Mets clinch fifth straight series win with big Saturday showing vs the Dodgers
New York has now won straight six games and everything is starting to come together for this gutsy team. Plus, some really bad news on Francisco Álvarez...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets clinched their fifth straight series win by beating the Dodgers 6-4 on Saturday (box)
New York has now won six straight games, which is tied for the current longest active win streak in MLB along with the Phillies and Braves
RHP Jose Buttó allowed two earned runs on three hits with five walks and six strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work
OF Starling Marte had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored and a home run
SS Francisco Lindor continued his recent resurgence, finishing 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs while driving in the insurance run in the eighth inning
INF Joey Wendle bounced back from a tough night in the field on Friday by going 2-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base in Saturday’s win
RHP Edwin Díaz was brought into the game in the eighth inning and worked out of a jam to keep the Mets’ lead intact
RHP Reed Garrett continues to be quite the story as he struckout the side in the ninth to earn his first save of the year
Roster Moves 🗞️
C Francisco Álvarez placed on the 15-Day IL with a left thumb strain
C Tomás Nido selected from Triple-A Syracuse
LHP Kolten Ingram designated for assignment
Injury Updates 🏥
C Francisco Álvarez will undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his thumb. No timeline was placed on his recovery, although Álvarez told teammates he expects to miss 6-8 weeks
Who’s Hot 🔥
RHP Reed Garrett has struckout 21 of the 41 batters he’s faced this year. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 10 2/3 innings
OF Starling Marte is hitting .333/353/.667 over his last three games with 11 hits, 3 homers, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases
SS Francisco Lindor has a slash line of .310/.375/.483 with 1 home run, 4 RBIs, 3 BB and 1 SB over his last 3 games
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Mike Vasil (No. 11 prospect, Triple-A): 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 K, 2 HR
3B Mark Vientos (Triple-A): 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, HR
SS Luisangel Acuña (No. 3 prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
DH Kevin Parada (No. 9 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-5, 1 RBI
OF Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, High-A): 9-for-24, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2 HBP over his last 7 games
DH Nolan McLean (High-A): 3-for-5, 3 R, 1 RBI
3B Colin Houck (No. 7 prospect, Single-A): 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (12-8) at Dodgers (12-11)
Where: Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
Starters: RHP Adrian Houser (0-1, 4.70 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-1, 3.72 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
(Nearly) Everything is coming together for these gutsy Mets… ✍️
It would be natural to take a negative view when writing this newsletter this morning.
After all, the Mets’ sixth straight win was soured by the fact that Francisco Álvarez will need to undergo surgery on a torn ligament in his thumb.
While no official timeframe for recovery has been offered by the team, Álvarez told teammates that he expects to be out for 6-8 weeks.
So, it is safe to assume that the Mets will be without one of their better players until at least June, if not into July. But, given how tricky ligaments can be, especially in the hand, it could be a lot longer.
Now, I’m not going to unleash my inner-Mets fandom by thinking the worst and start doom-mongering Álvarez won’t be back this year. That will be foolish.
All we can hope for is the phenom catcher makes a speedy recovery and is able to return at some point this summer. After all, Álvarez was developing into a real asset both behind and at the plate.
This injury sucks for everyone. But Álvarez will be back at some point.
For now, let’s focus on the positives.
The Mets have now taken two out of the first three from a juggernaut Dodgers team, winning their fifth consecutive series as a result.
We’ve said it before, but this team has come a hell of a long way from the one that began the year 0-5. They’re 12-3 since.
However, it was the way in which the Mets took down the Dodgers on a sunny Saturday in Los Angeles that really impressed me. It doesn’t matter what is thrown at this current group, they will find a way to come out on top. Somehow, someway.
On more than one occasion the Dodgers had the bases loaded with one of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman up at the plate. Yet, each time Mets pitching was able to really grind down and limit the damage. Okay, so LA’s lethal three-headed monster combined for four hits, two runs and eight walks - yes, eight walks - but Jose Buttó and the bullpen ensured that the damage wasn’t insurmountable.
Reed Garrett continues to be the feel-good story of the year so far for the Mets. The righty came in for Edwin Díaz in the ninth to strike out all three batters faced to pick up his first save of the year. Garrett has now struck out 21 of the 41 batters he has faced this year - that leads all relievers in MLB - and he hasn’t allowed a run in 10 2/3 innings. In what is a transitional year, you need players to rise up and perform better than what the back of their baseball card says, and Reed is certainly doing that so far.
As for the offense, Saturday was further proof that everything is really starting to come together for this lineup. Starling Marte looks as healthy as can be, and he had another big day on Saturday with 4 RBIs and two runs scored. This is exactly the version of Marte the Mets will need all year long if they are to compete for a playoff spot. Oh, and Marte’s three-run homer was a beast, traveling 432 feet.
Talk about an intoxicating raw display of power.
That wasn’t all.
The Californian air has also proved to be really sweet for Francisco Lindor, who has now seemingly settled into a groove. Following his heroics on Friday night, the shortstop went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs on Saturday, including a clutch hit in the eighth inning to drive home the crucial insurance run.
In short, everything seems to be clicking for the Mets. Besides losing Álvarez to injury, of course.
But, with Marte looking healthy, Lindor looking more like the Lindor we’ve become accustomed to over the past few seasons, and the starting pitching and the bullpen getting the job done by any means necessary on a daily basis, and not to mention the eventual debut of J.D. Martinez, the short-term future is looking incredibly bright for this team.
Granted, it is still April and now is not the time to get too carried away, but there were a lot of encouraging trends to emerge from Saturday’s win. And there’s a lot to like about the way this gutsy Mets team is winning games.
Everything is coming together at just the right time.
Around the League 🚩
C Travis d’Arnaud hit his fourth home run in the last two days as the Braves beat the Rangers, 5-2
2B Jordan Westburg went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs as the Orioles resisted a Royals fightback in a 9-7 thriller in Kansas City
RHP Zack Wheeler threw a gem, giving up just one hit and no runs while striking out 8 as the Phillies beat the White Sox, 9-5
C Patrick Bailey sent a two-run shot into McCovey Cove for his first splash hit on his bobblehead day as the Giants beat the D-backs, 7-3
OF Aaron Judge was booed at Yankee Stadium after striking out four times as the Yanks were beaten by the Rays, 2-0, in extra innings