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Don’t count out Harvey just yet.
In case you have been living under a rock the past couple of months, the talk of baseball is currently surrounding Matt Harvey and his struggles thus far. It has been an alarming fall from grace for Harvey who was instrumental in helping get the Mets to last year’s World Series coming off of Tommy John surgery. Continue reading
Final Recap: Nationals 7 – Mets 1
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 18: Juan Lagares #12 of the New York Mets catches a ball hit by Daniel Murphy #20 of the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning that led to a run during their game at Citi Field on May 18, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
The Washington Nationals (23-16) defeated the New York Mets (22-16) tonight by the final score of 7-1. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Bartolo Colon had a tough outing going 4.2 innings while allowing 3 runs on 5 hits. Colon walked 5 and struck out 4.
- Antonio Bastardo pitched 0.2 of an inning and allowed a 2 run single to Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos.
- Jim Henderson pitched an inning and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits. He struck out 2 and walked a batter.
- Yoenis Cespedes was 2-4 with a solo HR.
- Asdrubal Cabrera was 2-4 with a double.
A very uncharacteristic game for Mets pitchers tonight as it seemed everyone was struggling with their command. It was a wet and cold night at Citi Field, but who knows if that had anything to do with it. The Mets have been praised for their ability to not provide free-passes all season and tonight they allowed a whopping eleven walks and two hit by pitches. They put way too many baserunners on tonight and put the pressure on themselves to squeeze out of jams which seemed to happen every inning. We’ll chalk this one up as an off-night for the pitchers, but we will need a much better performance out of the pitchers if they want to get a series victory tomorrow night.
One flaw early in the season with this Mets ball club has been their inability to hit with runners in scoring position. All three runs the Mets have scored this series have come via three solo home runs. The Mets had a chance to get back into this game in the bottom of the seventh down four runs with the bases loaded and one out, but they could not convert on their opportunity. The Mets are dead last in the league with a .208 average when it comes to runners in scoring position, and that is something that they will need to improve on over the course of the season.
It was a tough loss as you hate losing to the Nationals no matter how early in the season it still may be. There was one shining moment tonight however, as Juan Lagares made a Willy Mays-esque over-the-shoulder catch in center field in the bottom of the seventh inning, which was absolutely incredible. We’ll have one more crack at the Nationals tomorrow night and hope for better results, especially from the pitching staff.
- The Mets and Nationals will play the rubber game of their three game set tomorrow night at 7:10 pm et. The game can be seen on SNY and MLB Network.
- Matt Harvey (3-5, 4.93 ERA) will look to right the ship again and face Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg (6-0, 2.95 ERA).
Lineups & Game Notes: Nationals vs. Mets
Washington Nationals (23-16):
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. Danny Espinosa (S) SS
8. Jose Lobaton (S) C
9. Gio Gonzalez (R) P
SP: Gio Gonzalez LHP (2-1, 1.93 ERA)
New York Mets (22-16):
1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF
2. Juan Lagares (R) CF
3. David Wright (R) 3B
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
5. Neil Walker (S) 2B
6. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) SS
7. Eric Campbell (R) 1B
8. Kevin Plawecki (R) C
9. Bartolo Colon (R) P
Bartolo Colon RHP (3-2, 3.53 ERA)
Tonight’s game can be seen on SNY & ESPN.
Game Notes:
NATIONALS-METS NOTES: The Mets are 7-14 vs. Washington at Citi Field since 2014… The Mets are 9-3 vs. the Nationals in their last 12 match-ups.
FIRST INNING FUN: New York has hit 11 first inning home runs this year, the second-most in the majors, behind Houston (12)….New York has outscored its opponents 25-12 in the first inning this season.
SCORING LEADS TO SUCCESS: The Mets 20-5 when scoring first this year…New York is 18-3 when scoring four or more runs and 4-13 when scoring three runs or less.
PITCHERS LEADING THE WAY: The Mets rank third in the majors with a 3.01 team ERA…New York has allowed 24 homers, the fewest in the majors…The Mets have issued the fewest walks (80) in the majors and ranks eighth in strikeouts (332)…Mets starters lead the majors with a 4.35 strikeout-to-walk rate.
