Yankees Game Postponed Friday Night; Doubleheader Sunday

 

Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees announced on Friday morning that their game that night with the Texas Rangers is postponed, and it will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1:35 p.m.

The Force Was With Atlanta In Series Finale With Mets

 

Star Wars was the theme of the day on the video boards. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Atlanta Braves were stifled by Mets starter Tylor Megill early, but once they found the force on May The Fourth Star Wars Day at Citi Field Wednesday afternoon, they put up seven runs in the sixth inning on their way to a 9-2 win.

Mets Sweep Braves In Doubleheader Thanks To Superb Pitching

 

David Peterson on the mound for the Mets during the first game. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets swept the Braves in a doubleheader on Tuesday at Citi Field, as they won the first game, 5-4, and shutout Atlanta, 3-0, in the nightcap as Carlos Carrasco threw eight shutout innings. The Mets are now 18-8 on the season, best in the National League.

Though it’s early, they have opened up a seven-game lead on the defending World Champions, who fell to 11-15, in the National League East. Miami is currently in second with a record of 12-11, and Philadelphia is third at 11-13.

This was precipitated by their brief two-game series, which would have taken place on April 4 and 5, in the first week of the season being lost due to the lockout. The other game will be made up on Saturday, August 6 as part of a day-night doubleheader, with games at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

GAME 1: METS 5, BRAVES 4

The Mets won this one with tremendous pitching, as David Peterson earned his first win of the season with a solid outing in a spot start, and then Adam Ottavino, Drew Smith, and Edwin Diaz provided four scoreless innings in relief.

The Mets jumped out to the early lead in this one against Braves starter Charlie Morton, who entered this one with a 1-2 record and an uncharacteristic 7.00 ERA.

In the first, Pete Alonso and Eduardo Escobar had RBI singles in the first inning to make it 2-0.

Atlanta got one back in the second whan Adam Duvall drew a one-out walk, followed by a Dansby Swanson double that brought him to third, and he came in on a sacrifice fly by Travis Demeritte.

The Mets went right back at it in the bottom of the second, as Luis Guillorme walked to open the inning, then  after Tomas Nido popped out, Travis Jankowski walked, and Mark Canha hit one to second that Ozzie Albies fielded and tried to get Jankowski at second, but Dansby Swanson did not get over in time, so everyone was safe.

Francisco Lindor hit one to second that was a force out, and it brought in Guillorme, and Alonso got another RBI single to bring in Jankowski and make it 4-1 Mets.

They tacked on another run, which would turn out to be very valuable, in the fourth when Jankowski reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and reached third on a throwing error on the attempt by Atlanta catcher Travis d'Arnaud. A Canha sacrifice fly would bring home Jankowksi and make it 5-1.

In the fifth, Atlanta put some pressure on Peterson, as Demeritte led off with a single, and then with one out, Albies hit a dribbler that Peterson couldn't handle, so instead of having an inning-ending double play, the inning continued.

Braves first baseman Matt Olson took advantage, and he ripped a three-run home run to pull Atlanta within a run, at 5-4.

In the sixth, with Morton still in there for Atlanta, the Mets had a chance to add some insurance. Guillorme and Janksowski each had singles, and Atlanta turned to Jesse Chaves with two on and two out for Canha, and he struck him out.

Morton went 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks, with three strikeouts. He was one or two well-timed hits away from being knocked out in those first two innings, but he did what veterans do and kept his team in the game.

Peterson went five innings, and allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks, with six strikeouts. 

Ottavino was in next, coming off a nice outing Monday night in which he struck out the side in the ninth inning. He kept that going in this one, as he retired Duvall and Swanson and then got Demeritte to ground to second to complete another perfect inning.

Drew Smith, in his first action since he threw 1 1/3 innings in Friday's combined no-hitter, threw two innings in this one, in which he didn't allow a hit, surrendered just a walk, and struck out two.

Edwin Diaz came on for the ninth, and struck out Swanson and Demeritte before allowing a single to pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia. He then got Albies to ground out to second to end it and earn his fifth save of the season.  

GAME 2: METS 3,BRAVES 0

Carlos Carrasco’s last outing at Citi Field, in which he shut down the San Francisco Giants on April 21 was an appetizer to what he did to Atlanta.

