Schwei's Mets Notes: Up And Down And Playing Out The String
By John Schweibacher
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The Mets bounced back from a three-game blowout in Chicago by winning a series in Atlanta, but on Monday night in Miami they took yet another beating.
Matt Harvey allowed seven runs and a season-high 12 hits over just four innings in the Marlins' eventual 13-1 win.
MORE: Palladino: Harvey As Closer? It's Not An Outrageous Idea
It marked the seventh time this season the Mets have allowed at least 13 runs in a game, one shy of the 1962 team's franchise record.
Mets starters now have a combined 5.18 ERA in 150 games this season, the same stat posted by that 1962 expansion club, which finished 40-120.
The Mets took the rubber game of their three-game series against the Braves, 5-1, on Sunday at SunTrust Park.
Robert Gsellman allowed an unearned run in seven innings to get the win and is now 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA in his three appearances at SunTrust Park this season. However, he is 0-4 with a 9.36 ERA in his seven other road games.
Jose Reyes tripled in a run and scored in the first inning to pass Darryl Strawberry for the second most extra-base hits in franchise history:
-- David Wright: 658
-- Jose Reyes: 470
-- Darryl Strawberry: 469
-- Howard Johnson: 424
-- Mike Piazza: 415
The Mets snapped their five-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Braves on Saturday. Jacob deGrom went seven innings for his career-high 15th win.
The Mets are in danger of losing 90 games for the first time since 2009, yet deGrom may become the fourth pitcher in club history to win at least 15 despite the team losing at least 90:
-- Tom Seaver 16 wins in 1967 (Mets finished 61-101)
-- Jerry Koosman 15 wins in 1974 (71-91)
-- Steve Trachsel 16 wins in 2003 (66-95)
-- Jacob deGrom 15 wins in 2017 (65-85 with 12 to play)
Gavin Cecchini (three hits, two RBIs) and Dominic Smith (two hits, two RBIs) powered the Mets' offense during Saturday's win.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time the Mets had two or more rookies with at least two hits and two RBIs in a win since Sept. 5, 2010. Ruben Tejada (two hits, five RBIs), Ike Davis (four hits, three RBIs) and Jon Niese (two hits, two RBIs) accomplished the feat in the 18-5 victory at Wrigley Field.
The Mets dropped their fifth straight game, 3-2, to the Braves on Friday.
The win was just the sixth for the Braves against the Mets in Atlanta in the last 22 meetings. The Mets' previous best mark in Atlanta was 14-5, from 1983 to 1986.
The Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the Mets with a 14-6 win on Thursday. It was the second straight game in which Chicago scored at least 14 runs, as it defeated New York 17-5 the night before.
The only other time in club history the Mets lost consecutive games while allowing at least 13 runs was back on April 29-30, 2003 at St. Louis, 13-3 and 13-4.
The Cubs outscored the Mets 39-14 in the series. The previous most lopsided three-game sweep by the Cubs at Wrigley Field occurred back in September 1972, when Chicago outscored New York 33-12.
During Wednesday's rout, the Cubs' Albert Almora Jr., who did not enter the game until the top of the seventh, drove in six runs with a three-run home run and a bases-loaded triple.
Prior to Almora, the most runs batted in against the Mets by a player who did not start the game was five, accomplished by two players. Luis Melendez of the St. Louis Cardinals hit a pinch-hit grand slam and added an RBI single in an 11-0 win over the Mets at Shea Stadium on June 24, 1972. The Braves' Freddie Freeman also knocked in five with a pinch-hit, two-run double and a three-run homer in a 6-3 victory at Citi Field on Sept. 23, 2015.
Gsellman allowed four runs and Mets pitchers allowed three home runs overall in their 8-2 loss to the Cubs last Tuesday.
The most home runs ever allowed by the Mets in a game at Wrigley was seven back on June 11, 1967, in the second game of a doubleheader. Adolfo Phillips hit three home runs, Randy Hundley went deep twice, and Hall of Famers Ron Santo and Ernie Banks hit solo shots the Cubs' 18-10 win.
Happy Recap: Asdrubal Cabrera. The Mets' veteran infielder is batting .423 in September with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
Nine Miles of Rough Road: Matt Harvey. In four starts this month, Harvey is 1-3 with a 13.19 ERA and has not pitched past the fifth inning.