PEN-TASTIC: The Mets pen leads the majors with a 2.39 ERA (29 earned runs/109.0 innings)…The pen ranks second in the majors with 10.16 strikeouts per nine innings.
FAMILIA RESULTS: Jeurys Famiia is 13-for-13 in save opportuni- ties and is tied for second in the majors in saves…Seven of his last 10 outings, he’s retired every batter he’s faced.
BART BEING BART: Bartolo Colon is sixth in the NL with a 1.89 ERA at home…He went 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in one start, two games vs. Washington last year…Colon ranks second in the majors with a 0.8 walk per nine innings rate…Colon is the active leader among all major league pitchers in wins (221).
FRENEMY: The Mets welcome Daniel Murphy back to Citi Field for the first time since signing a 3-year $37.5 million contract with the Washington Nationals in the offseason…The Mets selected Murphy out of Jacksonville in the 13th round (394th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft…Made his Major League debut with the Mets back on August 1, 2008…Murphy holds a career .288/.331/.424 line in seven seasons as a member of the New York Mets…The 31-year old second baseman collected his 1,000th career hit on May 2nd 2016 against the Kansas City Royals.
METS VS. GONZALEZ: The 30-year old left-hander has started 17 games in his career against the Mets posting a 9-4 record with a 2.66 ERA in 101.1 innings pitched…Gonzalez has struck out 104 batters and walked 41…Mets career numbers against Gonzalez are posted below…
- Juan Lagares: .385 (10-26), 3 2B, 1 HR.
- Yoenis Cespedes: .500 (2-4), 2 BB, 1 K
- David Wright: .286 (6-21), 1 HR, 4 RBI
- Neil Walker: .167 (1-6), 1 K
- Asdrubal Cabrera: .118 (2-17), 1 BB, 1 K
- Curtis Granderson: .133 (4-30), 1 HR, 2 RBI
Final Recap: Mets 2 – Nationals 0
The New York Mets (22-16) defeated the Washington Nationals (23-16) by the final score of 2-0 this evening at Citi Field. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Noah Syndergaard pitched 7 solid scoreless innings only allowing 5 hits, and striking out 10. Syndergaard did not walk a batter.
- Curtis Granderson was 2-2 with a solo HR and 2 walks.
- Michael Conforto was 1-3 with a solo HR.
- Jeurys Familia picked up his 13th save of the season pitching a scoreless 9th.
What an absolutely electric performance by Noah Syndergaard tonight. The Nationals had absolutely no shot to hit the heat Syndergaard was throwing off the mound tonight. Nationals hitters looked overmatched at the plate, and I believe Syndergaard is climbing up the ranks of elite status in the league with each performance. There is not much else to say about his performance other than it was absolutely dominant. Curtis Granderson also started the offense off with a bang with his leadoff home run in the bottom of the 1st. It almost set the tone for the rest of the game as the Mets were in complete control for the rest of the game. Granderson’s lead off home run was his 14th as a member of the Mets and he is now just two leadoff home runs short of Jose Reyes’s record of 16. You can tell the day off on Sunday did wonders for Granderson, as he looked like the Grandyman we’ve come to know over the last year by reaching base in all four plate appearances.
A gigantic credit to the Mets fans for giving Daniel Murphy a well deserved ovation twice before his first official at-bat tonight. Murphy has been a big part of this organization for the better half of seven seasons and he is well respected by his former teammates, as well as Mets fans alike. I had a chance to meet Daniel after a spring training game a few years ago in Tampa and he is one of the nicest guys around. Murphy received his NL Championship ring prior to tonight’s game in a private ceremony, and had an awesome tribute video posted on the Citi Field scoreboard as well. There hasn’t been this much emotion in the stadium with a former player returning since Jose Reyes returned to Citi Field as a member of the Marlins back in 2012, and it was a great sight to see. But from here on out you can now be considered the enemy Murph!
The Mets are now a half-game out of first place and will look to take sole possession of first place tomorrow night. Yes it’s only a series in May, however I believe it’s crucial for the Mets to set the tone early against the Nationals and prove they are just as hungry, if not hungrier than the Nats are.
