Mets win rubber game against Tampa as the good vibes are starting to build again
Cookie's back, Gary Sanchez returns to NY, and the vibes are finally pointing in the right direction
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets took the rubber game from the Rays by a score of 3-2 on Thursday afternoon (Box)
RHP Tylor Megill was excellent, allowing just two runs on four hits in six strong innings
Pete Alonso homered for the third straight game and leads MLB with 16 homers
Brooks Raley, Jeff Brigham, and David Robertson combined to fire three scoreless innings in relief to secure the win
Tommy Pham had two hits including an RBI infield single in the 6th that proved to be the difference
Other than Michael Perez in the nine spot, every Mets starter reached base at least once
The Mets won a series for the first time since taking two of three against the Dodgers in Los Angeles April 17-19
Roster Moves 🗞️
The Mets will reportedly select the contract of former Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez from Triple-A Syracuse (SNY)
Injury Updates 🏥
Carlos Carrasco (bone chips in elbow) is expected to be activated from the injured list and start for the Mets today
Pete Alonso… 🐻❄️
Leads MLB with 16 home runs - that’s the most by any Met through the team’s first 45 games of the season
Hit his 70th career homer at Citi Field, one short of Lucas Duda’s Citi Field record
Has homered in three straight games for the second time this season, now six times in his career
Joined Howard Johnson (6), Mike Piazza (9), Darryl Strawberry (9), and David Wright (6) as one of five Mets to homer in three straight games on at least six different occasions
His 162 home runs are the most of any player in MLB since the start of the 2019 season
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Guardians (20-23) vs. Mets (22-23)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, New York
Starters: RHP Cal Quantrill (2-2, 3.97 ERA) vs RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-2, 8.56 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
In less than 24 hours the vibes around the Mets have pulled a 180 ✍🏼
You know the expression about things changing in a New York minute?
Well, if the Mets are ultimately able to dig themselves out of their early season hole and become the team we all imagined they’d be in 2023, we’ll look back at 10:11 pm on May 17th as the exact minute the turnaround began.
That was the precise moment Pete Alonso’s mammoth three run walk-off homer in the 10th inning against the Rays cleared the fence, in what was a the culmination of a game the Mets simply had no business winning.
Getting a dramatic game tying homer from Mark Vientos in his first big-league game in 2023, a magical three run bomb from Francisco Álvarez to push the game to extras, and finally having their best player put one into outer space to secure a victory still felt like a dream waking up on Thursday.
It was the kind of win teams say they can build on, but there’s a difference between saying you’re going to do something, and, you know, doing it. Which made Thursday afternoon’s rubber game with baseball’s best team immensely important.
For the third straight game the Rays jumped on the Mets early, scoring a first inning run against Tylor Megill to give Tampa an immediate lead. It was short lived, though, as the Mets tied the game in the bottom of the inning, and later took a 2-1 lead on yet another long ball from Alonso.
After Tampa Bay tied the game in the top of the 6th, the Mets rekindled their 2022 specialty, the counter punch, and immediately reclaimed the lead and never gave it back en route to an important 3-2 victory.
Megill’s effort in particular stands out, as just a day after watching Kodai Senga fire six excellent innings, the big right-hander did exactly the same thing—an incredibly big development for a Mets starting staff that has been beleaguered all season long.
With the two wins against Tampa the Mets have pulled back to within one game of .500 with Cleveland coming into Queens tonight. A series win over the weekend would position the Mets nicely as they get set to go back on the road next week to Chicago and Colorado.
But there are some peripheral positives to be excited about as well, beginning with Vientos finally being promoted to the Major Leagues. Carlos Carrasco is rejoining the rotation today which in theory should help and deepen the team’s pitching staff. Former Yankee all-star Gary Sánchez has been mashing the ball in Triple-A and is joining the big league roster today as well. We will see who stays and goes as a flurry of roster moves are coming.
After weeks of disappointment and the vibes being very much off, the attitude around the Mets has swung a total 180 in a span of just 24 hours. Now they need to keep it going against the Guardians in a series that will feature both of New York’s aces, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
Momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher, right? And this team will leave and die on the effectiveness of their co-aces, no matter what happens with the rest of the roster.
Time will tell if the good feelings can continue, but one thing is for certain, this certainly feels like the dramatic turning point the Mets have needed and been looking for.
Like Alonso said the other night…”Lets f***ing go Mets”
Around the League 🚩
Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout each hit their 10th home runs of the season as the Halos barely squeaked past the O’s 6-5
Top Marlins prospect Eury Perez earned his first big league win as Miami won 5-3 in D.C.
Bo Bichette collected three hits including a home run, but it wasn’t enough for Toronto as the Jays fell to the Yankees 4-2
Cleveland got 5.2 strong innings from lefty Logan Allen and the bullpen did the rest in the Guardians 3-1 win over the White Sox