Edgy MD

Even if the Giants pull it out tonight against the Roxette, the Mets retain sole possession of 13th place. SOLE POSSESSION OF 13TH PLACE!!!

I was wondering who was going to get his gig — Mauricio, Melendez, or Morabito — but I guess the smart money isn't on any of the M-guys, but on Luis Robert coming back whether he's ready or not. That would leave Wagaman and Ewing to serve as reserve infielders.

Ugh. Not that he had much of a role left, but nothing good there.

But pitch counts should inform these decisions, not dictate them. The science that suggests that a pitcher loses x amount of effectiveness after y pitches, or y innings, or y times through the batting order is all over the place.

It was an interesting spot he was in, with the tying run up and the Royal bench filled with lefties. He pulls Manaea for a righty and the Royals pinch-hit right away. He might be criticized for not having A.J. Minter ready as an option at the moment, to stick with the lefty but get a fresher arm. But maybe Manaea was the best matchup.

NICE! A Tyrone and a Taijeron!

Curse that Autofill feature!

Sherman "Roadblock" Jones. Am I close?

Winners of four of their last five (that's an .800 winning percentage! do the math yourself!) the Mets get the evening off at home before hosting the red-hot Red Sox in a rematch of a championship series that took place four calendar decades before, assuming you use a calendar that marks decades. Sonny-Came-Home Gray goes for the Sox, and at 10-1 with a 2.61 ERA, he has been exactly as good as a guy can be without making the All-Star Team. The Sox are in fourth place, but the world being as the world is, their 5-1 July has moved them within three games of the last Wild Card slot. Despite their redness and hotness, the Mets may have caught a break. Wilson Contreras, who has been about 45% of the team's offense this season, appears to have suffered an injury after fouling a ball off of his foot against the other Sox. One does not wish for that to be a serious matter, but it may not matter from the Mets' point of view, as it looks like Wilson will have to begin serving the suspension he incurred following the events recounted in the Cavalli v. Contreras thread. Depending on his x-ray outcome, the Sox themselves might have caught a minor break, as Contreras injury and suspension might turn into concurrent outages. The Sox have had low offense and a high injury count most of this year. Their top four middle infielders are all on the injured list, but the top two haven't hit anyway. With Contreras sidelined, outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela (righty bat) and Wilyer Abreu (lefty bat) are their two remaining threats. But, as those 10 Gray wins can attest, they can still outpitch a team. Nolan McLean steps up for the Mets to try to make sure that doesn't happen.

TAKE THAT, 2015 ROYALS!!

Thanks for swinging at ball four, Caglione.

Lindor comes in after all.

The Nelson story is always welcome, but Joe Pigatano was not Casey's bullpen coach. On the other hand, he was a 1962 Mets backup catcher, so he may well have been the guy to pick up the phone.

Thanks, Soto!

Thanks, Tolbert!

Well, two. Good time for bullpen action now.

A starting pitcher in the seventh inning. I have the vapors.

You're bad.

I was kind of hoping Bichette would strike out so he wouldn't hit into a double play, and rob Benge of his crack.

Soto is going to get a serious pitcharound.

Tyrone is doing a good supersub act.

It's just a guy recently reactivated from a long period on the IL who is being given a controlled workload. It's not optimal but it's no mystery.

Weird pickoff. Beats the type where the firstbaseman isn't there.

I like Soto getting a ball-four called a strike, and rather than challenge it, thought that he is dangerous enough with a 3-1 count and passed on the challenge. He walked anyhow, which was probably still the most likely outcome. Sadly, Boba GiDP'd. Also, the fact that Ewing is making his infield reveals pretty clearly that this is one of those days that they are implicitly committed to keeping Lindor on the bench, come what may. And the Royals recapture the lead.

Hey, not only is Vientos out, Ewing is on the infield!