Schwei's Mets Notes: Bumgarner's Citi Field Dominance, Conforto's Doubles And More
By John Schweibacher
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The New York Mets' eight-game winning streak came to an end Sunday as Madison Bumgarner pitched six scoreless innings to earn the victory in the Giants' 6-1 win. With the victory, Bumgarner improved his record to 4-0 in four appearances at Citi Field with a 0.62 ERA. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that is the lowest ERA at any current major-league stadium by any active pitcher who is 4-0 or better in that ballpark.
The Mets finished April with a record of 15-7. It is the third straight season the Mets have won 15 games before the calendar turned to May, having gone 15-11 in 2014 and 15-8 a year ago.
Winning percentage-wise, the Mets had their sixth-best mark over the season's opening month:
- 1986 -- .813 (13-3)
- 1988 -- .714 (15-6)
- 1972 -- .667 (8-4)
- 1985 -- .667 (12-6)
- 2006 -- .667 (16-8)
- 2016 -- .662 (15-7)
Michael Conforto singled, doubled and homered in the Mets' 6-5 win over the Giants on Saturday. It was Conforto's sixth consecutive game with a two-base hit, which tied the Mets record, set by Joe Christopher in August 1964.
Christopher's "streak" began with a fourth-inning double against the Phillies' Jim Bunning in a 6-1 Mets loss at Shea Stadium in the opener of a doubleheader on Aug. 14 and concluded with a two-base hit in a 4-for-5 game against the Pirates in a 7-3 win on Aug. 18.
Yoenis Cespedes' grand slam capped a 12-run third inning for the Mets in their 13-1 victory over the Giants on Friday. The 12 runs scored were a franchise record for New York in a single inning. The Mets' previous record for runs scored in an inning was 11 in the top of the sixth inning on July 16, 2006, at Wrigley Field.
It was the fifth time in team history the Mets scored double-digit runs in a single inning:
- 4/29/16 -- 12-run third inning (13-1 win vs. SF)
- 7/16/06 -- 11-run sixth inning (13-7 win at Chi)
- 5/16/15 -- 10-run fourth inning (14-1 win vs. Mil)
- 6/30/00 -- 10-run eighth inning (11-8 win vs. Atl)
- 6/12/79 -- 10-run sixth inning (12-6 win vs. Cin)
Neil Walker hit his ninth home run of the season in the Mets' 5-2 win over the Reds last Wednesday night to complete the three-game sweep. Walker's nine April home runs are tied for the most in team history with Dave Kingman (1976), Carlos Delgado (2006) and John Buck (2013).
Here are the most homers hit by a Mets player in any calendar month:
- 13, Gary Carter (September 1985)
- 13, Dave Kingman (July 1975)
- 11, Howard Johnson (June 1989)
- 11, Mike Piazza (August 1999)
- 11, Tommie Agee (June 1970)
- 11, Lee Mazzilli (July 1980)
The Mets rallied to beat the Reds 4-3 on Tuesday night at Citi Field. Logan Verrett pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win, one day after getting his first relief win of 2016.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Verrett -- who made two starts for New York earlier this month, allowing no runs on six innings pitched in each outing -- was the first pitcher in major league history with two relief wins and two scoreless starts of at least six innings before the end of April.
Happy Recap: Extra Extra! Cespedes' grand slam Friday night gave him an extra-base hit in a club-record nine consecutive games, passing Ty Wigginton's eight-game streak from May 26-June 3, 2004.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Travis d'L. Last Tuesday, the Mets placed Travis d'Arnaud on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff. It is the fourth time in the last three seasons the Mets catcher has gone on the DL.
