Meet the Mets
The Mets were shut out again, losing to the A’s 4-0 in a game which saw the Mets’ scoreless streak extend to 17 innings and their losing streak extend to three games to put them at .500 for the season. Clay Holmes was excellent, but unfortunately was forced to leave the game early due to hamstring tightness with the Mets down 1-0 in the sixth. The Mets’ best chance to score was in the bottom of the sixth when they had first and third and nobody out, but Francisco Lindor ran into an out on the base
paths and Luis Robert Jr. grounded into a double play to quash the rally. Tobias Myers relieved Holmes and was also good until the ninth inning, in which yielded three runs of insurance as he ran out of gas, which effectively ended the game, given the Mets’ ineptitude offensively.
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Luckily, it doesn’t seem like Holmes’ hamstring issue is serious and there is optimism he will make his next start.
Jeff McNeil, back at Citi Field for the first time since being traded to the A’s, reflected on his Mets tenure and legacy.
Jorge Polanco says his Achilles is feeling a lot better and he won’t need a stint on the injured list after all.
When addressing the media yesterday, David Stearns said that there have been no discussions about sending Carson Benge down to Triple-A, despite his slow start.
He also covered a few other tidbits: Juan Soto won’t be out long with his calf injury, Criag Kimbrel is an option for the bullpen at some point, Sean Manaea is “going to make a bunch of starts for us this year,” and the Mets still have confidence in David Peterson, despite his recent struggles.
A.J. Minter made a rehab appearance for the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night and pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. He is still on track for a late April or early May return.
Tommy Pham, who the Mets signed to a minor league deal recently, also played in that game for St. Lucie and should move up to Triple-A Syracuse soon as he ramps up.
It would be nice to see a retractable roof at Citi Field, but the price tag is very steep, writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Around the National League East
A six-run sixth inning propelled the Braves—donning their new powder blue City Connects—to an 11-5 victory over the Guardians in which they hit three home runs.
The Phillies put up four runs in the first inning, but yielded five runs in the fifth in a 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks. Michael Soroka had a shaky start, but ultimately struck out ten Phillies in 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory for the Diamondbacks.
Zack Wheeler will make at least one more rehab outing on Tuesday for Double-A Reading. Depending on how that goes, he may rejoin the Phillies after that.
The Marlins were blanked by the Tigers 2-0, as Keider Montero pitched six shutout innings for Detroit.
Is the Marlins’ hot start sustainable? Mark Feinsand of MLB.com takes a deep dive on the Marlins, as well as the Pirates and Rockies, who are both also off to unexpectedly good starts.
The Nationals piled on the insurance runs late en route to a 7-3 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Though James Wood is the Nationals’ most obvious extension candidate of their young players, outfielder Daylen Lile, who had a very impressive rookie campaign, may be easier and cheaper to extend. However, “the Nationals have yet to broach Lile with an extension offer,” reports Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic.
Around Major League Baseball
The Denver Broncos owners have purchased a 40% ownership stake in the Colorado Rockies.
ESPN ran down a list of the best and worst free agent signings of all time. Carlos Beltrán’s deal with the Mets graded out as the 12th best.
You may have heard that the White Sox are doing a pope hat promotional item as a tribute to Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and longtime White Sox fan. So great is the anticipation for this giveaway, which has become a viral internet sensation, that the White Sox have expanded the promotion to all fans attending the August 11th game, rather than just fans who purchased specialty theme night tickets.
The Mariners had a, uh, mishap at the Ichiro Suzuki honorary statue unveiling yesterday.
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com took a look at some teams experiencing some early season woes and which of them should be nervous.
Max Muncy launched his third homer of the night to lift the Dodgers to an 8-7 walk-off win against the Rangers, overcoming a blown save by Edwin Díaz. That walk-off blast has elevated Muncy to sixth on the all-time Dodgers home run leaderboard and he has hit the third-most home runs of any Dodger since the team moved to Los Angeles. Also notable from last night’s game in LA: Shohei Ohtani passed Ichiro Suzuki for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player when he reached base in his 44th straight game.
“This is not my standard. Results-wise, yeah, it’s unacceptable for me, and I will be better. I know that. But yeah, it’s not fun,” Pete Alonso, who is 3-for-32 over his past eight games since he took Jacob deGrom deep, said. “I know, for me, if I’m not producing in big spots with guys on base, it’s not good for the team. I will be better. I feel bad. A lot of people believe in me, and I believe in myself, but I’m not delivering results. I will. I just haven’t. But I will.”
Fangraphs published its list of top Athletics prospects.
Jeffrey Paternostro of Baseball Prospectus put the spotlight on Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt and how he has performed in the majors so far compared to his projections as a prospect.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
Vasilis Drimalitis previewed this weekend series between the Mets and A’s.
This Date in Mets History
The Mets played their first official National League game on April 11, 1962. They lost, of course.