The right-hander nicknamed Cookie, which was ironically a trivia contest question during the game, threw eight shutout innings, scattering six hits and two walks, while notching five strikeouts, to improve to 2-1 on the season, with an ERA of 3.30.

Carrasco was off a tough outing in St. Louis last Wednesday, got the start for the Mets in this one, and he ran into trouble in a hurry.

Ronald Acuna, Jr. led the game off with a double, but Carrasco settled in to retire Matt Olson on a grounder to second base, which did move Acuna to third with one out. Austin Riley struck out, removing the chance at a sacrifice fly, and Marcell Ozuna grounded back to Carrasco to end the inning.

Just as they did in the first game, the Mets cashed in quickly in the bottom of the first. Brandon Nimmo, back to his customary leadoff spot after having Game 1 off, led off with a single, and then Jeff McNeil got a one-out single before Pete Alonso grounded out.

Dom Smith, who did not play the opener, was at first base in this one, and he received a nice ovation as the crowd was reacting to the Mets keeping him around when the roster was trimmed yesterday. He rewarded their cheers with a double into the left field corner to bring in Nimmo and McNeil and make it 2-0 Mets.

In the second, Atlanta got singles from Ozzie Albies and Adam Duvall to open the inning, but just as in the first, Carrasco got out of it, striking out Travis Demeritte, getting Dansby Swanson to pop out to the catcher,and striking out William Contreras.

Smith had another big chance in the bottom of the third, after McNeil and Alonso got two-out singles, but he grounded to short to end the inning.

Carrasco settled in, with the Duvall hit in the second being the last one until he allowed a single to Contreras with two out in the fifth before he got Acuna to ground out. The only runner between the base hits was Acuna, who walked to open the third, and he was erased when Olson hit into a double play.

Atlanta got a lead off double from Olson in the top pf the sixth, and he moved to third on a Riley ground out to second, but Carrasco once again got out of it with a strike out of Ozuna and he got Albies to ground out.

In the bottom half, Alonso led off with a home run into the Mets bullpen in right field, his fifth of the year and 21st RBI, to make it 3-0.

After Edwin Diaz closed out the first game, it was up to Seth Lugo to finish off Game 2, and he did, working around an Albies single and getting Demeritte to hit into a double play to end it, and earn his second save.

Mets To Host Second Annual Military Transition Summit This Saturday

 

The Mets will host the second annual Military Transition Summit at Citi Field this Saturday, May 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Veterans, active service members, spouses, and organizations are invited to attend.

Braves, Driven by d'Arnaud, Take Opener From Mets

 

Chris Bassitt looking in for the sign against Travis Demeritte. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets lost a tough one to the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves, 5-2, on Monday night at Citi Field, as old friend Travis d'Arnaud drove in three runs for Atlanta.

The Mets fell to 16-8, while Atlanta improved to 11-13, in what already feels like a pivotal four-game set - which includes a one-admission doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon starting at 3:00 p.m - in terms of setting the tone in the National League East.

Max Fried got the win for Atlanta to improve to 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA on the season, as he went six innings, allowing just two runs on four hits and no walks, while striking out six.

Chris Bassitt, who sailed through the first five innings before surrendering a 2-1 lead in the sixth, went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk, with eight strikeouts, fell to 3-2 on the season and his ERA ticked up to 2.61.

The biggest news on the day for the Mets came in the morning when they decided to designate second baseman/designted hitter Robinson Cano for assignment with two years and around $40 million left on his contract, and option right-handed pitcher Yoan Lopez to Triple-A Syracuse as the roster trimmed down to 26 players from 28, which owed to the shortened spring training. To read about the Mets letting Cano go, click here.

In the game, the Mets jumped out to an early lead in the second inning as Starling Marte manufactured a run. Marte got a one-out double, moved to third on a fly ball to center by Jeff McNeil, and came in to score on a wild pitch. 

The Mets doubled their lead in the third when Mark Canha, who has been superb in his first year with the Mets after coming over from Oakland, hit his first homer of the season, to make it 2-0 Mets.

Atlanta got one of those runs back in the fourth when Austin Riley launched a home run to center field, and they took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when d'Arnaud got an RBI double and Adam Duvall got a sacrifice fly.

