Soto's Run

Happy Monday to you all! Thanks for reading this free edition of The Mets Newsletter. Have you thought about reading The Mets Newsletter every day of the week? It’s possible to do so! All you need is a paid subscription. I think you deserve it. 

In a pitcher’s duel between two All-Stars, the Mets pulled through with some small ball and beat the Reds 3-2. 

David Peterson struggled during the first two innings and still managed to not allow an earned run. The trouble began with the first batter of the game. TJ Friedl reached on a throwing error by second baseman Luisangel Acuña that officially should have been an error on Mark Vientos, who started the game at first base and could have easily caught it. Matt McClain and Elly De La Cruz hit back-to-back singles to score Friedl, making it 1-0 Reds without Peterson getting a single out. Petey managed to get a double play from Austin Hays. Then, Spencer Steer softly lined out to Francisco Lindor to end the threat. 

Peterson got the first two batters out in the top of the second, although both ran the count full. Santiago Espinal singled, Connor Joe walked, and then Peterson hit Friedl with a pitch to load the bases. Petey beared down and struck out McClain on a slider. 

The Mets scratched out their first run in the bottom of the third against the impressive Andrew Abbott. Tyrone Taylor reached on what was basically a swinging bunt. Acuña's sacrifice bunt moved Taylor over to second. Brandon Nimmo then singled him home. 

New York took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Brett Baty singled and stole second*. Luisangel Acuña doubled Baty in, slugging a cutter down and in. We definitely expected that to happen.

* The Mets are really good at stealing bases this season. So why are they bothering with sacrifice bunts? 

Peterson was great from the third inning on. He had a 1-2-3 third and fourth. After allowing a single in the fifth, he got another double play ball to erase the baserunner, then struck out the third batter. And then he had a 1-2-3 sixth for good measure. But Carlos Mendoza ended Peterson’s day after throwing 93 pitches. Huascar Brazobán faced the minimum in the seventh, thanks in part to Luis Torrens throwing out yet another would-be base stealer. 

The top of the eighth was a different story. After getting the first two batters out, Reed Garrett walked Matt McClain. Mendoza opted to bring in the very well rested Edwin Díaz for a four-out save. But Díaz walked Elly De La Cruz (the home plate ump didn’t help there). Austin Hays reached on an infield hit. With the bases loaded, Díaz hit Spencer Steer with a pitch, tying the game. It was only the second blown save of the 2025 season for Sugar. Díaz came back down 3-1 in the count to Tyler Stephenson and struck him out on a slider. 

Against Reds lefty reliever Brent Suter, Juan Soto led off the bottom of the eighth with a five-pitch walk. After Pete Alonso struck out looking, Jeff McNeil doubled to right center, moving Soto to third. Then, Reds manager Terry Francona brought in Tony Santillan. Luis Torrens hit it hard to second. Soto, who had a walking lead, raced home, beating Matt McClain’s throw. 3-2 Mets.

With Díaz having thrown 16 pitches, Mendy went to Ryne Stanek for a second consecutive day to close the door. Bread Boy’s velocity was down a few mph, so he seemed to rely more on his secondary stuff. Noelvi Marte hit a ball 400 feet - fortunately, it was to center field, where the fence is 408 feet away from home plate. Jake Fraley singled to left, but Gavin Lux’s grounder to second erased Fraley, and then TJ Friedl popped up to Acuña in shallow right to end it. 

Phew. This win combined with a Phillies loss undoes the damage made on Saturday when the exact opposite happened. Now by all means, keep it up.

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Remember Francisco Alvarez? He’ll be back in Queens tonight. All he did was hit 11 home runs in his last 16 games in Triple-A. Luis Torrens must feel some relief: he had been catching every day and getting beaten up by foul balls every other inning.

Pete Alonso was not in the starting lineup for the first time in over a year. He has a right hand contusion on the base of his thumb. X-rays came back negative. He ended up weirdly enough as a defensive replacement in the 7th inning. Alonso said he jammed himself in the batting cages before Saturday’s game, then aggravated the injury on an at-bat during that game. It sounds like he’ll be back in the starting lineup tonight. Hopefully his injury won’t negatively impact his performance the way his broken toe has impacted Lindor 

Vientos looked exactly like a guy who hadn’t played first base in a game that counted in over a year. To think the Mets were prepared to have him be the every day first baseman if Alonso didn’t re-sign with the team.

PIX11 showed the following statistic: In the Mets’ 54 wins, Francisco Lindor hit .336 with 18 home runs and a 1.030 OPS. In their 43 losses, he’s hit .146 with one dinger and a .431 OPS. Their month-long cold streak and Lindor’s offensive troubles after his broken toe are related.

Edwin Díaz was so sick Friday he was sent home and wasn’t even in the ballpark for that night’s game, according to Gary Cohen. Fortunately, his health greatly improved in time to pitch yesterday. Did his recent illness have to do with his second blown save of the season? Sure why not?

Tylor Megill (right elbow sprain) is throwing from 120 feet(!) and the Mets hope to have him throwing from a mound “shortly.” 

The Mets signed both their 11th round selection OF Wyatt Vincent as well as their 13th round pick RHP Frank Camarillo and 15th round pick LHP Conner Ware. New York has now signed or will sign 14 out of their 19 picks in the 2025 MLB Draft. The Mets have also signed five undrafted kids. Here’s a full Mets draft tracker.

On Instagram, Met players were shown artist renderings of their Backyard Baseball selves. They all seemed genuinely chuffed. 

The Triple-A Syracuse Mets (46-50) outslugged the Norfolk Tides (Orioles affiliate) by a score of 8-6. Francisco Alvarez and David Villar went yard. Jose Buttó (undisclosed illness) didn’t allow a hit in a scoreless inning of work where he fanned a batter. He should be back soon, if not today.

The Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies (59-29) rallied late to defeat the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) 12-9. A JT Schwartz three-run home run broke a 9-9 tie in the ninth. Catcher Kevin Parada went 3 for 5 with a home run, a triple, and a double (but no single!), two runs scored, and three RBI. Jacob Reimer went 2 for 4 with a home run and a double, two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Starter Jack Wenninger went four and two thirds innings, allowing one earned run on three hits. He walked and struck out two. Cameron Foster got the dub for tossing the final two innings, not allowing a run while permitting just one hit, walking one and punching out three. 

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones (58-32) hammered the Hub City Spartanburgers (Rangers) 13-3. First baseman Ronald Hernandez went 3 for 5 with a triple, three runs scored, three RBI, and a strikeout. Troy Schreffler Jr. went 2 for 5 with a home run, two runs scored, three RBI, and a strikeout. In his first appearance with the Cyclones, Frank Elissalt got the win. He threw two scoreless innings, allowed one hit, walked nary a soul, and whiffed three. 

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets (49-39) lost a squeaker to the Palm Beach Cardinals 3-2. Catcher Vincent Perozo’s two-run homer provided all of the scoring for St. Lucie. Trey Snyder stole his 26th base of the year. Jace Hampson got the loss for permitting three earned runs on two hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out two.

50 years ago today at Shea Stadium, Felix Millan hit four singles for the Mets against the Astros. Joe Torre followed Millan by grounding into four double plays, tying a major league record. The Mets lost 6-2 in front of 13,414 fans.

Tonight the Mets start a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels. Left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-6, 4.34 ERA) will get the starting nod for the Halos. Kodai Senga (7-3, 1.39 ERA) will make his second half starting debut for New York (NL). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm eastern. The game will air on SNY.

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