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Lineups & Game Notes: Dodgers vs. Mets 7:10 pm et.
Los Angeles Dodgers (25-23):
- Chase Utley (L) 2B
- Corey Seager (L) SS
- Justin Turner (R) 3B
- Adrian Gonzalez (L) 1B
- Howie Kendrick (R) LF
- Joc Pederson (L) CF
- Yasiel Puig (R) RF
- Yasmani Grandal (S) C
- Julio Urias (L) P
SP: Julio Urias LHP (Major League Debut)
New York Mets (27-19):
- Curtis Granderson (L) RF
- Asdrubal Cabrera (S) SS
- David Wright (R) 3B
- Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
- Neil Walker (S) 2B
- Juan Lagares (R) CF
- Kevin Plawecki (R) C
- Eric Campbell (R) 1B
- Jacob deGrom (L) P
SP: Jacob deGrom RHP (3-1, 3.07 ERA)
Tonight’s game can be seen on SNY and MLB Network.
Game Notes:
DODGERS-METS NOTES: The Mets and Dodgers split a four-game series in LA on May 10-13…The last time the Mets won a home series vs. the Dodgers was in 2011.
GETTING HOT:The Mets have won five of their last six games and are 6-4 in their last 10 contests…Overall, the Mets are 13-8 at home and New York is 8-2-2 in their last 12 series.
TOP FLIGHT PITCHING: The Mets rank third in the majors with a 3.08 team ERA…New York has allowed 32 homers, the fewest in the majors…Mets pitchers have issued 105 walks, the fewest in the majors…The Mets pen leads the majors with a 2.36 ERA (35 earned runs/133.2 innings)…The pen is also first with a 1.97 ERA (14 ER/64.0 IP) in May.
LOOKIN’ MIGHTY FAMILIA: Jeurys Famiia is 16-for-16 in save opportunities and is tied for second in the majors in saves…Familia has 32 consecutive saves in the regular season dating to August 1, 2015, which is the longest streak in team history, one more than Billy Wagner.
GETTING WRIGHT ON TRACK: David Wright has homered in each of his last two games and has four RBI in those contests…Wright has five RBI in his last four games and has hit in five straight games, going 5-20 (.250)…Wright’s four homers this month are the most for him in a calendar month since June, 2013 (five homers)…Wright holds a career .332 average against the Los Angeles Dodgers which is tied with Colorado Rockies for his highest average against any NL opponent.
HEY YO!: Yoenis Cespedes leads the majors with 15 home runs, and leads the NL and is third in the majors with 36 RBI…He leads the NL and is second in the majors with a .660 slugging percentage… Cespedes has 33 RBI over his last 34 games…Cespedes has six homers and 17 RBI in 19 home games this year.
BIG CITI deGROM: Jacob deGrom is 13-7 with a 1.94 ERA in 28 starts at Citi Field…His 1.94 home ERA is the third- lowest in the majors since 2014 among pitchers with at least 150 innings…Trails Clayton Kershaw (1.65) and Jake Arrieta (1.75).
VS. DODGERS: deGrom has made four career starts against the Dodgers in the regular season and two starts in the postseason…He faced the Dodgers earlier this season, receiving the no-decision in the Mets’ 3-2 loss on May 10…He pitched a season-high 7 innings, allowing two runs…deGrom has never beaten the Dodgers in the regular season as in four career regular season starts, deGrom is 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA with 23 strikeouts.
METS VS. URIAS: Dodger’s left-hander Julio Urias will be making his major league debut against the New York Mets tonight…The 19-year old is currently ranked as the Dodgers number one prospect and number two prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com…Urias currently held a 27 inning scoreless streak at Triple-A Oklahoma City before being recalled.
Wilmer Flores will not be activated from DL
It is being reported by various outlets that Wilmer Flores will not be activated off of the 15-day disabled list tonight as originally expected. Flores who is currently on a rehab assignment with the Double-A Binghamton Mets is in their lineup for the fourth straight game. Flores could possibly use a few extra at-bats as he was hitless in the last two games for Binghamton. It is not unreasonable to see Flores return sometime this weekend however, as he is currently on a rehab assignment for a strained left hamstring.
