Game 1: The New York Mets started off the week on a good note with Jacob deGrom on the mound vs. Kyle Muller and the Atlanta Braves. The Mets quickly got on the board in the bottom of the first when Muller threw a wild pitch, bringing home Jonathan Villar. deGrom was dominant as usual, going five innings and allowing just one hit, lowering his ERA to 0.50. Dominic Smith added to the Mets lead in the bottom half of the fifth with a bases-clearing double to extend the Mets lead to four. The Braves threatened that lead in the top of the sixth with a two-run home run off of Seth Lugo. It wouldn’t matter though, as Edwin Diaz shut the door and the Mets won by a final score of 4-2.
Game 2: One of the important storylines of game two was Jeff McNeil’s return from the IL. He last played on May 16th and the Mets desperately needed his bat back in the lineup. Jerad Eickhoff took the hill for his first start as a Met vs. Ian Anderson. Eickhoff impressed, going four innings and allowing no runs on just three hits. Miguel Castro followed Eickoff and allowed the only run of the game on a home run hit by Ronald Acuna. Once again, the Mets hardly put the bat on the ball while the pitching was nearly perfect. The final score was 1-0 Braves.
Tuesday
Marcus Stroman faced off against the Braves’ Charlie Morton. Stroman left the game after just one inning due to hip soreness. Fortunately, his MRI came back clean and he was able to make his next start. This was crucial for the Mets as their rotation has already suffered the loss of Joey Lucchesi to a season-ending injury. Yennsy Diaz had to come in cold and it showed as Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer in the top of the third. Charlie Morton only gave up one hit and struck out 11 Mets in seven innings. The Mets would get only one more hit over the next two innings, easily giving the Braves the win. The final score was 3-0.
Wednesday
Tylor Megill made his MLB debut on Wednesday vs. Kyle Wright for the final game of the four-game series against the Braves. Also, Michael Conforto came off of the IL, playing for the first time since May 16th. As mentioned in last week’s week in review article, the Mets were finally getting some big bats back in the lineup.
The Mets quickly scored in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch bringing Francisco Lindor home. Then Dominic Smith grounded into a force out bringing home Michael Conforto. The next inning, Jeff McNeil singled in a run and Lindor hit a two-run homer to extend the Mets lead to five. Megill lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs with four strikeouts. His lone mistake came off of an Ender Inciarte home run in the top of the fifth. Otherwise, he pitched well, potentially giving the Mets a new arm in the rotation. Miguel Castro finished off the fifth, and Corey Oswalt threw 2 1/3 innings of relief, allowing one earned run off of an Ehire Adrianza single. The Mets scored a couple more runs, and Edwin Diaz closed out the game to give the Mets the win. The final score was 7-3.
Friday: How About Two More
Game 1: After a much-needed off day, the New York Mets started a four-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday with a doubleheader. Taijuan Walker took the hill against Aaron Nola. Nola did something no other pitcher had done in 51 years: strikeout 10 straight batters. Tom Seaver set the record in April of 1970 and nobody had even tied the record until Friday. He didn’t beat Seaver’s record, but now Nola’s name will be in the history books next to Seaver. Nola also drove in the first run for Philadelphia with a double in the top of the fifth. That would be the only run Walker would give up in five innings. Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith singled in two runs over the next few innings, and the Mets bullpen was perfect, allowing no hits in three innings. The final score was 2-1 Mets.
Game 2: David Peterson faced off against Matt Moore. Peterson was dominant over six innings, allowing just one earned run and three hits. Bryce Harper’s solo home run in the top of the sixth was the lone run that Peterson allowed. The Mets only run came in the next inning off of a James McCann sacrifice fly. The Mets bats were silent for the rest of the night and the Phillies capitalized on that in the top of the eighth on an Odubel Herrera groundout that scored Travis Jankowski. The final score was 2-1 Phillies.
New York Mets Weekend
Ace Jacob deGrom took the hill against Zach Eflin. deGrom gave up a run in the top of the second on a Nick Maton single, ending his 31-inning scoreless streak. The Mets quickly tied the game back up on a Jose Peraza double in the bottom of the second. Jacob gave up another run in his final inning on an Andrew McCutchen sacrifice fly. deGrom’s ERA as of this start is 0.69, which is historically low.
In the bottom of the seventh, Kevin Pillar came through with a clutch home run to tie the game at two. Up until the ninth, the bullpen had been perfect, and it was time for Edwin Diaz to come in for the ninth and keep the game tied. Diaz has struggled in non-save situations, particularly tie games. He struggled again on Saturday, allowing a run off of a Nick Maton sacrifice fly. Hector Neris came in for the Phillies in the bottom of the ninth and struggled as he has all season. He walked Luis Guillorme with the bases loaded to tie the game and gave up a sacrifice fly to Michael Conforto to give the Mets a walk-off win. The final score was 4-3.
Sunday
Marcus Stroman faced off against former Met Zack Wheeler in the final game of the four-game series. Stroman struggled, lasting just three innings and allowing two earned runs. Wheeler on the other hand was dominant against his former team, allowing zero runs over seven innings. Corey Oswalt saved the Mets bullpen with four scoreless innings of relief. Drew Smith also pitched a couple of innings and allowed no runs. The Mets bats didn’t wake up until late in the game, but not enough, as the Phillies took the last game of the series. The final score was 4-2.
The New York Mets State of Mind
Just as the 2021 Mets got some of their starters back, they lost some important pieces as well. Robert Gsellman, Tomas Nido, Jonathan Villar, and Jeurys Familia all went on the IL this week. Gsellman will be out for a significant amount of time, as he was placed on the 60-day IL with a right lat strain. Nido was placed on the 10-day IL with a right-hand contusion after getting hit by a pitch, and Jonathan Villar is on the 10-day IL with a right calf strain that he got while running the bases. Jeurys Familia is on the 10-day IL as well, with a right hip impingement. All of these injuries have a significant impact on the team. Villar was hitting well, Nido was a solid backup to McCann, Gsellman gave the team innings to bail out the bullpen, and Familia was important for situations late in games.
New York Mets Hitting
The Mets hitting is a cause for concern as well. All season the Mets have had hitting woes with their stars not putting the bat on the ball. This is something that needs to change if they want to stay in first. Dominic Smith downplayed the team’s slump in a postgame interview. “It’s never concerning when you’re in first place. We’re finding ways to get the job done. Obviously, we’re not going to win every game. If we did, we’d be 162-0, which is, like, impossible. So, it’s a part of the game.”
As always, be sure to check back next week for all you need to know about the 2021 New York Mets. These articles will come out every week for the rest of the 2021 New York Mets season.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Jacob deGrom, Kyle Muller, Jonathan Villar, Dominic Smith, Seth Lugo, Edwin Diaz, Jeff McNeil, Jerad Eickhoff, Ian Anderson, Miguel Castro, Marcus Stroman, Charlie Morton, Joey Lucchesi, Yennsy Diaz, Dansby Swanson, Tylor Megill, Kyle Wright, Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor, Ender Inciarte, Corey Oswalt, Ehire Adrianza, Taijuan Walker, Aaron Nola, Tom Seaver, David Peterson, Matt Moore, Bryce Harper, James McCann, Odubel Herrera, Travis Jankowski, Zach Eflin, Jose Peraza, Andrew McCutchen, Kevin Pillar, Hector Neris, Luis Guillorme, Zack Wheeler, Drew Smith, Robert Gsellman, Tomas Nido, Jeurys Familia,
