Schwei's Mets Notes: Amazins Set Team Record In 17-0 Victory
By John Schweibacher
» More Columns
The New York Mets went 6-4 on their final homestand of 2016 and head into the last week of the regular season in position for the first National League wild-card spot.
The Mets closed out their home schedule with a 17-0 win over the Phillies, the largest shutout victory in club history and the team's highest-scoring performance ever at Citi Field.
The blowout win topped a pair of 14-0 whitewashes that had been the club's most lopsided shutout victories -- over the Reds in Cincinnati on April 19, 1998, and against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the first game of a doubleheader on July 29, 1965.
The Mets' largest margin of victory in any game is 18 runs, set on May 26, 1964, in a 19-1 win that also came at the Cubs' expense at Wrigley Field.
On Saturday night, the Mets nearly rallied from a 10-0 deficit against the Phillies but fell short, losing 10-8. The largest completed comeback in Mets history took place on Sept. 2, 1972, at the Houston Astrodome.
That night, the Mets trailed the Astros 8-0 going into the top of the eighth inning, but scored seven times in the eighth and four times in the ninth for an 11-8 win. Ken Boswell, Cleon Jones and Wayne Garrett each knocked in three runs for the Mets in the last two innings.
MORE: Palladino: Fernandez's Death Leaves Emotional Hole In Mets, Too
Saturday night's loss officially eliminated the Mets from the NL East race, as the Nationals clinched their third division title in five years. The Mets, Nationals/Expos and the Giants are the only three National League franchises that have been in the league since divisional play began in 1969 to never win consecutive division titles.
On Friday night, the Mets made it two straight wins over the Phillies with a 10-5 victory. Hansel Robles picked up his first major league save with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Mets have only had six saves of eight outs or more since 2008. They had 33 of at least four innings from 1969 (when saves became an official stat) through 2008. Here are the last six times a Mets reliever recorded a save of eight outs or more:
• Sept. 23, 2016: Phi 5 at Mets 10, Hansel Robles, 2 2/3 IP
• July 5, 2015: Mets 8 at LAD 0, Logan Verrett, 3 IP
• April 14, 2014: Mets 7 at Ari 3, Carlos Torres, 2 2/3 IP
• May 25, 2010: Phi 0 at Mets 8, Raul Valdes, 3 IP
• Aug. 5, 2009, StL 0 at Mets 9, Bobby Parnell, 3 IP
• Aug 13, 2008, Mets 12 at Was 0, Brian Stokes, 4 IP
On Thursday night, the Mets rallied twice to beat the Phillies 9-8 in 11 innings. With the Mets trailing 6-4, Jose Reyes hit a two-run, game-tying home run in the ninth inning. And after falling behind 8-6 two innings later, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run, game-ending homer to cap the comeback win.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no other team in major league history has won a game in which it twice erased a deficit of two of more runs with multi-run homers in the ninth inning or later.
It was also the seventh extra-inning, game-ending homer for the Mets against the Phillies in club history:
• Sept. 22, 2016: Phi 8 Mets 9 (11), Cabrera three-run home run
• May 23, 2006: Phi 8 Mets 9 (16), Carlos Beltran solo home run
• April 9, 1991: Phi 1 Mets 2 (10), Hubie Brooks solo home run
• Aug. 3, 1987: Phi 2 Mets 3 (11), Keith Hernandez solo home run
• June 10, 1986: Phi 4 Mets 8 (11), Tim Teufel grand slam
• Sept. 20, 1975: Phi 7 Mets 9 (11), Ron Hodges two-run home run
• June 19, 1971: Phi 5 Mets 6 (15), Donn Clendenon solo home run
On Wednesday night, the Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Mets, 4-3. In fact, Atlanta swept each of the last two series against the Mets at Citi Field.
The last time the Braves swept a pair of three-game series against the Mets on the road was back in 1966, when they won all three games in their second and third trips to Shea Stadium in June and September.
On Tuesday night, the Mets lost the middle game of the series against Atlanta, 5-4. Julio Teheran allowed one run in seven innings for the win. Teheran is now 7-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 15 career games against the Mets. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Teheran's career ERA against the Mets is the third-lowest among active pitchers who have started at least 10 games against them, behind Clayton Kershaw (1.29) and Max Scherzer (1.83).
Last Monday night, the Braves beat the Mets, 7-3, in the opener of the three-game series. Aaron Blair got his first major league win, allowing two runs and four hits in six innings. Blair became the second Atlanta starting pitcher to get his first career win on the road against the Mets this season, joining John Gant, who did so on June 17.
The last time a pair of Braves starters recorded their first major league victories on the road against the Mets in the same season was when John Smoltz and German Jimenez won back-to-back games on July 23 and 24 in 1988 at Shea Stadium.
Happy Recap: Runs For. The Mets tied a club record by scoring at least eight runs in four straight home games. The 44 runs in those four games vs. the Phils were three more than they scored over four straight games from June 23-26 of 2000 vs. the Pirates and Marlins.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Runs Against. Mets starters Seth Lugo, Gabriel Ynoa and Sean Gilmartin allowed a combined 10 runs in 7 2/3 innings in the first three games vs. Philadelphia.
