above where the Mets ended 2016, but it’s over $50 million above where the Mets spent from 2012-2014. Given that Sandy Alderson expected payroll to go down this offseason instead of marginally up, we should perhaps be thankful that the Mets were able to cough up the necessary $8.5 million late to bring Blevins and Salas back. The Mets have valued familiarity at an extremely high rate during the Alderson regime, as I’ve noted here in the past, so perhaps that money was only available for Blevins and Salas specifically.

Still, it’s not hard to wonder what this roster looks like with, say, Joe Blanton and Joe Smith on top of Blevins and Salas, replacing the up-and-down options of the past few years like Erik Goeddel and Sean Gilmartin. PECOTA likes Blanton in particular, projecting him for a 3.70 ERA, better than any Met reliever other than Smoker, and Blanton was available until signing with Washington just a couple days ago for $4 million. This pipe dream may have been plausible had the Mets been able to move Jay Bruce’s $13 million salary, although it bears repeating that the Mets could have simply bought Bruce’s option out in November. Given the recent high cost of acquiring good relievers during the regular season, that could be an expensive mistake in prospect talent if the Mets need to go out and add those pieces near the trade deadline.

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It felt like only a matter of time before the Mets’ paper-thin rotation would collapse. With Noah Syndergaard out with strep throat, Collins was left with two options. Sean Gilmartin wasn’t an inspiring choice for a spot starter. He only made one start in the big leagues before Saturday’s game. But the other option was Rafael Montero, whose best big league start this year involved six walks in five innings.

Neither option was a safe choice for the Mets. Gilmartin gave up a walk, a single, and then served up a fastball for a three-run Maikel Franco homer. He responded by getting right in to another jam, walking Jorge Alfaro to bring pitcher Alec Asher up with two outs and the bases loaded. Asher singled to center to bring in two more runs and chase Gilmartin. Montero warmed up with a wild pitch and another walk to Cesar Hernandez. In what may be Saturday’s biggest surprise, that was Montero’s only walk. He struck out Roman Quinn to end the inning.

Odubel Herrera led off the second with a triple. It felt like the Mets were in for another onslaught of bad pitching, but Montero retired seven of the eight batters and was cruising in the fourth. Herrera broke through with a single, then Franco and Tommy Joseph singled. Darin Ruf homered for the second straight game (after not homering all season) and it was suddenly 10-0. Collins gave Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson one more at-bat each in the bottom of the fourth before pulling them all to rest for Sunday’s day game.

Lucas Duda started the Mets comeback in the bottom of the fifth by running down the line to take advantage of Freddy Galvis’ poor fielding. (Duda also made diving plays in the field, showing no obvious back symptoms.) Travis d’Arnaud singled and Gavin Cecchini reached on a Franco error to put the Mets on the board. T.J. Rivera, Brandon Nimmo and Ty Kelly all got hits to give the Mets a total of four unearned runs before James Loney pinch hit and grounded out to end the inning.

The rookies from Las Vegas went 6-11 with three doubles and drove in the Mets’ first six runs, striking again in the sixth and the eighth. Cecchini got his first major league hit in the sixth, an RBI double scoring Michael Conforto. Cecchini almost got his first home run in the eighth but settled for another RBI double. The crazy dream of coming back from a 10-0 deficit was suddenly real when Rivera came up as the tying run. Phillies setup man Hector Neris couldn’t throw his splitter close to the plate, but he made the adjustment, relying on his fastball to get Rivera and Nimmo out.

Jay Brice finally got off the bench and gave Mets fans a reason to cheer for him in the ninth with a solo home run to make it 10-8. Eric Campbell drew an 11-pitch walk to bring Conforto up as the tying run with one out. He drew a 3-2 walk to bring up Duda. Could the Mets slugger have his own storybook walkoff homer? Would he flip the bat in celebration? Nope. Duda popped up and d’Arnaud hit a comebacker to end a wild game, just short of the record books.

What’s Next?

After using Johnny Wholestaff for the last two games, the Mets hope Robert Gsellman can go deep in the game. Both the Cardinals and Giants won, pushing the Mets back in to a tie for the wild card.

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports

CESPEDES TOTALS FIVE RBI, CABRERA COLLECTS THREE HITS

Braves’ starter Williams Perez had rough time during his short start. He relied heavily on hitting the corners with his low 90s sinker, but often got too much of the plate and Mets’ hitters took advantage. After Asdrubal Cabrera hit a first inning triple on just such a pitch, Yoenis Cespedes hit a hard groundball to plate the game’s first run. Perez was more effective during the second inning, effectively working down in the zone.

