Francisco Lindor saves the day for the Mets, and Christian Scott is coming up!
Francisco Lindor saves the day for the Mets, and Christian Scott is coming up!
The shortstop left the previous game feeling ill but came through with two big hits in the finale
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets walked off the Cubs in 11 innings by a final score of 7-6 (box)
SS Francisco Lindor did not get the start after still feeling ill, but he came off the bench and went 2-for-3 with four RBIs including picking up the game-winning hit in the eleventh
OF Harrison Bader went 2-for-4 with three runs scored including the game winning run after he scored from first on Lindor’s double
OF Starling Marte and C Omar Narváez combined to nail two runners at the plate once in the tenth and once in the eleventh
RHP Adrian Houser got the start and struggled again. He gave up four runs in five innings while walking four and striking out two
RHP Edwin Díaz pitched two innings for the first time since his injury. He struck out two and did not give up any earned runs
The Mets plan to call up RHP Christian Scott to face the Rays on Saturday (ESPN)
Injury Updates 🏥
Brooks Raley (elbow inflammation) will not return when eligible and will have additional testing performed on his arm. A previous MRI revealed no structural damage in his elbow
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Tylor Megill (Double-A Binghamton): 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 K
RHP Jonah Tong (Single-A Brooklyn): 5.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
SS Jose Iglesias (Triple-A Syracuse): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (16-15) vs. Rays (14-18)
Where: Tropicana Field - St. Petersburg, FL
Starters: LHP José Quintana (1-2, 3.48 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Civale (2-2, 5.06 ERA)
When: 6:50 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Christian Scott is on his way! ✍️
by Linda Surovich
Manager Carlos Mendoza announced that the Mets number 5 ranked prospect, Christian Scott, will be called up to face the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend.
Scott has forced his way into the rotation conversation by putting up some eye popping strikeout numbers in Triple-A. In 25.1 innings with Syracuse he struck out 36 batters and is 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA.
He has risen quickly through the system, making the leap from Low-A St. Lucie to start the season in 2023 and ending the year in Double-A Binghamton. He started 2024 in Triple-A and never looked out of place in the higher league. He has added a sweeper to his repertoire to go with his slider and fastball which has made him a more complete pitcher with a hint of dominance to boot. While he has managed to keep the walks down he has had trouble keeping the ball in the yard. He has given up seven home runs - not an uncommon problem for power pitchers - with Triple-A while walking just six batters.
He opened eyes in Spring Training as well with an electrifying performance against the Marlins in Jupiter towards the end of camp. It was clear his stuff could help the Mets in the big leagues then, and it was just a matter of time before they found an opportunity for Scott to join the big league rotation, even if its only on a temporary basis right now.
“I think there’s this balancing act of when you call up a prospect versus when is the prospect ready then when is there the major league need.” Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said earlier this week. “Often those need to overlap and intersect and for some guys down there we’re just waiting for that intersection to occur.”
For now, this move is to give the starters an extra day of rest since they are in a brutal stretch of the schedule where they play 26 games in 27 days. With Tylor Megill on rehab assignment and getting closer to being activated, it is unclear how long Scott will remain in the majors. If he pitches well, he could force the Mets to make a difficult decision, especially with Adrian Houser continuing to struggle.
Even so, the Mets will need to continue be judicious with Scott’s usage. The Mets are keeping him at about five innings per start so far this year as they pace him towards 120-130 innings for the season. which would be upwards of a 40+ inning jump from 2023 if he finishes towards the high end, 30+ if they are more conservative.
Either way, Scott’s call-up it is an opportunity both for him and the organization to see how well he can perform at the major league level and potentially graduate a big pitching prospect to the big leagues, the likes of which hasn’t happened really since Steven Matz arrived in 2015.
The organization has been starved for pitching talent to move through the pipeline, but it would appear one is now finally arriving.
Notes from Thursday’s wild win… ✍️
by Michael Baron
Thursday’s game, well, was not exactly how the baseball gods might’ve drawn it up.
It was ugly. Really, really ugly.
Now, you might not realize that by looking at the box score. There were no errors recorded against the Mets. Rather, this had a lot of those plays that weren’t made by the defense and hard on the eyes at that.
But obviously, the Mets found a way to sneak one by the Cubs. They rallied from four runs down to ultimately win, even if it was by the skin of their teeth. That’s how it’s been for much of this season so far - scratching and clawing, finding ways to pick up teammates and in the case of this homestand, avert major losing streaks.
