Category: MLB
Noah Syndergaard has elbow examined
A story making it’s rounds around the news cycle today is dealing with another Mets pitcher’s elbow. Noah Syndergaard had reportedly had his elbow examined by doctors two weeks ago, on May 2nd in New York at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Manager Terry Collins brought up the examination last night, when asked by a reporter why he did not let Syndergaard pitch the ninth inning after only throwing 95 pitches. Syndergaard also commented on the matter and declared it was a precautionary exam. Collins apparently was unaware of the examination taking place until it was brought to his attention after the fact.
“Two weeks ago … unbeknownst to me, he went and had his elbow looked at,” Collins stated to reporters after last night’s game. “So for 15 more pitches, no, it didn’t even cross my mind. We can talk about this young pitching all we want. We’re not going to hurt these guys for 15 more pitches in a game that’s 4-2. If it was 4-0, he’s going for a shutout, or he’s going for a no-hitter, or if he’s going for 21 strikeouts, I might let him go 10 or 12 more pitches. But not in a game like tonight.”
Well the speculation will begin from here on out if there is indeed with issues with Syndergaard’s elbow and/or workload after every start. I understand that Collins is trying to protect his young pitchers and not overwork them, which he has done a great job of managing since last season. The issue is Syndergaard remains the only pitcher out of the young five aces the Mets possess who has not undergone Tommy John surgery, and many question if his elbow is a ticking-time bomb with how hard he throws. In my opinion his delivery and mechanics are so smooth, that it does not appear to me that he puts a ton of torque on his elbow with every pitch. It’s just a concerning development nonetheless with Steven Matz recently experiencing elbow soreness. This is something Mets brass and Mets fans will monitor closely the rest of the season, but I don’t believe we should concern ourselves about it. At least not yet.
Wilmer Flores to DL
Wilmer Flores has been placed on the 15-day DL after tonight’s game with a left hamstring injury. It appears Flores may have suffered the injury on Monday and tried to play through it the last couple of days, but it has not gotten any better. Flores will be headed to New York to be examined by doctors to determine the extent of his injury, which we hope is nothing serious.
Eric Campbell who seemed to be in danger of being sent back down to AAA, is now more likely than not to stay with the team. With putting Flores on the DL, it appears the Mets will recall left-handed pitcher Sean Gilmartin in a procedural move. In 50 at-bats this season, Flores has hit .180 with with one home run and two RBI’s, although over the last week his bat was beginning to come alive with more playing time.
The 26-year old Gilmartin has posted a 4-1 record with a 2.48 ERA in six games started at AAA Las Vegas this season. Gilmartin has 34 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched, and also has pitched one complete game thus far.
Final Recap: Mets 4 – Dodgers 3
The New York Mets (21-12) defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers (17-17) by the final score of 4-3 tonight at Dodger Stadium. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Noah Syndergaard was a star at the plate tonight going 2-4 with 2 home runs, which included a solo HR, and a 3-run HR.
- Syndergaard pitched a great game on the mound as well, going 8 innings, while only allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. He struck out 6 while only walking 1.
- Michael Conforto appears to be getting out of his funk going 2-5 with 2 base hits.
- Neil Walker was 1-4 with a double in his return to the lineup.
- Yoenis Cespedes was 2-4 with a double.
- Jeurys Familia converted his 12th save of the season but allowed one run to score in the bottom of the ninth.
Noah Syndergaard took over Hollywood tonight on the eve of his anniversary of his major league debut, and had a historic game at the plate to provide himself with all of the run support he would need. Syndergaard took Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda deep twice tonight, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the third, and then hitting a three-run home run in the top of the fifth. Both of Syndergaard’s home runs were absolute bombs that registered over 400 feet, and they displayed the raw power that Thor possesses with a bat in his hand. Syndergaard joins Walt Terrell as the only Mets pitcher to hit two home runs in a game, and he tied the franchise record for a pitcher with four RBI’s tonight. Syndergaard also delivered on the mound as he mowed through the Dodgers lineup and only made two mistake pitches that hurt him tonight. Syndergaard had surrendered a solo home run to Corey Seager in the bottom of the third, and a solo home run to Yasmani Grandal in the bottom of the fourth, which were his only mistakes. Syndergaard’s fastball was once again registering in the triple digits and he seemed absolutely locked in tonight. It was especially helpful for Syndergaard to pitch deep on a night where the Mets are playing a pitcher short due to Steven Matz’s recent elbow soreness.
