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New York Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
This Week in Mets: Riding a more aggressive attack plan past Dodgers
'For she had come to feel that it was the only thing worth saying — what one felt. Cleverness was silly. One must say simply what one felt.' —'Mrs. Dalloway,' Virginia Woolf To Carlos Mendoza, the key word was 'attack.' In a series win over the Dodgers, clinched by Sunday night's 3-1 win, the New York Mets' consistent attack of the strike zone distinguished itself from what happened in last year's National League Championship Series. Advertisement In six games against the Dodgers last fall, the Mets walked 42 Los Angeles hitters. In three games this weekend, New York issued a total of 13. And even then, five of those free passes came in the first five innings Friday, over which LA scored five runs. The Dodgers scored only five runs (with eight walks) over the final 26 innings of the series. 'We saw it in the playoffs last year. When we gave them free passes, it ended up costing us,' Mendoza said. 'Overall, the whole series, we did a better job of attacking those guys and executing pitches when we needed to.' 'All season, we've thrown the ball in the zone and challenged guys,' said Reed Garrett, who earned the save with a scoreless ninth. 'We all believe we have the ability to do that. We've got really good pitchers, and a lot of them.' This weekend presented strong evidence supporting that claim. Following Friday's 13-inning loss, which saw all eight members of the Mets bullpen pitch, New York used a different hierarchy to shut down Sunday's win. Ryne Stanek picked up Kodai Senga in the sixth, and Max Kranick threw two perfect innings as the bridge to Garrett. Garrett had said he got out of himself a little in recent appearances against the Pirates and Yankees. He had to remind himself to just be himself. 'Who I am is enough,' he said. 'I can go right after guys and not worry about trying to do too much.' A dozen pitchers have thrown at least 10 innings for the Mets this season. The highest ERA within that cohort is Tylor Megill's 3.56. Garrett owns the lowest ERA at 0.82 — two earned runs in 23 innings. Not far behind him is Senga, who still looks like he's feeling out his mechanics while leading the league in ERA anyway. Senga did not appear sharp much of the time on Sunday night. He held the Dodgers to one run over 5 1/3 innings despite that. Advertisement The key play for Senga was made in the first inning by Tyrone Taylor. With a run in on Shohei Ohtani's leadoff homer and two runners in scoring position with nobody out, Will Smith flared a ball to right-center. Taylor tracked it down and, with his body moving into right field, pivoted and flung the ball on a fly home to nab Mookie Betts at the plate for the double play. 'That's what makes him a special defender,' Mendoza said. Taylor shrugged it off. 'I just threw it as hard as I could and fell over,' he said. 'That's just straight reaction.' Senga again displayed a knack for getting all the big outs. He stranded two runners in the fourth and the bases loaded in the fifth. His strand rate for the season is over 86 percent, 10th-best in the sport. That number may suggest imminent regression; the league strand rate is just under 73 percent. But Senga can mitigate that regression by harnessing his mechanics in a way he has yet to in 2025. The Mets took two of three from the Dodgers. They're 32-21, two games behind the Phillies in the National League East. The White Sox couldn't finish off a sweep of the Rangers on Sunday. Nevertheless, it was Chicago's fifth series win of the season; that's a month earlier than it got its fifth last year. The Sox are 17-36. The Rockies are still searching for their first series win of the year, coming one run short against the Yankees in Sunday's rubber game. Colorado visits Wrigley Field early this week before continuing east to Queens. It is 9-44. v. Chicago (AL) RHP Clay Holmes (5-3, 3.13 ERA) v. RHP Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00 ERA) RHP Tylor Megill (3-4, 3.56) v. RHP Shane Smith (1-3, 2.36) RHP Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.88) v. RHP Sean Burke (3-5, 4.33) v. Colorado LHP David Peterson (3-2, 2.79) v. LHP Kyle Freeland (0-7, 5.86) RHP Kodai Senga (5-3, 1.46) v. RHP Antonio Senzatela (1-9, 6.50) RHP Clay Holmes v. LHP Carson Palmquist (0-2, 11.88) Advertisement It probably does not surprise you that: In the first month-plus of the season, the Mets were sparked by Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor; it felt like every big hit came from one of those two. They have cooled this month, with neither Juan Soto nor Brandon Nimmo picking up much of the slack. However, the Mets' offensive drop in May has been mitigated in a major way by production from the bottom four in their lineup. The sixth through ninth hitters have posted an OPS 100 points better this month than they did