No-show effort, until it wasn’t
The Mets were down 4-0 going into the sixth inning of this game. Adrian Houser was his typical self, walking a lot of batters and shooting himself in the foot. He did give the Mets five innings but again, it was more of the same and the Mets are going to have to make a decision in the coming weeks as to whether or not they’re going to stick with him, especially with Christian Scott here, Tylor Megill coming and Kodai Senga now about a month or so away from returning.
But the early part of the game was about more than Houser’s struggles. The Mets were dropping catchable balls, they had run themselves out of an inning when DJ Stewart was thrown out at first base from right field before he could return on a flyball, there was a routine groundball to Joey Wendle at shortstop from which he couldn’t get an out, and the offense was absent once again.
It was a no-show performance, through the game’s first 4 1/2 innings.
Then came the bottom of the fifth, and the Mets offense showed up. Both Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte singled in runs to get them back to 4-2, and it could be sensed the offense was waking up a bit. With Francisco Lindor now in the game and seemingly past his near-hurling experience on the field the night prior, he notched the first of his two two-run doubles on the day to get the Mets back to 5-4. Nimmo then decided to get in on the doubles game with one of his own to tie the game.
Lindor capped his exciting day with a game-winning, two-run double in the bottom of the 11th to win it for the Mets and get the club a split of their four-game series.
The Mets had been pretty starved for offense in this series until that fifth inning, but something triggered them. Perhaps it was Lindor suddenly being available that excited the dugout and raised the energy level? Who knows. But it was nice to see the Mets, who had done everything possible to spoil the afternoon on their own, right the ship and end this series with a bang.
Bullpen again!
Where are the Mets without this bullpen?
Time and time again this group of relievers comes up aces for Carlos Mendoza and the Mets. Reed Garrett has been the glue in this unit, and he continues to be nothing short of amazing. He isn’t going to have a 0.54 ERA all year but right now, he is the best reliever Mendoza has and has built a brick of trust between himself and the dugout staff. So much so that Mendoza gave him the start of the ninth inning in a tie game over Edwin Díaz, the obvious spot for Mendoza to use his closer. He ended up walking Nico Hoerner, after which Mendoza went to Díaz, but that he gave him a batter in the ninth demonstrates the faith he has earned for the biggest spots in the game.
All told, six innings, one earned run, five hits, three walks and six strikeouts between Dedniel Núñez, Jake Diekman, Garrett, Díaz, and Danny Young. Just another day at the office for the bullpen.
All jokes aside, the Mets are 16-15. With the way things have gone in the rotation and in the lineup, this club is no where without the bullpen. Is this sustainable? No of course not but so far, Mendoza has pushed all the right buttons with his bullpen, and that deserves a lot of credit too.
Francisco Lindor’s near-vomit of 2024
Francisco Lindor left Wednesday’s game due to what the team termed as flu-like symptoms. As it turns out, Lindor said after the game he nearly lost bodily control on the field, which is why he decided to come out of the game that night.
“I was either going to throw up at shortstop or do No. 2 at shortstop,” Lindor explained after Thursday’s game.
Thanks for that lovely image, Francisco.
Anyway, he perked himself up enough to give the Mets perhaps the two biggest hits of his season and the four most important RBI of this game. One of his two-run doubles pulled the Mets back to 5-4, and his final two-run double won the game for them in the 11th inning.
“Today I was a role player,” Lindor said. “I had to be ready when my name was called.”
Listen, whatever works. Maybe his near-vomit will be the day we circle on the calendar for Lindor for when he got his season going. It’s been a massive struggle over the season’s first five weeks for him. Just when he seems to be coming out of it, he regresses. But we all know how great he is, can be, and probably will be this season. And he is a notorious slow starter. I’m just happy he had a great day on Thursday, even under what is literally not the prettiest of circumstances.
Key game-saving play
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what might have been a game-saving play in the 11th when Michael Tauchman singled to right and Starling Marte threw a bullet to the plate to throw out Nick Madrigal at the plate. Omar Narváez initially missed the tag but was able to clip Madrigal trying to get back to the plate.
That saved the all-important second run in extra innings for the Cubs and perhaps setup the win for the Mets in the bottom half of the inning.
Again, it wasn’t a pretty day for the Mets but they saved their best for last. Literally.
Around the League 🚩
Mike Yastrzemski helped lead the Giants to a win over the Red Sox in Fenway after he was visited by his grandfather Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski
The Yankees fell to the Orioles 7-2 to lose three of the four-game series
Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi exited his start early with right groin tightness and will undergo a MRI
Bally Sports channels were pulled from Comcast after Bally’s operator went bankrupt and was unable to reach a new contract
Walker Buehler is set to rejoin the Dodgers rotation after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022