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Schwei's Mets Notebook: Little-Known Facts, Odd Stats And Strange Records

By John Schweibacher
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The New York Mets began September with an ugly 9-6 loss to the Marlins, committing six errors in the defeat.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the ninth time in their 53 seasons that the Mets made at least a half-dozen errors in a game (including one game with seven errors). The first such game was a 16-3 loss to Houston on June 22, 1962, with first baseman "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry contributing three of the six errors.

Dilson Herrera, the Mets' 20-year-old rookie second baseman, made two of the errors in Miami on Monday, but he also hit his first big-league home run along with a two-run triple.

Elias notes that Herrera became the youngest player in Mets history (20 years, 182 days) to hit a homer and a triple in the same game. On Monday, he was 15 days younger than Ed Kranepool was back on May 24, 1965, when Kranepool homered and tripled against Jim Bunning in a 6-2 win at Philadelphia.

The Mets finished August on a winning note with a 6-5 victory over the Phillies, but for the sixth straight season it was a losing month for the club. The six consecutive losing records in August are the team's most since seven straight losing August months from 1962 through 1968. The Mets have not been closer than nine games out of a postseason spot on September 1st since 2008, when they began the final month of that season with a one-game lead over the Phillies in the NL East.

Ex-Met Marlon Byrd celebrated his 37th birthday by homering for the Phillies in their 7-2 win at Citi Field Saturday night. It was his fifth home run against the Mets this season.

Here are the one-time New York Mets players who hit six-or-more home runs in a season against the Mets:

• Dave Kingman: 9 (1979)

• Willie Mays: 8 (1962)

• Dave Kingman: 8 (1980)

• Willie Mays: 7 (1963)

• Joe Torre: 7 (1966)

• Preston Wilson: 7 (2002)

• Ken Boyer: 6 (1962)

• Gary Sheffield: 6 (2003)

Herrera collected his first major-league hit in Saturday night's loss after he went 0-for-3 with an error in his major-league debut for the Mets on Friday night. Herrera hit into a double play in his first at bat, something only six other players have done in their major-league debuts with the Mets:

• 8/29/14: Dilson Herrera vs. Phi (first at-bat)

• 9/22/13: Wilfredo Tovar vs. Phi

• 9/4/10: Mike Nickeas at Chi (first at-bat)

• 9/11/04: Victor Diaz vs. Phi

• 4/7/84: Dwight Gooden at Hou (first at-bat)

• 6/20/76: Jay Kleven vs. SF (first at-bat)

• 9/18/67: Ken Boswell vs. LA (first at-bat)

Juan Lagares hit his fourth home run of the season -- and his first at Citi Field since Opening Day -- in last Tuesday night's 3-2 Mets win against the Braves.

Only eight players who hit a home run for the Mets in a season-opening game have hit four-or-fewer homers in the majors that season, including the work-stoppage shortened 1994 season:

• 2014: Juan Lagares (4), Andrew Brown (2)

• 2013: Collin Cowgill (4)*

• 2005: Kaz Matsui (3)

• 1994: Jose Vizcaino (3)

• 1990: Barry Lyons (3)*

• 1969: Duffy Dyer (3)

• 1967: Jerry Grote (4)

(*- did not finish season with Mets; combined season total is listed)

Atlanta's Mike Minor got the win last Thursday against the Mets, allowing one run in seven innings and going 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a run batted in.

According to the play finder at baseball-reference.com, Minor was just the 13th visiting pitcher to have a stat line like that in a game against the Mets:

• 8/28/14: (6-1 Atl), Mike Minor goes 2-for-3 with 2B, R, RBI

• 7/5/01: (13-4 Chi), Jason Bere goes 2-for-4 with 2B, R, 2 RBIs

• 5/17/01: (15-3 SD), Woody Williams goes 2-for-4 with 2B, R, RBI

• 6/25/92: (9-2 Chi), Greg Maddux goes 2-for-4 with 2 2B, R, 2 RBIs

• 7/6/89: (10-2 Cin), Danny Jackson goes 2-for-3 with 2B, 2 R, RBI

• 4/17/84: (10-0 Mtl), Bryn Smith goes 2-for-3 with 2B, 2 R, RBI

• 8/13/78: (6-1 Stl), Pete Vukovich goes 2-for-4 with 2B, R, RBI

• 4/21/74: (7-0 Pit), Ken Brett goes 2-for-3 with 2B, R, RBI

• 5/22/73: (5-3 Stl), Rick Wise goes 2-for-3 with 2B, R, 2 RBIs

• 7/30/69: (11-5 Hou), Larry Dierker goes 2-for-4 with 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBIs.

• 7/11/69: (11-4 Mtl), Mike Wegener goes 3-for-4 with 2B, R, 4 RBs

• 6/5/66: (16-3 LA), Sandy Koufax goes  2-for-5 with 2B, R, 2 RBs

• 7/15/62: (9-8 SF), Bobby Bolin goes 2-for-4 with 2B, R, 2 RB1s

Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:

Runs: Stealing One -- Eric Campbell stole home on the back end of a double steal in the Mets' 4-1 win over the Phils last Friday night. It was the Mets' first steal of home since Jason Pridie did it on May 15, 2011 in Houston.

Hits: Busting Out -- The Mets had 11 hits in their 6-5 win over the Phillies Sunday. The Mets had not recorded more than six hits in any of their previous 10 games at Citi Field, tying the modern major-league record for consecutive home games with six-or-fewer hits, a mark set by the Oakland A's in 1980.

Errors: A Not So Grand Month -- Curtis Granderson's month of August looked a lot like his April. Granderson hit a combined .264 with 14 homers and 37 RBIs in May, June and July, but just .142 with two homers and 12 RBIs total in the months that start with A.

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