Mets win ugly in Cincy to go back-to-back
New York put on a gutsy display of baseball in Cincinnati against the Reds in the opening game of their difficult road trip
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets relied on some clutch pitching to beat the Reds 3-2 in Cincinnati on Friday night (box)
LHP José Quintana bounced back in his second outing, allowing just one earned run on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts over 5.2 IP
SS Francisco Lindor drove in a run with a sac fly, and 2B Jeff McNeil hit his first homer of the year to give the Mets an important insurance run in the top of the eighth
3B Brett Baty continued to impress at the hot corner with a stellar diving grab to rob INF Spencer Steer in the fifth. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate
RHP Drew Smith and LHP Brooks Raley combined to gut out a scoreless seventh inning with the bases loaded for the Reds, and RHP Adam Ottavino delivered a spotless 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts
RHP Edwin Díaz did allow a run and did put a couple of runners on base, but was able to strike out OF Jake Fraley to pick up his first save of 2024
RHP Julio Teheran will make his first start in a Mets uniform against the Braves on Monday
Roster Moves 🗞️
Signed RHP Julio Teheran to a one-year contract
Designated RHP Michael Tonkin for assignment
Optioned RHP José Buttó to Triple-A Syracuse
Mets stats 🧮
The Mets lead the National League in ERA with a 2.18 mark. It ranks second in all of Major League Baseball
The Mets went just 4-for-30 at the plate on Friday - they’re hitting just .167/.272/.264 over the season’s first seven games. Their team batting average is last in MLB, their team OBP is 28th, and their team SLG is last
Mets at the plate, first seven games:
Francisco Lindor: 1-for-26, 4 BB, 1 RBI, 6 K
Brandon Nimmo: 1-for-21, 6 BB, 6 K
Jeff McNeil, 2-for-19, HR, RBI, 2K
DJ Stewart: 0-for-10, 6 K
Starling Marte: 5-for-26, HR, RBI, 5 K
Tyrone Taylor: 3-for-17, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 4 K
Pete Alonso: 7-for-29, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 7 K
Brett Baty: 6-for-22, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 K
Francisco Álvarez: 8-for-24, 3 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 7 K
Harrison Bader: 4-for-18, RBI, 7 K
Mets on the mound, first seven games:
José Quintana: 10.1 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 8 K
Brooks Raley: 4 G, 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Jorge López: 4 G, 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Edwin Díaz: 4 G, 1 S, 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Drew Smith: 4 G, 4 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Adam Ottavino: 3 G, 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, HR, 5 K
Injury Updates 🏥
OF Brandon Nimmo (hamstring tightness) is listed as day-to-day
Down on the Farm 🌾
DH J.D. Martinez struggled in his first game for the St. Lucie Mets, going 0-for-4 with a walk, three groundouts and a lineout
INF Colin Houck (No. 7 Prospect) hit a sac fly with the bases loaded in the 10th to drive in the winning run for the St. Lucie Mets (box)
RHP Dominic Hamel (No. 14 Prospect) allowed five earned runs and seven walks on two hits in his Syracuse debut (box)
SS Jett Williams (No. 1 Prospect) drew a walk in his first plate appearance of the year for Double-A Binghamton (box)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (2-5) @ Reds (4-3)
Where: Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, OH
Starters: RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Martinez (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
When: 4:10 PM EDT
Where To Watch: SNY
It wasn’t pretty, but the Mets get the job done… ✍️
Rewind back a week to when the Just Mets team revealed their predictions for the 2024 season.
I agonized for hours on my final record for the Mets, worried that I was being a negative Nancy by having the club finishing under .500 with just 80 wins.
Well, while still early, I’m now concerned that I was being a little too optimistic in regards to the total amount of wins. Because, seven games in, there have been more negatives than positives to digest.
However, in winning their last two games, including the gusty, gritty 3-2 win in the series opener against the Reds on Friday, the Mets have started to flash signs of an identity.
