No Cespedes? No problem for the Mets last night as they beat the Yankees 4-1. Bartolo Colon settled down the madness from Wednesday and pitched a very respectable 6.2 innings. The only run he gave up was when Jerry Blevins could not strand the runner he inherited from Colon.
All the offense for the Mets came in one inning, when Kelly Johnson and Jay Bruce both hit home runs. The big blow was Bruce’s. which was a three-run shot.
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Up next for the Mets, Noah Syndergaard faces Justin Verlander and the surging Tigers in Detroit.
With another Subway Series in the books, take a look back at some memorable moments over the past 20 years.
Bartolo Colon helped himself get out of trouble early on in Thursday’s game when he made a solid defensive play to keep a run from scoring.
Jay Bruce got his first hit as a Met when he launched a three-run home run in the fifth.
Kelly Johnson enjoyed his short-porch home run in his return to Yankee Stadium.
Yoenis Cespedes was placed on the DL after the game Wednesday, and GM Sandy Alderson admitted playing golf while injured looks bad and Cespedes should have been on the DL sooner. Manager Terry Collins, however, was furious at the implications that golf had anything to do with the injury.
With the addition of Bruce, the Mets are in a better position to absorb the loss of Cespedes.
Brandon Nimmo was recalled from Triple-A to replace Cespedes in what has been a whirlwind week for him.
With their big bat out of the lineup, the Mets’ rotation now must shoulder a lot of the burden to get the team to the playoffs. Bartolo Colon especially needs to keep up what he is doing.
Around the NL East
The Braves took the series from the Pirates with a 5-2 win.
With the loss of Colin Rea, the Marlins are moving David Phelps into the rotation, which further weakens the bullpen. Phelps moving to the rotation might not work out well for him, either.
The Phillies were unable to complete the sweep of the San Francisco Giants when Denard Span hit a home run in the top of the 10th to put the Giants ahead for good.
Both Nationals GM Mike Rizzo and manager Dusty Baker believe Bryce Harper is ready to get back on track.
Around the Majors
Tigers starter Jordan Zimermann had a poor outing in his first start back from the DL, but a different injury might have been the cause.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said there are no plans to release aging slugger Alex Rodriguez.
The Blue Jays will keep Aaron Sanchez in the rotation despite Francisco Liriano coming over in a trade from the Pirates. Instead, they will have a six-man rotation going forward.
The Indians are the only team in the majors without a losing streak longer than three games, and they stopped their latest three-game losing streak with a 9-2 trouncing of the Twins.
Clayton Kershaw won’t be returning to the Dodgers’ rotation any time soon, as he was transferred to the 60-day DL on Wednesday.
Yesterday at AA
Benjamin Roth caught up on all the action in the minors with the Mets Daily Prospect Report.
Episode 196 of Amazin Avenue Audio is up with guest Wick Terrell from Red Reporter, who stops by to discuss the Jay Bruce trade.
This Date in Mets History
The 1973 Mets fell to 12 games below .500 after losing both games of a doubleheader to the St. Louis Cardinals, and were 11.5 games out of first place. In the following two months, they would win 65% of the remaining games and win the division.