Wednesday Wrap Up
The Mets had a successful Wednesday as they completed their series with the Nationals and took two out of three with this afternoon’s victory. The Mets now only sit a half-game out of first place. Continue reading
Final Recap: Nationals 7 – Mets 4
The Washington Nationals (28-18) defeated the New York Mets (26-19) this evening by the final score of 7-4. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Matt Harvey struggled allowing 5 runs on 8 hits, in 5 innings pitched. Harvey walked 2 and only struck out 1.
- Yoenis Cespedes was 2-4 with a double.
- Asdrubal Cabrera was 1-4 with a solo HR.
- Eric Campbell was 1-4 with a 2-run home run and an RBI on a fielders choice.
- Ty Kelly made his MLB debut and went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.
I really wanted to see Matt Harvey put together a promising result tonight and unfortunately it just didn’t happen. The Nationals took Harvey deep three times tonight, and Nats hitters went 3-5 once they saw Harvey the third time around. The fourth through sixth innings continue to rattle Harvey as he currently holds an ERA of 9.89 between those three innings this season, and that is where the damage occurred tonight. To me it looks like Harvey’s confidence is completely shaken more than anything at this point. With tonight’s outing he allowed more baserunners than he ever has in his career with 20, and his ERA continues to climb as it hit 6.08 after tonight’s start. It was also the first time in his career that Harvey failed to strike out more than one batter. It’s getting to the point that you have to wonder where is rock bottom for Harvey? You keep thinking he can’t get any lower after each start, but then it doesn’t seem to get much better after that. An amazing stat I stumbled across tonight from the Elias Sports Bureau stated that Harvey’s ERA is the highest by a Mets pitcher through 10 starts of a season since Dillon Gee had a 6.34 ERA in 2013 . That is a number that Harvey I’m sure never expected to see in his career. I hope Matt can get it together, as it is painful to watch his season continue to unravel at a historically bad pace. At this point you just want to see some sort of progress with Matt, and it remains to be seen what Terry Collins next move will be regarding his status.
The Mets ran into a red-hot Stephen Strasburg who is putting together one of the better seasons of his career thus far. He is going to be tough to beat this year, and whoever is on the mound for the Mets against him is going to have to pitch just as well, if not better than Strasburg if they want to beat him. Steven Matz who has been as good of a pitcher as anybody in the league this year will have a shot tomorrow afternoon to lead the Mets to a series victory, and put them a half-game out of first place again. The Mets should forget about this one quickly because we have one more heavyweight round left tomorrow afternoon!
- The Mets and Nationals will play the rubber game of their series tomorrow afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 pm et. You can catch tomorrow’s matinee on SNY and MLB Network.
- Steven Matz (6-1, 2.81 ERA) will look to continue his strong start to the season against Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark (3-3, 2.89 ERA)
Lineups & Game Notes: Mets vs. Nationals 7:05 pm et.
New York Mets (26-18):
1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) SS
3. Michael Conforto (L) LF
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) CF
5. Neil Walker (S) 2B
6. Eric Campbell (R) 1B
7. Kevin Plawecki (R) C
8. Ty Kelly (S) 3B
9. Matt Harvey (R) P
SP: Matt Harvey RHP (3-6, 5.77 ERA)
Washington Nationals (27-18):
1. Ben Revere (L) CF
2. Jayson Werth (R) LF
3. Bryce Harper (L) RF
4. Daniel Murphy (L) 2B
5. Ryan Zimmerman (R) 1B
6. Anthony Rendon (R) 3B
7. Wilson Ramos (R) C
8. Danny Espinosa (S) SS
9. Stephen Strasburg (R) P
SP: Stephen Strasburg RHP (7-0, 2.80 ERA)
Tonight’s game can be seen on SNY.
