Friday, December 11, 2015

New York Yankees Winter Meetings recap



The 2015 MLB Winter Meetings have come and gone this past week.  There was a flurry of activity including a lot of rumors as always.  The Yankees were busy as well, they weren't left out although they aren't being the old Yankees by going out and throwing money around to high priced free agents.  They did make a couple of trades during the winter meetings which got them younger to add to a trade they made earlier in the off-season. 

The Yankees traded swingman Adam Warren and  PTBNL which is expected to be backup SS Brendan Ryan for 2B and backup SS Starlin Castro.  The Yankees were trying to get him as far back as last July and were able to acquire him after the Chicago Cubs signed Ben Zobrist to be their new 2B.  Castro is just 25 years old and will be 26 during next season.  He has played six seasons in the major leagues already and is a 3X All Star.  He had a down year last year but was moving off of his SS position and to be fair he was much better once he switched to 2B.  He has a lot of talent and he still hit 265 last season, Yankees 2B last season hit a combined 222.  Castro defense has been much better at 2B, he is a young, athletic and exciting player that is a career 281 hitter with a 725 OPS.  It would appear that the Yankees have definitely upgraded at 2B.  Rob Refsnyder will now either be traded or be AAA dept.  Dustin Ackley can be more of a super utility guy now which is good and Castro will also be the backup SS for when Didi Gregorius needs some time off. 

The other move that the Yankees made was kind of curious.  They traded left handed reliever and seventh inning guy Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for two minor league starting pitchers.  The Yankees state that they need more upper level pitching depth but I wonder if there is more to come after this.  The pitchers that the Yankees picked up were Luis Cessa and Chad Green.  The truth is Wilson was good but he did walk too many guys and the Yankees do have young replacements such as Jacob Lindgren or James Pazos that could step in and take his spot. 

I am sure the Yankees aren't done and I am sure the bullpen will be fine as long as they keep Betances and Miller for the last couple of innings.  They do need some more depth in the starting rotation though.  It has the potential to be good but there are just too many question marks with Tanaka, Sabathia, Pineda.  I am sure having Severino for a full season will help and Eovaldi is good but the first three aren't very durable.  If they are the Yankees can probably win the division or at least be one of the wild cards again and may be better off this year, they are not a finished product though and let's see what they do the rest of the winter. 

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The Kansas City Royals win the World Series over the New York Mets in extra innings



The New York Mets were defeated by the Kansas City Royals on Sunday night in game five of the World Series.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 7-2 in 12 innings.  Matt Harvey started for the Mets and pitched brilliantly but couldn't finish the job as he convinced his manager to let him out for the ninth and then blew the game.  The Mets offense only managed four hits with two of them coming from Michael Conforto. 

Harvey pitched 8+ innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and nine strikeouts.  Jeurys Familia pitched two innings with two strikeouts and got charged with his third blown save of the series even though I wouldn't put this one on him.  Jon Niese pitched an inning giving up a hit, Addison Reed pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and five runs with four of them being earned and he walked one.  Bartolo Colon pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit. 

Edinson Volquez pitched six innings giving up two hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  He walked five and struck out five.  Kelvin Herrera pitched three innings giving up a hit and striking out three, Luke Hochevar won the game pitching two innings and walking one and Wade Davis pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out three. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, David Wright had a hit and Daniel Murphy drew two walks.  Lucas Duda had an RBI and drew two walks, Conforto had two hits and Wilmer Flores drew a walk.  Granderson hit a homerun and the Mets were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Wright and Murphy each committed an error. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, an RBI, Ben Zobrist had a hit and drew a walk and Lorenzo Cain had two hits and three RBI with a walk.  Eric Hosmer had two hits and an RBI, Mike Moustakas had a hit and Salvador Perez had a hit and an RBI.  Alex Gordon drew a walk, Christian Colon had a hit and an RBI and Volquez had a hit.  Hosmer, Escobar and Cain each hit a double.  The Royals were 4-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Cain had two stolen bases and Hosmer and Dyson each had one.  Hosmer committed an error. 

In the first Granderson hit a solo homerun giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth Duda hit a sac fly to make it a 2-0 game.  In the ninth Hosmer hit an RBI double to cut the lead to 2-1.  Perez hit an RBI groudnout to tie the game at two.  It was a crazy play as Hosmer sprinted home as Wright threw to first base to get the out, a good throw would of nailed him and won the game for the Mets sending it back to Kansas City but that didn't happen.  In the 12th Colon hit an RBI single to give the Royals their first lead at 3-2, Escobar hit an RBI double to make it 4-2 and Cain hit a three run double to push the lead to 7-2 which would be the final score of the game.  The World Series ended in five games although it was very competitive and the Mets had the lead in every game.  The Kansas City Royals are your 2015 World Series Champions after falling last year in game seven of the World Series.  We put a wrap on another great MLB season and postseason and look forward to spring training 2016.   

The New York Mets drop game four to fall into a big hole



The New York Mets were defeated by the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night in game four of the World Series.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 5-3.  Steven Matz started and pitched pretty well, the bullpen wasn't bad but Tyler Clippard wasn't good.  Michael Conforto led the offense with a couple of hits and RBI. 

Matz pitched five innings giving up seven hits and two runs with no walks and five strikeouts.  Jon Niese pitched to two batters and retired them both, Bartolo Colon pitched to one batter and struck him out and Addison Reed pitched an inning striking out one.  Clippard pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two runs with two walks, Jeurys Familia pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up an unearned run and Hansel Robles pitched an inning striking out two. 

Chris Young pitched four innings giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts.  Danny Duffy pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, Luke Hochevar pitched an inning and Ryan Madson won the game pitching a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts.  Wade Davis earned the save pitching two innings and giving up two hits and striking out two. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI, David Wright drew a walk and Daniel Murphy had a hit.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit, Conforto had two hits and two RBI and Wilmer Flores had a hit.  Conforto hit two homeruns and the Mets were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base.  Granderson was caught stealing and Colon and Murphy each committed an error.

