Mets power up for 3 home runs in rout of the Rockies

Plus, thoughts on the Mets infield logjam, Clay Holmes' impressive transition to the rotation, and Francisco Lindor's guts

Image courtesy of the Mets

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets routed the Rockies 8-1 at Coors Field on Saturday night (box)

• Clay Holmes started for the Mets and struck out six while allowing no walks and only one run over six innings for his seventh win of the season

• The Mets powered up for three home runs on Saturday - a 456 foot bomb from Ronny Mauricio and solo homers from Jared Young and Jeff McNeil

• Francisco Lindor - who broke his toe in Los Angeles earlier this week - stole two bases uncontested during the game

• The Mets got three scoreless innings of relief from José Buttó and José Castillo

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Injury Updates 🏥

• RHP Frankie Montas (lat strain) is scheduled to throw 80 pitches in his next rehab start, signaling he could be activated shortly thereafter

• LHP Sean Manaea (oblique strain) will likely make his next rehab start June 10 or June 11

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Roster Moves 📰

• Acquired RHP Justin Garza from San Francisco in exchange for cash considerations

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Play of the Game ⭐️

It wasn’t much of a game in the end, and Ronny Mauricio was a big reason why. His 456 foot homer to the second deck at Coors Field was the longest home run by a Met this season, hitting the ball 110.3 mph, per stat cast:

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Who’s Hot? 🔥

• Over his last eight games, Francisco Lindor is hitting .433/.500/.867 with a double, four home runs, and seven RBI with 13 hits and ten runs scored

• Over his last 14 games, Pete Alonso is hitting .327/.403/.727 with four doubles, six home runs and 19 RBI with 18 hits and nine runs scored

• Clay Holmes has pitched into the sixth inning in eight of his last nine starts, walking just 12 batters with 37 strikeouts and a 2.68 ERA over 53.2 innings during that span

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Down on the Farm 🌾

• RHP Justin Hagenman (Triple-A): 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

• INF David Villar (Triple-A): 3-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI

• OF D’Andre Smith (Double-A): 1-for-3, BB, 3 RBI

• OF Carson Benge (no. 3 prospect, High-A): 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

• OF AJ Ewing (no. 27 prospect, High-A): 3-for-6, R

• INF Colin Houck (no. 30 prospect, Low-A): 2-for-4, RBI, R

BOX SCORES

Low-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (41-24) at Rockies (12-52)

Where: Coors Field - Denver, CO

Starters: RHP Tylor Megill (4-4, 3.77 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Hollander (2-5, 6.26 ERA)

When: 3:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: WPIX

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Francisco Lindor is a gamer, and thoughts on Ronny Mauricio and Clay Holmes… ✍️

So far this weekend and in their season series against the Rockies, the Mets have done nothing other than what they’re supposed to be doing.

They’re a perfect 5-0 against Colorado, and as Kramer said so fluently once upon a time, they’re TCB’ing, or taking care of business.

That’s not to say there aren’t little wins in what wasn’t really a game for the Mets against the historically bad Rockies.

They moved to 3.5 games ahead of the Phillies in the National League East. They have the best record in the National League and now own the second-best record in MLB behind only the Tigers, who have just one more win than the Mets on their ledger.

Those are the superficial results of the Mets doing what they’re supposed to be doing.

Under the hood, you may have noticed Francisco Lindor last night, who started with a broken pinky toe and is unquestionably in quite a bit of discomfort when he goes full throttle in a major league game. It may seem like nothing to us - we stub our toe and often break it all the time under the most mundane of circumstances at home. But try doing that and having to go out and compete in a game where you have to run.

Not so easy.

But as we have come to learn over the last several years, Lindor is a true gamer. Not only did he get the start last night at shortstop, but he got three hits and stole two bases, both of which were uncontested as he basically got a walking lead on German Marquez on both occasions.

Maybe he saw something with Marquez, who has allowed 13 of 14 would-be basestealers to steal successfully on him. Maybe they just weren’t expecting him to go because of the toe.

