Edgy MD

Yeah, holiday Monday day games should be the tail end of a wraparound series — not something two teams just flew in for, but alas. Still, it's a 4:10 start so freshness will probably not be the Mets biggest problem.

They could have actually gotten ahead of what would happen, and influenced what would happen.

Close it was.

This is very much like that period in 2021 when everybody was hurt, Kalil Lee and Joneshwy Fargas were in the lineup, the offense was alternately scoring one and zero every night, but the Mets were staying in games by playing for the scoreless tie and hoping they could win on penalty kicks.

Benge had a challenge available to him. Striking out with two out in the ninth with the go-ahead run in scoring position seemse to be when you'd use it. Probably a strike anyhow, of course.

Gosh. Perfect pitch for a catcher to get when a guy is stealing.

Something magic about Ewing throwing out Sinoja.

There's nothing magic about 100 pitches. There's nothing magic about 100 pitches. Also, there's nothing magic about 100 pitches.

Had to break to clean up a basement flood. Vientos' new nickname should be "Sir Walter," because he has stranded a lost colony of baserunners.

With Jared Young rehabbing and Melendez not hitting in the last 2 1/2 weeks, MJ may be playing for his MLB life.

That strikeout breaking pitch with the bases loaded was something I didn't expect from Scott.

Phillips out there in the third. Not cool.

I merged it with one I started eight minutes earlier. METS STARTING PITCHER: Christian Scott (RHP), 0-0, 4.12 ERA LINEUP: Carson Benge (L) RF Bo Bichette (R) SS A.J. Ewing (L) CF Mark Vientos (R) 1B Brett Baty (L) 3B Marcus Semien (R) 2B MJ Melendez (L) DH Tyrone Taylor (R) LF Hayden Senger (R) C WASHINGTON STARTING PITCHER: Tyler Phillips RHP 0-0, 1.20 ERA, 27 SO LINEUP: Liam Hicks (L) C Xavier Edwards (S) 2B Owen Caissie (L) RF Kyle Stowers (L) LF Otto Lopez (R) SS Jakob Marsee (L) CF Connor Norby (R) 1B Christopher Morel (R) DH Javier Sanoja (R) 3B I would happily flip Ewing with Benji.

There'll be Marlins on the field. There'll be Marlins in foul territory. There'll be Marlins in the stans. There'll be Marlins on the dugout. All will be lying in stunned stillness from the drubbing they will receive in this, the third game of three, at loanDepot Park. Yes it has been called "loanDepot Park" since 2022, and you should probably admit that you didn't even know that, and probably still call it Marlins Park. And you should probably admit that their stylizing the name by smashing the two words together, and using a lower-case l at the beginning of the name, but a capital D in the middle is all so ridiculously unattractive that you will probably forget it again as a matter of personal integrity. And that is OK. Credit to the Mets here, because as distasteful as Citi Field might be, they never smashed the two words together and used and initial lower-case and mid-word upper-case like "citiField." Yes, congratulations to the Mets for reaching a really, really low bar of good taste. But yeah, the game. It will feature Mets rookie Christian Scott against Lumberton, NJ native Tyler Phillips throwing for the Marlins. Phillips has been a reliever the last two years, so this is likely merely an opener assignment for him, and he will presumably be showering by the third. And the Marlins will lose. And sink. Also appealing — if you are in Miami, and are one of the first 5,000 people through the gate, it's Color Changing Cup Day, presented by loanDepot. Because what your life is missing is a Marlins cup that changes color, presumably with the temperature, and if you're the Marlins, you can't find sponsors for your giveaways, so you just default to your stadium sponsor. Also ... FIVE THOUSANDS! Cheapos!

Well, that was progress. Toward what, I'm not sure.

Two-out dubble in the ninth for Tyrone Taylor is the first runner in scoring position for the Mets. In this series.

Going to Nardi to face Soto with none on, one out, and a 4-0 lead in the ninth is playing for keeps.

Dropped pop by Norby is the door opening.

It was fun while it lasted — four rookies in the rotation. FOUR! But that bloated the rotation beyond the pentatonic standard, and one had to be farmed out. Transactions, 5/23/2026 GOING NEUTRAL COMING Demoted to Syracuse Transferred from Bullpen Promoted from Syracuse Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Zach Thornton Jonah Tong Jonathan Pintaro L/L DoB: 37273 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 High Level: MLB (2025) Seeing Zach Thornton go down is sub-optimal. The initial upside of it, however is that it creates rotation room for Jonah Tong — suggesting that his initial appearance out of the bullpen was a one-off. It wouldn't have been the first time that the quest for ever-more, ever-stronger bullpen has ensnared a top starting prospect. Tong even committed the cardinal sin of of doing well his first time out of the bullpen, which the likes of Grant Roberts, Aaron Heilman, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman will tell you is the fastest way to lose control of the narrative. But the opening now is in the rotation. Hopefully, Jonah can plant his Canadian flag there, at least until Kodai Senga is ready to perform. Making his 2026 debut in the bullpen is Jonathan Pintaro. Jonathan's last name means painter in Italian and they painted it in Spanish and door in Ndebele, and he has been painting the back door nicely for Syracuse, with a 2.81 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings. I mean, we were hoping they'd call up Stan Musial, but he was apparently not available.

