Your Sunday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.
Meet the Mets
The Mets won their fourth straight game, beating the Yankees 12-6 in another slugfest to clinch a Subway Series victory at Citi Field. Brandon Nimmo hit his second grand slam in four days to get the Mets on the board and Pete Alonso went deep twice to inch his way ever closer to the franchise home run record. Frankie Montas was better than his stat line showed, but he was still vulnerable to the home run. Ryne Stanek had a shaky eighth, but emerged with the lead in tact. However, his rough outing did result in Carlos Mendoza warming up Edwin Díaz and the Mets went down too quickly in the top of the ninth to give anyone else time to warm, so Díaz pitched the ninth despite the lopsided score and gave up one hit and struck out two in a scoreless frame to seal the victory.
Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, NY Post, Daily News, Newsday, North Jersey, The Athletic, ESPN, Faith and Fear in Flushing
The Mets made yet another roster move prior to yesterday’s game on the pitching side: they signed veteran reliever Zach Pop, who was active for yesterday’s game and will likely see action today. To make room for him on the active roster, the Mets optioned Austin Warren back to Triple-A Syracuse and designated Tyler Zuber for assignment to free up a spot on the 40-man roster.
A little more than three weeks after straining his right hamstring, Kodai Senga made a rehab appearance yesterday for Double-A Binghamton. He allowed four runs (three of them earned) on six hits and two walks over 3 2⁄3 innings, with four strikeouts. He threw 68 pitches, 44 of which were strikes. The Mets will now determine what the next step is. Senga could return to the big league club as soon as next weekend in Kansas City if the Mets decide he does not need a second rehab assignment.
Chris Devenski will serve as the opener today with Brandon Waddell to follow as the bulk guy, the Mets announced after yesterday’s game.
The Mets are showing interest in Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller, according to reporting by Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Keller has pitched to a 3.64 ERA this season and logged quality starts in 12 of his 18 outings this season. He won’t come cheap though, as he is under team control until 2028.
Around the National League East
Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber each hit two-run homers and Ranger Suárez put together a strong outing in the Phillies’ 5-1 victory over the Reds yesterday.
After the Phillies’ loss on Friday, Nick Castellanos was seen getting into it with a fan, gesturing and yelling toward the stands. Phillies senior video producer Jace Kaleikau claimed in a social media post that the fan was drunk and yelling at Bryson Stott for making the last out and Castellanos was defending his teammate.
The Nationals got thumped by the Red Sox again, this time by a score of 10-3. The Red Sox put up seven runs against Mitchell Parker in the second inning, but ultimately only four of the nine runs he surrendered were earned, as the Nationals committed three errors in the game.
The Braves fell to the Orioles in extra innings to lose their third straight series, as old friend Rafael Montero took the loss by giving up a pair of RBI doubles in the tenth.
The Marlins defeated the Brewers 4-2 thanks to strong work by the Miami bullpen and a late-inning rally in the eighth.
Around Major League Baseball
Two-time All-Star and 2005 World Series champion Bobby Jenks passed away on Friday at the age of 44 after a battle with stomach cancer. “We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.
“Jenks was like a storybook character who came out of nowhere and saved a World Series season for the Chicago White Sox,” writes Jon Greenberg in a tribute to Jenks in The Athletic.
On the same day as another loss to the Mets, the Yankees received bad news on Clarke Schmidt: he has a UCL tear and likely needs Tommy John surgery.
Theo DeRosa of MLB.com takes a look at the pitchers who are candidates to start the All-Star Game for both the American and National Leagues.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
In a new episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane discuss the vibe shift of the past week.
Joe Sokolowski brought us This Week in Mets Quotes, which are mostly bummers, but that’s what happens during a tough stretch.
This Date in Mets History
After Brandon Nimmo hit a notable grand slam yesterday, it is interesting that this date marks the first grand slam in franchise history in 1962.