Another Mets clunker!
Plus, why Friday night's loss is more concerning. And injury updates on Lindor, Polanco, and Minter...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets dropped the series opener to the Rockies, losing 4-3 at Citi Field on Friday night (box)
RHP Freddy Peralta allowed two earned runs on seven hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over 5.1 innings, while once again struggling to go deep into the game after unravelling in the sixth
LHP Sean Manaea entered in relief and gave the Mets 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and one walk while striking out seven
The offense returned to type by hitting into four double plays and going 3-for-8 with RISP, leaving five runners stranded on base
RF Brett Baty was involved in all three of the runs the Mets did score, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored, a two-run single, and a double
Both 1B Mark Vientos and SS Ronny Mauricio also finished with two hits, with Mauricio scoring a run
Carlos Mendoza said that LHP David Peterson will likely return to the starting rotation (SNY)
Roster Moves 📰
RHP Christian Scott optioned to Triple-A
RHP Carl Edwards Jr. selected to the Major League roster
Injury Updates 🩺
SS Francisco Lindor (left calf strain) will wear a walking boot for the next week, and will be reevaluated in three weeks
1B/DH Jorge Polanco (right wrist contusion) is progressing and is playing catch and hitting from the right side. He is considered week-to-week
LHP A.J. Minter (left lat strain) is on track to return in early May. Minter also tossed a perfect inning for Triple-A Syracuse in his latest rehab assignment on Friday
Play of the Game 🤬
After exploding for 10 runs and showing signs of life on Thursday, the offense reverted back to type on Friday night.
The lineup couldn’t get anything going against Michael Lorenzen and the Rockies. Then, with Lorenzen out of the game, Brett Baty hit a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to make it a one-run ball game.
However, with two runners on and just one out, Mark Vientos couldn’t take advantage and drive in more runs to change the entire complexion of the game. Instead, he hit into an inning-ending double play to kill the rally and effectively seal the win for Colorado.
Now, while there was an element of bad luck considering that the ball left Vientos’ bat at 107.7 mph, it was straight at the second baseman and it was the Mets’ fourth double play of the game. You just aren’t going to win games that way, no matter the opponent.
David Stearns Speaks 🗣️
Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns met with the media prior to Friday’s game against the Rockies. Here’s a selection of highlights from what Stearns had to say:
Stearns opened up his availability talking about the bullpen, admitting that it has been inconsistent and noting that a couple of guys aren’t throwing to the back of their baseball cards.
On the subject of the bullpen, Stearns dismissed any notion that Devin Williams could be moved out of the closer role, instead expressing confidence that the veteran will turn it around.
Stearns expanded on Francisco Lindor’s potential timeline for a return, adding that there could be “relatively quick progression” if all goes well over the next three weeks before the shortstop is evaluated again.
Stearns again expressed his belief in this team, stating that he knows they will show they are a good team.
Kodai Senga has shown the good and the bad so far this year, and Stearns admitted that while there have been flashes, the team needs more consistency from Senga.
Stearns provided further updates on the injury front, revealing that Jorge Polanco is week-to-week, while A.J. Minter is on target to return within the first 10 days of May.
Finally, Stearns stressed that while it may not be every day, Ronny Mauricio will get every opportunity to impress and play shortstop in Lindor’s absence.
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
On the latest midweek edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Rich MacLeod reacts to the Mets winning their series against the Twins and ending their miserable 12-game losing streak this week.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
OF Nick Morabito (No. 12 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 2B
LF Ji Hwan Bae (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
2B A.J. Ewing (No. 3 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR
RHP Brendan Girton (No. 29 prospect, Double-A): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
3B Nick Lorusso (Double-A): 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
2B Kevin Villavicencio (High-A): 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 SB
SS Elian Peña (No. 8 prospect, Single-A): 1-for-3, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 2B, 2 SB
OF Randy Guzman (No. 24 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 2B
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (9-17) vs. Rockies (11-16)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Kodai Senga (0-3, 8.83 ERA) vs. LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.23 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The Mets can’t afford to be losing games against the Rockies ✍️
Well, talk about an unwanted trip back to reality.
After winning two straight, the Mets returned to losing ways on Friday after dropping the opening game of the series to the Rockies.
And it was a clunker.
If a two-game winning streak was enough to make you forget everything that came before, well, Friday would have reminded you in a hurry about all the questions hovering over this team.
Freddy Peralta started off well before falling apart. He has only pitched a full six innings once for the Mets, and has hardly looked like an ace. It goes without saying that if the Mets hope to accomplish anything this year, then Peralta really needs to start going deeper into games. And fast.
There were yet more routine mistakes, including Marcus Semien, who is meant to be a defensive savant, failing to make a play in the seventh that led to the Rockies scoring a run. And, in a one-run game, that inability to come through proved costly.
And the offense, after tricking us into believing on Thursday, turned back into a pumpkin by managing just three runs while hitting into FOUR double plays. Yes, you read that correctly.
Granted, there was some bad luck involved in some of those plays, but that still doesn’t excuse the fact that this lineup could only manage three runs against a Rockies team that will probably finish the season as one of the worst teams in baseball. And you can’t keep on hitting into double plays and expect to win games. Again, and I mean no disrespect to the Rockies, but it shouldn’t be that hard to string together rallies against teams like Colorado.
And therein lies the rub.
The Mets are now at a point where they can’t really afford to be unlucky. They can’t afford to be dropping games to teams like the Rockies, especially in the manner they did on Friday.
Thanks to the 12-game losing streak, the margin for error for this team is now razor-thin.
If the Mets want to salvage this season and accomplish anything of note, fattening up against teams like the Rockies, especially at home, should be the bare minimum.
Of course, there is still a chance to win this series, but Friday night’s loss did provide an unwelcome reminder of why this team lost 12 consecutive games in the first place.
The starting pitching, outside of Nolan McLean, has yet to deliver. And who knows what version of Kodai Senga we will get later today?
We’re approaching May, and yet players are still failing to execute basic plays. At some point, the early season excuse is going to become invalid, and we’re going to have to start to really question the front office’s run prevention strategy.
And there is enough of a sample size now to be really concerned about the offense, especially with Francisco Lindor out for potentially a substantial amount of time. And, as we predicted, even the return of Juan Soto won’t be enough to fix and save what is clearly a flawed lineup.
Of course, thanks to the extra Wild Card, there is still plenty of time for this team to prove us all wrong and turn things around.
But, with that said, there is only so much time, and there are a boatload of questions that need answering before we start to buy into this team’s potential. The front office, coaching staff, and players can go on about how good they know they are as much as they want. At some point, we actually need to see it.
Because, I’m sorry, but it is already getting late early.
And that’s why this team just cannot afford to be dropping sloppy games to the Rockies, even in April. Because it is nights like Friday that could really come back to haunt the Mets come the end of the season.
I’m not going to overreact to one loss, but when added to the losing streak, I can’t help but still be concerned about the bigger picture with the 2026 Mets.
Around the League 🚩
INF Dansby Swanson’s go-ahead, two-run homer helped the Cubs to overturn a four-run deficit late to beat the Dodgers, 6-4, and win their 10th consecutive game
Pirates INF Konnor Griffin celebrated his 20th birthday in style by hitting his first career MLB home run in a 6-0 win over the Brewers
White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami homered again, his 11th of the year, in a 5-4 win over the Nationals
C Adley Rutschman hit a pair of homers as part of a six-home run night for the Orioles, who beat the Red Sox, 10-3
The Yankees blasted four home runs in a 12-4 dismantling of the Astros, led by 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s four RBIs