Besides Syndergaard’s historic night at the plate the Mets bats could not get much going. The Mets left nine runners on base tonight, and were 1-9 with runners in scoring position. The Mets let a golden opportunity slip leaving the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning with two outs, and Eric Campbell going down striking out. They also had another opportunity in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but both Syndergaard and Curtis Granderson struck out. It’s a good thing Syndergaard was able to take matters into his own hands because he accounted for all of the Mets runs tonight.
It was not an easy ninth inning for Jeurys Familia as he did not have his best stuff tonight and was struggling to throw strikes. Adrian Gonzalez started the inning of with a hard hit double to center field, but Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera each made absolutely fantastic plays to rob the next two batters of hits to help bail Familia out. Familia’s fortunes then seemed to change as he then made quick work of Yasiel Puig firing three straight strikes to end the ball game. Familia is now 12 for 12 in save opportunities thus far this season and he is a big piece to this team’s success. There is no reason to think that Familia won’t save around fifty ball games for the Mets this season.
It appears that Mets brass are considering sending Eric Campbell down to AAA for lefty Sean Gilmartin, in order to give the Mets another arm out of the bullpen, when they head to Colorado after tomorrow night’s game. The Mets are going to be playing shorthanded for the next four days until Steven Matz is checked out by a doctor Monday, and the extent of his soreness is medically diagnosed.
Also one last note Mets fans may be concerned about, Chase Utley was not plunked in any of his four plate appearances, and went 0-4 tonight.
- The Mets look to take the four game series against the Dodgers tomorrow night at Dodger Stadium although it will not be an easy task facing the Dodgers ace. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 pm et. and can be seen on SNY.
- Bartolo Colon (3-1, 2.82 ERA) will hope to do his best Noah Syndergaard impression on the mound (and maybe the plate) tomorrow evening against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 2.02 ERA).
David Wright dealing with shoulder soreness
Manager Terry Collins indicated before tonight’s game that David Wright is dealing with a sore shoulder. Collins indicated that the soreness in Wright’s shoulder, could be due in part to the sidearm throws Wright has been making to protect his injured back. Wright had made many weak and errant throws in last night’s game to first base, and Collins explanation about Wright’s shoulder makes sense. Hopefully tonight’s off-day for Wright, could help alleviate some of that shoulder soreness. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Wright get a couple of days off in a row, just to ensure he is feeling healthy enough that the soreness won’t affect his game when he’s out on the field.
Steven Matz to miss next start with elbow soreness
Manager Terry Collins has stated before tonight’s game, that Steven Matz will have his next start skipped on Saturday due to left elbow soreness. Matz began feeling soreness with the elbow on Tuesday after his start on Monday night. While any injury revolving around the pitching elbow never sounds good, Collins had indicated that Matz was feeling much better today, and they will skip him as a precaution. Matz will visit a doctor in New York after the team returns from their current 11-game road trip, but once again the Mets believe it is nothing more than general soreness. Let’s hold our breath and hope they are right, as Matz has already had Tommy John surgery on that left elbow back in 2010.
Logan Verrett seems likely to get the start on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, unless he is forced to pitch in relief in one of the next three games. If that is the case, the Mets will call-up a pitcher to make a spot start on Saturday.
Lineups & Game Notes: Mets vs. Dodgers 10:10 pm et.
New York Mets (20-12):
1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) SS
3. Michael Conforto (L) LF
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) CF
5. Lucas Duda (L) 1B
6. Neil Walker (S) 2B
7. Eric Campbell (R) 3B
8. Rene Rivera (R) C
9. Noah Syndergaard (L) P
SP: Noah Syndergaard RHP (2-2, 2.58 ERA)
Los Angeles Dodgers (17-16):
1. Chase Utley (L) 2B
2. Corey Seager (L) SS
3. Howie Kendrick (R) 3B
4. Adrian Gonzalez (L) 1B
5. Yasmani Grandal (S) C
6. Joc Pederson (L) CF
7. Yasiel Puig (R) RF
8. Carl Crawford (L) LF
9. Kenta Maeda (R) P
SP: Kenta Maeda (3-1, 1.66 ERA)
Tonight’s game can be seen on SNY.
Game Notes:
METS-DODGERS NOTES: The Mets are 12-10 in Los Angeles (including the playoffs) since 2011.
