Mets make history as they powered up in win over Phillies
The Mets have scored ten runs in three straight games for the first time in franchise history. But, they may have a new problem in their bullpen
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets’ power bats were on display again at Citi field in their 10-6 win over the Phillies (box)
Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso opened the scoring with back-to-back home runs in the first. The Mets have hit six back-to-back home runs this year
Brandon Nimmo went 2-for-5 with a double, home run, and 3 RBI. He has now hit a home run in conasecutive games for the fifth time this season
Luisangel Acuña went 1-for-4 with a triple and RBI. He is the first Met to record a single, double, triple, and home run in his first five major league games
Luis Severino pitched six solid innings. His final line was 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. He has recorded a quality start in each of his five outings in September and he has given up three runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts
The Mets scored at least 10 runs for the third consecutive game which is the first time in franchise history they accomplished that feat. They are also the first team in the majors to do that this season
The team improved to 16-4 in their last 20 games, 10-1 in their last 11 games at home, 13-4 in September, 27-19 vs the NL East, and are 36-22 since the All-Star Game. Thursday was the fifth time this season the Mets have hit four or more home runs in a game
Playoff Race 🏁
The Braves and Diamondbacks both won while the Padres had the day off.
the Mets remain two games ahead of the Braves for the final wild card spot in the National League. They stay tied with the Diamondbacks record wise, but hold the second wild card by virtue of the tiebreaker. They improved to 2.0 games behind the Padres for the top Wild Card spot.
There are 9 games remaining - three with the Phillies, three with the Braves in Atlanta, and three with the Brewers in Milwaukee. That is the hardest schedule in baseball.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 71.8% chance of making the postseason.
Tiebreakers:
vs. ATL: 5-5
vs. ARI: 4-3 (finished)
vs. SD: 5-2 (finished)
Mark Vientos! 💪
Mark Vientos hit his 25th home run of the season on Thursday. He joins David Wright, Howard Johnson, and Robin Ventura as the only third baseman in franchise history to hit 25 or more home runs in a single season
Joined Darryl Strawberry (1983-1986), David Wright (2005-2007),
Michael Conforto (2017), Pete Alonso (2019) and Francisco Álvarez (2023) as the only players in franchise history age 24 or younger to have 25 or more home runs in a season
Down on the Farm 🌾
SS Jett Williams (#2 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, R
RHP Brandon Sproat (#1 prospect, Triple-A): 2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K
BOX SCORES
Triple-A SYR
Mets top 30 prospects
Who’s Hot 🔥
Francisco Alvarez hit a three-run home run in the fourth. He has a 1.058 OPS with four home runs and 10 RBI with a .750 SLG over his eight games
Jose Iglesias extended his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games. He is hitting .408.442/.449 during that span
Tyrone Taylor went 1-for-1 with 3 BB in the series opener against the Phillies. He is hitting .381/.480/.714 with four doubles and a home run over his last seven games
Pete Alonso has a seven-game hitting streak. He’s hitting .393/.452/.750 with a double, three home runs and seven RBI with 11 hits and six runs scored during that span
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (85-68) vs. Phillies (91-62)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP David Peterson (9-2 2.85 ERA) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (10-9, 3.24 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
The Mets have a bullpen problem, again! ✍️
Despite losing their MVP to a back issue, everything seems to be clicking for the Mets right now.
The starting pitching has been outstanding the entire month of September, and they could get even stronger should Kodai Senga return before the end of the season.
The starting pitching has essentially been carrying the team throughout this amazing run.
Despite losing Francisco Lindor to this back injury last weekend, the offense has gotten itself together too after a concerning drought. They’ve scored over ten runs in three consecutive games and have over ten runs in their last four wins. Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Francisco Álvarez have all found their power stroke and Luisangel Acuña has been a spark plug since being inserted into the lineup.
The bullpen, however, continues to be a bit shaky, especially when it comes to Danny Young.
The Mets were well on their way to victory against the Phillies until Severino exited the game and Young entered. He quickly loaded the bases and got only one out on a force play before he exited the game. Reed Garrett followed and allowed two inherited runners to score which allowed the Phillies to pull to within three. The Mets did tack on a run but this forced manager Carlos Mendoza to turn to Edwin Díaz in a game they once led 9-3.
Young’s season numbers have gone bad. He came into September with a solid 2.90 ERA but has allowed seven earned runs in his last four appearances while only pitching 1.1 IP during that span, and has seen his season ERA rise to 4.41. While he hasn’t issued any walks during this rough patch, he has hit three batters this month alone and allowed 16 free passes in only 34.2 IP this season.
Young’s struggles couldn’t be coming at a worse time, and the Mets don’t really have a solid safety net for this problem, either.
The other option is Alex Young who has better numbers overall but got knocked around by the Phillies last weekend and hasn’t pitched a lot for the club in 2024.
So, there’s suddenly a big gap in reliability in this bullpen for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, an area of the team which had enjoyed so much improvement since early July.
The good news? So far, the Mets have been able to overcome this sudden weakness. After all, they’re currently the second wild card, the starting pitching continues to roll and therefore they’re outhitting their deficiencies.
For the time being, of course.
Around the League 🚩
Chris Sale was dominant once again in the Braves 15-3 win over the Reds
Brandon Pfaadt’s strong performance one the mound help lead the Diamondbacks to a 5-1 victory against the Brewers
Shohei Ohtani joined a club of one when he became the first 50/50 player in Major League history after going 6-for-6 with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and 17 total bases in the Dodgers 20-4 win over the Marlins
The Guardians clinched a playoff spot with a walk-off win over the Twins
It looks like Acuna is here to stay. What a steal! The Mets have become the little engine who could!
Senga to the bullpen ASAP!