- The Mets and Nationals are scheduled to play the second game of their three game series tomorrow evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm et. You can catch tomorrow’s game on SNY and ESPN.
- Bartolo Colon (3-2, 3.53 ERA) will take the hill for the Mets tomorrow night against Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 1.93 ERA).
Bartolo recognized for home run.
Bartolo Colon was recognized by the Guinness World Records before tonight’s game, for becoming the oldest player in major league history to hit his first major league home run at the tender age of 42 years and 349 days. Colon had accomplished the feat back on May 7th at San Diego off of Padres pitcher James Shields. Colon is having an exceptional year thus far as he went 2-0 to earn co-NL Player of the Week honors for the week of May 2-7. He also passed Pedro Martinez for the second-most wins by a Dominican-born pitcher on May 3rd. Congratulations to Big Sexy!
Matz start pushed back and Wheeler on target for return.
General Manager Sandy Alderson revealed some good news regarding two of the Mets young aces prior to tonight’s game.
Left-hander Steven Matz’s left elbow/forearm was deemed structurally sound, as tests revealed no ligament damage after visiting doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York yesterday. Matz received a cortisone injection by doctors and is expected to throw a bullpen session tomorrow, with his next start coming on Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. Matz originally felt discomfort in his left arm last week and had his start skipped on Saturday as a precaution. Matz was originally scheduled to start this Thursday as well, but his start will be pushed back a day to give him extra time to heal. All in all it’s great news for Matz, as any injury revolving around the elbow or forearm of the pitching arm is usually never good news. Matz and the Mets have avoided any serious injury that may have been in the back of everyone person’s mind leading up to today. Hopefully the long layoff does not throw Matz off his recent groove, as he had ten days between his last spring training start and his first start of the regular season in April and we saw how that ended.
Zack Wheeler also is still scheduled to make his season debut on July 1st for the Mets, despite having a procedure in April to remove a stitch that never dissolved in his surgically repaired elbow. Alderson believes that Wheeler can’t afford to have any other setbacks in his schedule to make the July 1st date, but the way things are looking right now he’s on the right track.
David Wright and Lucas Duda sitting with injuries tonight
Third baseman David Wright was scratched from tonight’s lineup due to his back flaring up on him prior to tonight’s game. The Mets and Wright both hope this isn’t anything serious and something that will keep him out of the lineup multiple days. Recent call-up Matt Reynolds is starting at third base and hitting ninth for the Mets tonight.
Lucas Duda is also not in tonight’s lineup due to having a stiff back, that originally became an issue over the weekend in Colorado. Duda received an anti-inflamatory injection during yesterday’s day off and his condition seems to be day-to-day according to manager Terry Collins. Speaking to reporters prior to tonight’s game Collins had the following to say regarding Duda’s back…
“Lucas complained of a pretty stiff back at the end of the weekend,” Collins stated prior to Tuesday night’s game. “He was examined yesterday, was given some medication and a shot. He’s pretty sore today. So he and I talked a while ago. It’s just not worth the risk with the weather the way it’s going to be tonight. It looks like it’s going to be kind of damp and cool. … I just said with Gio pitching tomorrow, he’d probably have that day off anyway, so let’s just use yesterday, today and tomorrow and see if we can clean that back up so he’s healthier.”
Eric Campbell is starting at first base tonight, and hitting sixth. The Mets will be shorthanded once again on their bench tonight with the recent injuries. We will keep our fingers crossed that the game does not come down to the shortened bench the Mets are playing with, and it comes down to the players that are eligible to play tonight. It’s tough to play your biggest division rival shorthanded but we must remember it’s still the middle of May and health trumps everything at this point.
Lineups & Game Notes: Nationals vs. Mets
Washington Nationals (23-15):
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. Max Scherzer (R) P
SP: Max Scherzer RHP (4-2, 4.15 ERA)
New York Mets (21-16):
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. Noah Syndergaard (L) P
9. Matt Reynolds (R) 3B
SP: Noah Syndergaard RHP (3-2, 2.53 ERA)
Tonight’s game can be seen on SNY & MLB Network.
