Rockies 8 Mets 5 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets Record: 49-46
Mets Streak: L1
Mets Last 10: 7-3
WP: Justin Lawrence (2-3)
LP: Jose Quintana (4-6)
SV: Victor Vodnik (2)
Seat On The Korner:
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who had 2 home runs, 1 double, a walk, and 4 RBI to help lead Colorado's hit parade. Tovar's first inning home run gave the Rockies an early 2-0 advantage. In the seventh inning, Tovar's second 2-run shot increased the Rockies lead to 7-3 giving their beleaguered bullpen some much-needed cushion.
Need To Know:
The loss snapped the Mets win streak at 5.
Today's game was the final game in a 17-day stretch without a day off, beginning with their 3-game series against the Houston Astros. The Mets had a 10-7 record during that span.
Today's game was also the final game before Major League Baseball's All-Star break. The Mets head into the break with a 49-46 record, in third place in the NL East, 12.5 games behind first place Philadelphia. They are also a 1/2-game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
Pete Alonso hit his first home run since July 2nd, a 2-run blast in the fourth inning that tied the game at 2-2.
Mets pitcher Kodai Senga threw 66 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse today. He went 4.2 innings, allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 3. This was Senga's third rehab appearance. He has pitched 10 innings and struck out 12 batters while only giving up the one run. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that the team hasn't decided if Senga will require another rehab start or not before returning to the big club.
Mets leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor went 2-3 with 2 singles, 2 walks, and 1 RBI. Lindor heads into the break with a .253 batting average and a .783 OPS. Half a season ago (following the team's 48th game), Lindor's batting average was .198 and his OPS was .620.
Turning Point
Brenton Doyle, the Rockies cleanup hitter and center fielder, led off the top of the 6th inning with a home run to break a 3-3 ties and put the Rockies ahead for good. It was Doyle's 15th home run and 42nd RBI on the season.
Three Keys:
Kingman-Like Mike
Mets pitching allowed 6 Rockies home runs today, including three(!) solo blasts off the bat of Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia. The switch-hitting slugger hit his first two batting right-handed against Mets starter Jose Quintana. The third was batting lefty against Mets reliever Adrian Houser. The 6'5" Toglia now has 34 hits on the season, 16 of which are home runs.
Candelita Keeps Going
Jose Iglesias, playing third base today, had another 4 hits, all singles, and a walk, and 2 runs scored. The veteran infielder, and one of a few spark plugs to the recent Mets success, heads to the break with a .380 batting average and a .999 OPS. Iglesias didn't play any games in the majors last year, and came to the Mets with a career .279 batting average. He will also be performing his #1 single, OMG, at Globe Life Field tomorrow night, prior to the Home Run Derby. Earlier today he performed the song for the Mr. and Mrs. Met's Kids Club before the game.
Ready For The Break
Following the May 29th 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets were 11 games below .500 and 7.5 games out of the third wild card spot. Since that day, they have gone 27-13 and put themselves right in the thick of the wild card hunt. Today's game marked the end of their longest consecutive games streak of the season. They will resume their charge towards the postseason against the Marlins in Miami on Friday night.
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