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Ben Zobrist had a hit and drew a walk and Lorenzo Cain had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Mike Moustakas had a hit and an RBI, Salvador Perez had three hits and an RBI and Alex Gordon had a hit and an RBI.  Kendrys Morales had a hit, Perez and Zobrist each hit a double and the Royals were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Cain had a stolen base. 

In the third Conforto hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the third Granderson hit a sac fly and it was 2-0 Mets after a video replay.  In the fifth Gordon hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1 and Conforto hit another solo homerun in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 3-1.  In the sixth Cain hit an RBI single and the lead was cut to 3-2.  In the eighth Hosmer reached on an error and the game was tied at three.  Moustakas hit an RBI single and the Royals took a 4-3 lead and then Perez hit an RBI single and it was 5-3 Royals which would be the final score. 

The Royals hold a 3-1 game lead in the best of seven series and will look to close it out and win their first championship in 30 years on Sunday night. 

Monday, November 2, 2015

The New York Mets get back into series with a blowout win in Game Three



The New York Mets defeated the Kansas City Royals on Friday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 9-3 Mets.  Noah Syndergaard started and pitched well after a rough start and Curtis Granderson, David Wright and Travis d'Arnaud each had two hits. 

Syndergaard pitched six innings giving up seven hits and three runs with two walks and six strikeouts.  He picked up the win, Addison Reed pitched a perfect inning and Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect inning.  Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Yordano Ventura pitched 3 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and five runs with no walks and a strikeout, he took the loss.  Danny Duffy pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one, Luke Hochevar pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two and Franklin Morales pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and four runs.  Kelvin Herrera pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Ryan Madson pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Kris Medlen pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Granderson had two hits and two RBI, Wright had two hits and four RBI and Daniel Murphy drew a walk.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and an RBI, Lucas Duda had a hit and d'Arnaud had two hits.  Michael Conforto had a hit and an RBI, Juan Lagares had a hit and Syndergaard had a hit.  Juan Uribe had a hit and an RBI, d'Arnaud hit a double and Wright and Granderson each hit a homerun.  The Mets were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  d'Arnaud had a passed ball and Conforto had an outfield assist. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Ben Zobrist had a hit and Lorenzo Cain had a hit.  Eric Hosmer had an RBI, Mike Moustakas had a hit and Salvador Perez had a hit and drew a walk.  Alex Gordon had a hit and drew a walk, Alex Rios had a hit and an RBI and Zobrist hit a double.  The Royals were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Escobar had a stolen base. 

Hosmer hit an RBI groundout in the first inning to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.  Wright hit a two run homerun in the first to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.  In the second the Royals tied the game at two on an RBI single.  A passed ball scored a run and gave the Royals a 3-2 lead.  In the bottom of the third Granderson hit  a two run homerun to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.  In the fourth Conforto hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-3 Mets.  Uribe hit an RBI single in the sixth and it was 6-3 Mets.  Wright hit a two run single to push the lead to 8-3 also in the sixth.  Cespedes hit a sac fly to make it 9-3 and that was the final score of the game.  The two teams will play game four on Saturday night.   

Sunday, November 1, 2015

The New York Mets go down 0-2 in the World Series



The New York Mets were defeated by the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 7-1 Royals.  Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and pitched ok but not great.  Lucas Duda had the only two hits for the Mets. 

deGrom pitched five innings giving up six hits and four runs with three walks and two strikeouts.  deGrom took the loss in the game, Hansel Robles pitched a perfect inning, Jon Niese pitched an inning giving up three hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout and Addison Reed pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit.  Sean Gilmartin pitched 2/3 of an inning. 

Johnny Cueto pitched nine innings giving up two hits and a run with three walks and four strikeouts.  Cueto won the game. 

Curtis Granderson drew a walk, Daniel Murphy drew two walks and Duda had two hits and an RBI.  The Mets were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.  Duda committed an error. 

Alcides Escobar had two hits and two RBI, Lorenzo Cain drew a walk and Eric Hosmer had two hits and two RBI.  Kendrys Morales had a hit, Mike Moustakas had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Salvador Perez had a hit.  Alex Gordon had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  Alex Rios had a hit and Paulo Orlando had an RBI.  Perez and Gordon each hit a double and Escobar hit a triple.  The Royals were 5-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

In the fourth Duda hit an RBI single giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the fifth Escobar hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  Hosmer hit a two run single to make it 3-1 Royals.  Moustakas hit an RBI single and it was 4-1 Royals.  In the eighth Gordon hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 5-1, Orlando hit a sac fly to make it 6-1 and Escobar hit an RBI triple to make it 7-1.  The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the series and it will shift back to New  York now for games 3-5. 

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The New York Mets go down in a 14 inning epic game one of the World Series



The New York Mets were defeated by the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri and the final score was 5-4 Royals in 14 innings.  Matt Harvey started and he pitched ok but he did blow a 3-1 lead.  David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares each had two hits. 

Harvey pitched six innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts.  Addison Reed pitched a perfect inning, Tyler Clippard pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts, Jeurys Familia blew a save but pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run and Jon Niese pitched two innings giving up a hit and he struck out three.  Bartolo Colon took the loss pitching 2 1/3 innings giving up three hits and an unearned run with three walks. 

Edinson Volquez pitched six innings giving up six hits and three runs with a walk and three strikeouts.  Danny Duffy pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one, Kelvin Herrera pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up three hits and an unearned run with two strikeouts and Luke Hochevar pitched an inning giving up a hit.  Wade Davis pitched a perfect inning striking out the side, Ryan Madson pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts and Chris Young earned the win pitching three scoreless and hitless innings giving up a walk and striking out four batters. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit and an RBI and drew two walks, Wright had two hits and Murphy had two hits.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit, Duda had two hits and Travis d'Arnaud had a hit and an RBI.  Michael Conforto had an RBI, Lagares had two hits and Wilmer Flores drew a walk.  Granderson hit a homerun and the Mets were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Lagares had a stolen base and Wright was caught stealing and Wright committed an error. 

