Mets ride the home run to series-opening win over Rockies
New York blasted a season-high five homers and survived another late bullpen scare to beat Colorado. Plus, Harrison Bader proves that it takes a village to be a successful and winning ballclub...
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets came from behind to beat the Rockies 7-6 at Citi Field on Friday night (box)
LHP Sean Manaea gave the Mets seven solid innings, allowing three earned runs - including a pair of homers - on five hits with one walk while striking out nine
The bullpen nearly blew another lead as LHP Jake Diekman and RHP Phil Maton combined to allow three earned runs on three hits - each giving up a homer - to make it a 7-6 game heading into the ninth
However, RHP Edwin Díaz was locked in and struckout one with two walks in a scoreless ninth to record his 10th save of the season
The offense was electric again with the Mets blasting a season-high five home runs, including three dingers in the second inning - the first time the team has hit three homers in an inning this season
OF Harrison Bader and 2B Jose Iglesias each hit two home runs, while 3B Mark Vientos also went yard and hit a double
The bottom of the lineup was unstoppable for the Mets, with hitters six-through-nine combining to go 7-for-15 with five home runs and seven RBIs
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected for the first time in his managerial career in the seventh inning after Jose Iglesias was called out on strikes
The Mets are currently 4-0 on this homestand and have so far outscored the Nationals and Rockies 27-13
New York is now 24-10 since June 2 and is tied for the most wins and the best winning percentage (.697) in baseball with the Astros during that span
The Mets have now won straight and could move to four games over .500 for the first time since April 20 with a win on Saturday
In his latest mock draft, Draft expert Kiley McDaniel has the Mets selecting CF Vance Honeycutt from North Carolina with the 19th overall pick (ESPN)
Both Francisco Lindor (No. 7) and Pete Alonso (No. 12) rank inside the Top 20 of MLB’s most popular jerseys in 2024
Playoff Race 🏁
The Mets are now tied with the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot in the National League, and are one game ahead of both the Padres and the Diamondbacks with 68 games to play.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 46.6 percent chance of making the postseason in 2024.
They have the fourth-easiest schedule in MLB the rest of the way.
Tiebreakers:
vs. ATL: 3-3
vs. AZ: 2-2
vs. STL: 3-2
vs. SD: 3-0
vs. CIN: 2-1
vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)
vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)
vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder impingement) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday
RHP Kodai Senga (right shoulder capsule strain) will make his second rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday
Roster Moves 🗞️
LHP David Peterson placed on the paternity list
RHP Eric Orze recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
Did You Know? 🕵️
There have only been 16 times in franchise history when the Mets have had two players hit multiple homers in a single game. Jose Iglesias and Harrison Bader became the latest duo to join the list on Friday (H/T Mike Mayer, MMO)
Who’s Hot 🔥
OF Harrison Bader is hitting .320 with four home runs and nine RBIs in his last 15 games
2B Jose Iglesias is hitting .347 with a .940 OPS and 16 RBIs in 28 games for the Mets this year
Since being called up from the minors in May, Mark Vientos has hit 11 home runs. In 174 at-bats through Friday, Vientos is hitting .299/.353/.569
Luis Severino, José Quintana, Sean Manaea, David Peterson and Christian Scott have combined for a 2.79 ERA in 12 starts in July with 24 walks and 50 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings pitched
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Mike Vasil (No. 12 prospect, Triple-A): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
2B Brett Baty (Triple-A): 1-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR (3-run HR)
1B Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 2B
C Kevin Parada (No. 10 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HR
RHP Dakota Hawkins (High-A): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
RHP Ernesto Mercedes (Single-A): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (48-45) vs. Rockies (33-62)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Christian Scott (0-2, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Feltner (1-8, 5.29 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Harrison Bader is proving that it takes a village to be a winning club ✍️
Our very own Rich MacLeod extolled the virtues of Jose Iglesias on Thursday.
A day prior to that, Michael Baron highlighted the offensive exploits of both Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo.
Michael also touched briefly on the instrumental role Harrison Bader has played this year, and that’s where I want to focus today.
Bader was signed by the Mets to significantly improve their outfield defense, and he has. The Gold Glover has, by and large, done a nice job defensively in the outfield and performed to the back of his baseball card in that regard.
However, it is offensively where Bader has really exceeded all expectations for the Mets this season.
A career .247 hitter who has reached double figures in home runs only three times in an eight-year career in the majors, Bader has provided plenty of pop from the bottom of the lineup for New York in 2024.
That was clearly evident on Friday as the veteran blasted two home runs in the win over the Rockies, contributing to a five-homer night for a Mets offense that continues to mash at an elite level. He’s now halfway to matching his career-high in homers of 16 that he hit with the Cardinals back in 2021. Furthermore, it was only the second multi-homer game of Bader’s career, and his first since Sept. 15, 2019 for St. Louis.
With the Mets currently enjoying an all-time resurgence, Bader has been a key part of that and has helped to provide consistent offense from the bottom of the lineup. He is hitting .320 with four home runs and nine RBIs in his last 15 games. More importantly, he’s shown an innate ability to come up in the clutch when his team really needs a big hit.
So, what’s behind Bader’s offensive surge this year?
It helps that he’s improved his splits against right-handed pitching. He was hitting .244 against righties in his career entering 2024, but that number has taken an exponential leap to .312 this season. It is also clear that Bader has made tangible improvements to his approach at the plate throughout this year, making incremental tweaks that have led to better results as the season has gone on.
It is hard to quantify just how much Bader has meant to the team this year, and the outfielder is providing a lot of value for the one-year, $10.5 million deal he signed back in the offseason. He has contributed with his Gold Glove defense, at the plate and on the bases with 13 stolen bases. Bader’s career-high in stolen bases is 20, and it is feasible he could surpass that total by the time 2024 is in the books.
Bader’s power surge on Friday was noteworthy for another reason, too. With the top of the lineup being shutdown - hitters one-through-five went a combined 3-for-18 - the Mets needed the bottom of their lineup to step up instead and provide some fireworks.
Both Bader and Iglesias did that with two homers each, with Bader’s second home run of the game a mammoth two-run shot that travelled 406-feet. Bader finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored from the nine-hole. That’s the definition of knowing your role and coming through when the team needs you the most.
You can’t always rely on your top hitters throughout the course of a 162-game regular season, as we’ve seen time and time again this year. You need contributions from up and down the lineup in order to be successful, and Bader has helped to transform the bottom of the lineup into a real offensive threat for the Mets.
It takes a village to be a winning ball club and you need sizable contributions from everybody on the roster.
Bader has consistently stepped up and delivered for the Mets this year, and his role on this team and in its recent success can’t be downplayed or overstated.
Around the League 🚩
Rookie Pirates phenom Paul Skenes will be just the fifth rookie starting pitcher to start an All-Star Game when he starts for the NL on Tuesday
There was a benches-clearing fracas at Camden Yards as the Yankees beat the Orioles 4-1 in the first game of a monster matchup between the two best teams in the AL East
Shohei Ohtani played a big role in erasing a three-run deficit with the winning run in the ninth inning to help the Dodgers beat the Tigers, 4-3
Reds rookie Rece Hinds continued his historic week, hitting the first grand slam of his young career in a 7-4 victory over Miami in Cincinnati
Jose Altuve blasted a three-run homer in the sixth inning, tying Astros legend Jimmy Wynn for the most home runs in franchise history with 223
Diaz did not have a great ninth last night. Sorta survived a save.
U gotta believe !!!