Things fell apart for the righty in the third, as Lugo drew a walk and three straight batters hit low, glove side sinkers for hits. Jose Reyes and Cabrera loaded the bases with singles, and Cespedes demolished the 1-0 pitch for a grand slam, and his 30th home run of the season. Perez would not make it out of the inning, as he was pulled with a triceps injury. In total, Perez allowed five runs, four hits, a walk and a home run during his 2.2 innings.

Reliever Joel De La Cruz fared not much better in his 1.1 innings. He allowed a solo home run to James Loney on a hanging changeup in the fourth and failed to earn an out in the fifth. After allowing a single to Cabrera (his third hit of the day) and a walk to Cespedes, De La Cruz was replaced by former first round pick Jed Bradley. Bradley had early troubles with control, and his high 80s fastball was hit hard out of the gate. Kelly Johnson and Alejandro De Aza scored each of the two inherited runners and Loney hit a double to add an earned run to Bradley’s line. Lugo earned his first MLB RBI with a sacrifice fly, bringing the Mets’ total to 10 runs.

Mets bats were largely quiet for the rest of the game, as Bradley settled down in the sixth and seven innings and retired all six of the batters he faced. Brandon Cunniff shut down the Mets in the eighth and ninth innings, an outing most notable for the MLB debut of top Mets’ prospect Gavin Cecchini (he struck out swinging).

SETH LUGO SHUTS DOWN BRAVES OVER SEVEN INNINGS

Over his seven strong innings, Lugo displayed occasional problems with command, but worked through those issues to limit the Braves to two runs over seven innings. His fastball had life and regularly hit 95 mph (even hitting 96 mph as late as the sixth inning), but struggled with control of the pitch in the first and fourth innings. Some stellar defensive plays – including two well-fielded double plays involving Johnson at second base – helped Lugo out of jams.

Lugo’s curveball was as stellar as ever, and in total he struck out five while only allowing one walk. The first of the two runs allowed came on a Freddie Freeman groundball single and the second on a pinch-hit home run by Brandon Snyder. Lugo’s fifth Major League start provided further evidence that he belongs in the Mets’ long-term rotation plans.

BULLPEN STRUGGLES THROUGH JAMS TO END GAME

Sean Gilmartin entered the game in the eighth and promptly gave up back-to-back ground ball singles to Jace Peterson and Ender Inciarte. However, a popup by Garcia and a double play induced by pinch-hitter Blake Lalli got him out of the inning unscathed.

Logan Verrett entered to close out the ballgame in the ninth, but immediately gave up a double to Matt Kemp, who scored on a Markakis ground out. Problems persisted as former Met Anthony Recker walked on five pitches and Daniel Castro and Gordon Beckham each singled. Unable to command his fastball, Verrett was pulled with the bases loaded and one out. However, the Mets still had an insurmountable seven run lead, and Josh Edgin was able to generate the two outs necessary to end the game.

UP NEXT

On Monday, the Mets head to Washington to begin a three-game series with the Nationals. Embattled righty Rafael Montero remains in the rotation and makes the start for New York, while the Nationals have yet to announce who will pitch in place of the re-injured Stephen Strasburg. Potential replacements likely include hard throwing prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. The Mets are nine games behind the Nationals in the division, but now hold a half-game lead over St Louis for the second NL Wild Card spot.

Photo credit: Shanna Lockwood – USA Today Sports

After Colon set the Phillies down in order in the first, the Mets got right back to beating up on Morgan. Jose Reyes lead off with a homer to left field, and Asdrubal Cabrera followed with an impressive opposite field bomb on the next pitch. It was only Cabrera’s third right-handed home run on the season and only the second time in Mets history that they started a game with back-to-back home runs (Jose Reyes and Ruben Gotay did it in 2007). Reyes also re-tied Curtis Granderson for the franchise record for most leadoff home runs with 18.

The Mets offense quieted down after that, mustering only three more hits from the first to fourth innings, but it seemed that would be all they’d need. Colon held the Phillies hitless for 4.1 innings until Odubel Herrera broke the no-hit bid up with a double. Colon struck out Freddy Galvis, but Terry Collins made his latest questionable tactical decision and called for an intentional walk of Peter Bourjos. Pitcher Adam Morgan made the Mets pay, driving in Herrera with an RBI single to cut the Met lead to 2-to-1.