Alcides Escobar had a hit and an RBI, Ben Zobrist had three hits and drew a walk and Lorenzo Cain had a hit and drew a walk.  Eric Hosmer had two RBI and drew two walks, Kendrys Morales drew a walk and Mike Moustakas had two hits and an RBI.  Salvador Perez had two hits, Alex Gordon had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Paulo Orlando had a hit, Zobrist hit two doubles and Escobar hit an inside-the-park homerun and Gordon hit a homerun.  The Royals were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.  Cain had a stolen base and Hosmer committed an error. 

In the first Escobar hit an inside-the-park homerun to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth d'Arnaud hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  In the fifth Granderson hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 2-1 lead and in the sixth Conforto hit a sac fly to make it 3-1 Mets.  In the bottom of the sixth Hosmer hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 3-2.  Moustakas hit an RBI single to tie the game at three and in the eighth Flores reached on an error and a run scored giving them the 4-3 lead.  In the ninth Gordon hit a solo homerun to tie the game at four.  In the 14th inning Hosmer hit a walk-off sac fly to give the Royals the 5-4 victory and 1-0 series lead.  The two teams will play game two on Wednesday night in Kansas City before heading to New York for the next three games. 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

The World Series-New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals



The New York Mets are rolling into this 111th World Series after not being in it for 15 years.  They haven't won the World Series since 1986 which was 29 years ago.  The Mets and their fans have been through a lot since those appearances and winning it all.  The Kansas City Royals are also playing well and appearing in the World Series for the second consecutive year.  They have a young team as well as the Mets and haven't won it all since 1985.  It should be a great matchup, let's take a look and then I will come up with a prediction as well. 

The Mets and their dominant young pitching.  They have the advantage in this area as they would against just about any team in baseball.  They have good, young, power arms and that goes a long way.  The top three of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are all very impressive.  I don't know if you can even pick any one of them as the best, right now deGrom would be but they are all very very good.  The Royals starting pitching isn't as good but they have the better bullpen.  The Mets offense is powered by the long ball and the Royals are a contact team that loves to use their speed.  They will bunt, hit and run, steal bases and take the extra bases.  They are very aggressive and will try and put a lot of pressure on the Mets fielders.  The Mets haven't been tested in this way at all this postseason.  I also don't think they have faced this good of a team so far.  The Chicago Cubs were very good but they played very poorly. 

The Mets will be facing the easiest test though in terms of starting pitching so far but I believe the Mets are facing the toughest test in terms of the offense they are facing.  The Royals are a contact team that won't strike out a lot.  They will try and get the pitch count up and will drive you nuts on the basepath.  I think this is the key to the series.  The Mets starting pitching is going to be good but how long will they be able to last in the game?  If the Royals can get them out by the sixth inning even the seventh they may be in good shape.  The Royals have a deeper bullpen I believe and better pitchers there.  The Mets can hit their pitching but the Royals also make a lot of plays on defense as they are very good and athletic.  It will be a very interesting matchup to watch and I think pretty even.  I have been wavering on this but I am going to go with the Royals in seven because they have the home field advantage.  I wouldn't be suprised to see either team win though and I expect at least six or seven games, I don't think it will be any shorter than that which will be good for baseball.  Enjoy the World Series and let it be a good one.   

Thursday, October 22, 2015

The New York Mets sweep the Chicago Cubs to win the NL Pennant



The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and the final score was 8-3 Mets.  Steven Matz started for the Mets and pitched ok and the bullpen pitched well.  Daniel Murphy continued to be on fire as he had four more hits including a homerun.  Lucas Duda also broke out with three hits and five RBI. 

Matz pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up four hits and a run with two walks and four strikeouts.  Bartolo Colon won the game pitching 1 1/3 innings and walking one batter and striking out another, Addison Reed pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Tyler Clippard pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout.  Jeurys Familia pitched an inning walking one and striking out one. 

Jason Hammel pitched 1 1/3 innings for the Cubs as he didn't have it at all.  He gave up four hits and five runs with two walks and a strikeout and took the loss.  Travis Wood pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and three strikeouts, Clayton Richard pitched two innings giving up a hit and he struck out two and Trevor Cahill pitched an inning giving up a hit.  Pedro Strop pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Fernando Rodney pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts and Hector Rondon pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit, David Wright drew two walks and Murphy had four hits and two RBI.  Yoenis Cespedes drew a walk, Duda had three hits, five RBI and drew a walk and Travis d'Arnaud had a hit and an RBI.  Wilmer Flores had two hits and drew a walk, Duda hit two doubles and Murphy hit a double.  Flores hit a triple and Duda, d'Arnaud and Murphy each hit a homerun.  The Mets were 2-13 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Granderson and Flores each had a stolen base.   

Dexter Fowler had a hit, Jorge Soler had three hits and Kris Bryant had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk.  Anthony Rizzo had a hit, Kyle Schwarber hda an RBI and drew a walk and David Ross drew a walk.  Miguel Montero drew a walk and Soler hit two doubles.  Bryant it a homerun and the Cubs were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

In the first Duda hit a three run homerun and d'Arnaud followed with a solo homerun.  The score was 4-0 after the back-to-back homeruns.  In the second the Mets extended their lead to 6-0 as Duda hit an RBI double.  In the fourth Schwarber hit an RBI groundout but they only scored the one run after having the bases loaded and no outs.  In the eighth the Mets pushed their lead to 8-1 after a two run homerun from Murphy.  Bryant hit a two run homerun in the eighth to cut the lead to 8-3 but that was the final score. 