Game Notes:
METS-NATIONALS NOTES: New York is 57-44 in Washington all-time…New York dropped two of three to the Nats at Citi FIeld, May 17-19…The Mets have won four in a row in Washington dating to September 7, 2015…New York was 6-3 in D.C. last year.
TRIPLE THREAT: New York hit three home runs last night (David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker)…The Mets are tied with the Orioles for the most games with three or more homers in the majors this year (nine).
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Yoenis Cespedes hit his major league- leading 15th home run last night…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marks the first time that a Mets player has held the major league outright lead (no ties) in homers this late in a season since Dave Kingman held the lead with 37 homers through the games of September 18, 1982.
DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: New York posted its fourth straight come-from- behind win of the year last night…The last time the Mets had four consecutive comeback wins was April 14-17, 2015…Overall, the Mets have seven comeback wins this season.
HARVEY VS. STRASBURG ROUND 4: This is the fourth time that Matt Harvey has opposed Stephen Strasburg…Harvey is 2-1 in those previous match-ups while Strasburg is 1-2…They faced each other five days ago at Citi Field with Strasburg earning the win and Harvey taking the loss…On April 9, 2015, the duo paired off at Washington…Harvey earned the win while Strasburg suffered the loss…On April 19, 2013, they faced each other at Citi Field… Harvey was the winning pitchers and Strasburg took the loss.
CLUTCH CABRERA: Asdrubal Cabrera Is 6-for-his-last-10 (.600) with runners in scoring position dating to May 8…Cabrera has hit in six straight games, going 8-23 (.348) with five RBI.
BACK-TO-BACK: Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker hit back- to-back homers in the fifth inning last night…It was New York’s major league-leading seventh back-to-back home runs this season…The club record is 13 back-to-back homers set in 2000.
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION: David Wright is a .289 (72-249) career hitter at Nationals Park in 61 games… Has 15 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 35 RBI’s in those games…Juan Lagares is a .325 (27-83) hitter in his career at Nationals Park (23 games)…has four doubles, one home run, seven RBI’s and 12 runs scored in 23 games at Nationals Park…Yoenis Cespedes is batting .444 (8-18) in three career games at Nationals Park…Has three homers, three doubles and eight RBI’s in those four games.
METS VS. STRASBURG: Strasburg has posted a 2.66 ERA while going 5-3 in 10 career starts against the Mets…He’s struck out 84 and walked just 18… Is 0-2 with a 4.08 ERA in 3 starts against the Mets at Nationals Park…Notable Mets numbers against Strasburg are provided below…
- Neil Walker: .357 (5-14), 1 HR, 2 RBI
- Yoenis Cespedes: .400 (2-5), 1 BB, 3 K
- Asdrubal Cabrera: .333 (1-3), 1 RBI
- Curtis Granderson: .188 (3-16), 1 RBI, 4 BB
- Michael Conforto: .000 (0-6), 3 K
Mets and James Loney curious about one another.
Tampa Bay Rays’ James Loney follows the flight of his sixth-inning, two-run home run off New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia during a baseball game on Sunday, May 26, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rays’ Yunel Escobar also scored on the hit. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting today that the Mets have “at least some curiosity” about James Loney who is currently in Triple-A with the San Diego Padres organization. Loney’s representatives are expected to contact the Mets today to determine if there is a possible fit for their client.
I had listed Loney as a possible option for the Mets to explore outside of the organization as a replacement for Lucas Duda in a post last night, which you can read below:
http://abovethemendoza.mlblogs.com/2016/05/23/potential-outside-first-base-options-for-the-mets/
Final Recap: Mets 7 – Nationals 1
The New York Mets (26-18) defeated the Washington Nationals (27-18) this evening by the final score of 7-1. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- David Wright was 1-4 with a 3-run HR.
- Yoenis Cespedes was 2-4 with a solo HR.
- Neil Walker was 2-4 with a solo HR and went back-to-back with Cespedes in the bottom of the 5th.
