Meet the Mets
Bartolo Colon started and was far from sharp. He failed to make it out of the fifth inning, and he walked five and allowed three runs. The bullpen combined for another six walks and four runs. Yoenis Cespedes was the lone bright spot for the offense, crushing a home run to left field off Gio Gonzalez. The Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but failed to score. Matt Harvey faces Stephen Strasburg in the series finale tonight.
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Steven Matz successfully threw a bullpen session, and will likely start this Friday. Before missing his turn in the rotation with elbow soreness, Matz had a 1.09 ERA over his previous five starts.
David Wright and Lucas Duda are both dealing with back problems. Wright sat the first game of the series, while Duda has sat both games.
Terry Collins insisted that there "was no tiff" with Wright over him sitting the first game. The Mets are generally trying to rest Wright every fourth game.
Mets first base prospect Dominic Smith was the subject of the Farm Report at ESPN New York. Smith, who has four home runs so far this season, discussed what he has been working on regarding his swing mechanics.
Matt Harvey has owned Bryce Harper over the course of his career. Harper is 0-for-20 with seven strikeouts and three walks.
Joel Sherman compared the current states of Wright's and Ryan Zimmerman's careers. Both hail from the same region in Virginia, and have seen their bodies and performance deteriorate in recent years.
The Binghamton Mets will be dropping "Mets" from their name. The choices for new nickname are: Stud Muffins, Bullheads, Gobblers, Rocking Horses, Rumble Ponies, and Timber Jockies.
Around the NL East
Read a recap of last night's game at Federal Baseball.
The Phillies defeated the Marlins 4-2. Jeremy Hellickson gave up two runs over six innings for Philadelphia, while the offense got two RBIs from Cameron Rupp. Tom Koehler gave up two earned runs and three total runs over seven innings for the Marlins. Read recaps at The Good Phight and Fish Stripes.
Julio Teheran dominated the Pirates as the Braves won 3-1. Over 7.2 innings, he struck out three while allowing no runs and just five hits.
The Braves also optioned pitcher Aaron Blair to Triple-A. To take his place, they recalled former Mets prospect John Gant.
Around MLB
The Padres have reportedly put outfielder Matt Kemp on the trading block. Kemp has hit 10 home runs, but has a low batting average and is drawing few walks. Meanwhile, the Padres are in last in the NL West.
Justin Verlander became the 76th pitcher in major league history to record 2,000 strikeouts. Verlander is fifth among active pitchers.
Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 24 games. Bradley is up to .339/.390/.607 on the season.
Jabari Blash, who was selected by the Athletics from the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft and then traded to the Padres, will remain in the San Diego organization at Triple-A. In order to keep him, the Padres had to send cash to Seattle.
The Rangers have named Sam Dyson as their new closer. Dyson, who has a 1.89 ERA for Texas, is replacing Shawn Tolleson.
The Yankees designated Phil Coke for assignment. Coke gave up five runs in just six innings out of the Yankees' bullpen.
Yesterday at AA
Curtis Granderson had a strong game to open the series against the Nationals. Andrew Gould discussed it in the context of his season thus far.
Addison Reed is off to a fantastic start this season, wrote Chris McShane.
This Date in Mets History
In 2006, David Wright hit a walk-off over the head of Johhny Damon against Mariano Rivera to propel the Mets past the Yankees.