The Mets swept the four game series after the Cubs swept the season series 7-0.  The Mets will wait and see who they will play in the World Series beginning on Tuesday night.  They will play either Kansas City or Toronto and it will be at their home park as they have the home field advantage. 

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The New York Mets keep rolling with a game three victory and are one win away from the pennant



The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and the final score was 5-2 Mets.  Jacob deGrom started and once again didn't have his best stuff but pitched well enough to win which he did.  Daniel Murphy hit a homerun for the fifth straight game and David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes each had three hits. 

deGrom pitched seven innings giving up four hits and two runs with a walk and seven strikeouts.  He earned the win.  Tyler Clippard pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one and Jeurys Familia saved the game pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Kyle Hendricks started for the Cubs and pitched four innings giving up five hit and two runs with a walk and four strikeouts.  Clayton Richard pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk, Trevor Cahill lost the game pitching an inning and giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout and Travis Wood pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a strikeout.  Justin Grimm pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one, Pedro Strop pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Hector Rondon pitched one inning with a walk and a strikeout. 

Curtis Granderson drew a walk, Wright had three hits and drew a walk and Murphy had two hits and an RBI.  Cespedes had three hits and two RBI.  Lucas Duda had a hit and an RBI, Travis d'Arnaud had a hit and Michael Conforto drew a walk.  Wilmer Flores had a hit, Cespedes, Flores and Wright each hit a double.  Murphy hit a homerun and the Mets were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Cespedes had a stolen base and Granderson was caught stealing. 

Dexter Fowler had a hit, Kyle Schwarber had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Anthony Rizzo had a hit.  Starlin Castro had a hit, Jorge Soler had a hit and an RBI and Fowler hit a double and Schwarber and Soler each hit a homerun.  The Cubs were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. 

In the first Cespedes hit an RBI double to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Schwarber hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  In the third Murphy hit a solo homerun giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.  Soler hit a solo homerun in the fourth to tie the game at two.  In the sixth Conforto struck out but reached on a wild pitch and a run scored to make it 3-2 Mets.  In the seventh Cespedes hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-2 and Duda hit an RBI groundout to make it 5-2 which was the final score. 

The Mets are up in the series 3-0 and can close it out and win the NL pennant on Wednesday night in Chicago.  The Mets will be looking for the sweep and the first World Series Appearance in 15 years and their first world title in 29 years.   

Monday, October 19, 2015

The New York Mets take commanding 2-0 lead after game 2 victory in NLCS



The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 4-1 Mets.  Noah Syndergaard started for the Mets and pitched great, the bullpen did a good job and Daniel Murphy led the offense again.  Curtis Granderson also had a really good game. 

Syndergaard pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three hits and a run with a walk and nine strikeouts.  He earned the win, Jon Niese pitched to one batter and struck him out, Addison Reed pitched a perfect inning and Tyler Clippard pitched an inning giving up a hit.  Jeurys Familia saved his second game in a row pitching an inning and giving up a hit. 

Jake Arrieta lost the game and pitched five innings giving up four hits and four runs with two walks and eight strikeouts.  Travis Wood pitched two perfect innings with four strikeouts, Clayton Richard pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and Pedro Strop pitched to one batter and retired him. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk, David Wright had a hit and an RBI and Murphy had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and an RBI, Wright hit a double and Murphy hit a homerun.  The Mets were 2-4 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.  Granderson had two stolen bases. 

Dexter Fowler had two hits and drew a walk, Kris Bryant had two hits and an RBI and Anthony Rizzo had a hit.  Bryant hit a double and the Cubs were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

In the first Wright hit an RBI double to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the first Murphy hit a two run homerun and made it 3-0 Mets.  In the third Cespedes hit an RBI single to extend the Mets lead to 4-0.  In the sixth the Cubs scored their only run on a Bryant RBI double to cut the lead to 4-1 which would be the final score.  The two teams will have off on Monday and then be in Chicago for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday night and Thursday night if necessary.   

The New York Mets take game one of the NLCS



The New York Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 4-2 Mets.  Matt Harvey started the game and pitched very well, Travis d'Arnaud and Juan Lagares each had two hits. 

Harvey pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with two walks and nine strikeouts.  Harvey won his first game of the postseason.  Jeurys Familia earned the save pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. 

Jon Lester lost the game pitching 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and four runs with a walk and five strikeouts.  Justin Grimm pitched to one batter and retired him, Clayton Richard to one batter and retired him and Trevor Cahill pitched 2/3 of an inning including a strikeout. 

Curtis Granderson had a hit and two RBI, David Wright drew a walk and Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI.  d'Arnaud had two hits and an RBI, Michael Cuddyer had a hit and Wilmer Flores had a hit.  Lagares had two hits, Murphy and d'Arnaud each hit a homerun and the Mets were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Wright and Lagares each had a stolen base and d'Arnaud committed an error.  Yoenis Cespedes had an outfield assist. 

Kyle Schwarber had a hit and an RBI, Kris Bryant drew a walk and Anthony Rizzo drew a walk.  Starlin Castro had a hit and an RBI, Jorge Soler had a hit and Javier Baez had a hit.  Miguel Montero had a hit, David Ross drew a walk and Castro hit a double and Schwarber hit a homerun.  The Cubs were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Baez had a stolen base. 

In the first Murphy  hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the fifth Castro hit an RBI double to tie the game at one.  In the fifth Granderson hit an RBI single to make it 2-1 Mets.  d'Arnaud hit a solo homerun in the sixth to extend the lead to 3-1 Mets.  In the seventh Granderson hit a sac fly to push the lead to 4-1 Mets.  In the eighth Schwarber hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 4-2 and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game two on Sunday night in New York before heading to Chicago for the middle three games of the series. 

