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Schwei's Mets Notes: Road Woes Continue, No Offense And More

By John Schweibacher
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The New York Mets will hope for better results in Milwaukee this week after dropping five straight on the road. They lost two straight games in Toronto and were swept in Atlanta. 

The Braves completed their sweep of the Mets with a 1-0 win Sunday, beating Matt Harvey. Harvey allowed the game's only run in 6 2/3 innings. It was the seventh 1-0 loss by the Mets against the Braves in Atlanta in club history:

 ·6/21/15: Julio Teheran ( 7ip 1h, 3 relievers 2ip 3h)

·9/17/1: Tim Hudson (8ip 4h, Craig Kimbrel 1ip 0h)

·7/23/00: Andy Ashby (9ip 4h)

·6/27/99: Greg Maddux (8ip 2h, John Rocker 1ip 1h)

·5/13/85: Len Barker (7ip 4h and Bruce Sutter 2ip 2h)

·6/12/74: Carl Morton (9ip 6h)

·8/8/69: Ron Reed (10ip 5h)

KALLET: WITH BRUTAL SCHEDULE AHEAD, EXPECT METS TO FALL OUT OF RACE IN JULY

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski, 38, had a big night for Atlanta in the Braves' 6-4 win over the Mets Saturday night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the oldest catcher since 1900 to record a single, a double, a triple and three runs scored in a game. Previously, the oldest catcher to do that in the modern era was Walker Cooper, then 35, with the Boston Braves in 1950.

Thanks to the Game Finder on baseball-refernce.com, Pierzynski became just the 11th player to have such a game against the Mets, regardless of position:

·       6/20/15: A.J. Pierzynski, Atl (3-for-4, 2b, 3b, 3 runs)

·       8/10/11: Will Venable, SD (4-for-5, 2 2b's, 3b 3 runs)

·       8/21/04: Barry Bonds, SF (4-for-4, 2 2b's, 3b 3 runs)

·       9/14/03: Vladimir Guerrero, Mtl (4-for-4, 2b, 3b, HR, 3 runs)

·       9/15/91: Ray Lankford, Stl (4-for-4, 2b, 3b, HR, 4 runs)

·       4/6/88:   Mitch Webster, Mtl (4-for-4, 2b, 3b, 3 runs)

·       8/29/87: Kevin Mitchell, SF (3-for-5, 2b, 3b, 3 runs)

·       7/27/78: Dave Bergman, Hou (3-for-4, 2b, 3b 3 runs)

·       7/17/68: Maury Wills, Pit (3-for-5, 2b, 3b 3 runs)

·       5/29/65: Roberto Clemente, Pit (4-for-5, 2b, 3b 3 runs)

·       8/30/64: Ellis Burton, Chi (3-for-4, 2b, 3b 3 runs)

Matt Wisler allowed only one run in eight innings of work in his major league debut in the Braves' 2-1 win over the Mets on Friday night. The Elias Sports Bureau noted that the last Braves pitcher to pitch at least eight innings and allow one or fewer runs in his  major league debut was John Smoltz, back on July 23, 1988.

Smoltz's debut was also against the Mets. This year's Hall of Fame inductee went eight innings and allowed one run on four hits that day in a 6-1 win at Shea Stadium.

Jacob deGrom was the hard-luck loser Friday night on his 27th birthday. According to the Game Finder on baseball-reference.com, it was the tentrh time a Mets pitcher started on his birthday.

Here is how the other Mets starting pitchers fared on their birthdays:

·       4/28/12: Dillon Gee (26), NYM 7 at Col 5 (W) 7ip 7h 4r 2bb 7k

·       5/12/96: Mark Clark (28), Chi 3 at NYM 0 (L) 6ip 7h 3r 2bb 3k

·       6/8/95: Dave Mlicki (27), NYM 9 at SF 6 (W) 8ip 5h 5r 3bb 6k

·       4/11/91: Wally Whitehurst (27), Mtl 3 at NYM 6 (W) 7ip 5h 2r 1bb 3k

·       8/19/86: Ron Darling (26), NYM 6 at LA 4 (W) 7ip 8h 4r 3bb 4k

·       8/19/85: Ron Darling (25), NYM 1 at Mtl 0 (W) 7ip 4h 0r 5bb 3k

·       8/22/80: Ray Burris (30), LA 2 at NYM 4 (W) 7ip 8h 2r 0bb 3k

·       4/24/78: Pat Zachry (26), Pit 4 at NYM 2 (ND) 5ip 5h 2r 1bb 3k

·       8/30/66: Tug McGraw (22), LA 4 NYM 10 (ND) 1.1ip 4h 2r 2bb 0k

R.A. Dickey allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings and did not allow a hit until a two-out double by Juan Lagares in the fifth inning.to earn the win over the Mets, 7-1, on Thursday. It was the knuckleballer's first start against the Mets since being dealt to Toronto after his 20-game Cy Young season in 2012.

Here is how Dickey's outing stacks up against the other Mets 20-game winners' performances in their first starts against the Mets after leaving the club:

·       R.A. Dickey (6/18/15):  NYM 1 at Tor 7 (W) 7.1ip 3h 1r 5bb 7k

·       Frank Viola: (never faced Mets)

·       David Cone: (6/18/97) NYM 2 at NYY 3 (ND) 8ip 2h 2r 2bb 11k

·       Dwight Gooden: (7/8/00) NYY 4 at NYM 2 (W) 5ip 6h 2r 1bb 1k

·       Jerry Koosman: (4/29/84) Phi 2 at NYM 6 (L) 5.2ip 7h 4r 2bb 4k

·       Tom Seaver: (8/21/77) Cin 5 at NYM 1 (W) 9ip 6h 1r 2bb 11k

Harvey pitched seven scoreless innings, helping the Mets defeat the Blue Jays, 3-2, last Tuesday night. The Mets have never lost a home game against the Jays, going 9-0 against Toronto at Shea Stadium and now 2-0 vs. the Blue Jays at Citi Field.

This current streak for the Mets against the Blue Jays is tied for the team's second-longest home winning streak against any opponent:

·       14 vs. Pirates -- 4/21/86 through 6/7/87

·       11 vs. Blue Jays -- 9/1/97 through 6/16/15

·       11 vs. Braves -- 4/25/89 through 7/21/90

·       11 vs. Cardinals -- 9/13/87 through 4/3/89

·       11 vs. Cubs -- 9/9/84 through 6/20/86

·       10 vs. Phillies -- 6/20/84 through 8/13/85

·       10 vs. Rockies -- 8/15/03 through 10/1/05

The Mets beat the Blue Jays, 4-3, in 11 innings Monday night at Citi Field, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the 11th for the win. The Mets have one other walk-off victory against Toronto in their 11 home games against them. On June 9, 1999, the Mets beat the Blue Jays, 4-3, in 14 innings on Rey Ordonez's RBI single after tying the game with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. 

That night, however, is best remembered for Bobby Valentine donning a disguise to return to the corner of the Mets' dugout after being ejected in the 12th inning.

Happy Recap: Terry Collins won his 340th game as the manager of the Mets last Tuesday night against Toronto, moving past Gil Hodges for the third-most managerial wins in club history.

Nine Miles of Rough Road: The Mets' five straight road losses dropped their overall record away from Citi Field to 10-24 , the second worst in the majors ahead of only the Phillies (7-28). 

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