The Fam Said It Just Right

Game 67 - Mets

Mets 5, Nationals 4 (10 innings)
Record: 43-24

Amen, cuz. 

Rocking Colorado

Games 63 through 66 - Mets

Dodgers 6, Mets 5
Mets 4, Rockies 2
Mets 8, Rockies 1
Mets 13, Rockies 5
Record: 42-24

Oh, the 2025 Colorado Rockies. What a mess. And the Mets capitalized on their messiness to sweep the season's six games against them in a 10-day span. 

You don't have search too deeply into the MLC annals or have watched this franchise for so long to conjure a Mets team would play down to the level of the opponent and drop a game or two . . . or maybe even three or four . . . against a suffering squad like the Rocks.  Hell, just searching on "Give us your tired, your poor" on this site tells you what it used to feel like. Here's one from 2004:

Game 14 - Mets
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, The Wretched Refuse . . . We'll Find a Way to Lose to Them

Expos 2, Mets 1
Record: 6-8

At least last year we didn't have to see the Mets play the dreadful Tigers, which no doubt would have resulted in at least one loss to one of the worst teams ever fielded. As soon as my cohort posts the inaugural Expos Watch, the Mets drop a bad one to them. Within hours. To Rob I simply say: Wow, the Red Sox are really clicking on all cylinders right now. Probably destined for one hell of a year unless some bad breaks come their way.

What a refreshing change that the Mets rolled over the league doormat this year.

The exclamation point was yesterday, as the Metbats went wild for six homers and 13 runs. Pete continues to mash (18 RBI over his last 8 games), and he and Jeff McNeil both his a pair of taters. Tylor McGill limited his standard one bad inning to 2 runs in the 5th. Paul Blackburn, off a stellar first start since coming back from injury, looked... really hittable. He managed garbage time, allowing 3 runs in 4 innings off 7 hits (4 of them for extra bases). But it never really became a concern, what with the fireworks from the Mets' lineup. 

Blackburn and Megill are two of the question marks when the discussion turns to the rotation after Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas get back to the bigs. Canning, Holmes, Peterson, and Senga all sport ERA marks under 3, which is just outstanding. We will have to see what Stearns and Mendy see as the gameplan moving forward. Great challenges to have.

The same goes with the infield (2B/3B). With McNeil killing the ball, Ronny Mauricio hitting well since his callup, Baty hanging in there despite a recent sluggish stint, and Acuña filling in here and there, it's just as well that Vientos is on the shelf. He was struggling mightily, anyway. We want Lindor's toe to heal quickly and need no additional attention (time off), but it was good when he had to take a game-plus off that we have a crew of capables ready to play.

Nats and Rays at Citi this week before we see a series with the Phlailin' Phils (dropped 5 in a row and 9 of 10) that's nestled among 7 games against the flagging Braves. That will be a proving ground, and there can be no letup now. 

LGM

Pete and Repeat

Game 62 - Mets

Mets 6, Dodgers 1
Record: 39-23

Ham and egging. That's how you go far in a 162-game slog and then some.

Some nights, the Big Three carry the load and the supporting cast gets a free ride.

Other nights, the stars flicker out, but the scrappy bottom part of the lineup steps up.

Many nights, the Metbats are mostly quelled but starting pitching goes 6 sharp and the pen doesn't leak.

And sometimes, every once in a while, the Mets manage just 4 hits (but claw out 4 walks and a pair of HBP's, plus a lovely gift of an ugly E-4) and step aside to let the venerable Peter M. Alonso, Esquire go wyld stallyn all over Dodger pitching. 

Most triumphant.

2-run tater in the 1st to set the tone. Nice. 3-run bomb to deep, deep left in the 8th to seal it. My man. 

Griffin Canning was aces: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 runs. A semi-shaky Jose Castillo and a gopher ball by Ryne Stanek were rendered moot by the sheer, bodacious force of Polar Pete.

I'll say this 100 times between now and when he inks his next deal. He's fun to watch, awesome to root for, easy to get behind, and integral to this clubhouse. Also he hits colossal home runs into the night. 

Met for Life, please. That is all.

One more time. Beat L.A. 

LFGM

To Live and Die in L.A.

Game 61 - Mets

Dodgers 6, Mets 5 (10 innings)
Record: 38-23

It's super lame to go to sleep rather than stay up for barn-burners like this. And for the second straight night, I went to bed with the Mets winning and awoke to find they'd blown the lead. This time, they didn't come back and win. 

For the recap, you're best off visiting longtime aces of the Met Blogosphere at Amazin' Avenue for their take on last night's loss. Brandon Nimmo did an amusing (well, it would have been amusing) spin dance in left field as the game-winning hit dropped in 2 feet from him. Brazoban blew the lead an inning before. Max Muncy killed us again. 

