New York Post, Tuesday, August 6, 2019
nypost.com
TUESDAY—7:10
RHPZack Wheeler
(8-6, 4.445)vs.
RHP JordanYamamoto
(4-2, 3.94)
WEDNESDAY—12:10
LHP Steven Matz
(6-7, 4.60)vs. TBD
Both games on SNY,
WCBS (880 AM)
Three-game home
seriesvs. Nationals
startsFridayMETS:Pete Alonso
entered Monday’s
doubleheader with 78
RBIs, four more than
Darryl Strawberry’s
old rookierecord set
in 1983.MARLINS:Starlin
Castro entered
Monday with nine
home runs this
season. With his next
homer, the second
baseman willjoin
Robinson Cano as the
only middle infielder
to reach double-digit
homersover each
of thepast nine
seasons.ON DECK
STAT SO?
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
METS:In his first
two outings since
returning from the
injured list, Wheeler
threw 73 and 88
pitches,respectively.
For Tuesday’s start,
the reins should fully
be off and he may
throw around 100
pitches. Wheeler has
already beaten the
Marlins this season,
going seven innings
and striking out 11 in
an 11-2 win May 10.MARLINS:In his last
start,Yamamoto
went six innings and
allowed four runs
on seven hits while
striking outa career-
high eight ina 5-4
win over the Tw ins.
Yamamoto will be
facing the Mets for
the first time.vs.MARLINS
McNeil cramp another Amazin’ scare
By MOLLIE WALKER
and HOWIE KUSSOYJust minutes after the
Mets revealed Robinson
Cano tore his left hamstring
and may be done for the
season, All-Star Jeff McNeil
sent another scare into fans
at Citi Field.
Playing left field during
Monday’s 5-4 nightcap win
of Monday’s doubleheader
against the Marlins, McNeil
chased after a third-inning
double from Bryan Holaday
deep in the left-field corner
and emerged favoring his
right calf. Mets manager
Mickey Callaway and head
trainer Brian Chicklo metwith McNeil, who appeared
to plead his case to remain
in the game before eventu-
ally walking off the field
and being diagnosed with a
calf cramp.
In the 6-2 opening win
over the Marlins, McNeil
went 2-for-5 with a home
run, and collected his 200th
hit faster than any player in
Mets history (599 at-bats).
Homering for the third con-
secutive game — and third
leadoff home run of the sea-
son — the All-Star upped
his first-pitch batting aver-
age to .410 (32-for-78).➤Edwin Diaz’s status
appears safe.
After hinting Seth Lugo
could steal the closer’s
role, and then using Diaz in
a non-save situation in the
opening win of Monday’s
doubleheader, Callaway
shot down speculation that
a switch had been made.
“We brought in the guy
that’s gonna be our closer,
and has been our closer, in
a situation where you nor-
mally bring in your closer,”
Callaway said. “And he did
a good job.”
However, it was Lugo
who saved the second
game, pitching the eighth
and ninth innings for a six-out save. It was his second
save of the season.➤In Cano’s absence, Mc-
Neil started at second base
in the first game, and Luis
Guillorme started the
nightcap after being re-
called from Triple-A Syra-
cuse.
Guillorme, 24, hit .202
with two extra-base hits in
four previous stints with
the Mets (52 games), but
batted .307 with seven hom-
ers in 69 games at Syracuse
this season, helping the
strong defender earn the
nod over Dilson Herrera
and Ruben Tejada, who is
hitting .343 in Triple-A.“We like the left-handed
bat,” Callaway said. “I think
that his ability to touch the
ball, put together a pretty
good at-bats, even against
guys with really good stuff
is gonna help us out. And
he can play all three [in-
field] positions, and play
them pretty well. We felt
like he was the best fit at
this point, and we felt like
he’s gonna put together
competitive at-bats for us.”
Sources told The Post the
Mets were open to poten-
tially bringing back As-
drubal Cabrera, but the
recently released 33-year-
old signed with the Nation-
als on Monday.METS NOTES
LAUNCH
PARTY: Michael
Conforto watches
his game-tying,
seventh-inning
homer leave the
park in the Mets’
5-4 win over the
Marlins.Getty ImagesBy MOLLIE WALKERAs they teetered on the .500
mark for a few hours, it was ulti-
mately Michael Conforto’s 23rd
homer of the season, which tied
the game at four in the bottom of
the seventh that anchored the
Mets’ 5-4 win over the Marlins to
complete the sweep of Monday
night’s doubleheader.
Conforto battled to a full count
before blasting a two-out, 440-
foot homer high into the second
deck in right field.
“It felt great,” Conforto said.
“That’s probably one of my best
bullets right there. For it to tie
the game is pretty cool.”
He went 2-for-3 with three
RBIs, boosting his batting aver-
age to .258. Mets manager
Mickey Callaway said Conforto
has been one of the best bats on
the team since the All-Star break.
J.D. Davis jump-started the in-
ning with his 12th home run be-
fore Juan Lagares and Amed Ro-
sario put two outs on the board
after a pop out and groundout,
respectively.
After Conforto’s blast, Pete
Alonso capped things off with
another full-count blast for his
35th home run of the season toput the Mets in front. But al-
though Alonso’s shot gave the
Mets the lead, the rookie re-
ferred to Conforto’s solo homer
as “majestic,” especially coming
when it did.
“Mike is a hell of a ballplayer,”
Alonso said. “I mean, it’s been
awesome, I love watching guys
hit and I love watching guys suc-
ceed. He’s been a huge part of
this run that we’ve been on.”
The Mets will take an 11-1 mark
in their last 12 games when the
series continues Tuesday night.
And Conforto said he can feel
the energy, not only in the stands
at Citi Field, but in the dugout as
well.
“We’ve battled back earlier in
the year, we’ve battled back
through some tough stretches. I
don’t think that’s changed. I think
really, now, we’re just playing
complete baseball,” Conforto
said. “We’re playing great de-
fense, the bullpen is locked
down, our starters are doing
what they’re capable of and
we’re just putting the whole
thing together.
“When we do that, it’s a lot of
fun. The true colors of this team
are starting to come out.”
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