Swaggy II Times

Beehiiv informed me Gmail doesn’t allow gifs that are more than 1MB. The problem is pretty much all gifs are over 1MB? If the gifs don’t show up, click the “read online” option. 

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Mark Vientos hit two home runs, the run prevention defense was in full effect, and Clay Holmes pitched well yet again as the Mets defeated the Angels 5-1. It was their first road series win in a month.

Things started rocky for Holmes and the Mets when the Angels, for the third time in the three-game series, scored in the first inning. Holmes walked Zach Neto and Mike Trout to lead things off, and it took him 17 pitches to do that. After fanning Nolan Schaunel on a changeup, Jorge Soler singled home Neto to put Los Angeles (AL) on the board. A nice 5-5-3 double play by third baseman Brett Baty, playing his natural position for once, got Clay Young out of the jam. Holmes and the bullpen cruised after that - no Angel got as far as second base the remainder of the game. 

The Mets offense wasted opportunities early on against the right-hander Jack Kochanowicz. With runners on first and second and one out in the second, Vientos struck out and Tyrone Taylor flew out to center. With a runner on second in the third, Baty struck out too. Fortunately in the fourth, the Mets found a workaround for their RISP futility. After Carson Benge drew an eight-pitch walk with one out, Vientos scolded a baseball deep into the rock pile behind the center field fence. 

In the fifth, Vidal Bruján, Ronny Mauricio’s replacement on the roster (he was officially put on the IL yesterday) showed up from Syracuse. He was seen in the Mets dugout getting reacquainted with the chums he met during spring training.

Holmes got some help in the bottom of the sixth. After permitting a Schaunel single with one out, Jorge Soler hit a ball destined for the left center gap. Instead, MJ Melendez reached out and made a diving catch, possibly preventing the tying run from scoring.

Reminds me of that classic Gatorade jingle:

Like MJ

If I can be like MJ

I wanna be I wanna be like MJ…

Bichette, playing his natural position of shortstop, made a sweet play in the seventh to get the second out of the frame. 

Unfortunately, Oswald Peraza came up next and hit the ball to Bichette again, who this time around decided to try and just throw a one-hopper to Vientos (his arm might have been tired after the previous bullet he shot), but Vientos couldn’t come up with it. Criminally, Bo was charged with the error. Luke Weaver came in and struck out pinch hitter Yoan Moncada to keep the game at 2-1.

The Mets tried the whole “acquiring insurance runs” thing. Lefty Taylor Saucedo plunked Baty to start the eighth. Marcus Semien essentially made a swinging bunt against righty Nick Sandlin to move Baty to second. Benge got on base for the third time when he doubled to right field to make it 3-1 Mets. Then Swaggy V made up for his earlier error by clubbing yet another dinger, this time off of a high slider.

Mark called game, but the show wasn’t over just yet. With one on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Vaughn Grissom, who got robbed on the Bichette play in his previous at-bat, made the mistake of trying to hit it where Benge was stationed. 

Gary Cohen described Benge’s Superman catch as “pulchritudinous”. Took the word right out of my mouth, Gare. 

It’s funny - had Mauricio not gotten hurt the night before, he would have probably started at shortstop yesterday, which would have put Bichette at third, and Baty in right instead of Benge who would likely be patrolling center. I doubt Baty would have made such a play. It’s one of those small positive twists of fate that teams enjoy during a season. The Mets finally get to have one of those in 2026.

Something that’s also “funny”: Had the Mets lost the game, a lot would be made of Carlos Mendoza not challenging the pitcher juggling the glove with the ball in it at first base, Semien and Bichette seemingly forgetting how many outs there were at one point, and Soto jogging out of the box on his grounder in the ninth inning. Instead, they won, so fuggedaboutit. 

The Mets really need to start stacking up series wins, and they accomplished that against a fellow crummy team. Let’s see and hope they can keep the momentum going. 

ClaY Holmes’ ERA is down to 1.69. He’s easily been David Stearns’ smartest signing. 

Austin Slater doesn't care for pitches right down the middle. He doesn't care if it's strike three. That's just not his game.

To make room for Brujan on the 40-man roster, the Mets designated Eric Wagaman for assignment. Leave your favorite Eric Wagaman memory in the comments.

Did Francisco Alvarez ground into a double play yesterday? No! (He had the day off.)

Mauricio will get a CT scan on his broken thumb, but the Mets are already giving a timeline  of 6 to 8 weeks. Mendoza said the situation at shortstop will continue to be “fluid”. 

The Angels’ “fun fact” about Carson Benge was a weird one: he apparently “(e)xpressed an interest in skydiving.” I love that it’s in the past tense.

The Triple-A Syracuse Mets shut out the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies affiliate) 5-0. LF Nick Morabito went 2 for 3 with two runs scored, a walk, and two stolen bases. RF Cristian Pache went yard and swiped a bag. The rehabbing LHP A.J. Minter (lat) threw a perfect inning, striking out one, but his fastball velocity is still down 2-3 mph from his 2025 average. RHP Jonathan Pintaro struck out five and walked one in two hitless and scoreless frames. 

The Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies lost the completion of their suspended game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) by the score of 4-3. 3B Jacob Reimer went 2 for 4 with a double, a run scored, and a walk. Then, in a seven-inning contest,  the Rumble Ponies shut out the Fisher Cats three to zilch. LHP Zach Thornton tossed four scoreless innings, allowing three hits in the process. He walked two but struck out seven.

The High-A Brooklyn Cyclones were held to just two hits in a 4-1 loss to the Frederick Keys (Orioles). Cyclones starter RHP Noah Hall permitted two earned runs in four innings of work. He walked three and punched out six. 

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets edged the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees) 7-6. RF-1B Randy Guzman went 2 for 3 with a double, two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. 2B Sam Robertson went 2 for 4 with a run scored and his 14th stolen base of the season. RHP Christian Rodriguez got the win by throwing three perfect innings to finish the contest. He walked nobody and struck out three. 

On this day in 1988, Gary Cohen announced his first game with the Mets, an 8-0 win over Houston alongside Bob Murphy. 

On this day in 2012, the baseball hit by Mookie Wilson that rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series was sold to an anonymous buyer for $418,250. In a 2020 interview, Steve Cohen revealed he is the owner of the ball.

Tonight the Mets begin a series with the Colorado Rockies in Denver. The Mets will use an opener before  LHP David Peterson climbs the bump.  RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (3-1, 2.84 ERA) will toss the pearl for the Rox. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 pm eastern (the game was moved up three hours due to predicted cold weather.). The game will air on SNY with Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez and on Audacy Radio 880 AM with Keith Raad and Pat McCarthy.