Colon would do his best to make up for Terry’s bad decision, leading off the next inning with a double that left the bat at an estimated 103 mph. Reyes followed with a softly hit double, but Colon only moved to third, an unforgivable gaffe even by his lowly baserunning standards. And in typical Met fashion, Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes followed with ground outs, and Colon was unable to score from third. Then, in atypical 2016 Met fashion, Neil Walker worked a nine-pitch walk before Wilmer Flores launched a grand slam to left center field (even Colon can score on that), extending the Met lead to 6-1.

The Phillies went down in order in the top of the sixth before the Mets started adding more runs, this time against Phillie reliever Frank Herrmann. Alejandro De Aza, replacing Justin Ruggiano (departed with left shoulder soreness, because 2016 Mets) lead off with a walk. Travis d’Arnaud then doubled down the right field line to score De Aza and make it 7-1. What happened next hadn’t happened for 14 years, as Colon singled for his the second multiple hit game of his career. d’Arnaud moved to third, but was thrown out on a poor attempt to score on a shallow fly ball from Reyes. Cabrera made sure the Mets didn’t leave the inning without a couple more runs though, launching his second homer (one from each side of the plate) of the game to increase the Met lead to eight runs.

The seventh inning was quiet on both sides, and the Mets seemed well on their way to cruising to a lopsided victory. Of course, a Met game wouldn’t be complete without even more debatable moves from Terry Collins. With his hook three time zones too late as always, Collins elected to leave Colon in for the eighth inning. The first four Phillies recorded hits (two singles, two doubles) with three of them scoring to cut the lead to 9-4. Colon didn’t record an out before being pulled, leaving a runner on second for Hansel Robles. With some help from Cabrera (tagged out Aaron Altherr trying for third on an infield single that Reyes missed on a barehand try), Robles was able to bail Colon and Collins out and send the Mets to the ninth up 9-4.

Sean Gilmartin entered for the ninth, looking to bounce back from a rough outing in St. Louis. After throwing one pitch, blood appeared on his finger, as he seemingly nicked his finger in the bullpen while warming up. Gilmartin stayed in the game temporarily but surrendered a hit and a walk. Terry Collins took this as a fantastic opportunity to further abuse Jeurys Familia, summoning him even though the Mets were still up by five runs. Instead of using literally any other reliever (if none of your other pitchers can protect a five-run lead, you have much bigger problems), Collins decided to add more unnecessary work to a pitcher already in top 10 in the league in appearances. At least Familia ended things quickly, retiring the three Phillies he faced to secure the 9-4 victory.

With a very soft schedule the rest of the way, the Mets will have to beat up on bad teams like the Phillies to sneak into the playoffs, and Friday’s win was a great start towards that goal. Jay Bruce also donned a golden sombrero as the decision to acquire continues to look horrible (don’t forget he was a below average hitter in 2014 and 2015). Noah Syndergaard squares off against Jeremy Hellickson on Saturday as the Mets look to extend their brief win streak.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

It should be noted, though, that Matz is not just the latest Mets pitcher to succumb to an injury—he’s one of several pitchers from last year’s playoff teams to be taken out of action; the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw has spent the entire season out of play with a herniated disc, and his scheduled return for the season’s final games is still in question, while the Cubs’ John Lackey (of the Cardinals in 2015) and Héctor Rondon were both deactivated Friday for shoulder and triceps soreness, respectively. The Nationals, near contenders in 2015, also lost Stephen Strasburg to the DL Monday with a sore elbow. (RIP my fantasy baseball team.)

Like my colleague Andrew Mearns, I’m not one to argue that the occasional high pitch count is career-destroying. But a look at this list of pitchers, all of whom who played hard, high-pressure seasons and all but Strasburg who pitched into the postseason, does smack of fatigue. The subject has been hot on the BP Mets site of late, with writers calling for Matz’s shutdown, weighing the same question with respect to Syndergaard, and making the broader argument against ruining the Mets’ 2017 for the sake of the fiery remains of this season.

