[jksander]

May 26, 2025: Noah Syndergaard (3-2, 2.98 ERA, 57.1 IP, 36 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) has been worth every penny of his one-year contract so far this season, and today in New York he took on Mets pitcher Tylor Megill (3-3, 5.26 ERA, 51.1 IP, 53 K’s, 1.46 WHIP) in our first game at Citi Field. We took the lead in the top of the second when Cadyn Grenier was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, driving in Joey Gallo to score. But the Mets got three runs off us in the bottom of the third thanks to a Brandon Nimmo homer out of right field, putting us on our heels quickly. We rallied in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer by Jorge Alfaro to tie it at 3-3, but they answered with a leadoff homer by Pete Alonso in the bottom of the inning to put the Mets back in control. Moments later Francisco Alvarez hit one out of right to make it 5-3, and Syndergaard’s night was on its way to ending as we started warming bullpen arms. But he got through the inning with two quick outs and then lasted through the fifth as well, helping to take some pressure off our bullpen. Still trailing by a pair, Kimbrel took over in the bottom of the sixth, and with one out they added on with a Francisco Alvarez RBI single. Murfee took the ball in the seventh, and the Mets pounded the nails in, adding another homer to make it 7-3 heading into the eighth inning. Dunn got us through the ninth inning unblemished but it didn’t matter as we lost 7-3. They outhit us 10-6 and out-homered us 4-1. Syndergaard took the loss, falling to 3-3 with a 3.32 ERA thanks to five hits and five runs (four earned) with four strikeouts, our offense led by the two RBIs Alfaro got off his first homer of the season.

May 27, 2025: Ryan Weber (2-4, 3.04 ERA, 50.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) started against New York’s Paul Blackburn (5-2, 3.22 ERA, 58.2 IP, 56 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). Bandon Nimmo hit a homer in the bottom of the first to get them on the board, but Miguel Vargas hit one for us in the top of the second to tie the score at 1-1. The Mets retook the lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI double by Pete Alonso, and a three-run homer for Francisco Alvarez gave them a commanding 5-1 advantage as our home-run issues continued. Martin Perez took over in the bottom of the fourth, and Justin Dunn came out in the sixth, giving leadoff hitter Ronny Mauricio a solo homer immediately after taking the ball. From there it was just a matter of bringing this one to an end by any means necessary. They hammered us for three more runs in the bottom of the seventh and we lost this one 9-1. Weber fell to 2-5 thanks to a three-inning eight hit three strikeout effort that cost him five runs, only two of which were earned. They outhit us 12-7, outhomering us again 3-1 ... Vargas’ solo bomb, his eighth of the year, was our only offense.

May 28, 2025: Sean Burke (3-5, 4.26 ERA, 50.2 IP, 51 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) started our final game against the Mets, facing Kodai Senga (2-1, 2.64 ERA, 64.2 IP, 73 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) ... and the Mets hammered us from the opening pitch with a solo homer by Jose Siri to immediately put us in a 1-0 hole before most fans had their first beer. They had another solo homer by Pete Alonso in the bottom of the third (his 12th of the year) and with two outs and no one on in the bottom of the fourth we faced a 45 minute rain delay and Jonathan Cannon wound up taking over for Burke after it ended. He wound up loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth on two outs, Brett Baty hitting an RBI single into right to add on a run, at which point Jared Young hit a three-run slam out of right to make it a 6-0 lead. In the top of the sixth, however, something woke us up ... Vargas hit an RBI single, and Lenyn Sosa hit a three-run double to get us back within a pair! Martin Perez took over in the bottom of the inning, and with one out and two men in scoring position we had to rest him for Shane Smith, who immediately gave up both runners with an RBI double by Siri. A two-out RBI single by Baty followed, and this one was again a rout. Donovan Walton hit a solo homer on two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and we threw our hands up in surrender. They’d go on to win 10-4, completing the sweep as they outscored us 26-8 during the three game beatdown. Burke took the loss and fell to 3-6, allowing three hits, three walks and two runs with six strikeouts, during a rain-shortened 3.2 inning effort. They outhit us 10-7 and added four homers to their resume, while Vargas led our offense with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI.

We’re off tomorrow, and will then play three against the Baltimore Orioles (22-34, 5th Al East) to bring this month to a close.