It’s just part of the overall package Lindor is bringing to the table. I hope his peers and other young players were watching and understood the significance of what Lindor has done for the Mets under these circumstances over the last couple of days between his performance last night and his big two-run double on Friday. He is grinding through an injury, there’s no question he isn’t feeling great, but doing what he can to help the team win.

And in his case, 60 percent of Lindor is better than 100 percent of most other players. He will get another day off tomorrow to rest that foot of his before their next homestand begins against the Nationals on Tuesday.

Moving on, I can’t help but wonder how this third base situation is ultimately going to play out between Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty, and later, Mark Vientos. I know it’s only been two games, but obviously, Vientos has struggled and is now out for a while. Baty’s bat has cooled off, and he was back at second base last night with Jeff McNeil in center. Mauricio was at third, and while he has work to do over there, he looked really good on a couple of plays over there, and obviously, his offensive potential is undeniable.

That potential was on full display last night when he popped a 456-foot bomb to the second deck at Coors Field for a solo homer early in the game.

Going back to Spring Training, Mauricio was a popular subject among the media, but David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza made it clear they were going to slowly ramp him up. Mauricio had missed more than a year because of an ACL tear he sustained in winter ball back in December 2023. His rehab was a little bumpy as well, so the Mets understandably wanted to be cautious and took the process even slower than originally planned. They had said he wouldn’t appear in a spring game until mid-March at the earliest, and he never ended up appearing at all. He then had a lengthy rehab assignment in the minors before he was activated and optioned to Triple-A. But, he mashed there, and even when Vientos was healthy and Baty was producing, there were calls to bring Mauricio up despite the small sample of production.

But, the Mets hesitated until a need arose, and that need arose when Vientos went down with a strained hamstring earlier this week.

So, what’s going to happen down the line when Vientos is healthy?

Who knows. But as we just saw with Mauricio’s call-up, these things tend to work out somehow. That’s not to say someone is going to get hurt, but something usually allows all of these pieces to fall into place. For now, it’s up to Mauricio and Baty to make that a conversation when the time comes, whether it’s a month from now or further down the road.

And so far, Mauricio is doing his best to stick.

I don’t want to let last night’s game pass by without a quick discussion on Clay Holmes.

I am the first to raise my hand and say I was concerned about the Mets putting so much stock in Holmes as he transitioned from reliever to starter. But, I am gladly taking the loss on that one.

Holmes has pitched like an All-Star pretty much since day one this season. He knew he had a lot of work to do to make this transition work, so he got to Port St. Lucie in January and began stretching himself out and learning the routine of a starting pitcher. The kick-change and the sweeper have been key adds to his repertoire and have likely been the pitches which have helped make him so successful in this process. But it’s the sinker and slider - the two pitches which made him an elite reliever with the Yankees - which continue to push him forward and help him induce a lot of ground balls.

And in a place like Coors Field, that’s exactly the kind of outcome a pitcher wants and needs.

Now, the peripheral stats aren’t great on Holmes. It’s fair to say he’s gotten a little lucky, especially lately. He’s also allowed more home runs lately than he did earlier in the season. But that’s all a part of the process and adjustments he needs to and is clearly capable of making as the season moves into the hotter and more humid months.

All-in-all, his transition has been a lot of fun to watch, and once again, the Mets and the player deserve a lot of props for helping to evolve yet another pitcher mid-career.

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Around the League 🚩

• Jameson Taillon went went seven strong innings as the Cubs rolled past the Tigers 6-1

• The surprising Cardinals walked off the Dodgers in the ninth inning with a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium - Nolan Arenado’s 13th career walk-off RBI sealed it for St. Louis

• Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run in the ninth as the Giants walked off the struggling Braves 3-2

• Andrew Heaney out-dueled Ranger Suárez as the Pirates edged the Phillies 2-1

• The Red Sox outlasted the Yankees 10-7 as Boston knocked around Ryan Yarborough for eight runs over four innings