Mets Morning News: Not so sunny in Philadelphia

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The Mets dropped their second straight game to the Phillies by a score of 6-2. Steven Matz’s struggles continued, as the lefty looked sharp early, but surrendered a five spot in the fifth inning, putting the Phillies up 6-0. The Mets only escaped a shutout thanks to a two-run bomb by Dominic Smith in the ninth inning, his sixth home run of the season.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue short and long, Newsday, MLB.com, North Jersey, Daily News, NY Post, ESPN

The Mets added both Matthew Allan and Francisco Alvarez to their 60-player pool. It seems unlikely that either will see significant playing time, never having played above Single-A. But the Mets want the top prospects to get reps and notably, it makes both of them eligible to be included in trades.

Wilson Ramos not being made available to the media after Friday night’s game demonstrates a lack of accountability, opines Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.

However, Ramos did eventually speak to reporters prior to yesterday’s game about the play at the plate that cost the Mets Friday night’s game. “I was 100% sure I thought it was out at the plate on that play,” he said. “Then I saw the replay. It was tough to me to see the play. I tried to tag the runner and my tag ended up a little bit up. And it cost the game.” He said he thought about the play “all night.”

Jacob deGrom played catch from 90 feet yesterday and will throw a bullpen session today, absent any setbacks.

The Mets’ taxi squad for this road trip includes Ali Sanchez, Corey Oswalt, and the recently optioned Drew Smith.

Tim Healey of Newsday spoke to Keith Hernandez about his trade to the Mets and how it gave him new challenges in baseball when he thought he had done all there was to do in the game.

Given the situation with their rotation, the Mets desperately need Steven Matz to figure it out and step up to the plate, writes Tim Britton of The Athletic.

How did Robinson Cano make it back from a relatively serious injury so quickly? Tim Healey of Newsday gets to the bottom of that question and more in his Mets notebook column.

Around the National League East

Patrick Corbin was roughed up in the Nationals’ 7-3 loss to the Orioles in Baltimore.

The Nationals placed Stephen Strasburg on the injured list with a carpel tunnel nerve issue in his pitching hand.

The Braves defeated the Marlins 2-1 in a pitcher’s duel between Max Fried and Daniel Castano thanks to two solo home runs from Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall.

The Braves placed Ronald Acuña Jr. on the injured list with left wrist inflammation.

Most of the Marlins who had tested positive for coronavirus during the team’s outbreak have been cleared to resume workouts.

Around Major League Baseball

Black players still comprise just 7.8% of players in the big leagues in 2020, but there are encouraging signs of growth, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

On the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, Jon Morosi of MLB.com writes about its far-reaching impact on the popularity of baseball internationally.

After a Reds player tested positive for COVID-19, yesterday’s and today’s games between the Reds and the Pirates were postponed.

The Cardinals have placed Austin Gomber on the COVID-19 injured list. Gomber did not test positive, but was part of “a recent investigation of contact tracing,” according to the team.

Due to all of the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we may see a less active trade deadline this season, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Scott Boras in particular cited the need for private jets to transport players who have been traded from one club to another, due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Padres have placed their closer Kirby Yates on the injured list with right elbow inflammation.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

BreakingT has a new t-shirt featuring the dynamic duo of Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith.

Steve Sypa continued his State of the System series with a look at the situation at the second base position in the Mets farm system.

Lukas Vlahos covered the addition of Matthew Allan and Francisco Alvarez to the Mets’ player pool.

This Date in Mets History

The power-laden 1987 Mets handed the Cubs a 23-10 drubbing led by Darryl Strawberry on this date 33 years ago.