Schwei's Mets Notes: August Runs, Cuddy Is On Fire And More
By John Schweibacher
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The New York Mets will finish up their successful August and begin September at Citi Field against the Phillies. They'll then head back to the road to face the Marlins this weekend.
With one game left in August, the Mets are seven runs shy of their franchise-high total for runs scored in any month in club history:
Mets' Most Runs in a Month:
· June 1990: 172 runs/28 games
· Sept/Oct 1985: 170 runs/34 games
· Sept/Oct 1987: 168 runs/31 games
· July 1985: 166 runs/28 games
· August 2015: 165 runs/27 games
· August 2007: 164 runs/28 games
· August 1999: 164 runs/28 games
The Mets' second-longest winning streak came to an end with a pair of losses to the Boston Red Sox, but New York salvaged the final game of the three-game series with a 5-4 win on Sunday.
Michael Cuddyer drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and is hitting .375 (18-for-48) with four doubles, two homers and eight runs batted in since coming off the disabled list.
Joe Kelly tied Pedro Martinez's Red Sox record with his sixth victory of the month, allowing one run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings as Boston beat the Mets 3-1 at Citi Field Saturday afternoon.
Two Mets pitchers have gone 6-0 in a month.Tom Seaver went 6-0 in September of 1969 and David Cone did it in September of 1988.
Bartolo Colon pitched the ninth inning Saturday, making his first relief appearance since 2011 and his first with the Mets after 56 starts.
Seven pitchers in club history had appeared in more games than Colon without pitching in relief for the Mets:
· Al Leiter: 213
· Tom Glavine: 164
· Steve Trachsel: 160
· Johan Santana: 109
· Frank Viola: 82
· Pedro Martinez: 79
· Matt Harvey: 60
The Mets dropped the opener of their three-game series with the Red Sox, 6-4, in 10 innings Friday night. Matt Harvey pitched six shutout innings but did not get a win after leaving with a 2-0 lead.
It was the 60th start of Harvey's major league career, and the 31st time in those 60 starts that he left the game having allowed no runs or one run. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Harvey is the first pitcher to accomplish this among those who made their major league debut since 1900.
Dwight Gooden allowed no more than one run in 30 of his first 60 big-league starts in 1984 and 1985. Elias notes that Gooden completed 20 of his first 60 starts, while Harvey has completed one of his 60 starts.
Elias also says that Harvey has been the winning pitcher in only 14 of the 31 starts in which he allowed no more than one run. Gooden, by comparison, won 26 of his 30 low-run starts over his first 60 starts.
Daniel Murphy hit the game-winning double in the 13th inning, driving in two runs, as the Mets came back from down 5-0 to defeat the Phillies, 9-5, Thursday night. The victory completed a four-game sweep.
The Mets and Phillies have only played five longer games in terms of innings in Philadelphia, and two of those came last season:
· 8/11/94: Mets 1 at Phillies 2 (15), Jordan rbi single
· 4/12/86: Mets 8 at Phillies 9 (14), Jeltz rbi single
· 5/1/11: Mets 2 at Phillies 1 (14), Paulino rbi double
· 5/30/14: Mets 5 at Phillies 6 (14), Brignac rbi single
· 5/31/14: Mets 5 at Phillies 4 (14), Wright rbi single
The Mets beat the Phillies, 9-4, Wednesday night. Cuddyer's eighth-inning home run was the Mets' 40th in August, tying the team record for round-trippers in a month.
Here are the Mets' best homer totals in a month in club history:
· August 2015: 43
· June 2006: 40
· Sept/Oct 2002: 39
· May 1999: 39
· June 1990: 39
Noah Syndergaard allowed four runs in five innings but came away with his first career road win in the Mets' 6-5 victory at Philadelphia last Tuesday night. Earlier during the road trip in Colorado, Jon Niese got a victory despite allowing seven runs in a 14-9 Mets win over the Rockies. It was the sixth time in club history a Mets starter won a game in which he allowed at least seven runs:
· 8/22/15: Jon Niese, 5.1ip 7r (14-9 win at Colorado)
· 8/7/98: Rick Reed, 6ip 7r (8-7 win at Colorado)
· 4/4/94: Dwight Gooden, 5.2ip 7r (12-8 win at Chicago)
· 8/14/90: Dwight Gooden, 5.2ip 7r (9-8 win vs. Dodgers)
· 8/8/85: Rick Aguilera, 5ip 7r (14-7 win at Montreal)
· 7/4/67: Jack Fisher, 7.2ip 7r (8-7 win vs. San Francisco)
The Mets hit eight home runs and totaled 15 extra-base hits, both franchise records, in their 16-7 triumph over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park last Monday night.
The Mets have scored at least 16 runs in a game 18 times in club history. Here are the seven times they scored exactly 16:
· 7/4/85: Mets 16 at Braves 13 (19)
· 7/20/85: Braves 4 at Mets 16
· 7/27/85: Astros 4 at Mets 16
· 4/19/05: Mets 16 at Phillies 4
· 6/29/11: Mets 16 at Tigers 9
· 4/12/13: Mets 16 at Twins 5
· 8/24/15: Mets 16 at Phillies 7
Happy Recap: His Corner -- David Wright played his 1,510th major league game at third base Sunday, surpassing the total of games that Graig Nettles played at third base for the Yankees (1,509). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wright has now played more games at third base than any other player in the history of major league baseball in New York, dating back to 1876.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Nothing To Show For It -- Harvey in his six no-decisions: 0.44 ERA (2 earned runs in 40 2/3 innings pitched), 44 strikeouts and seven walks.
