Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 16 seasons full-time on the beat. |
CHICAGO -- Ask those around the Mets, and they’ll say they never thought they’d be in this position -- not after jumping out to the best record in baseball through June 12. But here they are, with three games to play and a postseason ticket on the line. For the Mets, the stakes are simple: win all three in Miami, and they’re in the playoffs. Win two, and they’re probably in pretty good shape. They enter their final series of the season one game clear of the Reds for the final National League Wild Card spot, and two up on the Diamondbacks. While there’s little doubt the Mets are fortunate even to be in this position, all that matters is what comes next. “We feel like we’ve just got to go down there and handle business,” third baseman Brett Baty said after Thursday’s 8-5 win over the Cubs. “We can’t think about winning three games, because we’ve got to win tomorrow night. So we’re going to go down there and we’re going to focus on tomorrow night and we’re going to try to get a ‘W,’ and then see where things are at. And then keep fighting until the end of the season.” |
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The biggest challenge for the Mets will be figuring out how to record 27 outs each night. After rookie starter Brandon Sproat on Friday, the Mets’ plans are fluid, largely because they burned through so much of their pitching this week in Chicago. Starters Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea are likely to play roles in Saturday’s game, but the Mets used both for an inning of relief on Wednesday. The bullpen is in no better shape. Closer Edwin Díaz has recorded nine outs over the Mets’ last three games. Tyler Rogers, Brooks Raley, Ryne Stanek and Huascar Brazobán have all been used heavily. And yet, if the Mets still need a win on Sunday, that figures to be an all-hands-on-deck situation, with any number of pitchers -- including even No. 20 prospect Dylan Ross, who has yet to make his Major League debut -- prepared to play roles. “We’ve been asking a lot of them,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re going to continue to rely on those guys. They know where we’re at, and they’re going to continue to ask for the baseball.” |
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It will help if the Mets can bang the ball around loanDepot park the way they did in Chicago, particularly during Thursday’s finale. But Mendoza noted the Mets will need to pitch better and play crisper defense if they wish to advance. Everything is on the table now. There are no more excuses, and the Mets understand that. It’s three games for the entire season. "You want to stay alive,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We’re in a position right now where we control our own destiny, and we’ve got to go take care of business. The Marlins, they’ve played us well. They’ve been playing well, and we know that. They’re a big league team, and we’ve got to go out there and take care of business. They’re not going to give anything away.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Who is the Mets’ all-time hits leader at loanDepot park? A) Pete Alonso B) Jeff McNeil C) Daniel Murphy D) Brandon Nimmo |
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Don’t count on Kodai Senga returning to the Mets anytime soon. Senga, whom the Mets optioned to the Minors earlier this month due to performance issues, struggled in his most recent live batting practice session, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. Of issue was the right-hander’s fastball velocity, which lagged around 93 mph. “Just OK,” was how Mendoza described the session, adding that the hot Florida weather “kind of got to him a little bit and he got tired.” “Physically, he feels fine,” Mendoza added. “He’s healthy. But it’s just not clicking.” That puts the Mets in a difficult spot with Senga, who can’t rightly return to active duty until he at least performs well in back-fields practice sessions. For now, Senga will remain in Florida, where he’ll continue working to rediscover his prime form. But he’s running out of time. Mendoza indicated that Senga probably wouldn’t be an option to start Sunday against the Marlins, even though that might be a meaningless game. But if Senga doesn’t pitch, the Mets will have a hard time simply adding him blindly to their playoff roster like they did last year for the NL Division Series. The most likely outcome for Senga, in other words, appears to be going into the offseason without having thrown another Major League pitch. Now three seasons into the five-year, $75 million contract he signed prior to 2023, Senga has given the Mets just 118 2/3 innings over the last two of them. The team still owes him $30 million and will be incentivized to get Senga right -- whether that’s down the stretch this season, or, more likely, at some point next year. |
• At age 23, Francisco Alvarez has clearly established himself as one of the heart-and-soul pieces of the Mets’ clubhouse. Alvarez’s teammates fawned over him after his two-run homer won them Tuesday’s game over the Cubs. They continue to marvel over his ability to play through pain.
• Tough news for Tylor Megill, who underwent Tommy John surgery on Monday. That will obviously knock Megill out for the rest of this season, and potentially all of next year as well.
• When the Mets activated Tyrone Taylor earlier this week, they made the difficult decision to designate Jose Siri for assignment. A major offseason acquisition for the Mets, Siri wound up appearing in only 16 games for them. • MLB’s “No Easy Outs” series dropped a new video this week featuring a lengthy interview with Díaz. In it, he discusses his background as a young player in Puerto Rico, his father’s influence on the position change that made him “a little bit angry,” and the baseball advice the Mets closer has given his own son. Check out the full feature here. |
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Answer: D) Nimmo No Met has played more games at loanDepot park than Nimmo, who also has the most hits with 48. The park opened in 2012. |
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