New York Post - 06.08.2019

New York Post, Tuesday, August 6, 2019

nypost.com

M

ICKEY Callaway is right

when he says the Mets

are still “far from our

goal,” which is qualifying for the

postseason. But the journey is

starting to get exciting. That’s

something that hasn’t been said

about the Mets in a while. But it

can be said now.

Yes, series against the Nation-

als and the Braves will offer a

more telling barometer of

whether the Mets are worthy of

all the energy they’re creating.

But Citi Field is starting to feel

like it’s in a pennant race.

The Mets found two ways to

win in a doubleheader sweep of

the Marlins Monday night. They

got quality pitching from Jacob

deGrom and a home run from

Jeff McNeil to claim the opener

6-2, then used three home runs

in the seventh inning to come

from behind and beat the Mar-

lins 5-4 to claim the sweep.

There were weeks in the past

when Callaway would talk about

putting a string of wins together

so his club could “get back in

this thing.” It sounded like wish-

ful thinking at the time. Now the

Met are “back in this thing,”

climbing above .500 at 57-56 af-

ter being 11 games below .500 on

July 12. The Mets have won 11 of

their past 12 games.

“These guys have stayed fo-

cused,” Callaway said. “They

know they can do something

special and we’re going to con-

tinue to strive to do that.”

In addition to stockpiling as

many wins against presumably

inferior competition like the

Marlins, the Mets appear to be

fine-tuning their game and

building momentum in prepara-

tion for a upcoming stretch

against Washington and Atlanta.

They apparently dodged a

scare when McNeil, perhaps

their most indispensable posi-

tion player, left the third inning

of the second game with what

was called a cramp in his right

calf. McNeil had homered in

three straight games and is bat-

ting .337.

What was encouraging and

sent Citi Field into hysterics

were the performances from

players the Mets will count on

when the series with the Mar-

lins is through.

DeGrom was as reliable as ex-

pected, allowing just two runs

over seven innings in the

opener. The staff ace, who al-

lowed five hits, struck out eight

and delivered at the plate as well

with a two-run single in the

fourth inning.

Perhaps even more encourag-

ing was the run-scoring single

by Home Run Derby king Pete

Alonso in the fifth. Alonso en-

tered the game in a slump, hav-

ing gone 11-for-73 with a .151 bat-

ting average since the All-Star

break. He struck out in his first

two at-bats in the opener on

Monday whiffing on a fastball

that got past him in the second

inning and then was caught

looking at a breaking ball on the

corner in the third. He would

also strike out in the seventh.

But Alonso came through in the

fifth with a rocket liner up the

middle.

In the second game, Alonso

blasted the third home run of

seventh inning, going back-to-

back with Michael Conforto to

help erase what had been a 4-2

Marlins lead.

There were other key mo-

ments during the evening that

offered evidence the Mets are

playing their best baseball of the

season. Conforto made a terrific

catch on a deep fly ball to the

wall in the second inning of the

opener, and Rosario hustled

hard to beat out an infield hit to

start a two-run fifth.

Meanwhile, McNeil had given

the Mets a quick 1-0 lead when

he belted the first pitch thrown

by Marlins starter Robert Dug-

ger into the right field seats for

his 14th homer run of the sea-

son.

Closer Edwin Diaz even

gained a measure of confidence

working the ninth inning with a

four-run cushion. He needed 27

pitches and didn’t collect a save,

but he managed to get through

the ninth without giving up a

run.

The second game was a

snoozer until the seventh when

the Mets J.D. Davis led off the in-

ning a blast over the right-field

wall. Two out later Conforto and

Alonso went back-to-back. The

bullpen did its part with Jeurys

Familia pitching a scoreless sev-

enth inning and Seth Lugo clos-

ing by pitching both the eight

and ninth.

The Mets are clearly “in this

thing” now. Somehow it feels

like it’s just the beginning.

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By HOWIE KUSSOY

Robinson Cano’s first season with the

Mets might be finished.

Placed on the injured list Monday,

Cano underwent an MRI exam, which re-

vealed the second baseman suffered a

torn left hamstring during Sunday’s win

in Pittsburgh. No surgery is required, but

there is no timetable for his return.

Cano, 36, once went nearly 11 years

without landing on the disabled list, and

played an average of 158 ¹/₂ games from

2007-17, but is now on the injured list for

the third time in less than three months.

Whether he will remain there the rest of

the season is unclear.

“That’s devastating,” manager Mickey

Callaway said. “You just don’t know

what’s next.”

Before his body broke down again,

Cano had made breakthroughs at the

plate.

Struggling during so much of his return

to New York, the eight-time All-Star was

9-for-15 with a homer and four doubles in

his past four games. Cano, who had been

limited to 86 games due to previous inju-

ries to his left quad and left calf, was bat-

ting .252 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs.

After playing the first half of his 10-

year, $240 million deal with the Mariners,

Cano waived his no-trade clause in early

December to come back to where he

spent his first nine seasons. In GM Bro-

die Van Wagenen’s first, and boldest, off-

season move, the Mets agreed to take on

$100 million left on the aging, and declin-

ing, second baseman’s contract, in order

to also land 25-year-old closer Edwin

Diaz, who led the majors in saves (57) last

year.

Cano, who played in just 80 games last

season after being suspended for PED-

use, spent most of this season unrecog-

nizable from the star who was on a Hall

of Fame path with the Yankees. Repeat-

edly booed by fans at Citi Field for his

struggles and lack of hustle, the career

.302 hitter was batting .222 on June 27,

and tied a career-low by hitting four

home runs before the All-Star break.

But even in the most disappointing sea-

son of his career, Cano helped spark the

Mets’ second-half turnaround, hitting

.289 with six homers and 14 RBIs, and

breaking out for his first career three-

homer game on July 23.

“It was hard for me to get four [home

runs] the first half of the season ... [but] I

always stay positive,” Cano said then. “I

know how hard I work, all the stuff that I

do ... I know it’s gonna turn around.”

It had. But another chance won’t come

anytime soon.

Cano season in peril after landing on IL with torn hammy

More Mets / Page 48

George Willis

HERE’S DE’ PITCH: Jacob deGrom, who allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings while striking out eight, delivers a pitch

during the Mets’ 6-2 victory over the Marlins in the first game of their doubleheader. Anthony J. Causi

Give ’em a chance

The Mets chances of making the

playoffs hita season-low 3.9 percent,

according toFangraphs, when they

lost to thePadres on July 24. Since

then, they’ve won 11 of 12 and their

chances have improved markedly.

Here’sa look:

Perc ent

Date Result Chance

July 24 Lost toPadres, 7-2 3.9

July 25 BeatPadres, 4-0 4.8

July 26 Beat Pirates, 6-3 6.2

July 27 Beat Pirates, 3-0 7.8

July 28 Beat Pirates, 8-7 11.2

July 29 Off 14.5

July 30 Beat White Sox, 5-2 16.5

July 31 Beat White Sox, 4-2 19.1

Aug. 1 Beat White Sox, 4-0 21.8

Aug. 2 Lost to Pirates, 8-4 18.1

Aug. 3 Beat Pirates, 7-5 21.5

Aug. 4 Beat Pirates, 13-2 28.6

Monday Beat Marlins, 6-2 32.9

Beat Marlins, 5-4 32.6

Note: Odds were33.2% after winning

Game 2, butwent down after Phillies and

Nationalswon late games.