Alonso is an RBI machine, Bassitt rebounds and Just Mets on Playback!
The Mets win the first game of their homestand after eight dominant innings from Chris Bassitt. Plus, Just Mets' first live Mets watch party streams tonight!
Just Mets on Playback 📺
Join us TONIGHT for our first ever live Mets watch party, hosted by Rich MacLeod, Michael Baron and Andrew Claudio at 7:10 PM as the Mets face-off against the Brewers at Citi Field.
Be sure to sign up for Playback (it’s free!) and join us here tonight: getplayback.com/room/justmets 🍎
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets kicked off their homestand with a 4-0 win over the Brewers at Citi Field (box)
RHP Chris Bassitt had a huge bounce-back performance in the victory: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 7 K
Bassitt becomes the second Mets starting pitcher to pitch at least eight innings in a game this season (Carlos Carrasco)
Tuesday night marked New York’s 10th shutout victory of the season (they had eight shutouts all of last year)
The Mets have had shutouts in three straight home games for the 5th time in franchise history (1985, 1988, 1992, 2010)
1B Pete Alonso continued his torrid first half with two more RBI, extending his NL lead to 59 on the season
CF Brandon Nimmo had himself a night going 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and a great diving catch
RHP Max Scherzer (left oblique strain) will throw a simulated game and face live hitters on Thursday
RHP Jacob deGrom (stress reaction in right scapula) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday afternoon and will throw again on Friday
RHP Trevor May (right triceps inflammation) is throwing from 75 feet and will undergo another MRI scan before throwing to hitters
With a win tonight, the Mets would reach 20 games over the .500 mark in the month of June for the first time since the 1986 season
Who’s Hot 🔥
After driving home a pair of runs on Tuesday night, Pete Alonso is now batting .368 with runners in scoring position this season
Starling Marte is hitting .309/.349/.519 with two doubles, a triple, four home runs, three stolen bases, 19 runs scored and an .868 OPS in his last 19 games played
Since blowing a save in San Francisco on May 24th, Drew Smith has pitched to a 1.08 ERA and has been unscored upon in six of his last seven appearances
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (41-22) vs. Brewers (34-29)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.00 ERA) vs RHP Corbin Burnes (3-4, 2.48 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EST
Where to Watch: SNY, Playback
Chris Bassitt returns to form when the Mets need him most 📝
The last time Chris Bassitt took the mound, I wrote about how he was letting the Mets down when they needed him most. After all, he was coming off one of the worst starts of his career and was mired in what he described as the worst pitching slump of his career. Following the injury to Max Scherzer, Bassitt had made five starts and pitched to a 7.62 ERA, struggling with his command within the strike zone and the long ball.
On Tuesday night, that completely turned around.
Last night we saw the Chris Bassitt we’d seen a lot during the first month or so of the season, the version the Mets thought they were getting when they acquired him over the offseason for one of their top pitching prospects. From the jump, Bassitt was in complete command of this game against the Brewers. He pumped in first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 26 hitters he faced, pitched from ahead of the count all night long and dealt with minimal traffic on the bases.
Over the course of eight dominant innings, Bassitt only allowed four base runners (three singles and a walk), and faced just two batters over the minimum thanks to a trio of double plays — the first time in his career he’s ever generated three twin-killings in the same game. He was in complete control over every single one of his pitches, painting his fastball on the corners and tantalizing Milwaukee’s hitters with his slow, big-breaking curveball. He was aggressive in the zone, worked in his secondary pitches and you could see his confidence growing with every pitch on the mound.
Bassitt became just the second Mets starter to complete eight innings this season — Carlos Carrasco was the other in a May start vs the Braves — and got better as the game went on, striking out four of the final six batters he faced.
“I made a key judgment error that lasted a couple weeks,” Bassitt said after the win. “So tonight … was just freeing.”
The adjustments made by Bassitt and catcher Tomás Nido led to tangible results, as the Queens battery had significantly less shake-offs on Tuesday night which allowed Bassitt to really get into his rhythm. While Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are both working their way back to the club, there will still be some time without either of them so it is imperative for the Mets to see far more of this version of Bassitt than what they saw in previous weeks.
“Guys like him, you just trust the moxie and the want-to they have,” Buck Showalter said. “They figure it out and they make adjustments.”
If Bassitt truly has made the adjustment that will lead to long-term success similar to what we saw from him last night, the sky is the limit for what this rotation can achieve when it does eventually reach full strength.
Down on the Farm 🌾
Mark Vientos (3B/OF, No. 5 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2 HR (10), 5 RBI, BB, 4 runs scored
Alex Ramirez (OF, No. 4 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-3, 2 HR (5), 4 RBI, 2 BB, 3 runs scored
Dominic Smith (1B, Triple-A): 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 runs scored
Box Scores: Triple-A | Double-A | High-A | Single-A
Around the League 🚩
Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas came within one strike of pitching a no-hitter until it was broken up thanks to a two-out double by Pirates RF Cal Mitchell
The Braves are apparently never planning on losing again, winning their 13th straight game on Tuesday
The Phillies, however, did lose after blowing a 9th inning lead to the Marlins
The Guardians outlasted the Rockies in extra innings thanks to a 10th inning go-ahead double by MLB RBI leader Jose Ramírez
Angels RHP Noah Syndergaard didn’t make it out of the 5th inning (after avoiding pitching against his former team over the weekend) in the club’s loss to the Dodgers