Game Notes:
NATIONALS-METS NOTES: The Mets are 6-14 vs. Washington at Citi Field since 2014… Tonight is the first of 19 match-ups between the Nationals and Mets (10 at Citi Field, nine at Nationals Park)… New York went 11-8 vs. Washington last year, including going 8-3 over the final 11 games between the two clubs…The Mets went 5-5 vs. the Nats at Citi Field in 2015.
BACK IN THE BIG APPLE: The Mets begin a six-game homestand tonight… New York will play 12 of its next 15 games at home…The Mets are 9-6 at home this year…New York was 49-32 at home in 2015.
HOMER HAPPY: The Mets have 53 home runs through their first 37 games, which is the most in team history after 37 games…New York did not reach 53 home runs until its 62nd game last year (June 12)…Overall, the Mets are fourth in the major leagues in home runs….The Mets are 17-6 when they hit a homer.
ONE YEAR AGO: Syndergaard made his Citi Field debut one year ago today (May 17, 2015 vs. Milwaukee)…He earned his first major league win, allowing one run over 6.0 innings… Syndergaard is 7-3 with a 2.70 ERA (31 earned runs/103.1 innings) with 113 strikeouts in 15 career starts at Citi Field.
SCORE MORE WIN MORE: The Mets are 18-3 when scoring four or more runs and 3-13 when scoring three runs or less.
FLAMETHROWER: According to FanGraphs, Syndergaard averages the fastest fastball (97.9), slider (91.6) and change-up (89.9) this year.
THOR VS. WASHINGTON: Has made three starts against the Nationals…Is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (four earned runs/20.0 innings pitched) against Washington…Struck out 23 and walked six…His 1.80 ERA versus the Nationals is his second best versus any opponent in which he has faced more than once, trailing the Phillies (1.40 ERA)…Has two career starts at home versus the Nationals in which he is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (three earned runs/15.0 innings pitched) he struck out 19 and walked one.
BE THE MENACE TO MR. WILSON: Nationals Catcher Wilson Ramos has a .308/.325/.544 line with 10 HR’S and 42 RBI’s in 51 games played against the Mets..Ramos has more HR’s and RBI’s against the Mets which is his most against any opponent in baseball…Has 13 doubles against Mets, his most against any other club in baseball…Ramos has scored more runs against the Mets with 22, than against any other MLB team…99 total bases against Mets, his most against any opponent.
FRENEMY: The Mets will welcome Daniel Murphy back to Citi Field for the first time since signing a 3-year $37.5 million contract with the Washington Nationals in the offseason…The Mets selected Murphy out of Jacksonville in the 13th round (394th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft…Made his Major League debut with the Mets back on August 1, 2008…Murphy holds a career .288/.331/.424 line in seven seasons as a member of the New York Mets…The 31-year old second baseman collected his 1,000th career hit on May 2nd 2016 against the Kansas City Royals.
METS VS. SCHERZER: Max Scherzer went 1-2 with a 1.82 ERA (six earned runs/29.2 innings) in four starts vs. New York last year… The former Cy Young Award winner is 3-2 with a 2.23 ERA (12 earned runs/48.1 innings) in eight games, seven starts during his career vs. the Mets…Notable Mets numbers against Scherzer are provided below…
- Neil Walker: .333 (3-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI)
- Curtis Granderson: .304 (7-23, 3 2B, 1 HR)
- Yoenis Cespedes: .333 (3-9, 1 2B, 1 HR)
- Michael Conforto: .167 (1-6, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
- Asdrubal Cabrera: .223 (12-45, 4 2B, 1 HR)
Mets Tidbits
- Steven Matz has received “good news” meeting with doctors today about his left elbow/forearm in New York. While the Mets won’t officially announce Matz’s diagnosis until tomorrow, it is certainly welcoming news to everyone as Matz has no ligament issues with the left arm. It’s still unlikely that Matz will make his next scheduled start against the Nationals on Thursday night, as I believe the Mets will not push him until he is ready. Matz could possibly have his start pushed back to this weekend and face the Milwaukee Brewers at home. We will know more tomorrow when the team makes his condition public.
