Edgy MD

Nah, the Mets lineup is beautiful. Though I'm currently entertaining the notion that Bo Bichette is out of the lineup because the Mets are working a deal for him.

Tough night for Soto to leave his bat back on the bus.

Mets returning to their strandy ways on offense.

A guy gets called out at second, it's overturned, and he's ultimately safe. He then is called safe at home on the subsequent hit, it's overturned, and he's ultimately out. That's probably not the first dueling overturns, but it's sure weird.

One run back counts. And, amazingly, a rally that Zach Short had a part of. Now lock it down.

Brett Baty, 10 in a row.

Mets radio broadcast featuring commercials for some device designed to launch ballistic chemical irritant rounds at bears.

Unearned runs to open the game. Also goofy caroms involved.

The late-reported Sox lineup is posted above. They sure seem to have a handful of obscure guys performing above their weight grade in a small sample size. That middle of the lineup — spots five through seven — looks like the guys you want to be facing in a tough spot.

Like the old days at Shea with 8:00 PM starts on Friday nights.

Four o'clock is when you should be well into your warmups and posting a lineup for a night game. The Mets, meanwhile, are attempting to achieve their first game all season without the deployment of Bo Bichette. BOSTON Sharting Pitcher Sonny Sat Down in the Kitchen Gray RHP 10-1, 2.61 ERA, 82 SO Lineup Anthony Seigler (S) 2B (.283 / .377 / .433 // .810 in 70 PA) Ceddanne Rafaela (R) CF (.283 / .330 / .438 // .767 in 353 PA) Wilyer Abreu (L) RF (.260 / .330 / .421 // .751 in 387 PA) Romy Gonzalez (R) 1B (.310 / .375 / .517 // .892 in 32 PA) Masataka Yoshida (L) DH (.259 / .335 / .353 // .688 in 191 PA) Caleb Durbin (R) 3B (.225 / .288 / .396 // .684 in 304 PA) Jarren Duran (L) LF (.198 / .262 / .360 // .622 in 363 PA) Connor Wong (R) C (.295 / .385 / .400 // .785 in 125 PA) Tsung-Che Cheng (L) SS (.273 / .320 / .318 // .638 in 25 PA) METS Sharting Pitcher Nolan McLean RHP 6-5, 3.73 ERA, 118 SO Lineup A.J. Ewing (L) CF Juan Soto (L) LF Francisco Lindor (S) SS Carson Benge (L) RF Jorge Polanco (S) DH Jared Young (L) 1B Francisco Alvarez (R) C Brett Baty (L) 3B Zack Short (R) 2B Zack Short?!?!

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!