The Return of Francisco Álvarez...
The Mets avoid the sweep with a win over the Reds. Plus, the Mets are bringing back Francisco Álvarez after he torched the International League
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What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets salvaged the series finale with the Reds, beating Cincinnati 3-2 on Sunday at Citi Field (Box)
LHP David Peterson started for the Mets and was fantastic once again, going six innings without allowing an earned run, while allowing just four hits and a walk
2B Luisangel Acuna started at second base and had a good game, contributing an RBI double along with a walk and a sac bunt
RHP Edwin Díaz suffered a blown save in this one after allowing the Reds to tie the game in the top of the 8th, but he ended up earning the win when the Mets scored in the bottom of the frame
RHP Ryne Stanek pitched the bottom of the 9th and earned his second save of the season
Roster Moves 📰
The Mets will recall C Francisco Álvarez before Monday’s game against the Angels
Play of the Game 🌟
This is an easy one.
After the Mets had disappointingly allowed the Reds to tie the game in the top of the 8th inning, New York desperately needed to regain momentum in the bottom of the frame. After reaching first base via a leadoff walk, Juan Soto scampered to third on a one-out double from Jeff McNeil. That brought up Luis Torrens in a spot with the game on the line. The Reds infield came in, and after a long at-bat, Torrens hit a hard groundball just to the left of second baseman Matt McLain. McLain made a nice stop of the ball and got a quick throw off to the plate, but Soto was going on contact and was able to safely arrive at the plate with a headfirst slide.
Who’s Hot? 🥵
Luis Torrens enjoyed an excellent first series after the all-star break, going 5-for-11 in the three games against the Reds with two RBI
David Peterson has allowed two earned runs over his last three starts, a span of 19.2 IP
Down on the Farm 🌾
C Francisco Álvarez (Triple-A): 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB
OF Carson Benge (No. 3 Prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, RBI, 2B, R
C Kevin Parada (Double-A): 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 3B, R
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (56-44) vs. Angels (49-50)
Where: Citi Field - Queens, NY
Starters: RHP Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.39 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Anderson (2-6, 4.34 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Francisco Álvarez is back! ✍️
When the Mets sent Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse on June 22nd, it was unquestionably the right decision.
The club’s young backstop was struggling mightily on both sides of the ball, slashing just .246/.319/.333 with nearly no power to speak of, and defensively was too often a liability.
In short, Alvarez looked like a shell of his former self, on both sides of the ball, and was not playing even remotely like the guy who was once the top overall prospect in baseball, and poised to be the Mets starting catcher for the next decade.
When Álvarez was demoted, he had two choices: sulk about it or go down and prove he can still be the Mets’ long-term answer at one of the most important positions on the field.
A month later, the organization is obviously pleased with what has transpired, as he is being brought back to the big league club for Monday’s game against the Angels.
In 19 games with Syracuse since being sent down, Alvarez blasted 11 homers and drove in 24 runs. His OPS is an astounding 1.129, and defensively he’s looked much more poised and under control than he did in the majors.
The Mets offense has sputtered at the big league level and has really not gotten much from their top four hitters of Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, or Pete Alonso for a while.
Luis Torrens has done an admirable job filling in as New York’s starting catcher in Alvarez’ absence, and it’s no secret he is the Mets’ best defensive catcher. In fact, I can’t ever remember the Mets having a catcher that completely took away the running game from the opposition the way Torrens does.
That said, the Mets need offense, and even on his best day, Torrens can simply not come anywhere close to the offensive ceiling Alvarez brings.
I thought Sunday was also particularly telling, as after taking a beating behind the plate in each of the first two games with the Reds, Torrens was right back in there for the series finale in a day game after a night game.
The Mets clearly don’t have a ton of confidence in Hayden Senger, who is seemingly only here as an emergency option behind the dish.
So, it’s time for Álvarez, again. They need his bat, they need his energy, they need him to fulfill the potential and promise he once brought as the game’s best prospect before he arrived in 2022. He has been plagued by some tough luck injuries over the last couple of years, which has undoubtedly hampered his development, but all of that is in the rearview mirror now, and he has to earn his keep and become a big part of this club for the second half of the season.
He is going to get that chance starting tonight.
Whatever that new swing was or new approach he was working on during the off-season and into the first half of this season should be scrapped. He should simply do what he was doing in the minors over the last month at the plate, and just be what he was that got him to the big leagues in 2022 to begin with. He’s still so young, so there is plenty of time for him to fulfill that promise.
But the time is now. In this pennant race, in this moment.
Around the League 🚩
Aaron Judge hit his 36th home run of the season in the Yankees 4-2 win in Atlanta
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette each drove in two runs in the Blue Jays 8-6 home win over San Francisco
David Fry drove in four runs in the Guardians 8-2 rout of the A’s
Tarik Skubal struck out 11 to help the Tigers to a 2-1 win over the Rangers, their 60th win of the season
This may be Alvarez's last shot at proving he belongs in the show. The records are filled with players who "torch" AAA but get hosed in the show. Granted, Alvy has done it before, let's hope he can regain the spark.
I'm rooting for Alvarez to show he belongs. Who knows what a young player deals with, and if anyone could figure it out they would be payed a ton of money And pencil Acuna in the lineup on a regular basis. The missing pieces in the lineup might be right under their nose. Let's go!!