Friday, October 16, 2015

The New York Mets defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five and advance to the NLCS


The New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.  The game took place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California and the final score was 3-2 Mets.  Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and he battled all night long and the Mets bullpen was lights out.  The offense was led by Daniel Murphy who did it all. 
deGrom pitched six innings giving up two runs on six hits.  He walked three and struck out seven and picked up his second win of the series.  Noah Syndergaard pitched an inning giving up a walk and he struck out two and Jeurys Familia saved his second game of the series pitching two perfect innings with a couple of strikeouts. 
Zack Greinke lost his first game of the series pitching 6 2/3 innings and giving up six hits and three runs.  He walked one and struck out nine.  Luis Avilan pitched to one batter and retired him, Chris Hatcher pitched a perfect inning including a strikeout and Kenley Jansen pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. 
Curtis Granderson had a hit, Murphy had three hits and two RBI and Lucas Duda drew a walk.  Travis d'Arnaud had an RBI, Juan Lagares had a hit and Wilmer Flores had a hit and drew a walk.  Kelly Johnson had a hit, Murphy and Lagares each hit a double and Murphy hit a homerun.  The Mets were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Murphy had a stolen base and Flores committed an error. 
Cory Seager had a hit, Adrian Gonzalez had a hit and drew a walk and Justin Turner had three hits and an RBI.  Andre Ethier had a hit and an RBI, Yasmani Grandal drew a walk and Joc Pederson drew two walks.  Turner hit two doubles and the Dodgers were 2-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.  Turner had a stolen base  and Enrique Hernandez committed an error. 
In the first Murphy hit an RBI double to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Turner hit an RBI single to tie the game and Ethier hit an RBI single to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.  In the fourth d'Arnaud hit a sac fly after heads up baserunning by Murphy to get to third after a walk to Duda and seeing the shift being played.  The Mets took the lead in the sixth on a Murphy solo homerun at 3-2 and they were able to hold that lead and move on to the NLCS.  It was a very good series and a tight one and the next one against the Cubs should be just as good if not better.  Game one will be on Saturday night in New York at Citi Field. 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

The New York Mets lose game four and the series is even headed for a game five in Los Angeles



The New York Mets were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 3-1 Mets.  Steven Matz started for the Mets and pitched ok, the bullpen was good and the offense only managed three hits. 

Matz pitched five innings giving up three runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.  Matz took the loss, Bartolo Colon pitched two innings giving up a hit and he struck out two, Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect inning and Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect inning. 

Clayton Kershaw pitched seven innings giving up three hits and a run with a walk and eight strikeouts.  Kershaw got the win as he got the monkey off of his back for now.  Chris Hatcher pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and a strikeout and Kenley Jansen pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk and he struck out two and earned his second save of the postseason. 

Curtis Granderson drew a walk, David Wright drew two walks and Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit, Juan Lagares had a hit and Murphy hit a homerun.  The Mets were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Granderson had a stolen base. 

Enrique Hernandez had two hits, Howie Kendrick had a hit and Adrian Gonzalez had a hit and an RBI.  Justin Turner had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Cory Seager drew a walk and A.J. Ellis had a hit.  Kershaw had a hit, Turner hit a double and the Dodgers were 2-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

In the third Gonzalez hit an RBI single giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.  In the third Turner hit a two run double to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.  In the fourth Murphy hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 3-1 and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will head back to L.A. for game five winner take all on Thursday night.  The winner will advance to the NLCS to take on the Chicago Cubs.   

The Mets win big in pivotal game three of the NLDS



The New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 13-7 Mets.  It was the first postseason game in the history of Citi Field and the Mets didn't disappoint their fans.  The offense was at the top of their game, Matt Harvey started and he didn't have his best stuff but gutted it out and the bullpen did a pretty good job other then Erik Goeddel. 

Harvey pitched five innings giving up seven hits and three runs with two of them being earned.  He walked two and struck out seven and earned the win.  Bartolo Colon pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with three strikeouts, Addison Reed pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Goeddel gave up four hits and three runs without recording an out.  Jeurys Familia pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Brett Anderson took the loss pitching three innings and giving up seven hits and six runs with no walks and three strikeouts.  Alex Wood pitched two innings giving up four hits and four runs with two walks and two strikeouts, Yimi Garcia pitched an inning walking one and striking out three and Pedro Baez gave up a hit, three runs and two walks.  J.P. Howell pitched an inning giving up a hit and Luis Avilan pitched a perfect inning striking out two. 

Curtis Granderson had two hits and five RBI, David Wright drew two walks and Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI.  Yoenis Cespedes had three hits and three RBI, Lucas Duda had a hit and Travis d'Arnaud had three hits and three RBI.  Wilmer Flores had two hits and drew a walk, Juan Lagares had a hit and drew a walk and Michael Cuddyer drew a walk.  Michael Conforto had an RBI, Granderson hit two doubles, Lagares and Flores each hit a double.  d'Arnaud and Cespedes each hit a homerun and the Mets were6-15 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Granderson committed an error. 

Howie Kendrick had two hits and three RBI, Jimmy Rollins had a hit and Adrian Gonzalez had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk.  Justin Turner had two hits, Andre Ethier had two hits and Carl Crawford had a hit.  Yasmani Grandal had a hit and two RBI, Enrique Hernandez had a hit and Joc Pederson drew a walk.  Cory Seager had a hit, Gonzalez and Kendrick each hit a homerun and the Dodgers were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

In the second Grandal hit a two run single and a throwing error allowed another run to score to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.  In the second d'Arnaud hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-1.  Granderson hit a three run double and it was 4-3 Mets.  In the third d'Arnaud hit a two run homerun to extend the Mets lead to 6-3.  In the fourth Murphy hit an RBI single to make it 7-3 Mets.  Cespedes hit a three run homerun in the fourth to make it 10-3 and basically put the game out of reach.  In the seventh Gonzalez hit a solo homerun to make it 10-4.  In the seventh Conforto hit a sac fly to push the lead to 11-4.  Granderson hit a two run double and it was 13-4 Mets.  In the ninth Kendrick hit a three run homerun to make it a 13-7 game and that would be the final score.  The two teams will play game four on Tuesday night in New York, the Mets have a chance to close out the series or if not there will be a game five on Thursday night in Los Angeles. 

