Schwei's Mets Notes: An Offense Explosion, Cespedes' Monster Night And More
By John Schweibacher
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After taking four of five games against the Orioles and Rockies, the NL East-leading New York Mets' nine-game road trip continues this week with four games against the Phillies.
Logan Verrett, making his first major league start, allowed only one run and four hits in eight innings to earn the victory in the Mets' 5-1 win to complete a three-game sweep at Colorado on Sunday.
Verrett was just the second Mets starter to go at least eight innings against the Rockies in Denver. Bret Saberhagen went eight innings, giving up five runs and 12 hits in a 5-4 loss to the Rockies at Mile High Stadium on June 8, 1994.
The Mets defeated the Rockies 14-9 on Friday night and by that same score on Saturday night.
It was the fifth time in club history the Mets scored 14 or more runs in consecutive games:
· 8/21/15: 14-9 at Col & 8/22/15: 14-9 at Col
· 6/28/11: 14-3 at Det & 6/29/11: 16-9 at Det
· 8/23/05: 14-1 at Arz & 8/24/05: 18-4 at Arz
· 6/12/90: 19-8 at Chi & 6/13/90: 15-10 at Chi
· 7/20/85: 16-4 vs. Atl & 7/21/85: 15-10 vs. Atl
It was also the first time in club history the Mets allowed nine or more runs in consecutive games and won both of them.
Yoenis Cespedes went 5-for-6 with three home runs, including a grand slam, to lead the Mets to the 14-9 victory over the Rockies in the opener of their three-game series Friday night at Coors Field. Caspedes' 15 total bases were the second most in a single game in Mets history:
· 16: Edgardo Alfonzo 8/30/99 at Hou (3 HRs, double, 2 singles)
· 15: Yoenis Cespedes 8/21/15 at Col (3 HRs, double, single)
· 13: Jim Hickman 9/3/65 at Stl (3 HRs, single)
· 13: Claudell Washington 6/22/80 at LA (3 HRs, single)
· 13: Darryl Strawberry 8/5/85 at Chi (3 HRs, single)
· 13: Ike Davis 7/28/12 at Arz (3 HRs, single)
Henry Urrutia hit a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Mets Wednesday night in Baltimore.
It was the third time since Interleague play began in 1997 that the Mets lost to the Orioles in the bottom of the ninth or extra innings:
· 8/29/97: Orioles 4 Mets 3, Cal Ripken Jr. rbi single in 12th
· 6/18/09: Orioles 5 Mets 4, Aubrey Huff rbi single in 9th
· 8/19/15: Orioles 5 Mets 4, Henry Urrutia solo home run in 9th
The Mets took the opener of their two-game set in Baltimore, 5-3, last Tuesday night. Curtis Granderson homered twice for the Mets in the win, the third time this season he has hit two homers in a game in which he batted in the leadoff spot. (He also did this on June 7 at Arizona and August 8 at Tampa Bay.) According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other player in Mets history to have three such games in one season was Tommie Agee, who did it in 1969 and 1970:
· 4/10/69 vs. Mtl: solo HR in 2nd, solo HR in 7th
· 5/11/69 vs. Hou: 2-run HR in 4th, solo HR in 6th
· 7/13/69 vs. Mtl: solo HR in 1st, 3-run HR in 4th
· 5/19/70 at Mtl: solo HR in 1st, solo HR in 9th
· 6/12/70 vs. Atl: solo HR in 4th, solo HR in 8th
· 8/23/70 vs. Cin: solo HR in 1st, solo HR in 7th
When the Mets face the Phillies this week in Philadelphia, they will not see Chase Utley, who was traded to the Dodgers last week. Utley, who made his major league debut with the Phils on April 3, 2003, had played more games with only one team than any current major league player. David Wright, who is set to return this week, is now the active player with the most games played for one club (totals through 8/23/15):
· David Wright, Mets: 1,516
· Ryan Howard, Phillies: 1,442
· Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 1,442
· Joe Mauer, Twins: 1,420
· Andre Ethier, Dodgers: 1,384
· Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: 1,280
· Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 1,226
· Ryan Braun, Brewers: 1,197
· Alexei Ramirez, White Sox: 1,191
· Erick Aybar, Angels: 1,182
Happy Recap: The Mets are 14-7 on Sundays this year, the second-best record in the majors. They trail only the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are 15-6.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Prior to Hansel Robles' scoreless inning Sunday, the Mets' bullpen had allowed 17 earned runs in 27 1/3 innings (5.60 ERA) over the previous seven games.
