Mets drop seventh straight, fall one game under .500
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Exactly two months to the day the New York Mets had their 11-game winning streak snapped by the New York Yankees, they lost their seventh straight, 4-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers, and fell to one game under .500.
Oh how quickly things can change around Major League Baseball. On April 27, they were a season-best 10 games over at 15-5. As recently as June 4, they were 30-25, good enough for a one-half game lead over the Washington Nationals. Now on June 24, they’ve fallen to 36-37, putting them 3 1/2 behind those same Nationals.
It’s not a huge drop in the division standings, but it’s a concerning drop in terms of quality of play and their overall postseason chances if they need to rely on the wild card. The Pirates, Cubs and Giants have all forged ahead, and the Braves and Diamondbacks aren’t far behind.
The biggest of New York’s issues was on display again Wednesday. After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, the offense was unable to put any pressure on Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson. A Curtis Granderson home run was one of only two hits they could muster against Nelson over seven innings. Overall, the Mets had just three hits and four baserunners.
Bartolo Colon continued trending backward as well, dropping his fifth decsion in eight starts. Colon was tagged four four runs on 10 hits in six innings. That after allowing seven run in four-plus his last time out against Toronto. His nine wins are still tied for second in the NL. His 4.89 ERA, however, is not.
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The Mets will look to avoid the sweep on Thursday at Miller Park. As if fans weren’t squirming enough already, another loss to the woeful Brewers could be the tipping point in terms of demanding some action. All eyes on Milwaukee.
BUSTER POSEY HITS ANOTHER GRAND SLAM IN GIANTS WIN
Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants bullpen didn’t need a lot of support in Wednesday’s 6-0 win against the San Diego Padres. In fact, Buster Posey provided all that was needed and then some in the third inning when he connected for his second grand slam over his past five games.
The slam was also Posey’s second of the season. He joined Stephen Vogt, Todd Frazier and Kyle Seager as the only players with multiple grannies this season. Overall, it was Posey’s fourth career grand slam during the regular season. He also hit off Cincinnati’s Mat Latos during 2012 NLDS.
As for Vogelsong, he pitched six scoreless on five hits while striking out four. Javier Lopez, George Kontos and Jean Machi each followed with a perfect inning to wrap up the dominant victory and remain within one game of the first-place Dodgers.
YANKEES AVOID SWEEP AGAINST PHILLIES
Let downs are inevitable during the course of a 162-game season. You can’t avoid them, you can only try to lessen their impact, which the New York Yankees effectively did on Wednesday in defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 10-2.
After dropping each of the first two games to the league’s worst club, the Yankees fought back against Cole Hamels, perhaps baseball’s most desired trade chip, to the tune of five earned runs on eight hits over five innings.
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New York continued piling on against Philadelphia’s bullpen, collecting 15 hits overall. Mark Teixiera led the attack with three hits and two RBIs. Five other Yankees, including Alex Rodriguez, had two hits. Rodriguez and Jose Pirela each drove in two.
The offense was in support of Ivan Nova, who was making his return following Tommy John surgery last season. Nova was very effective, tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and two walks. A healthy, effective Nova from here on out would be a large addition to New York’s rotation, and Wednesday was about the best step possible.
ONE IS ENOUGH FOR BLUE JAYS
In a season dominated mostly by pitching, the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays played the fourth game this season to be scoreless through at least 11 innings.
For all we know, had Toronto’s Chris Colabello not connected for a one-out home run off Tampa Bay’s Brandon Gomes in the 12th, the game might still be going. Colabello’s homer run stood as the only run in the Blue Jays 1-0 victory, which allowed them to win the series and their league-best 16th game in June.
Pitching was the name of the game, and for Toronto’s Marco Estrada it was nearly a historic performance. He carried a perfect game into the eighth inning before Logan Forsythe’s one-out infield single snapped the string. Estrada finished with 8 2/3 scoreless innings on two hits. In his previous outing last Friday against Baltimore, Estrada carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. From out of nowhere, the 31-year-old right-hander is among baseball’s hottest hurlers.
On the flip side, Tampa’s Nathan Karns allowed just three hits over six scoreless. That’s good for several pats on the back, but no victory.
Want to see more from Wednesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
