Mets Morning News: Mets lose dramatically, remain in three-way tie

Meet the Mets

The Mets were swept by the Braves, as they lost 4-3 Wednesday night. Bartolo Colon started and pitched well, departing after allowing two runs over six-and-two-thirds innings. The Mets got their offense in the form a two-run home run by Asdrubal Cabrera in the first inning, and a solo home run by Rene Rivera in the fifth inning. The Braves tied up the game in eighth inning on a Matt Kemp sacrifice fly, and then scored the go-ahead run in the ninth. The game ended with a would-be walk-off home run by Yoenis Cespedes being robbed by Ender Inciarte. The Mets begin a series against the Phillies tonight.

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Jay Bruce was benched on Wednesday for the third time in four games. He acknowledged that while he is not happy about the situation, he is happy that his poor play has not brought down the team as a whole.

The Mets announced that Jacob deGrom underwent successful surgery to reposition his ulnar nerve. He is expected to be ready for spring training.

Steven Matz is set to make his first start tomorrow since he went on the disabled list. Terry Collins said his workload will be modified.

Jayson Stark broke down the possibility of a three-way tie for the National League Wild Card between the Mets, Giants, and Cardinals.

Fred Kerber wrote in the Post how Tim Tebow’s presence at the Instructional League is winning the Mets new fans. 237 fans came to Port St. Lucie to observe Tebow and the other Mets’ prospects participating on Wednesday.

Around the Wild Card

The Mets remained in a three-way tie for the Wild Card because the Giants and Cardinals both lost big on Wednesday night. The Giants lost 9-3 to the Dodgers, while the Cardinals fell to the Rockies 11-1.

Johnny Cueto will miss his next start for the Giants. He is dealing with a strained groin that he suffered in his start on Tuesday.

At The Ringer, Michael Baumann discussed the Giants bullpen, and how they can fix it. Over the last thirty days, the unit has the second-worst WPA of any in the majors.

Around the NL East

Read a recap of last night’s game from the Braves’ perspective at Talking Chop.

The Nationals beat the Marlins by a score of 8-3. Max Scherzer was dominant until the seventh inning, when he allowed two home runs to Christian Yelich and Derek Dietrich. Ryan Zimmerman and Trea Turner both homered for Washington. Tom Koehler pitched poorly for Miami, allowing four runs, three of which were earned, over four innings. Read recaps at Federal Baseball and Fish Stripes.

The Phillies beat the White Sox 8-3. Jerad Eickhoff allowed three runs over seven innings while striking out six. Tommy Joseph hit a three-run home run for Philadelphia.

Around MLB

Commissioner Rob Manfred stumped for the Rangers to get a new stadium. He stated that Texas would be at a “competitive disadvantage” if they did not receive the funding for a new home.

The Yankees won big 11-5 over the Rays, as rookie catcher Gary Sanchez hit another two home runs, his 18th and 19th of the season.

The Blue Jays lost in extra innings to the Mariners, but Jose Bautista hit a mammoth home run off of Edwin Diaz.

Grant Brisbee believes that people should not care whether or not the Rangers were lucky this year. Texas currently has a chance at finishing with the best ever record in one-run games.

At Fangraphs, August Fagerstrom discussed the continued growth of Cy Young candidate Rick Porcello. Also at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron urged MVP voters to apply logical consistency to their voting regarding Mike Trout.

For the New York Times, Michael Powell wrote about the Israeli national baseball team and its pursuit of Jewish players eligible to play for its World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Israel is in a four-team playoff for the final spot that also includes Great Britain, Pakistan, and Brazil.

Yesterday at AA

Matt Varvaro wondered what has gone wrong with Travis d’Arnaud this year.

Timothy Finnegan analyzed Jeurys Familia’s ability to generate low launch-angle ground balls.

This Date in Mets History

In 1962, the Mets got a walk-off win over the Cubs. In the process, Ed Kranepool recorded the first hit of his career, an eighth inning double.