NEW YORK --
FIRST PITCH: They’re not exactly an offensive juggernaut, but the New York Mets have now won five of their past seven games, all against NL West competition.
Matt Harvey (7-6, 3.11 ERA) attempts to keep the good times rolling when he makes his final first-half start on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET. Harvey opposes Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin (1-0, 3.60).
Corbin will be making his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery.
SATURDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:
Noah Syndergaard is becoming one of the NL’s elite rookies. He struck out a career-high 13 batters, logged a career-high 116 pitches and allowed one run in eight innings as the Mets beat the Diamondbacks 4-2 in Friday’s series opener at Citi Field. Lucas Duda and Michael Cuddyer had back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning. Duda remains only 3-for-33 in July. Cuddyer will have to play through discomfort because of a balky left knee. With the victory, the Mets pulled within two games of the Washington Nationals for the division lead and within two games of the Chicago Cubs for the second wild-card slot. Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Times, Newsday, Record and at NJ.com and MLB.com.
General manager Sandy Alderson acknowledged Steven Matz could be held out of throwing for longer than the initial estimate of three weeks. Matz, who officially landed on the disabled list on Friday with a strained lat, will be re-examined in three weeks to see if the muscle has healed and whether he can resume throwing. Danny Muno was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas. Alderson said the Mets are undecided on using a five-man or six-man rotation minus Matz, but manager Terry Collins subsequently said on the WOR pregame show that a five-man rotation is expected. Read more in the Post, Times, Newsday and at MLB.com.
Jon Heyman at CBSSports.com lists possible Mets trade targets as Ben Zobrist, Justin Upton, Martin Prado, Marlon Byrd, Juan Uribe, Jean Segura and Aramis Ramirez.
Alderson said the Mets had no intention of trading any of their current rotation members anyway (including a veteran such as Jonathon Niese or Bartolo Colon), so Matz’s injury does not affect the team’s trade plans. Read more in Newsday.
Jeurys Familia finished last among five NL candidates in the “Final Vote” for the All-Star Game. So Familia, who earned his 25th save in 27 chances on Friday, apparently will spend the break in the New York area with his month-old son, Jeurys Jr. St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez won the fan balloting for the final NL slot. Read more at MLB.com.
Lefty reliever Jerry Blevins was sent by team doctors to Boston for a second opinion on the left forearm he originally fractured on April 19. The doctors concluded that while healing of the bone has occurred, it has not done so sufficiently to be cleared to throw. So Blevins will have to wait at least another three weeks, when he is due to be re-examined.
Brian Costa in the Journal cites two factors for the Mets’ lack of being a threat to make the postseason, despite their current proximity to a playoff spot. “The first is an ownership group that cares more about maintaining possession of the team than seeing it win a championship,” Costa writes. “The Wilpons surely would love to do both. But in the short term, if forced to choose between the two, it’s clear where they stand. A team in MLB’s biggest market with a payroll that ranks in the bottom third of the league can only claim to want to win so badly. The second is a front office, under general manager Sandy Alderson, that never fully committed to rebuilding.”
Columnist George Willis in the Post suggests that outings such as Syndergaard’s on Friday demonstrate that the Mets can forge on while Matz mends.
Dillon Gee allowed four runs in six innings and Alex Castellanos homered and had four RBIs in Las Vegas’ 8-4 victory over Salt Lake. Gavin Cecchini produced four hits, extended his hitting streak to 11 games and raised his average to .300 as Binghamton beat Portland 7-3. Amed Rosario finished 4-for-5 and produced a tiebreaking RBI in the ninth in St. Lucie’s 5-4 win against Lakeland. Audry German allowed one run in seven innings in Kingsport’s 3-2 win against Elizabethton. David Thompson’s throwing error allowed Hudson Valley to plate the final run in a 6-5 walk-off win in 12 innings against Brooklyn. Read the full minor league recap here.
From the bloggers … Mets Report questions the handling of Matz.
BIRTHDAYS: Blaine Boyer turns 34. ... Donne Wall is 48. ... Mark Little is 43. ... Kingsport right-hander Connor Buchmann is 22. ... Kingsport infielder Luis Carpio is 18.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Oliver Perez: A living example of a time when the Mets not only had money, but spent it foolishly.
— Jerry Beach (@defiantlydutch) July 11, 2015YOU’RE UP: Can Duda, who produced his 11th long ball on Friday night, finish the season close to last year’s 30-homer total?
