Stick a fork in ’em
At this point in their season, the Mets need everything to go their way—and things did not go their way Wednesday night against the Cardinals.
New York’s series this week was a big one: St. Louis is one of several teams the Mets are chasing for the final National League wild-card spot, and the Cards came to Queens having won four of their last five. The Mets, after Sunday’s dramatic win over the Yankees, began the series with a 72–72 record, three games behind the Padres and Reds for the final wild-card spot. St. Louis was 73–69, just one game back. And after the Cardinals won the first two games of the series, vaulting themselves in playoff position, the Mets desperately needed to salvage a win in Wednesday’s finale.
They didn’t.
New York fell behind 5–0 in the first inning but was threatening in the seventh, having cut the lead to 8–4 with two runners on and nobody out. St. Louis lifted Andrew Miller in favor of T.J. McFarland, while also bringing in Lars Nootbaar to play right field as part of a double switch.
McFarland got two quick outs, but that brought slugger Pete Alonso to the plate. Alonso whacked a long fly ball to the opposite field that appeared destined to bring the Mets to within one run, but Nootbaar leaped and brought it back from over the wall, ending the inning.
Even though the homer wouldn’t have tied the game, it’s easy to see how crushing the robbery was for the Mets and their fans. Alonso looked utterly dejected as he turned back to the dugout and the fans had that familiar look of despair that we’ve seen all too often at Citi Field. They ended up losing 11–4.
New York’s bad luck was compounded by the good luck of the division-rival Phillies, who earned a walk-off win Wednesday on a passed ball with two outs in the ninth.
The Mets are now five games behind the Cardinals in the race for the final wild-card spot, with three other teams between them and St. Louis. They’re also 5.5 games behind the Braves in the division race. That’s a lot of ground to make up with only 15 games left in the season. The three-game set the Mets start against Philadelphia on Friday will be an important one, but a comeback win Wednesday would have changed their outlook considerably.
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Around the sports world
The Bucks hired Lisa Byington as their new TV announcer, making her the first full-time female play-by-play person in major U.S. men’s sports history. … Mac Jones explained why he winked at a Dolphins linebacker in the middle of a play-call last weekend. … Washington’s game against the Giants on Thursday will be Pride Night, a rarity for NFL teams. … Cowboys assistant coach Leon Lett was carted off the field during practice Wednesday with an apparent leg injury. … ESPN is sorry for airing Lenny Dykstra’s f-bombs on SportsCenter.
I have no idea what this was all about
They needed to do their job right after the final out, though
So that’s where Saban’s sense of humor comes from
The Yankees’ experiment with putting a third baseman at shortstop is going pretty well
Gio Urshela was upstaged by Cedric Mullins, though
Erling Haaland is a scoring machine (and 18-year-old Jude Bellingham’s assist was a beaut)
Congrats?
Not sports
The Mexican government is giving away El Chapo’s old safe house to the winner of a national lottery, but the hole leading to a network of secret tunnels was sealed. … An Australian fugitive who escaped from prison 30 years ago turned himself in because the pandemic left him unable to get work. … A 17th-century painting that had been missing for more than 50 years was discovered hanging on the wall of a New York church.
I cannot believe where this story has gone
A good song
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