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| Hannes Wolf flew past the Atlanta defense in the 59th minute... |
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| To make it 4-0 NYCFC. Photos by Jason Schott. |
New York City Football Club got in a rhythm on offense, and it flourished into a full-blown symphony as they routed Atlanta United FC, 4-0, on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium.
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| Jeff McNeil hit a three-run home run in the first inning on Thursday afternoon against Washington. Photo by Jason Schott. |
One year ago, June 12, 2024, the Mets got a spark from someone who would become a touchstone as they made their run to a surprise appearance in the National League Championship Series.
Grimace through the first pitch before the Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 10-4.
Brooklyn Digest covered that game, and here’s a sampling from the article, “Mets Mash Marlins On Night That Could Be Model Going Forward”:
“The Mets had one of their most complete games of the season on Wednesday night at Citi Field, as they romped past the Miami Marlins, 10-4. They got solid pitching from David Peterson and Dedniel Nunez, and a trio of home runs from Harrison Bader, Starling Marte, and Francisco Lindor.
The Mets (29-37) set the tone early when Peterson had a strong 1-2-3 top of the first, capped by striking out Josh Bell looking.
“In the bottom of the first against Marlins starter Braxton Garrett, a lefty like Peterson, the Mets offense got off to a fast start. Francisco Lindor led off with a double when Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. misjudged a liner, and then Harrison Bader then crushed one to right field for a no-doubt two-run homer.
“That gave the Mets center fielder his fourth of the season, and 25 RBI on the season as well.”
The Mets led 5-4, then 8-4 before they “blew it open in the bottom of the eighth when Lindor led off the frame with a solo shot, his 11th homer of the season, and Marte followed with an RBI single that made it 10-4.
“Marte, Bader, and Alvarez had two RBI apiece, while Taylor led the way with four hits, followed by Lindor, Bader, and Marte each notched two hits.
“Peterson improved to 2-0 on the season, but since this was just his third start of the season, his ERA (earned run average) jumped from 3.09 to 4.32.”
A year later, Peterson is 5-2 with a 2.49 ERA after he threw a complete game shutout in a 5-0 win on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
As you read, the Mets were 29-37 on this date a year ago, and that victory began a seven-game winning streak.
The Mets reached the .500 mark, at 39-39, with a 12-2 blowout win over the Yankees at Citi two weeks later.
By July 2, the Mets had won 13 of 17 games, and that extended to 20 wins in 28 games over basically a month, and a record of 49-45 on July 13.
The Mets torrid pace continued through the summer, as they snagged a Wild Card spot with a record of 89-73.
That meant the Amazin’s went an astonishing 60-36 the rest of the way.
On Thursday afternoon, the Mets added one more to that total, as they completed their sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 4-3 win.
Jeff McNeil gave the Mets the early lead with a three-run home run in the first inning off Washington starting pitcher Mike Soroka.
That was McNeil’s seventh home run of the season and gave him 22 RBI.
Brandon Nimmo got a home run off his own, a solo shot in the fifth that rang off the right field foul pole.
Mets starter Kodak Senga turned in a phenomenal outing, as he surrendered just one hit and one walk over 5 2/3 shutout innings. At one point, he retired 13 straight Washington hitters from when there was one out in the first inning until two out in the fifth.
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| Kodai Senga pitching to Nathaniel Lowe in the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott. |
Senga’s afternoon ended in deleterious fashion, as he suffered an injury leaping up to grab a high throw from first baseman Pete Alonso at the bag to nab C.J. Abrams.
Senga came up lame, and was writhing in pain before he left on his own volition, and was promptly removed from the game.
Even though Washington scored three in the ninth to make in interesting, Senga earned the win to improve to 7-3 with a 1.47 ERA.
The Mets are now 45-24, and they have expanded their lead to 5 1/2 games over the Philadelphia Phillies.
That gives them 105 regular season wins in the past calendar year.
Overall, they’ve won 112 games because they won eight in the playoffs last year as they beat the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies before losing the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.
The River Is Waiting
By Wally Lamb
S&S/Marysue Rucci Books; hardcover, 480 pages; $29.99; available today, Tuesday, June 10th
Wally Lamb is the author of six New York Times bestselling novels, I'll Take You There; We Are Water; Wishin' and Hopin'; The Hour I First Believed; I Know This Much Is True; and She's Come Undone. Lamb also was the Editor of two essays from students in his writing workshop at York Correctional Institution, a women's prison in Connecticut - Couldn't Keep It to Myself and I'll Fly Away. Lamb lives in Connecticut with his wife and three sons.
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| The Boston Red Sox take the field Saturday night. @RedSox. |
Friday night at Yankee Stadium was “embarrassing” for the Boston Red Sox, a term used by both starting pitcher Walker Buehler and a WEEI announcer.
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| Rick Pitino on Wednesday night. Provided by St. John's. |
St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night ahead of the Yankees' 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
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| Madison Square Garden during a Knicks game this season. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Knicks made the shocking decision on Tuesday to fire Head Coach Tom Thibodeau just days after they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers.
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| The Red Bulls celebrate after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting made it 2-0. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The Red Bulls, backed by a pair of early, excellent goals, shutout Atlanta United FC, 2-0, on Saturday night in front of a near-capacity crowd of 20,187 at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