Monday, October 12, 2015

The New York Mets lose the game and also their shortstop



The New York Mets were defeated in game two of the NLDS on Saturday night.  The game took place at Dodger Stadium and the final score was 5-2 Dodgers.  Noah Syndergaard started for the Mets and pitched well and Curtis Granderson led the offense with a couple of hits. 

Syndergaard pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with four walks and nine strikeouts.  Bartolo Colon gave up a run without recording an out, Addison Reed pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run and Jon Niese pitched to one batter and struck him out.  Hansel Robles pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts. 

Zack Greinke pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs with no walks and eight strikeouts.  Greinke got the win.  Chris Hatcher pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Kenley Jansen saved the game pitching an inning with a walk and a strikeout. 

Granderson had two hits and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and an RBI.  Michael Conforto had a hit and an RBI, Cespedes and Conforto each hit a homerun.  The Mets were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left one men on base.  Murphy was caught stealing. 

Howie Kendrick had a hit and an RBI, Adrian Gonzalez had a hit and two RBI and Justin Turner had two hits and an RBI.  Andre Ethier had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks.  Enrique Hernandez had a hit and drew two walks, Chase Utley had a hit and Turner hit two doubles.  Ethier and Gonzlez each hit a double and the Dodgers were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Crawford and Hernandez each had a stolen base. 

In the second Cespedes hit a solo homerun to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the second Conforto hit a solo homerun to extend the lead to 2-0 Mets.  In the fourth Ethier hit an RBI double to cut the lead to 2-1.  In the seventh the Dodgers tied the game at two with a fielder's choice.  The play resulted in a violent collision at second base and the shortstop Tejada leaving with a broken leg.  Gonzalez hit an RBI double to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead, Turner hit an RBI double to make it 5-2 and that would be the final score of the game. 

The two teams have split the first two games in the best of five series.  The third game will be at Citi Field in New York on Monday night with game four to follow on Tuesday night and then if game five is needed it will be back in Los Angeles on Thursday night.  The big play of this game was the takeout slide by Utley and the resulting broken leg by Tejada the shortstop of the Mets.  This will continue to draw a lot of discussion and debate and maybe even result in a rule change so stay tuned.  Utley was suspended two games but is appealing and awaiting on the appeal to be heard so he can continue to play.   

The New York Mets take game one of NLDS



The New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.  The game took place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California and the final score was 3-1 Mets.  Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and pitched great and the bullpen did their job.  Curtis Granderson led the offense with two of the teams five hits. 

deGrom pitched seven innings giving up five hits and no runs with a walk and 13 strikeouts.  deGrom earned the win for the game.  Tyler Clippard pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run and Jeurys Familia pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings. 

Clayton Kershaw pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up four hits and three runs with four walks and 11 strikeouts.  Kershaw suffered the loss despite pitching pretty well.  Pedro Baez pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one, Joel Peralta pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Chris Hatcher pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Granderson had two hits and drew a walk, David Wright had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk and Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI.  Lucas Duda had a hit and drew a walk, Ruben Tejada drew a walk and Murphy hit a homerun.  The Mets were 1-2 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. 

Howie Kendrick had two hits, Cory Seager had a hit and Adrian Gonzalez had a hit and an RBI.  Justin Turner had two hits, A.J. Ellis had a hit and Joc Pederson drew a walk.  Turner, Seager and Kendrick each hit a double.  The Dodgers were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

In the fourth Murphy hit a solo homerun giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.  In the seventh Wright hit a two run single to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.  In the eighth Gonzalez hit an RBI single to make it 3-1 but that would be the final score.  The Mets take a 1-0 series lead in the best of five NLDS.   

Thursday, October 8, 2015

MLB LDS Preview and Predictions


I will start out by saying that Baseball is almost impossible to predict but with that said I will try my best. The Toronto Blue Jays are heavy favorites in the American League and in the National League you really have no clear cut favorite, I think the St. Louis Cardinals would have been if they weren't so injured.  I will start with the American League and then move to the National League.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers kick off the LDS matchups on Thursday afternoon.  The Blue Jays were on fire the last 45 games or so of the regular season and I don't really see that changing now.  The Texas Rangers also got hot at the end of the season but it was really in September and not as hot as the Blue Jays.  I see the Blue Jays winning this series behind David Price and great offense in four games.  I wouldn't be shocked though if the Blue Jays swept them. 

The other matchup has the young and energetic Houston Astros against the young Kansas City Royals who are now experienced going through it last year in their run to the World Series.  I think the Astros are good especially behind Dallas Keuchel but he pitched the one game playoff against the Yankees and will only be able to start once in this series and later in the series so that is a disadvantage.  The Astros probably have a little better hitters and definitely more power but I will say the Royals will win this series in four games. 

The National League has a great Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets matchup.  This series will feature tons of pitching and I think the Mets are very good but they just won't be able to get past Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke plus the Dodgers have been here every year for the last couple of years and the Mets are new to this whole thing called the postseason.  I will say the Dodgers win this series in four or five. 

The St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Chicago Cubs is also an intriguing matchup.  I would have picked the Cardinals but with them being so banged up I am not sure.  I am going to go with the Chicago Cubs who could make a run and make the city of Chicago really go crazy plus Back to the Future II picked the Cubs to win the World Series this year.  Have fun and enjoy the baseball that all kicks off on Thursday afternoon.   

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The New York Yankees season ends quietly with a shutout loss in the Wild Card game



The New York Yankees were defeated by the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 3-0 Houston.  Masahiro Tanaka started and he pitched ok but gave up two homeruns.  The Yankees bullpen was good but the offense only managed three singles. 

