Mets Morning News: Rain, Rain, Go Away

Meet the Mets

For the second straight day, the Mets and the Phillies did not play as rain walloped the Northeast. They will play a single-admission doubleheader today, beginning at 12:35 p.m.

The Mets (at least briefly) discussed not pitching Max Scherzer in the rain yesterday, had the game started as scheduled.

Buck Showalter and the Mets have a unique pitching strategy for doubleheaders.

On their (second straight) unexpected day off, the Mets claimed infielder Gosuke Katoh from the Blue Jays and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse.

Does it seem like balls are flying further during nationally-televised games? Well, Eric Chavez has heard similar theories from players, who think MLB is supplying ‘unjuiced’ balls for big games.

Mike Petriello tried to determine why the Mets score a ton of runs while not hitting the ball hard and listed five reasons as to why this might be the case.

Joel Sherman believes the Mets should add bullpen help well before the trade deadline, as they have clearly emerged as buyers.

Former Met John Stearns is currently in assisted living fighting a difficult disease, and he could use some love from Mets fans. A Facebook page has been set up for fans to share some of their fond memories of the four-time All Star catcher. On a personal note, Stearns is my mother’s all-time favorite Met, and she frequently talks about him, so this is especially sad for me to hear. Sending positive thoughts your way, Bad Dude.

Around the National League East

Following the team’s stunning Friday loss to the Mets in which they blew a six-run lead in the ninth, Bryce Harper held a players-only meeting with his club.

Max Fried outdueled 2021 NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes as the Braves topped the first-place Brewers 3-2.

NBA superstar Lebron James praised Ronald Acuña on Twitter after the Braves’ star homered and mimicked James’ celebration.

Atlanta reliever Kirby Yates feels like he will have to prove himself when he returns from his injury.

The Nationals bashed three home runs as they defeated the first-place Angels 7-3.

The Marlins shut out the Padres 8-0.

In that game, newest Marlin Joe Dunand homered in his first major league at-bat. The feat put him just 695 homers behind his uncle, Alex Rodriguez.

Around Major League Baseball

Thomas Harrigan examined the playoff odds for each team, and noted which ones have changed the most since the start of the season.

The Mariners called up George Kirby, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa was a gamble for the Yankees, but it has paid off for New York.

Chris Sale suffered a setback after his rib cage injury.

Miguel Cabrera became the third player in MLB history to collect 600 doubles, 500 home runs, and 3,000 hits in his career, joining Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols.

The Reds beat the Pirates 9-2 in Game 1 of their doubleheader, giving them just their fourth win of 2022. They lost Game 2 8-5. That drops Cincinnati’s record to 4-23, and Mike Vaccaro sees them potentially challenging the 1962 Mets’ dubious mark.

The Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Cubs, winning by scores of 7-0 and 6-2. In doing so, they extended their winning streak to five as they now own a league-best .720 winning percentage.

The Giants trounced the Cardinals 13-7. In that game, Wilmer Flores hit a grand slam off Steven Matz in a stunning display of Former Met on Former Met crime.

The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 4-1.

The White Sox outlasted the Red Sox 3-1 in ten innings.

The Astros came back with two in the eight to beat the Tigers 3-2.

The Twins blanked the Athletics 1-0.

The Guardians and Blue Jays split a doubleheader. Toronto earned an 8-3 victory, while Cleveland responded with an 8-2 win.

The Rays easily handed the scuffling Mariners 8-2.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1961, the name for the new National League baseball franchise was finally revealed in a ceremony at Savoy Hilton. The name Mets was chosen from a list of ten finalists.