Mets win a thriller in LA, but not without a big consequence
Mark Vientos injured his hamstring in the tenth inning on Monday - is it Ronny Mauricio time?
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets won a nail biter against the Dodgers by a score of 4-3 in 10 innings on Monday night (Box)
Paul Blackburn started for the Mets for the first time in nine months, and turned in five scoreless innings in his season debut
The Mets jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Francisco Lindor’s sixth leadoff home run of the season
The Mets carried a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning, but Edwin Díaz allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly to Shohei Ohtani, Diaz’s first blown save of the season
Francisco Álvarez doubled in Luisangel Acuña in the tenth and Lindor singled in Marte who ran for Álvarez to give the Mets a 4-2 lead, and while José Buttó allowed the winning run to reach in the bottom of the tenth, he shut LA down for his first save of the season
The Mets did get three scoreless innings of relief from Huascar Brazobán, Ryne Stanek, José Castillo and José Buttó although Max Kranick allowed a solo home run to Shohei Ohtani in the eighth
Injury Updates 🏥
INF Mark Vientos left Monday night’s game in the tenth inning after injuring his hamstring. The Mets will provide further details today after he undergoes additional testing
LHP Brooks Raley (recovery from TJ Surgery) has started facing hitters in live BP, and the Mets are hopeful he could start a rehab assignment soon
Play of the Game ⭐️
In the tenth inning with the Mets already having regained the lead, Francisco Lindor’s RBI single to score Starling Marte extended the Mets’ lead to 4-2, necessary insurance considering the Dodgers would draw even and get the winning run on-base in the bottom of the frame against José Buttó. The Mets would eventually hold on for a 4-3 win.
Who’s Hot? 🔥
Over his last seven games, Brandon Nimmo is hitting .375/.444/.583 with two doubles, a homer and three RBI with nine hits and three five runs scored
Over his last eight games, Francisco Lindor is hitting .353/.378/.735 with a double, four home runs andseven RBI with 12 hits and eight runs scored
Over his last 11 games, Brett Baty is hitting .316/.381/.474 with a double, triple, one home run and nine RBI with 12 hits and eight runs scored
Stats of the day 📊
The Mets have won the last 27 games in which Francisco Lindor has homered. The streak that goes back to July 9, 2024 is the longest streak in franchise history
The Mets are now 6-4 in series openers on the road, 24-5 when scoring first, 9-5 in games won in their last at-bat, 3-2 in extra innings, 9-4 against the NL West, and 28-7 when they score four or more runs in a game
Down on the Farm 🌾
All Mets minor league affiliates were off on Monday
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (38-22) @ Dodgers (36-23)
Where: Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA
Starters: RHP Tylor Megill (4-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw (0-0, 4.91 ERA)
When: 10:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
An important win on the schedule, and thoughts on Francisco Alvarez’s big night… ✍️
You don’t have to win pretty. You just have to win, right?
I mean, this seemed pretty for the first eight innings for the Mets on Monday. They got a stellar start from Paul Blackburn after a long time away due to a variety of unfortunate injuries. They got generally good bullpen work leading up to the ninth inning, although Max Kranick did allow a home run to Shohei Ohtani, which got the Dodgers back to within a run.
That’s when the game got exciting.
Edwin Díaz chose a night against the Dodgers to be the day he blew his first save of the season. He looked human for a change, and it just seemed as though the Mets might let a great game they had in their back pocket get away and get this road trip off on a sour note.
But, Díaz held the Dodgers to that one run, and the Mets didn’t let off the gas pedal in the bottom of the tenth inning, scoring the two necessary runs they needed to stave off the Dodgers and get their third win of the year against what seems to be a budding rivalry against two great clubs.
As Justin wrote on Monday morning, the Mets need just two wins this week against the Dodgers to secure the season series and own the tiebreaker against them. As we learned in 2024, that tiebreaker can be critical for any number of scenarios, as it would give the Mets home-field advantage against LA in a playoff series and it could also determine whether or not the Mets or Dodgers get into the playoffs or not as a wild card. It’s a big series for more reasons than just Mets/Dodgers. The rules make every league series important, but with the Mets having already won two out of three against the Dodgers in New York and now the first game of this series, a season-series win is in clear sight, and they can control their own destiny in certain scenarios if they do the job.
So, the Mets just need to win one of the next three games in Los Angeles to check that all-important box. Obviously, we would like them to win all four games in this series, but I’ll take the little win first tonight.
Then we can talk about winning this series.
This wild win did not come without a consequence, of course, as it would appear the Mets will be without Mark Vientos for a significant period of time after he strained his hamstring in the tenth inning running out a groundball. Even if it’s generally mild, we know the script on this - at least 4-6 weeks and if it’s worse, it could be longer.
Now, does that open the door for Ronny Mauricio? Perhaps, but he does still need some time after missing a year and a half due to his ACL injury. Their hand may be forced of course since there’s a need, Mauricio is performing and they can at least install him in either an everyday designated hitter role or a utility infield role.
So, this isn’t an exact science, as you can see. But, we will see what they decide to do later today.
Anyway, an important takeaway from this game was Francisco Alvarez’s performance at the plate. He notched two hits including that all-important opposite field double in the tenth inning to plate Luisangel Acuña.
At this point, the Mets have simply been a better team when Luis Torrens has started for this team. He’s been better on both sides of the ball, and that’s just an indisputable fact. That doesn’t diminish the talent Álvarez has or what his ceiling is, but the fact remains it’s been two injury-riddled years sandwiching underperformance at the plate and behind the plate. He struggles to receive, he struggles to block, his power has been absent, and he just hasn’t hit overall.
He’s still so young, and injuries can really screw up a player regardless of age. So, the Mets owe him every opportunity to be successful, and they don’t want to overexpose Torrens, even though he does provide elite-level defense behind the plate. Monday offered a glimpse into the force Álvarez can be offensively, and perhaps that will serve as a stepping stone for him to get his career back on the track it was on in 2023 when he hit 25 home runs and looked like he was on an immediate ascent to stardom.
He played an important role in a game against the class of the National League on Monday, and his performance mattered in the win. Here’s to hoping that builds his confidence going forward.
Around the League 🚩
The Brewers won their eighth game in a row with a 3-2 win over the Reds thanks to Christian Yelich’s go-ahead homer in the eighth inning
The Padres beat the Giants in a 1-0 10-inning thriller in San Francisco - José Iglesias’ sac fly in the 10th inning provided the only run of the game
The Rockies won only their 10th game of the season 6-4 over the Marlins in Miami
The Angels hit three home runs in the first inning en route to a 7-6 win over the Red Sox in Boston
Isn’t Mauricio a switch hitter?
Blackburn was a pleasant surprise. He looked great! I’d like to see Alvarez pull the ball 1 time before getting too excited but that hit in the 10th was encouraging anyway 🤞 I don’t think there’s anyone in Syracuse to call up except Mauricio?