Mets Morning News: Pathetic performance in Pittsburgh by pitiful Mets

Meet the Mets

The Mets came to Pittsburgh after suffering back-to-back sweeps desperately hoping to turn things around against the Pirates. They did not do it in the series opener last night, as Tylor Megill had another poor outing, the defense made several poor plays, and the offense—save for a last-minute five-run inning in the ninth—was unable to get much going, and the Not-So-Amazins suffered an embarrassing 14-7 loss for their seventh straight loss.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Daily News, Newsday, MLB.com

The Mets will be without their best hitter for roughly 3-4 weeks, as Pete Alonso is hitting the injured list after getting hit by a pitch in the wrist earlier this week.

Alonso being placed on the injured list was just one of several roster moves the Mets made yesterday, as Luis Guillorme also made his return to the major league squad and Zach Muckenhirn was added to the roster in favor of Stephen Nogosek.

What is the path forward for the Mets after this ugly stretch of losses?

Mark Vientos will likely get a chance to prove himself in the aftermath of Alonso’s injury.

Ken Rosenthal speculated on what Steve Cohen might do with Buck Showalter and Billy Eppler if the Mets continue to disappoint.

SNY.tv’s Andy Martino suggests that Cohen will avoid making impulsive moves in response to the team’s struggles.

The Mets might keep on losing, but they will do so in a bit more style thanks to Francisco Lindor’s new custom glove.

Tomás Nido cleared waivers and will head to Syracuse unless/until he is traded to another club.

Around the National League East

AJ Smith-Shawver impressed in his major league debut, and the Braves mounted a late comeback (sound familiar?) to beat the Nationals 3-2 for their sixth straight victory.

A dramatic game between the Phillies and Dodgers ended with a Kyle Schwarber walk-off bomb to give Philadelphia a 5-4 win.

Eury Pérez had another promising start for the Marlins, but Miami ultimately lost to the White Sox 2-1 on a walk-off single from Luis Robert Jr.

The Phillies got a big boost to their bullpen with the return of José Alvarado from the injured list.

The pitch clock in Philadelphia may be slightly faster than in other ballparks based on the number of violations and player anecdotes.

Baseball Prospectus’s Robert Orr analyzed the unique skill-set of Luis Arraez.

Following a DFA earlier this week, Erasmo Ramirez has been released by the Nationals.

Around Major League Baseball

Emma Tiedemann and Rylee Pay are making history as just the second all-female booth in professional baseball history for the Portland Sea Dogs.

Right oblique discomfort is sending Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez to the injured list.

Chris Sale has been moved to the 60-day IL with a shoulder injury and likely won’t return until August at the earliest.

There are a few tough choices that All-Star voters will need to make this year.

Pirates starter Vince Velazquez will undergo elbow surgery which will sideline him for roughly a year.

Following his homophobic social media posts and his poor performance on the mound, the Blue Jays have DFA’d reliever Anthony Bass. Happy Pride, y’all.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis previewed the Mets’ weekend adventures in Pittsburgh.

Joe Sokowski provided a depressing collection of quotes from a depressing week in Mets Land.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets got one of their best major league debuts in franchise history on this date in 1966, as Dick Rusteck(?!) pitched a four-hit shutout against the Cincinnati Reds.