The Mets had a big chance in the seventh as they loaded the bases against Tyler Matzek with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Atlanta turned to Collin McHugh, who began his professional career with the Mets, including with the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2009, and he struck out Canha to end the inning.

Atlanta added to their lead in the eighth against Mets reliever Trevor May. Matt Olson led off the inning with a walk, and after the next two were retired, Ozzie Albies singled to keep the inning alive for d'Arnaud, who delivered a double to bring them home and make it 5-2.

The Mets turned to Adam Ottavino, who blew Saturday night's game against Philadelphia, for the ninth, and he had a nice bounce-back outing, as he struck out the side.

Kenley Jansen, the longtime Dodger in his first year with the Braves, came on to close it out, and he worked around a Marte single to earn his seventh save of the season.

Mets Tell Cano It's Time To Go

 

Robinson Cano with the Mets in 2019. 

On Monday morning, the Mets released infielder/designated hitter Robinson Cano on Monday morning, in a somewhat expected move, as they had to trim their roster from 28 players, which was meant to make up for the truncated spring training, to the normal 26.

Dom-inant Mets Take Series Finale From Phillies

 

Max Scherzer looking in for the sign against Kyle Schwarber. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets beat the Phillies, 10-6, in the finale of their three-game series on Sunday night at Citi Field.

Combined with their no-hitter on Friday night, the Mets won two games in the series and run their National League-best record to 16-7. 

Dom Smith led the way for the Mets, as he went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, and Starling Marte also had a hit and three RBIs.

The Mets sent Max Scherzer to the mound, and he has been a strikeout machine, as he racked up 10 apiece in his prior two starts, against San Francisco on April 19 and in St. Louis on April 25, and he kept it up in this one, as he struck out nine.

The Mets ace improved to 4-0 on the season, with a 2.61 ERA, as he went 6 innings, and allowed 4 earned runs on 5 hits and a walk. The only blemish on the night was the three home runs he allowed, with Kyle Schwarber getting two of them, and Bryce Harper a solo shot.

Scherzer started off the game by striking out the first five Phillies he faced in dominant fashion, a few of them on three pitches. This was the first time he did this in his illustrious career.

The run ended in a hurry when Schwarber (who else?) hit a bomb to right field for a solo home run. Schwarber, who has become a Met killer, picked up where he left off after getting the game-winning two-run homer on Saturday night.

The Mets came right back against Phillies starter Zach Eflin in the bottom of the second, as Eduardo Escobar got a one-out single, followed by a bloop hit into center field by Dom Smith. Escobar got to third on that hit, which proved to be huge because when Starling Marte dribbled one to third base, too slow for Alec Bohm to turn a double play, he came into score to tie the game.

The big blow of the inning came from Luis Guillorme, who hit one of the base of the fence in center field for a double to bring home Smith and make it 2-1 Mets. That was the second baseman's first RBI of the season.

Scherzer worked around a Jean Segura single in the third, getting out of the inning with a Rhys Hopkins double play, and then retired the first two Phillies in the fourth.

J.T. Realmuto drew a two-out walk which kept the inning alive for, you guessed it, Schwarber, and he took advantage. He deposited another bomb into the seats, a two-run shot this time, to make it Schwarber, I mean, Phillies 3, Mets 2.

The Mets got the run back quickly in the bottom half of the fourth, as Escobar got a lead-off single and he came home on a double by Dom Smith.

In the fifth, the Mets took the lead when Lindor, who singled to open the inning, came in on a passed ball by reliever Jose Alvarado with the bases loaded, and Dom Smith delivered a two-run single to make it 6-3 Mets.

Scherzer, who retired the Phils in order in the fifth, including with two strikeouts, made it three in a row with Hoskins to open the sixth. 

Bryce Harper was up next, and he launched a home run to right center to cut the Mets' lead to 6-4.

The Mets blew it ipen in the seventh, starting with Lindor reaching on an error by Phillies second baseman Segura, followed by a Jeff McNeil single, and a Pete Alonso RBI single. After Escobar struck out, Smith singled to give the Mets two on and one out. Starling Marte cashed in, hitting one up the gap in right to bring in McNeil and Alonso to make it 9-4. Marte was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, and Guillorme struck out to end the threat.

The World Champion Atlanta Braves come in to Citi Field for a big four-game set starting Monday night. Atlanta is 10-13 on the season, but everyone knows what they’re capable of.