Morning Briefing: Mets Are One Win From NLCS
Good morning, Mets fans!
The Mets took advantage of a Sean Manaea gem Tuesday, punishing Phillies starters for seven runs, including a home run apiece from Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker. For Manaea, who left his start to a standing ovation, his seven brilliant innings meant more than just baseball. After his dominant outing, the lefty looked to the sky, dedicating the performance to his aunt, who had passed away that day. “This game was for her,” the Mets ace said.
While the bullpen bent, it didn’t break, and New York secured a 7-2 victory as it headss into Game 4 of the NLDS with a 2-1 series lead.
In a potential series-ending game, a pair of lefties in Ranger Suárez of the Phillies (12-8, 3.46 ERA in reg. season) and Jose Quintana of the Mets (10-10, 3.75 ERA) will face off. It’s puzzling to see the two with such similar numbers, since at the All-Star break Suárez was considered a legitimate Cy Young candidate and Quintana was thought to be the Mets’ least reliable starter (uh, except for Adrian Houser. However, while Suárez fell off a cliff battling injury (2-4, 5.65 ERA post-AS break), Quintana turned his season around (6-4, 3.18 ERA).
Wednesday’s game will start at 5:08 p.m. ET, and as normal be available on Mets Radio 880 on Audacy, where Howie Rose and Keith Raad will be waiting for you. But, if by the off chance you’d prefer to actually watch the game, it’ll stream on FS1 and feature broadcasters Adam Amin, A.J. Pierzynski, and Adam Wainwright (wink, wink).
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The latest run scored by the New York Mets in late innings came via a Francisco Lindor RBI double, extending the Met lead to 7-2. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the Mets now have 13 runs in the eighth and ninth innings this postseason. The only team with more in a single postseason is the 1936 Yankees, who had 16.
The Mets are looking to get Jeff McNeil at-bats in the AFL, (Arizona Fall League) says manager Carlos Mendoza. While somewhat unrealistic, it happened once when Kyle Schwarber in 2016 got AFL reps after being injured for the season. For McNeil, real game action would help massively as the Mets hope for a potential NLCS return from the Flying Squirrel.
As a reminder, 1986 Mets hero and current SNY analyst Keith Hernandez threw out the first pitch Tuesday. 2015 NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy will throw it out Wednesday.
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The Padres beat the Dodgers 6-5 to go ahead 2-1 in the other NLDS. The Padres will look to clinch an NLCS spot shortly after the Mets game tonight, with a 9:08 p.m. ET start time.
Former MLB pitcher Luis Tiant passed away Tuesday at the age of 83. Perhaps best known for his outlandish pitching motion, he was also an excellent pitcher in his prime. The right-hander racked up 66.1 WAR in his career while winning 229 games in 19 years of professional baseball.
The Colorado Rockies organization announced that they’ve extended manager Bud Black’s contract through the 2025 season. Black, 67, has 17 years of managing experience with the San Diego Padres and Rockies. Overall, his managerial winning percentage is .464 and he’s made the postseason twice, in 2016 and ‘17 with Colorado.
Major League Baseball said that they’ll “produce and distribute local games for the Guardians, Brewers, and Twins in 2025.” In the past, their games had deals with Diamond Sports Group. However, their future had already been in jeopardy since Diamond Sports had already filed for bankruptcy last year and unofficially dropped 11 teams.
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Colin Chatto wrote about the availability of Jeff McNeil and Kodai Senga.
David Melendi talked about Mets AFL participants.
Gianna Arantes recapped Tuesday’s game.
On This Date in Mets History
1986: The Mets bounced back to defeat the Houston Astros after losing the opener. Bobby Ojeda threw a complete game, leading New York to a 5-1 victory.
1999: Todd Pratt smacked a legendary game-winning walk off home run to send the Metropolitans to the NLCS.
2015: In his postseason debut, Jacob deGrom dominated the Dodgers in the NLDS, pitching seven scoreless innings.
Born On This Date: Colin Holderman (1995).
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