It isn’t pretty, but this team’s path to any modicum of success in 2024 will rely on solid pitching, the offense gutting it out and, of course, some late-game heroics from star closer Edwin Díaz.
Of course, that is hardly a reliable formula and that’s why I need to see a lot more from this team before I start getting too carried away.
After all, as was the case in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Tigers on Thursday, the Mets really did make hard work of things in Cincinnati on Friday. José Quintana looked better in his second start of the year, although he did give up a solo blast to Spencer Steer in the first inning and walked a few too many batters in the process. The veteran rebounded, ending his night with four strikeouts and without allowing another run, and that’s probably what we’ll get from Quintana for the duration of 2024 - a lot of solid with some highs and lows mixed in for good measure.
The offense still looked suspect to say the least, with two of the Mets’ three runs coming on a sac fly and a fielder’s choice. Francisco Lindor did score a run on the sacrifice fly, but he still doesn’t look right at the plate.
And, with Brandon Nimmo now day-to-day with hamstring tightness, that lineup is really going to have to figure things out quick if this team is going to play anywhere close to .500 ball.
J.D. Martinez will improve that lineup for sure, but I don’t think you can rely on just one player to put lipstick on a pig. Martinez alone won’t be nearly enough if the big guns don’t start playing to the back of their baseball cards. This offense was always meant to be a strength for this team, and it will need to be given that there are still a plethora of question marks when it comes to the pitching.
Looking at the positives, however, Jeff McNeil is now off the schneid after hitting his first home run of the year on Friday. Not only was that an important blast in the overall context of the game, but it was a critical moment for McNeil, who is now 2-for-19 on the year with a .453 OPS. Hopefully that solo homer can act as a catalyst for greater things to come for the veteran infielder.
Then there is Brett Baty.
He went 2-for-4 at the plate on Friday, Baty delivered his first real signature moment of the year with a stunning diving catch to retire Steer and help Quintana out of a big-time jam after put two runners on base. Baty made another impressive defensive play an inning later to deal with an Elly De La Cruz ground ball, highlighting his growing confidence at the hot corner in the process.
This was always going to be a make-or-break year for Baty, and although still way too early to draw any conclusions, the early signs have been incredibly promising both at the plate and in the field, and Baty has been far from any sort of problem for this club over the first week or so of games.
It was also comforting to see Díaz come in and record his first save of 2024. While it was far from pretty with the closer giving up a run and putting a couple of runners on, it was an important moment for Díaz as he continues to work his way back from the knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2023 season. The righty has looked mighty fine to begin the year, and Friday night was another huge step in the right direction. If the postseason is going to become a realistic target, then Díaz will need to be at his mesmerizing, dominating best when it matters the most.
Overall, there were some tangible positives to emerge from Game 1 of the first roadtrip of the year. There was a lot not to like too, and it wasn’t always pretty, but it was critical the Mets followed up their first win of the year with another one and start to build some momentum. Winning ugly can breed confidence, and you hope that things start to really click for this team - and namely the offense - throughout the rest of this roadtrip.
There are no such thing as style points in baseball, where getting the job done is the name of the game, no matter how ugly it may look at times.
The Mets have now done just that in back-to-back games. And that’s the main thing.
Around the League 🚩
RHP Grayson Rodriguez allowed just two runs and struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings as the Orioles beat the Pirates, 5-2
INF Thairo Estrada delivered the game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Giants a 3-2 walk-off win in their home opener against the Padres
The Rockies beat the Rays in style thanks to a walk-off grand slam from INF Ryan McMahon in their home opener
DH Shohei Ohtani hit his second home run of the year but that wasn’t enough as the Dodgers lost 9-7 to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, where 1B Michael Busch made a game-saving play in the field
Adolis García continues to absolutely own the Astros. The outfielder hit a three-run homer and went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs as the Rangers beat Houston, 10-2
Braves RHP Spencer Strider will undergo an MRI on Saturday after complaining of elbow discomfort