Sigh... such is life playing the best offense in the bigs. On the plus side, we got our first-ever MLC post title reference to Wang Chung* out of this game.

*Okay, so I did use this reference 19 (!) years ago in a post where I conflated the Mets roster with musical acts. Rereading this, I apparently used to be a more fun blogger!

On the other plus side... Soto looks like he's warming up. And Megill, who was trash in the first inning, held fast after that and went 6. I like the pluck in this team against the mighty D Train. 

I'm going to try to stay up tonight and watch 'til the end.

(Me writing that means this is where the Mets go down 9-1 in the 3rd inning and I don't need to.)

Beat L.A. 

LGM

Stay Gold, Metsies

Game 60 - Mets

Mets 4, Dodgers 3 (10 innings)
Record: 38-22

Paul Blackburn! 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K . . . zero runs. A fine comeback start that gives the Mets a delightful dilemma when it comes to sorting out the solid stable of starters. Good news there.

Max Kranick let the erstwhile Trolley Dodgers cut the 2-0 lead in half when Shohei Ohtani went deep to right. I think that's just gonna happen sometimes when you are dealing with a Terminator in stirrups and cleats. 

Unfortunately, Edwin Diaz, who's been -- what's beyond airtight . . . hermetic? . . . for a long while, let one get through in the 9th. Credit the best offense in baseball, and Diaz holding Ohtani to a game-tying sac fly was a victory in its way. 

Alvarez and Diaz came through with doubles in the 10th, and the Mets proved they needed that extra run. Jose 1 (Castillo) was relieved by Jose 2 (Butto), who locked it down for the last pair of outs and fielded his position incredibly well on the final play to save it. 

These are the Dodgers. They represent the best. Take this win and put it in your back pockets, boys. Now go get us another. 

Fun SNY Stat of the night: Juan Soto in 2025 gets much, much better as the game goes on. In his 1st time through the order, Soto sports the 4th-worst OPS in the league. 2nd time through, he's middle of the pack. By the time he gets to the 3rd time through the order, however, he's 2nd best in baseball. Credit his approach and his eye. (He's currently 56th in the league in OPS overall, and . . . well, we could ask for more there.)

Mark Vientos took a spill coming out of the batter's box last night. Hammy. Not good. Ronny Mauricio makes his first trip to Citi Field since 2023 due to ACL surgery. Godspeed to Vientos. In the meantime, Mauricio has sported the following OPS at each stage of the minors thus far this year:

• St. Lucie Mets: 5 games, .321 OPS
• Binghamton Rumble Ponies (actual name, has to be an S.E. Hinton reference, right?): 5 games, .402 OPS
• Syracuse Mets: 9 games, 1.382 OPS

Alrighty then. 

Beat L.A., as they were wont to say, back in the day.

L...G...M

Yo Holmes, to Bel-Air!

Games 55 through 59 - Mets

Mets 6, White Sox 4
White Sox 9, Mets 4
Mets 4, Rockies 2
Mets 8, Rockies 2
Mets 5, Rockies 3
Record: 37-22

One year ago, on June 2, 2024, the Mets sat at 24-35.
16.5 games behind the first-place Phillies.
In 4th place in the NL East, a few games worse than the Nats and a few better than the Marlins. 

As we know, those Mets then went 65-38 to qualify as a wild card team, and all hell broke loose. Grimace, OMG, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, etc. But man, was June 2 a depressing nadir for the Mets and across all of Mets Township. 

Win the games you're supposed to, we are wont to say. Racking up losable wins is a primary ingredient in success out there. Against the 2025 Colorado Rockies, though, some days the games don't appear losable. They're 9-50. 

In fairness, it's not like the Metmen blew out the Rocks in all three games. They just did what they needed to. Heads, up, fellas, you'll need to do the same thing against them in Denver next weekend. 

Before that happens, thanks to nifty scheduling, the Mets get four (4) games at Chavez Ravine. Somebody in blue and orange must've pissed off the MLB scheduling office. Alrighty then, here we go.

This evening's tilt features Paul "Welcome" Blackburn rejoining the team. He's rehabbed from a knee injury and is tonight's starter versus L.A. RHP Dustin May. Another arm into the mix. He's got a much higher bar to meet in the rotation than he did a year ago. 

The book on Blackburn, at least based on his lone season as a Met (and not his 8 years in Oaktown), is that he's terrific against lefties but against righties... they hit it very much, to butcher Pedro Cerrano. Will Smith may be telling some of Blackburn's offerings "smell ya later." 

Yep. Terrible. 

LGM