Mets Morning News: Lutz saves the team from being no-hit, Parnell facing surgery, Harvey meeting with James Andrews

It could have been worse last night, as the Mets at least managed to avoid being no-hit by the Nationals in a 9-0 loss. That's good news for those of you hoping for a bottom ten finish and a protected pick in the June draft, as the loss last night has the Mets sitting in the 8th spot. If you really want to see the box score from this one, it can be found here. Be warned though, it's not pretty.

There were a few injury updates involving the Mets yesterday. Matt Harvey will be heading to see Dr. James Andrews to help determine if Tommy John Surgery is required, while Bobby Parnell will be undergoing a procedure to repair a herniated disk. So much for a pitching surplus, eh?

One pitcher who could still be surplus to the requirements is fan favorite Frank Francisco. He definitely won't be with the Mets when they play two in Montreal next year, but to see a team actually take him on before the conclusion of the regular season would surprise me.

David Wright is one Met that will certainly be with the team at the time of the Canadian vacation, and it sounds as if he's planning to be back in action before next spring.

According to Adam Rubin, the Mets have no plans to non-tender Ike Davis in December.

Yesterday at AA

The farm report is getting pretty tiny, but you can check out the latest on the Savannah Sand Gnats right here.

A former Gnat that many of might not be familiar with got promoted yesterday, so Rob shared some thoughts he has on Juan Centeno.

It was player performance meter day at AA, and we had both pitchers and hitters for you to catch up on.

Around Baseball

The Nationals are doing their best to get back into the NL East race, but it will still take a pretty big collapse from the Braves to make that happen. They didn't get any help last night when the Braves beat the Marlins.

The odds of the Nats ending up in the Wild Card places aren't much better, as the Pirates and the Reds both have a fairly comfortable cushion. The Pirates won last night to ensure they finish above .500, while the Reds didn't follow suit.

The AL race is closer than the NL one, and got even closer with the Pirates historic win. With Tampa having an off day, the Baltimore and Cleveland wins mean that there are a pair of teams within a game and a half of the final wild card place.

Zack Greinke is awesome.

Speaking of the Dodgers, they might be getting even better in the next several days if they manage to sign Alexander Guerrero.