For the Mets, losing Matz from the starting rotation—one already weakened by a broken, then really broken Harvey—might just be the death rattle of the team’s playoff bid. The only hope now is (1.) Céspedes hits a home run in every at bat and/or (2.) the bullpen X-Men morphs into an amazing starting rotation. Of course the bullpen is also tired, with a collective 8.02 ERA for the past 10 games. Still, if a come-from-behind Mets miracle is going to clinch the wild card race, it’s going to have to come from these guys, who, increasingly as they approach the plate, I don’t recognize at all. So, for my own education’s sake, here’s a look at the few of the Mets’ less-than-star pitchers, who are—no pressure—responsible for carrying our 2016 hopes and dreams. To start:

Jonathon Niese

How has this happened!? you despair. We all know Niese, much as many of us may wish to un-know him. Seeing his name kind of makes me want to cry. Seeing his face under a Mets hat again kind of makes me want to punch it. But as of this writing (Tuesday afternoon) he is tonight’s starting pitcher, so it’s worth taking a look at his work in 2016. Niese, who spent most of the season in Pittsburg after being traded for Neil Walker, has pitched 28 games with 19 starts for a total of 120.7 innings. He’s 8-7 with zero saves and an ERA of 5.30. Sigh.

(Editor’s Note: Welp. That didn’t last long.)

Robert Gsellman

The 23-year-old righty was called up from Triple-A after Matz was sent to the DL. This year, Gsellman was 3-4 in 11 starts at Binghamton with 66.3 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.71; in Las Vegas he struggled, going 1-5 in 9 starts and 48.7 innings pitched with an ERA of 5.73. On the bright side, he’s used to those starting nerves, and his combined 2016 ERA of 4.22 is better than Niese’s.

Seth Lugo

Hey, so this isn’t so bad! Lugo pitched a solid six innings on August 19 in San Francisco, his first start in the majors. Sure, the rest of the team flushed that good start down the toilet, but it was still a pleasant surprise to see Lugo outkick his statistical coverage. In Triple-A Vegas this year, Lugo went 3-4 in 14 starts with an ERA of 6.50. But, that combined with last week’s start and his 9 other major league outings put him at a 2016 ERA of 4.77, which is still better than Niese’s.

Josh Smoker

Speaking of guys who messed up Lugo’s good start—Josh Smoker made his major league debut in the third of an inning in which he gave up two runs to San Francisco that night. The 27-year-old lefty, the Nationals’ first-round draft pick in 2007, fared better in Vegas, where he was 3-2 with three saves over 52 games and 57 innings pitched. Given his rocky foray into the majors last week, his ERA is not better than Niese’s, but the Mets are expected to give Smoker another shot tonight, so redemption is near.

Gabriel Ynoa

This 23-year-old righty is another pitcher to make his debut in the majors this August. Ynoa pitched three innings in three games and struggled, giving up four runs, but his overall performance for the year has been much stronger; In Vegas he started 24 games and went 11-5. Because he’s so young and has been such a promising starter in the minors, I’d be keen to see Collins take another chance with Ynoa on the mound.

Erik Goeddel

I must have blinked and missed this guy (a few times), because the Mets have been calling Goeddel up since 2014. This year he pitched 28 games for the Mets and 21 for Triple-A Vegas, actually faring slightly better in the majors than he did out west (4.18 vs 4.94 ERA). He pitched well for the Mets in 2015, going 1-1 in 35 games with a 2.43 ERA. Also, talk about sibling rivalry—Erik is the brother of Tyler Goeddel, the 23-year-old left fielder who debuted with the Phillies this year.

Sean Gilmartin

Gilmartin pitched well as a Met last year—he went 3-2 and posted a 2.67 ERA over 50 games. In 2016, he struggled, giving up 11 hits over nine innings in the five games he played in the majors. He fared better later in the season in Triple-A, going 9-7 in 18 starts. Fingers crossed he’s ready to come back and crush it?

Jim Henderson

After a stint in the minors in 2015, Henderson joined the Mets to go 1-2 across 31 games (25.3 innings) this year. Every time I turn around Henderson is either being called up or sent down to Vegas, but I for one am happy to see him on the 25-man roster. The 33-year-old was originally drafted by the Expos, traditionally a team from which many great Mets have come, so I’ll take it as a good omen. Plus, his ERA for 2016—4.50 in the minors and 4.26 in the majors—is better than Niese’s.

Here’s hoping to a speedy recovery for Matz, and that the young talent can pick up at least some of the slack in the final games of the season. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching with one eye shut as #49 takes the mound tonight.

