Pete Alonso's ability to carry the offense is paramount the rest of the way...
Alonso's 4-for-4 night and David Peterson's effort on the hill helped end the Mets four-game losing streak on Wednesday
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets blasted the A-s 9-1 to end their four-game losing streak (box)
LHP David Peterson started for the Mets and pitched into the seventh inning without allowing an earned run - he allowed three hits and four walks with four strikeouts
Pete Alonso had a breakout night with his 4-for-4 at the plate, that which included a homer, a clutch double, and three RBI
Francisco Lindor continued to build his case for the NL MVP with two hits, two RBI and a homer
The home run was Lindor’s 100th since joining the Mets in 2021
DH J.D. Martínez returned to the lineup after being hit by a pitch in his elbow on Tuesday, doubled, drove in a run and scored a run
The Mets offense went 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday night, and is now 49-for-219 (.224) with RISP since July 14th
New York is 5-8 over their last 13 games, have won 19 of their last 26 home games, and are 13-12 in the second half of the season
David Peterson… 👏
The Mets are 10-3 in games started by David Peterson this season
Improved to 7-1 and lowered his ERA to 3.04 for the year
His 3.04 ERA is the 16th best in MLB among starting pitchers who have thrown at least 70 innings this season
Has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of 13 starts this season
Who’s Hot 🔥
In 25 games since the All-Star Game, Pete Alonso has a .930 OPS with 6 doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBI, and 15 runs scored
In 25 games since the All-Star Game, Francisco Lindor has an .864 OPS with 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 17 RBI and 16 runs scored
In 24 games since the All-Star Game, Jeff McNeil has a .966 OPS with 8 doubles, 6 home runs, 14 RBI and 16 runs scored
Playoff Race 🏁
The Mets remained two games behind the Braves for the final Wild Card spot in the National League after play concluded on Wednesday. They also remained 6 games behind the Padres and the Diamondbacks for the top wild card spots.
There are 42 games remaining.
Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 21.7% chance of making the postseason.
New York has the 13th most difficult schedule in MLB the rest of the way
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Tiebreakers:
vs. ATL: 5-5
vs. ARI: 2-2
vs. SD: 3-0
vs. CIN: 2-1
vs. STL: 4-2 (finished)
vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)
vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)
vs. CHC: 4-3 (finished)
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Sean Reid-Foley (right shoulder impingement) had his rehab assignment suspended due to performance problems in his minor league outings. He will not pitch again for at least a few days
RHP Dedniel Núñez (right pronator strain) threw a bullpen session on Tuesday, although his velocity was down at 94 mph. He will throw another bullpen session later this week
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Brandon Sproat (#1 prospect, Triple-A): 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K (ejected)
RHP Nolan McLean (#9 prospect, Double-A): 5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
OF Christopher Suero (High-A): 2-for-4, 2 RBI
INF Colin Houck (#21 prospect, Low-A): 1-for-2, BB, 2B, 2 R
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (62-58) vs. Athletics (51-70)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: LHP José Quintana (6-8, 4.10 ERA) vs. RHP Mitch Spence (7-8, 4.33 ERA)
When: 1:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Stuff on Alonso, Peterson, and this restructured wild card race in the NL… ✍️
Now, that’s more like it.
The Mets did everything they’ve been criticized for not doing on Wednesday. They beat up on a second division team, they pitched well, they hit for power, they hit with runners in scoring position, they played a clean defensive game, and perhaps most importantly, they showed a pulse.
All of that was absent during the previous four games, during which they had been outscored - and outclassed - 31-5 and had fallen out of pole position in the wild card race.
They needed a laugher in the worst way on Wednesday.
It was an especially bad time for the Mets to hit a rut. The Diamondbacks and Padres have essentially pulled away with the top two spots in the wild card race, leaving them chasing the Braves for one spot.
They’re still two games behind Atlanta for that wild card spot and because of all of that and the strength of their remaining schedule, the odds the Mets get to the playoffs are not particularly great down the stretch.
Something tells me though it will be more about how Atlanta plays down the stretch than the Mets. What happened in Seattle and in the first game of this series against the A’s happens, as aggravating as it was. Offense comes and goes, there are bad turns through the rotation, and while it was not at all a good time for that to happen, it’s been pretty much since May that we saw the Mets play that way.
Hopefully it’s out of their system now.
The Mets schedule suddenly isn’t as easy as we thought it might be the rest of the way, but we pretty much know what the Mets are at this point whereas the Braves are about as bipolar a club as there can be thanks to their poor offense and up and down pitching.
So, there is still a pretty good chance the Mets could sneak in unless the Braves suddenly find themselves, which is always a possibility but just hasn’t been there for them since May.
In order for that to happen, this uptick in offense from Pete Alonso will need to continue. Francisco Lindor has done his part, putting up a debatable MVP-like season on both sides of the ball, but as we’ve chronicled so much over the last couple of weeks here, this hasn’t been an ideal walk year for Alonso thanks in large measure to the absence of evenings like the one he had last night, during which he carried the offense with a 4-for-4 night at the plate.
As we say that of course, he still managed to get his OPS over the .800 mark, which would still be the lowest of his career but a sign that he might actually be getting beyond the wall he keeps seeming to hit at the plate. He is still very likely to break the 30 home run barrier again as well and perhaps be in the 35 home run area by the time we get to game 162.
As such, there’s no real indication Alonso’s best days are behind him. I’ve always thought Alonso has put way too much pressure on himself to perform, and his problems with RISP throughout this season - that which is in his walk year - is subjective evidence to support my theory.
He can still turn all of that around and change the narrative of his season and pending free agency with a strong six-week finish to the season. Let’s see if he steps up - the Mets need him to if they’re going to get to the playoffs this season.
Speaking of stepping up, David Peterson continues to anchor this rotation and at least give this team a chance for the postseason this season. Right now, Peterson, Sean Manaea and José Quintana are their best pitchers and give them their best hope for a playoff run, but Peterson has certainly been the most consistent of the three since he was activated.
After all, he has a 3.04 ERA for the year, he’s 7-1 overall and the Mets are 10-3 in his 13 starts. He has allowed two runs or less in 11 of his 13 starts as well and just six home runs in his 71 innings of work. The one problem area for Peterson are the walks, but that’s a systemic problem with this pitching staff overall this season. If he could just command his slider a bit better, that would help get him to the next level.
But all-in-all, its really hard to argue with Peterson’s service to the club this season.
We’re now going to see what this team is made off the rest of the way. They had a rough road trip, a skid that left them on the outside looking in and a much different wild card race than they were in before they left for the west coast nearly two weeks ago.
The odds are stacked against the Mets, they have a gauntlet on the schedule between Baltimore, San Diego and Arizona after this weekend’s series against the Marlins, but it also offers an opportunity to at least close the gap, establish an advantage in potential tie breakers, and offer a reason to believe they can still get there in the end.
But, they have to win those ballgames. Yesterday was a necessary step in the right direction.
Around the League 🚩
The D-Backs blew away the Rockies with an 11-4 win, their sixth straight win
The Padres blew away the Pirates with an 8-2 win, their third straight win
The Yankees put up a six-spot against the White Sox in the eighth inning and Aaron Judge hit his 300th career homer in their 10-2 rout on the south side
Kyle Schwarber’s homer and Bryce Harper’s two doubles helped end the Phillies six-game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the Marlins
Lets hope Peterson has finally found it.
Need about 30 more wins like this down the stretch