Win or lose, the Mets are certaininly an entertaining and feisty bunch...
The Mets battled back from a three-run deficit and then a four-run deficit, but ultimately lost to Seattle after a back-breaking homer and a base running mistake in the 9th
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost a see-saw game to the Mariners on Saturday by a score of 8-7 at Citi Field (box)
David Peterson struggled in his start for the Mets, allowing four runs over 4+ innings
The Mets battled back from two 3+ run deficits - they were down 3-0 early and tied it on a three-run home run from DJ Stewart in the fourth inning, then fell down 7-3 before clawing back thank in part to home runs from Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos in the 6th and a game-tying triple from Jeff McNeil in the 8th
Adam Ottavino allowed a go-ahead solo home run to JP Crawford in the ninth, and as the tying run in the bottom half, Daniel Vogelbach failed in his attempt to stretch a leadoff single into a double
The Mets are now 22-22 in one-run games, 7-7 against the AL West, 42-19 when scoring five or more runs, 10-52 when allowing five or more runs, and 20-26 since the All-Star Game
Player Notes 🎵
Ronny Mauricio (2-for-4, SB)
Became the 10th player in club history to have four or more hits in their first two MLB games
Became the seventh Met ever to two straight multi-hit games to begin their career and the first since Josh Thole (2009)
DJ Stewart (2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI)
Has nine home runs since August 15th, tied with Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Marcell Ozuna for most in MLB in that span (Sarah Langs)
Francisco Lindor (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)
Became the fifth player in Mets history to record 25 homers, 25 doubles and 25 stolen bases in a season joining Darryl Strawberry (1984, 1986, 1987, 1988), Howard Johnson (1989, 1991), David Wright (2007) and Carlos Beltrán (2008)
Joins Jimmy Rollins and Hanley Ramírez as the only shortstops in MLB history with multiple seasons of 25 homers, 25 doubles and 25 stolen bases
Who’s Hot 🔥
Over his last 26 games, DJ Stewart is hitting .297/.374/.716 with four doubles, nine home runs and 19 RBI
Over his last 43 games, Jeff McNeil is hitting .308/.355/.430 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 22 RBI
Over his last 64 games, Francisco Lindor is hitting .293/.378/.521 with 12 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs and 37 RBI
Injury Updates 🏥
Mark Vientos left Saturday’s game with a sore foot
Starling Marte (groin) “looks good,” per Mets manager Buck Showalter, but it’s unclear if he will return this season or if it’s in his best interest to return
Edwin Díaz (knee surgery) threw another bullpen session at Citi Field on Saturday, but still has boxes to check in his recovery process and it’s unclear if he will return in 2023
Roster Moves 🗞️
Claimed RHP Peyton Battenfield off waivers from the Guardians, optioned to Triple-A Syracuse
Recalled RHP Grant Hartwig from Triple-A Syracuse
Optioned RHP Denyi Reyes to Triple-A Syracuse
Prospect Watch 🔎
C Kevin Parada (No. 5 prospect, Double-A Binghamton): 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
RHP Douglas Orellana (Single-A St. Lucie): 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K
OF Stanley Consuegra (Single-A Brooklyn): 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (62-74) vs. Mariners (77-58)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starting pitchers: RHP Tylor Megill (7-7, 5.29 ERA) vs. RHP George Kirby (10-8, 3.28 ERA)
When: 1:40PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The Mets are at least an entertaining bunch these days… ✍️
I’ll say this for the Mets - win or lose they’ve certainly been entertaining and feisty lately.
Of course, that’s not to say the Mets have played particularly well. After all, they’re 11-19 since August 1 which isn’t at all good but these final two months aren’t so much about the record but what ultimately stands out for the team as they head into the off-season.
Still, the Mets showed a lot of fight and character and for the cynics, extended their demonstration the club hasn’t quit on 2023, even if the results aren’t translating into wins.
The Mets battled back from three big deficits last night against a very good pitching staff. It came down to two mistakes:
A fat 87 mph something-or-other from Adam Ottavino to JP Crawford in the ninth that gave Seattle an 8-7 lead
Daniel Vogelbach inexplicably trying to stretch a single into a double leading off the bottom of the ninth as the tying run
The first one happens, although it’s happened way too often for Ottavino this season which helps explain the uptick in his ERA from 2.06 to 3.17 this year (both are good, but last year was obviously exceptional), and the club’s -30 run differential in innings 7-9 overall.
The second one was, well, just bad. And as much as Vogelbach has improved in the second half, that play once again demonstrated his overall value to the team. He’s good for either a home run, single or a walk and that’s pretty much that and for a team that needs to get younger and more athletic, they’re going to need more out of this roster spot in the future, even among their future designated hitters.
But the rest of the game was a lot of fun to watch.
Mark Vientos had a very encouraging evening with a long home run to center and a well-struck opposite-field single to right before leaving the game with a sore foot. He has a great swing and it looks like he should ultimately evolve into a quality big league hitter. His defense is still very suspect of course but if he hits, someone will find him a place on the diamond.
Then of course there was Ronny Mauricio who had another big night in his second big league game. In one of his hits, he used his size and long arms to his advantage to line a change-up down in the zone to right field for a single. That’s an advantage he has over most other hitters in that his personal hitting zone can potentially be bigger thanks to his extended reach. He needs to shorten his swing up in order to be effective long-term in this league, but he’s giving the Mets hope right now - lets see how he does over the next month in a larger sample size.
Lastly, I want to discuss Francisco Lindor.
His 2023 season has largely mirrored his 2022 season. In both years, he got off to a slow start offensively but the peripheral numbers were suggesting the tables would eventually turn for him. In both years, the tables did indeed turn but this year, it was his adjustment from the left side of the plate which made all the difference in the world for him. Yes, his home run last night was from the right side but for most of the first half of 2023, Lindor was a one-dimensional hitter in that he was ineffective from the left side, but productive from the right.
Now, he’s back to being a multi-pronged threat, as was the case last year. But that isn’t what is really standing out to me about his season. He’s going to hit - he’s a special talent, and players slump, get off to slow starts, and so on and so forth.
To me, it’s Lindor’s defense which has made this season a very special year for him.
Forget the metrics, forget anything theoretically scientific that might be indicative of how good Lindor has been at shortstop. Just watch him during a game, and that’s all you need to know to under fully comprehend how awesome he has been at shortstop in 2023.
Lindor has shown exceptional range of at least 30 feet in any direction, whether its to his left or right, on popups behind him, or if he’s cutting in and across the diamond on slow rollers up the middle. That was once again demonstrated on a lightening bolt from Julio Rodriguez up the middle last night, to which Lindor easily dove after the ball and flipped it to Mauricio for a force out.
If Lindor isn’t going to win a gold glove at shortstop in 2023, I don’t know who is. Find me someone who has truly been better at saving baserunners than Lindor at that position in the National League, and then we can have a conversation.
Rubber game today. Be a spoiler…
Around the League 🚩
The Yankees edged the Astros 5-4 in Houston, allowing the Mariners to take a one-game lead over Houston in the AL West
The Phillies skidded to a 7-5 loss to the Brewers - Aaron Nola allowed all seven runs to lift his ERA to 4.55 for the year
The Braves beat the Dodgers for the third night in a row in LA, this time by a score of 4-2. Two of Atlanta’s five hits were home runs (Ronald Acuña, Jr. and Orlando Arcia)
The Marlins pulled to within one game of a wild card spot with their 11-5 win over the Nationals in DC