Mets Morning News: The ReplaceMets win in extras

Meet the Mets

The Mets opened their series in Florida last night with a wild 6-5 win in which the bench mob once again came through in the clutch. The Mets got a very strong start from Marcus Stroman, but a game-tying two-run homer from Garrett Cooper and some continued offensive struggles for the Mets resulted in the game going into numerous extra innings. Fortunately, the bullpen after Castro was able to come in and shut the Marlins down until the twelfth inning, when the unheralded rookies of the Mets—lead by Jake Hager (leadoff single), Khalil Lee (RBI double), and Johneshwy Fargas (two-run triple)—gave the Mets a lead that Aaron Loup and Jacob Barnes were able to combine to (barely) hold onto.

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

The injury gods continue to mercilessly smite the Amazins this year, as Pete Alonso and Tommy Hunter were both placed on the injured list prior to the game yesterday.

But wait! You didn’t think the injury fun was just limited to before the game, did you? Alas, Jose Peraza was also taken out of the game after suffering a right calf contusion on a hit-by-pitch.

The Mets will soon get some much needed relief in the rotation, as Jacob deGrom appears to be on track to return to the big league roster following a successful rehab start.

J.D. Davis is also continuing to inch towards a return, and he is now getting some reps at first base.

Kevin Pillar underwent surgery yesterday to treat his broken nose, and he was thankfully in good spirits prior to the operation.

Yesterday marked the fortieth anniversary of a remarkable college pitching duel between two future Mets pitchers.

Around the National League East

The Mets are not the only team in the East who is hurting, as the Phillies were forced to place J.T. Realmuto on the IL due to a wrist injury.

The Braves had what one might consider to be a decent offensive night, scoring twenty runs and hitting seven homers to handily defeat the Pirates.

Stephen Strasburg returned from the injured list and tossed 5 ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings to help lead the Nationals to a 4-2 win over the Orioles.

Aaron Nola had a shaky start in which he gave up five runs (four earned) in five innings of work, and the Phillies bullpen followed that by giving up another six runs in the four remaining innings to give Philadelphia an 11-1 loss to the Red Sox.

The Marlins continue to eagerly await Starling Marte’s return from the injured list.

Around Major League Baseball

Players across the league are increasingly discussing the seeming prevalence of pitchers illegally using foreign substances on baseballs.

The Rays traded shortstop Willy Adames and right-handed pitcher Trevor Richards to the Brewers in exchange for righty relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen.

The Seattle Mariners were forced to place four players on the COVID IL following a positive test, which resulted in a number of roster moves which includes one former Mets legend.

A number of major league umpires have been raising eyebrows with their footwear this season.

While this season’s rash of no-hitters has generated a lot of conversation, it’s not an entirely unprecedented situation.

Former catcher Erik Kratz claimed that the 2018 Rockies were stealing signs in a method similar to what the Astros were penalized for.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Joe Sokolowski provided us with an injury-filled installment of This Week in Mets Quotes.

Vasilis Drimalitis gave us the series preview for the weekend match-ups with the Marlins.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets acquired future Hall of Famer and franchise icon Mike Piazza from the Marlins on this date in 1998.