ON A ROLL: New York is undefeated in its last seven series, winning six and tying one…The Mets have not lost a series since April 11-13…Overall, New York is 3-0-2 in road series.
FIRST INNING RECORD: The Mets had at least one batter reach safely in the first inning in a franchise-record 23 straight games (April 15-May 9), before they went 1-2-3 in the first inning last night.
PITCH HAND STRONG: The Mets rank second in the majors with a 2.78 team ERA…New York is fourth in the majors with 290 strike- outs and has allowed the fewest homers (18).
THROWIN DARTS: Since Cespedes made his debut in 2012, he leads the majors with 52 outfield assists…He is tied for second in the majors with four outfield assists this year.
PEN PALS: New York’s bullpen leads the NL and ranks third in the majors with a 2.59 ERA (27 earned runs/93.2 innings)…They have stranded 37 of 46 inherited runners (80%), the fourth-best percentage in the majors…The pen has 29 holds, the most in the majors.
BRINGING THE HEAT: According to FanGraphs, Syndergaard averages the fastest fastball (97.8), slider (91.7) and change-up (89.8) this year.
SYNDERGAARD VS. THE DODGERS: Made one career regular season start against Los Angeles…Went 6.0 innings, allowing one run, earned, on July 3, 2015 at Dodger Stadium…Gave up two hits and struck out six batters…In his only postseason start against Los Angeles, he took the loss, going 6.1 innings giving up three runs, earned, while adding nine strikeouts and four walks…He came out of the bullpen in the decisive Game 5 and pitched a scoreless seventh inning giving up just one walk while adding two strikeouts in the Mets 3-2 victory.
ENEMY NUMBER ONE: Chase Utley has played in 181 games in his career against the Mets, the second most among active players behind only Jimmy Rollins (247)… Utley also ranks among the active leaders in hits (185, 2nd behind Rollins, 281), doubles (44, 2nd, Rollins-51), home runs (35, 2nd behind Ryan Howard, 45) and RBI (103, 3rd behind Howard-132 and Rollins-122) against the Mets… Utley has also been hit by a pitch 28 times by Mets pitchers, tied with Ron Hunt for the most all-time.
METS VS. MAEDA: The New York Mets have never faced Kenta Maeda…Maeda was the youngest Japanese pitcher ever to achieve the Triple Crown…Was named the best pitcher in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League in both 2010 and 2015… The 28-year old Japanese right-hander signed an eight-year $25 million deal with $90 million worth of incentives if Maeda reaches certain benchmarks in his contract…Hit a home run in his second major league at-bat off Padres starter Andrew Cashner.
Final Recap: Dodgers 3 – Mets 2
May 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (13) tags out Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) on a throw by New York Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes (not pictured) in the sixth inning of the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Dodgers (17-16) defeated the New York Mets (20-12) tonight on a walk-off home run by the final score of 3-2. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Jacob deGrom pitched a solid game tonight, going 7 innings while allowing 2 runs on 8 hits. He walked none and struck out 4.
- Kevin Plawecki was 1-4 with an RBI single.
- Juan Lagares was 2-4 at the plate tonight.
- Yoenis Cespedes was 1-3 with a walk.
- David Wright had a rough night going 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Wright also made a couple of weak throws tonight in the field.
- Hansel Robles was charged with the loss after allowing a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th.
This was a tough loss tonight, as anytime you lose in walk-off fashion it stings a little bit. First and foremost the Mets again tonight did not seek revenge against Chase Utley and he went 1-4 with a strikeout. Utley however committed a throwing error on a Michael Conforto ground ball in the top of the second inning, that eventually opened the gates for the Mets to tack on two runs to tie the game. It’s fair to wonder if the Mets will retaliate in the remaining two games left in the series, or if they will retaliate at Citi Field when the Dodgers visit at the end of the month? Or will they not retaliate at all? It’s a fair question to ponder, but we will know the answer by the end of Thursday night’s contest or after the Dodgers visit Citi Field later this month.
Jacob deGrom pitched a solid game considering how the first inning started. The Dodgers tacked on two first inning runs on deGrom, which made it look like we may be in for a long night. That wasn’t the case however as deGrom buckled down and did enough to keep the game tied, as well as post a respectable line. As his last start in Dodger Field went during Game Five of the NLDS, deGrom allowed two first inning runs, but pitched six scoreless innings following the first inning. Stats like these are what make baseball such an interesting sport.
