Morning Briefing: Mets Narrowly Retain Final Wild Card Spot

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Mets’ losing streak has now hit eight. They led 2-0 after seven innings but fell 3-2 to the Rangers on Saturday. Read more on the game here.

At the time, the Mets fell into an essential tie for the third Wild Card spot with the Giants. San Francisco technically led by percentage points, but New York owns the end-of-season tiebreaker, should it come to that.

The Giants, though, lost late Saturday night to the Dodgers in a 13-7 slugfest. The Giants led that game 4-1, but it was none other than former Met Jose Buttó whose fifth-inning meltdown helped the Dodgers retake the lead. He surrendered three inherited runs and three runs of his own while only recording two outs. Coincidentally, Buttó was included in the midseason trade for Tyler Rogers, who contributed to the Mets’ blown lead on Saturday.

It was a tough outing for Buttó, but it helped his old club retain the third Wild Card spot, for now. The Mets lead the Giants by a half-game.

The Reds, meanwhile, lost 11-5 to the A’s. A start after dominating the Mets, Hunter Greene got roughed up for five runs in 2 1/3 innings. Cincinnati remains 1.5 games behind the Mets. The Diamondbacks are closing in, too; they won 5-2 in 10 innings against the Twins on Saturday, and only sit two games back.

Latest Mets News

The Mets and Rangers conclude their series on Sunday afternoon at 1:40 p.m. ET. It will be left-handed pitcher Jacob Latz (2-0, 2.91 ERA) on the mound for the Rangers against right-handed pitcher Nolan McLean (4-1, 1.42 ERA) on the mound for the Mets. Every game is of utmost importance for the Mets.

On Saturday, the Mets hosted their annual Alumni Classic. It was a great day featuring lots of Mets greats. Roberto Carlo captured a few of the fun moments.

Juan Soto hit his 40th home run on Saturday. Per Mike Mayer, he became the 13th player in MLB history with a 40-homer and 30-stolen base season.

Latest MLB News

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Tarik Skubal had imaging done and it came back clean. According to manager A.J. Hinch, Skubal is expected to make his next scheduled start. He left Friday night’s game with discomfort in his side.

The Milwaukee Brewers (per Major League Baseball) have clinched their ticket to the 2025 postseason.

The San Francisco Giants on Saturday announced that infielder Dominic Smith was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.

Latest on MMO

David Melendi recapped the Mets’ minor league affiliate games from Friday, including Kodai Senga’s sharp start for Syracuse.

Chris Bello breaks down the Week 24 MLB power rankings.

Kai Chang previewed the Mets’ annual Alumni Classic.

Evan Mazza recapped the Mets’ 3-2  Saturday loss to the Rangers.

On This Date in Mets History

Born on This Date: Chad Bradford (1974), Mike Draper (1966), Harry Parker (1947), Dave Hillman (1927).

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