in March/April. These stats are entering Sunday night: The Mets' best hitter this month has been Brett Baty, who batted ninth again on Sunday night. Mendoza said that while moving Baty up to fifth or seventh is tempting, he likes keeping him ninth both to ensure continued comfort and to help put the pitcher under stress as the lineup turns over. Luis Torrens, who started a second straight day Sunday, has also been hot throughout May. Alonso's OPS, for what it's worth, was just .611 in May entering Sunday night. Red = 60-day IL Orange = 15-day IL Blue = 10-day IL Triple-A: Syracuse at Iowa (Chicago, NL) Double-A: Binghamton at Chesapeake (Baltimore) High-A: Brooklyn v. Aberdeen (Baltimore) Low-A: St. Lucie v. Palm Beach (St. Louis) I used to rate books on a 1-to-10 scale, though that scale generally clustered between six and eight. 'Mrs. Dalloway' got a 6.5, the same grade I gave 'The Sound and the Fury' and 'The Handmaid's Tale.' In retrospect, I might not have been a great grader. Matt Harvey's finest start with the Mets may have been the night he held the White Sox to an infield single over nine innings in 2013. The Mets took until the 10th to win the game, 1-0. What outfielder, known more for his heroics to help out another Mets ace, came off the bench for the game-winning hit that night? (I'll reply to the correct answer in the comments.) (Top photo of Kodai Senga: Elsa / Getty Images)
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alonso ends HR drought and Mets overcome Ohtani's leadoff shot in 3-1 win over Dodgers
New York Mets pitcher Reed Garrett, left, and Pete Alonso, right, celebrate after a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets' Pete Alonso reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets' Pete Alonso watches his two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets' Pete Alonso watches his two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets pitcher Reed Garrett, left, and Pete Alonso, right, celebrate after a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets' Pete Alonso reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) New York Mets' Pete Alonso watches his two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso ended the longest home run drought of his career with a two-run shot and the New York Mets took advantage of some shoddy Los Angeles Dodgers defense in a 3-1 victory Sunday night. Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer — hours after throwing 22 pitches of live batting practice in a significant rehab step — but that was all Los Angeles could muster against Kodai Senga (5-3) and three relievers. Advertisement A hustling Juan Soto contributed an RBI groundout and a difficult running catch in deep right field to help New York take two of three from the Dodgers after losing to them in six games in last year's National League Championship Series. Los Angeles committed a season-high four errors, two of which led to all three Mets runs. Alonso homered in the first off hard-luck loser Landon Knack (2-2), who permitted one earned run and four hits in six innings for the NL West leaders. He struck out five, walked none and retired 11 straight during one stretch. The slugger connected on the first pitch after third baseman Max Muncy booted a two-out grounder by Soto, who beat a rushed throw to first. Advertisement It was the 236th career homer and 10th this season for Alonso, who had gone 16 games and 65 at-bats without a longball — both career worsts. Senga struck out five and walked four in 5 1/3 innings of five-hit ball. Ryne Stanek induced an inning-ending double play in the sixth, Max Kranick pitched two perfect innings and Reed Garrett worked a one-hit ninth for his fifth major league save and first this season. Key moment Tyrone Taylor made a terrific defensive play to stop the Dodgers' early momentum in the first. Already leading 1-0, they had runners at second and third with nobody out when Will Smith sent a flyball to center. Taylor moved toward right-center to make the catch and threw out Mookie Betts at the plate for a double play. Betts was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned following a replay challenge. Advertisement Key stats Senga went 202 batters and a career-best eight games without allowing a home run until Ohtani connected. ... New York improved to 19-6 at home, the top mark in the majors. ... Soto got his seventh stolen base, matching his total last year with the Yankees. Up next Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-3, 1.86 ERA) pitches Monday night in Cleveland against RHP Gavin Williams (4-2, 3.94). New York RHP Clay Holmes (5-3, 3.13 ERA) starts Monday at home in the opener of a three-game series against Chicago White Sox RHP Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00), who pitched for the Mets last year before getting released on July 31. ___ AP MLB:
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Mets' confidence booming with MLB's best bullpen: ‘It's contagious'