Tanaka pitched five innings giving up two runs on four hits.  He walked three and struck out three.  Justin Wilson pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk, Dellin Betances pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and four strikeouts and Andrew Miller pitched an inning striking out two batters. 

Dallas Keuchel pitched six innings giving up three hits and no runs.  He walked one and struck out seven.  Tony Sipp pitched an inning with a walk and a strikeout, Will Harris pitched a perfect inning and Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. 

Chris Young drew a walk, Carlos Beltran had a hit and Chase Headley drew a walk.  Greg Bird had a hit, Didi Gregorius had a hit and the Yankees were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

Jose Altuve had a hit and an RBI, George Springer had a hit and Colby Rasmus had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Carlos Gomez had a hit and an RBI, Luis Valbuena had a hit and Chris Carter drew three walks.  Jason Castro drew a walk, Springer hit a double and Rasmus and Gomez each hit a homerun.  The Astros were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Villar and Altuve each had a stolen base. 

In the second Rasmus hit a solo homerun to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth Gomez hit a solo homerun to extend the lead to 2-0 Astros.  The Astros completed the scoring in the seventh on an RBI single from Altuve.  The final score was 3-0 and the Astros will head to Kansas City to face the Royals in the ALDS beginning on Thursday night.  The Yankees season comes to an end as they lick their wounds and try to find out what went wrong in a season that was so good for so long but ended bad and culminated with this loss. 

Monday, October 5, 2015

New York Mets win their final game of the regular season



The New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 1-0.  Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and pitched four strong innings and the bullpen used six guys to get some work in and they were all good.  Curtis Granderson led the offense with three hits. 

deGrom pitched four innings giving up two walks and he struck out seven.  Bartolo Colon pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Logan Verrett pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Jon Niese pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit.  Addison Reed pitched to one batter and struck him out, Tyler Clippard won his fifth game of the season pitching a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Jeurys Familia saved his 43rd game of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit with a strikeout. 

Tanner Roark pitched six innings giving up three hits and no runs with a walk and six strikeouts.  Sammy Solis pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one and Blake Treinen lost his fifth game of the season pitching an inning giving up a hit, a run and a walk. 

Granderson had three hits and an RBI, David Wright drew a walk and Yoenis Cespedes had a hit.  Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk, Michael Conforto had a hit and Granderson and Cespedes each hit a double.  Granderson hit a homerun and the Mets were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. 

Bryce Harper had a hit, Clint Robinson had a hit and Ian Desmond drew a walk.  Michael Taylor drew a walk, Harper hit a double and the Nationals were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Desmond had a stolen base. 

In the eighth inning Granderson hit a solo homerun for the only run of the game as the Mets held on for a 1-0 victory.  The Mets will be heading to the postseason and taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers in L.A. beginning on Friday night.  It will be a best of five NLDS series as the Washington Nationals head home after a very disappointing season.   

The New York Yankees lose regular season finale but still secure home field for wild card game



The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon.  The game took place at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland and the final score was 9-4 Orioles.  Michael Pineda started and didn't pitch great, the bullpen used a lot of guys and wasn't good either.  Carlos Beltran led the offense with three hits and three other players had two hits each. 

Pineda pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up six hits and four runs with no walks and five strikeouts.  He lost his 10th game of the season.  Chris Capuano pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk, Bryan Mitchell pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with two walks and James Pazos pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.  Andrew Bailey pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk, Branden Pinder pitched an inning giving up a hit and Justin Wilson pitched to one batter and struck him out.  Andrew Miller pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a run and a walk and Caleb Cotham pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run. 

Chris Tillman pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and two runs with four walks and five strikeouts.  Tillman won his 11th game of the season.  T.J. McFarland pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs, Brad Brach pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and Darren O'Day pitched an inning with a strikeout.  Zach Britton pitched an inning striking out one. 

Alex Rodriguez drew two walks, Beltran had three hits and drew a walk and Brian McCann had a hit.  Greg Bird had two hits and an RBI, Chase Headley drew a walk and Dustin Ackley had two hits and two RBI.  Didi Gregorius had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Bird and Gregorius each hit a double and Ackley and Gregorius each hit a triple.  The Yankees were 1-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Ellsbury had an outfield assist. 

Nick Reimold had a hit and drew two walks, Gerardo Parra had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk and Manny Machado drew a walk.  Chris Davis had three hits, four RBI and drew a walk, Matt Wieters had two hits and two RBI and Steve Pearce drew a walk.  Steve Clevenger had a hit, J.J. Hardy had two hits and an RBI and Ryan Flaherty had a hit.  Davis, Wieters, Flaherty and Hardy each hit a double.  Davis hit two homeruns and the Orioles were 4-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

In the first Wieters hit a two run single to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.  In the second Ackley hit an RBI ground out to cut the lead to 2-1 Orioles.  In the fourth Hardy hit an RBI single to make it 3-1 and a Parra two run single made it 5-1.  In the fifth Davis hit a two run homerun to extend the lead to 7-1 Orioles.  Gregorius hit an RBI triple in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-2 and Bird hit an RBI single to make it 7-3.  Ackley hit into a force out to score a run and get the Yankees to 7-4 but that was as close as they would come.  In the eighth Davis hit another two run homerun to make it 9-4 Orioles and that was the final score.  The Orioles swept the three game series and the Yankees finished the regular season losing six out of seven games.  They will have off on Monday and play at home on Tuesday night in the AL wild card game against the Houston Astros.  It will be Masahiro Tanaka on the mound against Dallas Keuchel.  The winner of that game will move on to the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals starting on Thursday night in K.C.    