Photo Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

• David Wright will not start the Mets’ 2016 playoff games (he’s out for the season, if you’ve been under a rock)
• The 2016 team breaks the franchise record (200) for dingers (they’re 63% of the way there, having played 56% of their games)
• Addison Reed will be the Mets’ best reliever (his 1.8 WARP is substantially better than the next-best Hansel Robles, at 0.88)

On some of our season props, we chose… poorly:

• Michael Conforto (1.14 WARP, fifth on the Mets) will have a better season than Corey Seager (3.93WARP, 15th in MLB)
• Travis d’Arnaud (0.57 WARP, 10th on the Mets) will be the best catcher in baseball (that would be Buster Posey, 5.39 WARP, second among all players, not just catchers)
• Wilmer Flores redefines the super-sub role (he’s started only 10 games away from third base)

And a few could still go either way:

• Bartolo Colon (5.19 DRA, 0.24 WARP) will be better than Zack Wheeler (no timetable for his return)
• The Mets will miss Jon Niese (the team’s not ruling out a reunion)
• The Mets will win the 2016 World Series (it could happen!)

Given that sterling .500 record (complete with incompletes) how could you not trust our forthcoming second-half predictions? — Scott D. Simon (@scottdsimon)

Jeurys Familia Saves More Than 56 Games, Setting the National League Record

With his 32nd save of the season, recorded Friday night in Philly, Jeurys Familia tied Jason Isringhausen’s MLB record for most saves in a year without surrendering a dinger. Sure, a lot of Familia’s peripherals are down a tick or two compared to last year’s breakout campaign, but a lot of that is likely BABIP noise. And seeing as how he leads all relievers in saves this season — a perfect 32-for-32 — he’s clearly been aces when called upon.

At this point, Francisco Rodriguez’s single-season record of 62 saves is probably a longshot, but with the Mets’ combination of reliably good starting pitching and generally low-scoring offense, Familia should have an excellent chance at breaking the National League mark of 55, set by John Smoltz in 2002 and matched by (an enhanced) Eric Gagne the next year. Even if the Mets fall out of the playoff hunt, we likely still have quite a few more blastings of “Danza Kuduro” on tap before the year is out, and I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Familia is inching toward 60 saves by the time October arrives. — Erik Malinowski (@erikmal)

Sean Gilmartin and Gabriel Ynoa will Make Starts for the Major-League Club

Matt Harvey is out for the season with thoracic outlet syndrome. Steven Matz is start-to-start  with a bone spur. Noah Syndergaard left his last start before the all-star break with a dead arm. Zack Wheeler has yet to throw a single pitch in a rehab game. Logan Verrett isn’t a safe bet to get through the sixth in any given start. And if you want to trade for an arm, well Drew Pomeranz just cost a consensus top-25 prospect.

It seems like every Spring Training we discuss the Mets’ pitching surplus, but as the team enters the dog days of summer, they may very well be faced with Gabriel Ynoa and Sean Gilmartin hopping a JetBlue flight on short notice. Both have pitched “all right” in the Pacific Coast League, all things considered, but neither have the top line stuff Mets fans have grown accustomed to in their pitching prospects. By the same token, they probably won’t conjure up memories of Jorge Sosa, Brian Lawrence, Claudio Vargas, or Brandon Knight (and we could go on for a while in this regard). This was distinctly not the way they drew it up in Spring Training. — Jeffrey Paternostro (@jeffpaternostro)

The Mets Reunite With Another Familiar Face

The Mets came into the season sitting on a buffet of delicious pitching, but injuries, along with standard bullpen attrition, have thinned the ranks. A starting-pitcher acquisition is less likely than a reliever, but the team will be watching the market and don’t be surprised if they bring in a familiar face. With the Mets having already added back two alums in Kelly Johnson and Jose Reyes, it’s hard not to notice that some ex-Mets arms are potential bargains to fill out the back end of the bullpen and also make spot starts.