Access the Mets beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets. Try it free Here is how the Mets' bullpen beat the Phillies: Monday: an escape from Reed Garrett, length from Max Kranick, an exhale from Edwin Díaz; Advertisement Tuesday: shutdown innings from Huascar Brazobán, A.J. Minter, Ryne Stanek and José Buttó; Wednesday: solid work from Brazobán, lefty-on-lefty excellence from Danny Young, a Buttó survival, a Díaz concern and Kranick guts. Eight different relievers combined to allow a total of four earned runs — three of which came on a homer Diaz served up — and each fulfilled a role. The Mets' bullpen has been its greatest strength through this 18-7 season-opening sprint, and not because a few dominant relievers have been leaned on heavily. The same exact group that broke camp with the team remains and has thrived in part because of its depth. Advertisement 3 Reed Garrett celebrates after the sixth inning during the Mets' win over the Phillies on April 21, 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST 'The eight of them are getting huge outs for us,' manager Carlos Mendoza said after finishing off the sweep Wednesday at Citi Field. 'They know, they understand, when we call their names it's because we feel good about their chances of getting three outs. It doesn't matter whether we're up one in the seventh or in the ninth or whether we're down three — their job is to come in and attack and get the three outs we're asking them to do. 'I've been saying it: It's contagious.' Advertisement The bug has spread throughout a group that entered Thursday's off day as the most valuable bullpen in the majors, according to FanGraphs; that owned a 2.35 ERA that was second-best; that had eaten 95 ⅔ innings, the fourth-most; that had given up just four home runs, the least in MLB; that owned a third-best 1.03 WHIP and held opposing batters to a .192 average that was the sixth lowest. There eventually will be turnover — Dedniel Núñez, for one, is looming at Triple-A Syracuse — but there has been stability because each arm has produced and the workload has been distributed well. CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS Entering Thursday, the Mets had used a pitcher on consecutive days nine times this season, tied for the second-least in the majors (before only the Yankees' eight). The Mets have not had to push their arms into many uncomfortable situations — and when those few situations have arisen, the arms have responded. Advertisement The Phillies provided several tests. On Monday, Garrett entered the sixth inning with Bryce Harper on first base and ensured Harper was stranded. After the inning-ending strikeout of J.T. Realmuto, Garrett became the only pitcher in the majors to inherit nine runners and not allow any to score. 'If we're in a sticky situation,' Pete Alonso said of the relievers, 'they're doing their jobs.' 3 Max Kranick throws in the seventh inning of the Mets' win over the Phillies on April 21, 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST Later in the game, Mendoza asked Kranick — excellent in the early going as a multi-inning weapon — for a third inning of work, which resulted in three straight hits and Díaz emerging to both scare (allowing a Bryson Stott homer) and escape (two straight strikeouts to end it). Tuesday, Mendoza turned to typical-length-option Brazobán (1.17 ERA) for a single frame, used Minter (1.74 ERA) for the pocket of the lineup featuring Bryce Harper, turned to Stanek (0.96 ERA) to get the heart of the order and, with the lead padded, trusted Buttó (2.51 ERA) to get the last three outs. Wednesday could have been the breaking point because Mendoza wanted to stay away from Kranick, Garrett and Minter. Brazobán and Buttó worked on consecutive days, and Young turned in the best performance of his season by forcing Harper to chase for a strikeout and entering the strike zone against Kyle Schwarber, who stared at strike three. 'He got the job done,' Mendoza said of Young, who has been a relative weak spot but whose sweeper in particular has been untouchable. Advertisement 3 Danny Young throws a pitch in the seventh inning during the Mets' win over the Cardinals on April 20, 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST Díaz pitched a perfect ninth and returned for the 10th. He lasted six pitches before what was believed to be a hip cramp forced him out, and Mendoza had no choice but to turn to a pitcher who burned 36 pitches two days prior. Advertisement Kranick probably needed more time to warm up, quickly walking Realmuto, but navigated out of a bases-loaded jam by inducing two fly outs. 'When somebody gets hurt, you got to warm up on the mound — I think that's the toughest thing to do as a reliever,' Díaz said. 'Today was definitely a little bit different,' Kranick said after completing that tough job for a Mets bullpen that has been the strongest unit on what has been baseball's best team thus far.
