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Schwei's Mets Notes: A Streak, First Place, Blown Leads And More

By John Schweibacher
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After winning seven in a row to take over the lead in the National League East, the New York Mets dropped the final two games of their road trip to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Mets held early 3-0 leads in both of the losses against the Rays. The Mets blew a six-run lead in their last loss before their seven-game winning streak, the 8-7 loss to the Padres at Citi Field on July 30. The only other game the Mets lost in 2015 while leading by at least three runs was back on May 14 at Wrigley Field, when they blew a 5-1 lead and lost to the Cubs 6-5.

The Mets' seven-game winning streak came to an end Saturday night with a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay. Curtis Granderson hit a solo home run in both the first and second innings in the loss. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Granderson is the seventh player in Mets history to homer in each of the first two innings of a game.

Here is the list of Mets who hit home runs in the first and second innings of a game:

· 8/8/15: Curtis Granderson at TB
· 6/25/08: David Wright vs. Sea
· 5/26/08: Jose Reyes vs. Fla
· 4/30/02: Mike Piazza at Arz
· 9/13/95: Damon Buford vs. Hou
· 6/19/89: Howard Johnson vs. Mtl
· 7/11/86: Gary Carter vs. Atl

The Mets rallied three times in the late innings and held on for the win over the Rays, 4-3, last Friday night at Tropicana Field.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the first time in franchise history that the Mets either tied the score or took the lead in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings in the same game. Only one other major league team has done that over the last 10 seasons: the Mariners against the Angels on August 13, 2008.

The Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Marlins, surviving a ninth-inning Miami rally for an 8-6 win last Wednesday night.

It was the fifth three-game road sweep for the Mets against the Marlins since their inaugural season of 1993:

· 8/3-8/5, 2015
· 8/31-9/2, 2012
· 5/25-5/27, 2007
· 5/26-5/28, 2005
· 10/1-10/3, 1993

The victory gave the Mets a record of 58-50 through 108 games, the two-thirds mark of the 162-game regular season. The Mets have been exactly 58-50 through 108 games four other times in club history, but did not reach the postseason in any of those years:

· 1970: 58-50, then went 25-29 (finished 83-79 -- 3rd N.L. East)
· 1972: 58-50, then went 25-23 (finished 83-73 -- 3rd N.L. East)*
· 1998: 58-50, then went 30-24 (finished 88-74 -- 2nd N.L. East)
· 2008: 58-50, then went 31-23 (finished 89-73 -- 2nd N.L. East)

*1972 season was shorter due to work stoppage

Matt Harvey got the benefit of that eight-run Mets lead. As the Elias Sports Bureau notes, a cushion of that size has been an automatic win with Harvey on the mound. Harvey has now won all 17 games in which the Mets staked him to a lead of three or more runs, the longest such streak by a Mets pitcher since Tom Glavine won 20 straight (2004-06).

Eric Campbell's pinch-hit single sparked a four-run eighth inning Mets rally as they defeated the Marlins, 5-1, last Tuesday night in Miami. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Campbell is one of four major league players who has two or more game-winning RBIs as a pinch-hitter this season. J.B. Shuck has three, and Jeff Francoeur and Pedro Ciriaco each have two.

The Mets began their road trip last Monday night with a 12-1 win over the Marlins. Yoenis Cespedes had three doubles to tie the franchise record for a single game, which has now happened 28 times in club history. Cespedes was the eighth Met to have three doubles in a game while batting in the third spot in the order:

· 8/3/15: Yoenis Cespedes at Mia
· 8/8/06: Carlos Beltran vs. SD
· 4/18/00: Edgardo Alfonzo vs. Mil
· 4/11/99: John Olerud at Mtl
· 8/19/96: Bernard Gilkey at SF
· 7/30/80: Claudell Washington vs. Atl
· 5/12/70: Dave Marshall vs. Mtl
· 4/17/66: Ken Boyer vs. Atl

Happy Recap: David Wright will start a rehab assignment Monday with Class A St. Lucie and Michael Cuddyer is expected back Monday after being on the disabled list with a sore left knee.

Nine Miles of Rough Road: Noah Syndergaard allowed five runs on eight hits in four innings in the loss to the Rays on Saturday. He fell to 0-5 with a 5.01 ERA in eight road starts.

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