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The New York Mets lose both games of a doubleheader and are no hit to the Washington Nationals



The New York Mets were defeated by the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon and Saturday night.  The final scores were 3-1 and 2-0 with the no hitter being in the second game and both games being played at Citi Field in Flushing, New York.  In game one Noah Syndergaard started and pitched well and Addison Reed out of the bullpen did not.  In game two Matt Harvey started and pitched very well and the bullpen was pretty good.  In game one the Mets managed five hits but no one had more than a hit and in game two they had no hits. 

Syndergaard pitched seven innings giving up two hits and a run with a walk and ten strikeouts in game one.  Reed lost his third game pitching an inning and giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout and Jon Niese pitched an inning giving up a hit and drew a walk. 

Gio Gonzalez pitched six innings giving up three hits and no runs with three walks and seven strikeouts.  Blake Treinen pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout, Matt Grace pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and Rafael Martin pitched to one batter striking him out and picking up his second win of the season.  Casey Janssen pitched one perfect inning with a strikeout and Felipe Rivero earned his second save of the season pitching a perfect inning and striking out the side. 

Juan Lagares had a hit and an RBI, David Wright drew a walk and Daniel Murphy had a hit.  Yoenis Cespedes had a hit and drew a walk, Lucas Duda drew a walk and Travis d'Arnaud had a hit.  Ruben Tejada had a hit, Syndergaard drew a walk and d'Arnaud hit a double.  The Mets were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Cespedes was caught stealing and had an outfield assist.  Niese had a pickoff. 

Anthony Rendon drew a walk, Yunel Escobar drew a walk and Bryce Harper had a hit and two RBI.  Clint Robinson had two hits and an RBI, Matt den Dekker had a hit and drew a walk, den Dekker hit a double and Robinson and Harper each hit a homerun.  The Nationals were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  den Dekker was picked off, Jose Lobaton committed an error. 

All the runs were scored in the seventh and eighth.  The Nats took a 1-0 lead and the Mets answered back with one in the seventh before the Nationals scored two in the eighth to take the lead and hold on for the win. 

In the second game Harvey pitched six innings giving up four hits and an unearned run with no walks and 11 strikeouts and he lost his eighth game of the season.  Hansel Robles pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with three strikeouts, Erik Goeddel pitched a perfect inning and struck out the side and Carlos Torres pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Max Scherzer picked up his 14th win of the season pitching a complete game shutout and a no hitter.  It was his second no hitter of the season and first time since Nolan Ryan in 1973 that someone did it twice in the same season. 

Trea Turner had a hit in game two, Robinson had a hit and Wilson Ramos had an RBI.  Wilmer Difo had a hit, Dan Uggla had a hit and an RBI.  Scherzer had a hit, Uggla hit a homerun and the Nationals were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Escobar committed an error. 

The Mets had no hits, RBI or walks.  Scherzer only missed a perfect game because of an error on his third baseman. 

The runs were scored sixth and seventh innings.  The Mets will play the final regular season game on Sunday afternoon.  If the Dodgers win they clinch the home field with that series starting in L.A. on Friday night. 

The New York Yankees lose both games of a doubleheader in Baltimore



The New York Yankees were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon and Saturday night.  The game one score was 9-2 and game two was 4-3 Baltimore with both games taking place at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.  In game one Ivan Nova started and didn't pitch very well and the Yankees stranded too many runners in game two Luis Severino pitched well, Dellin Betances gave up a soft run in the eighth and the offense didn't get a big hit when they needed it.  The Yankees could have clinched home field advantage for the wild card game with just one win and now they need to play tomorrow because it will matter  unless Houston loses but as of this writing they are winning. 

Ivan Nova pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and five runs with three walks and four strikeouts and he took his 11th loss of the season.  Chasen Shreve pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a walk, Nick Goody pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a walk and Chris Martin pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. 

In game two Severino pitched seven innings giving up three runs on five hits.  He walked none and struck out six and Betances pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and three strikeouts and took his fourth loss of the season. 

Wei-Yin Chen started game one for the Orioles and pitched six innings giving up four hits and two runs with three walks and three strikeouts and picked up his 11th win of the season.  Brad Brach pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout, Mychal Givens pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out two batters and Oliver Drake pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out one. 

In game two Ubaldo Jimenez started and pitched six innings giving up five hits and three runs with three walks and seven strikeouts.  T.J. McFarland won his second game of the season pitching two perfect innings with a strikeout and Zach Britton saved his 36th game of the season pitching an inning giving up a hit. 

Nick Reimold had two hits and drew a walk in game one.  Gerardo Parra had four  hits and three RBI, Manny Machado had two hits and three RBI and Chris Davis had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk.  Matt Wieters had a hit and drew four walks, Steve Clevenger had a hit, J.J. Hardy had three hits and Davis hit a double and Parra hit two doubles.  Machado hit a homerun and the Orioles were 4-15 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.  Parra had a stolen base and Chen committed an error, Pearce had an outfield assist.

In game two Reimold had a hit and an RBI, Parra had two hits and Machado had a hit and an RBI.  Davis drew a walk, Pearce had a hit and an RBI and Paul Janish had two hits.   Pearce and Janish each hit a double and Reimold and Machado each hit a homerun.  the Orioles were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Parra had a stolen base and was caught stealing.  Britton had a pick off. 

In the first game the Orioles scored single runs in the first, third and fifth and then scored four in the sixth before the Yankees scored their only two runs in the seventh.  The Orioles answered right back in the seventh with two and that was the game.  In game two Baltimore jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and the Yankees answerd back with one in the second and the Orioles one in the third.  It was 3-1 Orioles and the Yankees tied it with two in the fifth before the Orioles got one in the eighth to go ahead and hold on to the 4-3 victory.  The Yankees now have one game left in the regular season needing a win if Houston wins tonight to secure home field advantage for the wild card game to take place on Tuesday night.  Michael Pineda will start and I would guess and hope that the Yankees will play their regular lineup trying to lock up home field. 
 

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