Mets Morning News: Seeing Red

Meet the Mets

The Mets lost a heartbreaker against the Cincinnati Reds yesterday to all but put the final nail in their coffin. They picked up just three hits in the losing effort and left eight men on base over the first seven innings. They had a man on third with one out, but Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil both struck out. After tying the game at two with a Nimmo hit-by-pitch, McNeil and Pete Alonso struck out with the bases loaded and one out. Christian Colon hit the go-ahead single off Seth Lugo in the eighth to cap off the defeat.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue short and long, Newsday, NY Post, Daily News, MLB.com, and Bergen Record.

Wilson Ramos finally spoke out after the Noah Syndergaard controversy, insisting that it is no big deal and he is not mad at Syndergaard.

As good as he has been at home this season, Steven Matz has been terrible on the road. For that reason, the Mets cannot afford to let him make his next road start. The Mets have swapped Matz and Marcus Stroman, who will now start on Sunday.

Around the National League East

The Philadelphia Phillies kept their slim playoff hopes alive by beating the Cleveland Indians 9-4.

One day after clinching the National League East title, the Atlanta Braves downed the San Francisco Giants 8-1 for their third straight win. Atlanta also climbed to within three-and-a-half games of the Los Angeles Dodgers for best record in the NL.

After the game, former Met Adeiny Hechavarria took a shot at his former employer, saying “I would like to thank God for taking me off the Mets and putting me on the Braves.” The Mets released the infielder earlier this season.

The Washington Nationals blew a 4-0 lead by giving up four runs to the Miami Marlins in the eighth. They rebounded with six in the tenth to win 10-4 in Miami.

Around Major League Baseball

The Milwaukee Brewers battered the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1 for a second straight night to increase their lead in the Wild Card to three over the Cubs and four-and-a-half over the Mets. Milwaukee has the easiest remaining schedule and appears poised to take the final playoff spot in the National League.

The Chicago Cubs lost their fifth straight and third to the St. Louis Cardinals in a 9-8 back-and-forth affair. Craig Kimbrel blew another save in the loss. Instead of bolstering their bullpen, the Kimbrel signing has been a complete disaster for the Cubs.

Joel Sherman took a look at some numbers that were achieved on Wednesday night, such as Gerrit Cole’s 300th strikeout and Bruce Bochy’s 2000th career win as manager, and what it means for baseball’s complex reality.

The San Diego Padres fired manager Andy Green with eight games left to go in the season. The Padres, who were expected to take a big step forward after signing Manny Machado and calling up their top prospects, were 69-85 at the time of the firing.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1962, Ed Kranepool hit an opposite-field double for his first major league hit. It was the first of what was would eventually become a franchise record 1,418 hits. David Wright surpassed that mark 50 years later in 2012.