- Asdrubal Cabrera was 2-4 with an RBI.
- Bartolo Colon was solid for 7 innings allowing only 1 run on 5 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.
- Jerry Blevins and Logan Verrett combined for 2 shutout innings.
You could pretty much take last Wednesday’s 7-1 result between the Mets and Nationals, and reverse it to have tonight’s result. Simply ironic that both starting pitchers from tonight were involved in last Wednesday night’s game as well but with opposite results. Gotta love baseball!
Bartolo Colon was vintage Colon tonight and provided the Mets with a much better start than last week’s outing against the Nationals. Besides allowing an RBI single to Ryan Zimmerman in the first inning, Colon seemed to be in cruise control for the rest of the evening, and did not give the Nationals much of a chance to get anything going. The win and solid performance was an early birthday gift for Colon who turns 43 tomorrow. Happy birthday Big Sexy!
David Wright’s 3-run blast to give the Mets the lead provided a jolt of energy in the dugout and seemed to get the Mets offense going for the rest of the game. Wright’s home run was the 86th go-ahead home run of his career, which now broke a tie between him and Mets great Daryl Strawberry for most ever in franchise history. Congratulations to the Captain!
All eyes will be on Matt Harvey tomorrow night to see if he can respond to his disatrious outing last Thursday night against the Nationals. Reports are stating that Harvey insisted he wanted the ball tomorrow night. Knowing the gamer that Harvey is, he’s going to go out there and pitch with a giant chip on his shoulder. The 7 Line Army will be in DC to support Matt tomorrow night, and I’m hoping we see a vintage Harvey performance as the Mets now only sit a half-game out of first place.
- The Mets and Nationals will play the second game of their three game series tomorrow evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm et. You can catch tomorrow’s game on SNY.
- Matt Harvey (3-6, 5.77 ERA) will look to rebound in a rematch with Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg (7-0, 2.80 ERA).
Potential outside first base options for the Mets
The Mets currently plan to ride with a combination of Wilmer Flores and Eric Campbell at first base in place of the injured Lucas Duda. If things don’t go according to plan, the team may be forced to explore external options. I don’t believe if the Mets made a move it would be a franchise-altering move such as trading for Freddy Freeman or taking on a player with a big salary. I believe they would explore a cheap stop-gap option to fill the role until Duda is healthy, and would allow Flores to return to his super-utility role. A few external options are provided below as to who may interest the Mets in helping replace Duda’s bat in the lineup. Continue reading
Noah Syndergaard named NL Player of the Week
Noah Syndergaard was named today the National League Player of the Week for the week of May 16-22. Syndergaard went 2-0 and didn’t allow an earned run over 14 innings, didn’t issue a walk and struck out 21 in two starts.
Syndergaard is just the fourth major leaguer to have consecutive starts without allowing an earned run or a walk and record double-digit strikeouts. The others to accomplish that feat are Nolan Ryan (1987), Jose Fernandez (2014) and Clayton Kershaw (2015). The only other Met to have consecutive double-digit strikeout games without a walk was Dwight Gooden (September 12 & 17, 1984) and he struck out 32.
Syndergaard has 76 strikeouts through his first nine starts, which are the third-most in team history. Only the legendary Tom Seaver had more through his first nine starts (88 in 1970 and 77 in 1971).
This was Syndergaard’s second Player of the Week Award in his career, as he had previously been named back on July 27-August 2, 2015. Syndergaard’s historic pace is garnering attention around the league, and he seems to be entering elite status right before our very eyes.
Syndergaard is not the first Met to win the award this season, as back on May 9th Bartolo Colon was named co-NL Player of the Week, after his great week of May 2nd-8th. During that week he slugged his first career home run and passed Pedro Martinez on the all-time Dominican pitchers win list.
Lucas Duda diagnosed with stress fracture
Awful news for the New York Mets this afternoon as starting first baseman Lucas Duda has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back and been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Continue reading
Above The Mendoza 