It was fun while it lasted — four rookies in the rotation. FOUR! But that bloated the rotation beyond the pentatonic standard, and one had to be farmed out. Transactions, 5/23/2026 GOING NEUTRAL COMING Demoted to Syracuse Transferred from Bullpen Promoted from Syracuse Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Zach Thornton Jonah Tong Jonathan Pintaro L/L DoB: 37273 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 High Level: MLB (2025) Seeing Zach Thornton go down is sub-optimal. The initial upside of it, however is that it creates rotation room for Jonah Tong — suggesting that his initial appearance out of the bullpen was a one-off. It wouldn't have been the first time that the quest for ever-more, ever-stronger bullpen has ensnared a top starting prospect. Tong even committed the cardinal sin of of doing well his first time out of the bullpen, which the likes of Grant Roberts, Aaron Heilman, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman will tell you is the fastest way to lose control of the narrative. But the opening now is in the rotation. Hopefully, Jonah can plant his Canadian flag there, at least until Kodai Senga is ready to perform. Making his 2026 debut in the bullpen is Jonathan Pintaro. Jonathan's last name means painter in Italian and they painted it in Spanish and door in Ndebele, and he has been painting the back door nicely for Syracuse, with a 2.81 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings. I mean, we were hoping they'd call up Stan Musial, but he was apparently not available. Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta David Peterson Christian Scott Jonah Tong R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 Relief Pitchers Huascar Brazobán Sean Manaea Tobias Myers Jonathan Pintaro Brooks Raley Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Hayden Senger Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Vidal Brujan MJ Melendez R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 Infielders Outfielders Marcus Semien Mark Vientos Carson Benge A.J. Ewing Nick Morabito Juan Soto Tyrone Taylor R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Clay Holmes Tylor Megill Kodai Senga Zach Thornton Alex Carrillo Daniel Duarte Reed Garrett R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Justin Hagenman A.J. Minter Dedniel Núñez Dylan Ross Francisco Alvarez Francisco Lindor Ronny Mauricio R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 Infielders Outfielders Jorge Polanco Luis Robert, Jr. Jared Young S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 Designagted for Assignment Relief Pitchers Outfielders Craig Kimbrel Austin Slater R/R DoB: 1988-05-28 R/R DoB: 1992-12-13 Your Mets Coaching Staff Manager Bench Coach Pitching Coach Hitting Coordinator Third Base Coach First Base Coach Bullpen Coach Ass't Pitching Coach Carlos Mendoza Kai Correa Justin Willard Jeff Albert Tim Leiper Gilbert Gomez José Rosado Dan McKinney DoB: 1979-11-27 DoB: 1989-07-14 DoB: 1990-09-09 DoB: 1992-08-16 DoB: 1996-07-19 DoB: 1992-03-08 DoB: 1974-11-09 DoB: 1989-06-06 Hitting Coach Strategy Coach Catching Coach Coaching Assistant Bat'g Practice Pitcher Equipment Manager Bullpen Catchers Bullpen Catchers Troy Snitker Danny Barnes J.P. Arencibia Rafael Fernandez Kevin Mahoney Kevin Kierst Eric Langill Dave Racaniello DoB: 1988-12-05 DoB: 1989-10021 DoB: 1986-01-05 DoB: 1988-08-03 DoB: 1987-05-11 DoB: 1964-07-09 DoB: 1979-04-09 DoB: 1978-06-03 Your Mets Training Staff Director of Player Health Head Athletic Trainer Assistant Athletic Trainer Reconditioning Coordinator Reconditioning Therapist Head Performance Coach Assistant Performance Coach Performance Coordinator Soft Tissue Specialist Brian Chicklo Joseph Golia Bryan Baca Sean Bardanett Josh Bickel Dustin Clarke Tanner Miracle Jeremy Chiang Hiroto Kawamura DoB: 1972-07-17 DoB: 1978-??-?? DoB: Circa 1980 DoB: 1988-06-23 DoB: 1996-??-?? DoB: 1987-??-?? DoB: 1991-??-?? DoB: ????-??-?? DoB: 22846 View full article

Liam HIcks with his hot licks.

I left to walk my dogs at 3-0 and came back fully expecting the Mets to be up 6-3.

Peralta has pulled one or two jobs in his day too. METS Starting Pitcher: Freddy Peralta RHP 3-3, 3.31 Lineup: Carson Benge (L) RF Bo Bichette (R) SS Juan Soto (L) LF Brett Baty (L) 3B Mark Vientos (R) 1B A.J. Ewing (L) CF Marcus Semien (R) 2B MJ Melendez (L) DH Luis Torrens (R) C MIAMI Starting Pitcher: Max Meyer RHP 4-0, 2.85 ERA, 60 SO Lineup: Xavier Edwards (S) 2B Liam Hicks (L) DH Otto Lopez (R) SS Kyle Stowers (L) LF Jakob Marsee (L) CF Connor Norby (R) 1B Owen Caissie (L) RF Graham Pauley (L) 3B Joe Mack (L) C

Lest it be overlooked, the Marlins got a Tong lashing to the tune of three hitless innings.