Mets drop final game of series to Pirates - all eyes now on Subway Series
The Mets endured a rainy night to forget against Pittsburgh in the series finale. Plus, attention now shifts to a mouthwatering weekend of baseball in New York...
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets lost to the Pirates 4-0 in the final game of the series at a rainy Citi Field on Wednesday night (box | highlights)
RHP Clay Holmes made his first start on four days’ rest of the year, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Holmes became just the second Mets starter this year to allow multiple home runs in a game
The Mets struggled offensively all night, recording just six hits and going 0-for-4 with RISP, leaving eight runners stranded on base
RF Juan Soto was given a routine off day in order to have an extra day of rest ahead of this weekend’s Subway Series
OF Juan Soto also confirmed that he would play for the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic if healthy
Stats of the Day 📊
Following RHP Kodai Senga’s start on Tuesday, the Mets became the first team ever to have five pitchers with earned run averages 3.15 or lower, and 40 or more strikeouts through the first eight starts of a season (Per Greg Harvey, OptaSTATS)
No other team in Major League Baseball history has had five such players to start a season
Entering Wednesday, Mets catchers had thrown out 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) of runners attempting to steal - the best mark in MLB. The league average was 22 percent
What David Stearns said on Wednesday… 🗣️
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns held his once-a-homestand press conference on Wednesday, and he addressed the following topics…
Stearns is happy with the balance of the team but feels they can improve, with defense the one glaring area he feels needs to be better moving forward. Stearns said that the team have a number of players who can play better defense, and he expects the mistakes we’ve seen so far to lessen as the season progresses.
C Luis Torrens was a notable addition last year, and Stearns said that the front office will consider making an external move if the right fit and right opportunity presents itself.
Stearns praised the overall success of the starting pitching this year, crediting each member of the rotation for “taking control of their careers.” He also singled out the catching and pitching staff for their success at throwing out runners so far this year, making it clear that improving in that area was a real priority for the entire organization.
INF Brett Baty has enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence over the last week or so, and Stearns praised the second baseman, noting that he is seeing the ball really well right now.
Per Stearns, SS Ronny Mauricio is progressing well and will get promoted to Triple-A soon. The plan from there will be for Mauricio to play all three infield positions in order to build up volume and get back into “true baseball shape.” Stearns also confirmed that Mauricio will stay in the minor leagues until there is a need for him at the Major League level.
RHP Nolan McLean has enjoyed a stellar start to the 2025 Minor League season, and Stearns wants the No. 5 Mets prospect to focus on the challenge ahead at Triple-A, playing down any talk of a potential MLB timeline.
Finally, Stearns insisted that he still sees RHP Matt Allan as a prospect, and one with a high ceiling, despite the fact that the 24-year-old has struggled to stay healthy.
Play of the Game 🌟
In the top of the second, with a runner at second and two outs, Clay Holmes raced into a 0-2 count against Pirates first baseman Matt Gorski.
However, in-between pitches, the rain became heavier and Holmes was clearly impacted, allowing Gorski back into the count before leaving a sweeper hanging right over the plate, which Gorski made no mistake with to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.
Holmes actually pitched okay outside of the two home runs he gave up, but the two-run shot he allowed in the second inning really set the tone on what was a horrible weather night.
And, with the offense unable to really get anything going, Holmes’ inability to finish the job against Gorski ultimately proved costly.
Mets Raccoon! 🦝
Down on the Farm 🌾
DH Joey Meneses (Triple-A): 3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
RHP Jack Wenninger (No. 28 prospect, Double-A): 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
CF A.J. Ewing (No. 27 prospect, High-A): 1-for-2, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SB
RHP Will Watson (No. 29 prospect, Single-A): 4.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG (GM 1 | GM 2) | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
The Mets are off on Thursday and will be back in action on Friday in the Bronx for the first Subway Series of the year.
Mets must flush frustrating night and turn focus to weekend litmus test ✍️
Wednesday just proved to be one of those really bad nights at the office for the New York Mets.