DeGrom also recieved a little help from teammate Yoenis Cespedes on a ball hit by Adrian Gonzalez to deep center field, in the bottom of the fifth that struck the top of the wall. Cespedes had played the ball off the wall and uncorked a throw to second base to nail Gonzalez by a few feet. All Mets fans were holding their collective breath in the top of the sixth, as Cespedes appeared to roll his left ankle as he was heading back to first base standing up on a pickoff attempt. Cespedes would lay on the ground for a couple of minutes while the trainer checked him out, but everything apparently checked out ok, as Cespedes would stay in the rest of the game. It was a close call to say the least.
Michael Conforto is a bit of a rut as he is 3-33 (.091) in his last 36 at-bats since the calendar turned. That includes 15 strikeouts in his last nine games played. It seems since Conforto faced Madison Bumgarner he’s been a bit out of sorts, but he’s young and has a good track record thus far, so I am sure he will work through this. Conforto more likely than not won’t be in the lineup Thursday against Clayton Kershaw, so he will have another shot to right the ship tomorrow before sitting again.
Hansel Robles was hung with the loss in the bottom of the ninth. After retiring the first two batters he faced, Robles would allow a walk-off solo home run to Dodgers pinch hitter Trayce Thompson. It was Thompson’s second home run against the Mets in as many days which is equally as frustrating. The Mets however still have a chance to win this series with two games remaining.
- The Mets and Dodgers will play the third game of their four game series tomorrow night with first pitch scheduled for 10:10 pm et. You can watch tomorrow night’s game on SNY.
- Noah Syndergaard (2-2, 2.58) will take the mound for the Mets, and oppose the most recent Japanese pitcher to come over to the states in right-hander Kenta Maeda (3-1, 1.66 ERA).
Zack Wheeler to begin “Spring Training” in next two weeks
Mike Puma of the New York Post is reporting that right-hander Zack Wheeler is beginning to ramp up towards his “spring training” in the next two weeks. Wheeler is still currently on schedule to make an early July return to the Mets rotation. Wheeler is currently rehabbing from a Tommy John operation that occurred in March 2015. Wheeler’s 60-Day DL expiration date is May 31st, which would make you believe he will begin pitching in rehab games shortly after for the next thirty days, which indeed places him at an early July return.
Bartolo Colon who has filled in admirably for the Mets in Wheeler’s place, is expected to pitch out of the bullpen once Wheeler returns. He has posted an exceptional 3-1 record, with a 2.82 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) this season. Colon who pitched out of the bullpen last postseason, is also expected to make spot-starts for the Mets down the stretch of the season.
Wheeler’s return will be a huge addition for the Mets already loaded rotation. In Wheeler’s last season dating back to 2014, he posted an 11-11 record with a 3.54 ERA while posting 187 strikeouts. Wheeler also had pitched that memorable complete-game shutout against the Miami Marlins during the 2014 season. It’s hard to imagine the Mets rotation getting any better than it already is, but another top-flight ace will be added to the equation in July.
Edgin officially optioned to AAA Las Vegas
Mets left-handed reliever Josh Edgin was officially assigned to AAA Las Vegas today, as his 30-day rehab window has expired. Edgin has pitched good between both St. Lucie and Las Vegas posting a 1.13 ERA in ten appearances but his velocity isn’t quite back to where it was previously. Edgin’s fastball velocity has hovered between 87-88 mph, but prior to his elbow injury his average fastball was sitting at 92 mph. With the Mets bullpen being as strong as it has been through the first month of the season there is no need to rush Edgin back at this point. Edgin has also not appeared in back-to-back games yet which is another feat he will have to accomplish before being recalled.
Colon named NL Player of the Week
Major League Baseball named Bartolo Colon Co-NL Player of the Week for the week of May 2-8, with Chicago Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist, yesterday afternoon. Colon went 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA last week, with one walk and twelve strikeouts. A few notable accomplishments over the past week include, on May 2nd Colon tossed eight shutout innings against Atlanta, to move past Pedro Martinez into second place with 220 wins by a Dominican-born pitcher. On May 7th against San Diego, he picked up the win and became the oldest player to hit his first major league home run. This was Colon’s fifth Player of the Week honor, and his second award in the last two years with Mets. He won once last year during the week of August 31-September 6. In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Colon will receive a custom watch. The award couldn’t have gone to a better individual than Colon.
Above The Mendoza 