Carlos Torres is having a good year for the Brewers. The Pirates are begging anyone to take the struggling Jon Niese (who was very effective for the Mets out of the bullpen in a small sample). On the slightly higher end of the reliever spectrum, Tyler Clippard has been very good for the imploding Diamondbacks. Sandy Alderson has always tended towards the devil-you-know approach to team building, so keep an eye on these names as the hot stove gets hotter. — Maggie Wiggin (@maggie162)

Jose Reyes is DFA’d

Eight games, you’d likely agree, is the kind of sample we refer to as “small.” So we shouldn’t hold 2016 Jose Reyes’s .286 on-base percentage against him without further context. One hundred sixteen games is a slightly larger sample size. Last year, in so many contests, Reyes hit .274/.310/.378 in Toronto and Colorado — two of the best hitters’ parks in the major leagues. Set aside Reyes’s heavy baggage and just look at the player. Over his last 554 plate appearances, essentially a full season’s worth of time, Reyes has slashed .271/.308/.391 at ages 32 and 33. That’s barely replacement-level.

PECOTA suggests Reyes will post a .266 TAv the rest of the way. A league-average hitter and below-average infielder is nobody’s idea of an essential cog in a playoff machine. When the Mets acquire another position player — and let’s be frank, the Mets need to acquire another one, even with Michael Conforto’s return imminent — the team apparently won’t cut bait on James Loney or Alejandro De Aza. The Mets signed Reyes because he was free and they needed a warm body. Soon enough, he’ll be waiver bait again. — Scott D. Simon (@scottdsimon)

The Mets Struggle to Re-Integrate Lucas Duda

Lucas Duda struggled before his back injury. His .297 OBP was more than 30 points lower than his next-worst season as a regular. His de facto replacement James Loney has exceeded expectations so far, providing 0.5 wins above replacement after being plucked from the minor-league discard bin. Both players have posted a .285 TAv in around 150 plate appearances. They both prefer hitting against righties. Loney has a reputation as a good fielder, but the stats show he’s actually been below-average. It’s very difficult to see the Mets carrying both players until rosters expand. Loney’s success does not seem sustainable. He hasn’t posted a True Average this high since 2007!

But a low contact hitter like Duda may himself show high variance as he regains his timing after months away from live pitching. I think the Mets will be extremely deliberate with Duda, since calling him up may force them to release Loney. If Loney struggles and Duda isn’t on fire in rehab, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wilmer Flores get a bunch of starts at first while Duda stays in his rehab assignment. — Noah Grand (@noahgrand)

Yoenis Cespedes Breaks the Mets’ Single-Season Home Run Record

Cespedes is dealing with a quadriceps issue at the moment, but I’m expecting/hoping for a speedy recovery. Yoenis is hitting for more power this season than ever before, as his .281 ISO easily bests his previous career high of .251, set last year. He has also already hit 21 homeruns in 80 games played this season.

The Mets’ single season homerun record is 41; set by Todd Hundley in 1996 and tied by Carlos Beltran in 2006. By no means is Cespedes a lock to reach this figure, but he already has a bunch of homers in the books and we’ve seen him go on unbelievable offensive stretches in the past. Cespedes has the kind of power to set a Mets record. Considering the Mets’ place in the standings, they are going to need every last homer they can get. — Tyler Plofker (@TylerPlofker)

Jacob deGrom Pitches the Mets into the Playoffs in the Last Game of the Regular Season

This Mets team does not appear to be as ready to roll into the playoffs as the 2015 squad was. Unfortunately, Matt Williams is no longer managing the Nationals. Although there’s plenty of season left, the odds are against Washington blowing a seven-game lead. Entering action on Saturday, BP’s odds put the Nats’ NL East odds at 89.3%, so the Mets will probably have to survive a dogfight for the Wild Card.

That tight playoff race will go down to the last week of the season, and after the final 10-game homestand against the woeful Twins, Braves, and Phillies, the Mets will occupy the second Wild Card spot. However, I predict they’ll lose the next series to the Marlins and blow an opportunity to clinch in Philadelphia. On the last day of the season, they will need a win to avoid a one-game playoff, and Jacob deGrom will come to the rescue. A tremendous outing to silence Philly bats will wrap it up, with Jeurys Familia slamming the door on the Wild Card spot. — Andrew Mearns (@MearnsPSA)

Photo Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

The dreary, rainy weather that spotted this game reflected the mood of Met fandom, as Noah Syndergaard and Stephen Strasburg squared off in the wake of Matt Harvey’s decision to undergo season ending surgery. Syndergaard, who has dealt with injury problems of his own, was dominant against the Cubs his last time out. The outing prior to that, however, was his three-inning blow up in Washington. Thor looked to bounce back against the Mets’ main division rival and improve his case to start the All-Star Game for the National League.