Clay Holmes gave up two costly long balls in the rain at Citi Field, with the weather clearly having a negative impact on the starter.
The offense couldn’t get anything going all night, recording just six hits, and all of them singles. And, when there were runners on base, the Mets just couldn’t take advantage, wasting golden opportunities early on to take the lead.
Again, it was just one of those nights.
However, the Mets had already done their job by winning the first two games of the series against Pittsburgh. As such, Wednesday was a punt game with Juan Soto getting the night off.
After all, and I mean no disrespect to the Pirates when I say this, but there are bigger bears to hunt for New York.
With today being an off-day for the team, the Mets will now look to flush the disappointment of Wednesday night and instead focus on the first Subway Series of the year.
The three-game series in the Bronx will act as a real litmus test for this team, who currently own the fourth-best record in all of baseball.
In-fact, for only the third time in history, the Mets and the Yankees will do battle while in first place in their respective divisions. The previous two occasions were in 2015 and 2022.
As a result, we should be in for a superb weekend of baseball between two really good teams who are both playing well.
Plus, there will be added spice to this rivalry given what happened in the offseason. After helping to lead the Yankees to the World Series, Soto left the Bronx Bombers at the altar and instead opted to sign a historic and record-breaking contract across town with the Mets. It was a move that helped to shift the baseball landscape in New York somewhat, and Soto’s decision still clearly rankles Yankees fans.
As such, Soto will no doubt hear a lot of boos at Yankee Stadium all weekend long. That is probably a given. But, as we’ve seen so many times before throughout his career, Soto seems to relish those kind of moments and maybe a hostile atmosphere will help lead to the breakout we’ve all been waiting for.
Just how poetic will it be for Soto to return to the Bronx and truly go off, putting together his best series of the year so far?
That’s clearly the outcome all Mets fans will be hoping for this weekend.
Of course, while Soto’s return to Yankee Stadium will be the headline act, there will be other tantalizing storylines to keep an eye on. Can this stellar Mets pitching staff slow down what has been a really effective Yankees offense, despite Soto’s departure? Can the likes of Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso take center stage and help the Mets to rule New York for the weekend? Will Brett Baty be able to continue his recent hot streak and really make a statement?
No matter what happens, all the ingredients are there for a truly spectacular weekend of baseball.
Again, this weekend’s Subway Series will be a real litmus test for the Mets. The Yankees have survived the losses of Soto and Gerrit Cole, and the depth of their lineup has proved to be particularly dangerous. Of course, it helps too that they have Aaron Judge, who has been playing at an other-worldly level this year.
If we want to see just how good this Mets team is, then this weekend will act as a real good barometer.
All in all, the first Subway Series of 2025 is arguably the most anticipated in recent memory. So, in order to make it a weekend to remember, the Mets must move on from the frustration of Wednesday night and instead focus on how to take down what is still a very good Yankees team.
Around the League 🚩
The Dodgers are calling up C Dalton Rushing - the No. 15 ranked prospect in all of baseball (The Athletic)
Three-time All-Star Matt Carpenter announced his retirement from the game following a 14-year career (Sports Spectrum)
INF Kody Clemens hit a go-ahead home run to help the Twins sweep the Orioles and extend their winning streak to 10 straight games
OF Aaron Judge blasted his 15th home run of the year and 1B Paul Goldschmidt hit his first pinch-hit homer since 2011 as the Yankees beat the Mariners, 3-2
INF Hyeseong Kim clubbed his first MLB career home run to help the Dodgers beat the A’s, 9-3
SS Jeremy Peña went 4-for-4 and drove in the go-ahead run from the leadoff spot to help the Astros to a 4-3 win over the Royals
Ugh. Really dull game. Wonder if Marte's clock is ticking louder in Stearnsville...I'd expect that Uncle Steve would say, "I'll swallow the money if you think that's best for the team".
Tough night. I saw Marte and Azocar in the lineup and figured we’d have a tough time offensively. These games happen. Let’s take 2 of 3 from the Yanks 👍