- It is being reported by ESPN’S Adam Rubin that the Mets are likely to call up infielder Mark Reynolds from AAA Las Vegas, for tomorrow night’s ball game against the Washington Nationals. It is unknown who is likely to be sent down, but if Steven Matz is able to make a start this week, in all likelihood Sean Gilmartin would be sent back down. Reynolds has spent time at second base, shortstop, and third base at AAA Las Vegas and was hitting .238 with two homers and 10 RBIs.
- Yoenis Cespedes revealed in an interesting story on ESPN.com, that he wasn’t as close to signing with the Washington Nationals this past offseason as many made it seem.“I was never close to signing with the Nationals,” Cespedes stated to ESPN.com. “From the start I was pushing my agent because I wanted to come back to the Mets.”It’s another storyline to add on the eve of the first meeting between the division rivals who are scheduled to meet tomorrow night. Cespedes ultimately signed a three-year $75 million contract with the Mets despite rumblings that the Nationals were interested in his services. Cespedes does have a opt-out clause after this season however which is something we can discuss later in November.
Final Recap: Rockies 4 – Mets 3
The Colorado Rockies (19-18) defeated the New York Mets (21-16) this afternoon to complete the sweep by the final score of 4-3. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…
Game Notes:
- Jacob deGrom pitched a solid game this afternoon pitching 6.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits. DeGrom walked 3 and struck out 3. DeGrom also had an RBI single.
- Jim Henderson was charged with the loss after allowing a 2-run home run to pinch hitter Ryan Raburn in the bottom of the 7th.
- Yoenis Cespedes was 1-3 with a solo HR.
- Eric Campbell was 2-3 with a double and a run scored.
- Michael Conforto was 1-3 with an RBI single.
- The Mets suffered their first sweep of the season, and their first sweep in Colorado since April 16-18 2013.
This was a bitter loss to end a tough road trip for the New York Mets. It’s hard not to argue that the umpires played a pivotal role once again in today’s loss, as second base umpire Rob Drake made an absolutely awful call in the top of the eighth inning on the basepaths. As Juan Lagares was advancing from second base to third on a Lucas Duda groundball, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado missed a tag on Lagares and threw to first base for the out. Shortly after the play second base umpire Rob Drake immediately called Juan Lagares out for running outside the baseline. On many replays, Lagares appeared to be completely inside of the baseline, and third base umpire Carlos Torres had also immediately called Lagares safe after Arenado’s missed tag, as he was in front of the play. It was another bad missed call by the umpires as it robbed the Mets of an opportunity to have runners on third and second base with two outs, and Neil Walker coming to the plate to potentially tie or take the lead. Manager Terry Collins simply came out of the dugout to understand the situation but did not argue any further.
The Mets bullpen, which has been very reliable, coughed up today’s lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Jacob deGrom had put Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu on base with a walk, he struck out catcher Dustin Garneau but also threw a wild pitch that advanced LeMahieu to second base. Terry Collins decided to pull deGrom after that at-bat with 102 pitches and allow Jim Henderson who was pitching on back-to-back days to get out of the jam. After throwing two balls, Raburn ripped the next Henderson pitch over the right center field wall and that was all she wrote. Henderson has struggled on back-to-back outings this season, and you wonder if that will play into Henderson’s usage down the line. The Mets also drop to 21-1 this season when leading after seven innings, which displays how dominant the bullpen has been this season.
The Mets completed their season-high eleven game road trip with a 4-7 record. It was a tough go of it, especially in Colorado, but the Mets will have a day off tomorrow to recharge before the Washington Nationals come to town, in what is sure to be the first of many intense games between both clubs this season. I am looking forward to this series and it will be very interesting to see if the Mets continue the recent trend of walking Bryce Harper and not giving him much to hit around the strike zone. The Nationals have struggled since this strategy has been implemented over the last ten days, so it will be one of many things to watch this upcoming series.
- The Mets have a off-day tomorrow before squaring up with the Washington Nationals for three games beginning on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm et and can be seen on SNY and MLB Network.
- Noah Syndergaard (1-2, 3.66 ERA) will take the hill after his two home run performance last Wednesday night, and face Nationals ace Max Scherzer (4-2, 4.15 ERA) who is coming off his historic twenty strikeout performance.
Above The Mendoza 