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Game Thread: NL Wildcard game: SF Giants @ NY Mets (10/5)

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Morning Briefing: Bring on the Giants!


NEW YORK -- And now for meaningful games in October.

The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants will meet in Wednesday’s National League wild-card game at Citi Field at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA) opposes left-hander Madison Bumgarner(15-9, 2.74). Those aces finished third and fourth, respectively, in ERA among major league qualifiers. Only Kyle Hendricks (2.13) and Jon Lester (2.44), both of the Chicago Cubs, had better ERAs.

The Mets won the season series from the Giants, 4-3. That’s why the game will be played in New York despite the teams finishing with identical 87-75 records.

The Mets have Monday off. They will work out at Citi Field at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Team officials will not have major roster decisions because wild-card teams typically only carry nine or 10 pitchers for that winner-take-all game. That allows for 15 or 16 position players. If the Mets reach the division series against the Cubs, it gets tougher. And the Mets may be faced with decisions such as whether to carry Alejandro De Aza or Michael Conforto.
 

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Morning Briefing: Mets and Giants set to work out at Citi Field


NEW YORK -- There still is one day to go before the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants play their winner-take-all NL wild-card game at 8:09 p.m. ET Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Mets work out at Citi Field at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Giants at 4 p.m. ET.

Henry Schulman in the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Johnny Cueto would have been a better choice than Madison Bumgarner to start the wild-card game for the Giants opposite Noah Syndergaard. Writes Schulman: "Cueto is much hotter. His final month (4-0, 1.78 ERA) was far better than Bumgarner's (2-1, 3.92). In his last postseason start, Game 2 of the 2015 World Series, Cueto two-hit the team the Giants must beat to save their season." Still, Schulman notes that Bumgarner is 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in four career starts at Citi Field.
 

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Morning Briefing: Mets and Giants set to work out at Citi Field


NEW YORK -- There still is one day to go before the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants play their winner-take-all NL wild-card game at 8:09 p.m. ET Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Mets work out at Citi Field at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Giants at 4 p.m. ET.

Henry Schulman in the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Johnny Cueto would have been a better choice than Madison Bumgarner to start the wild-card game for the Giants opposite Noah Syndergaard. Writes Schulman: "Cueto is much hotter. His final month (4-0, 1.78 ERA) was far better than Bumgarner's (2-1, 3.92). In his last postseason start, Game 2 of the 2015 World Series, Cueto two-hit the team the Giants must beat to save their season." Still, Schulman notes that Bumgarner is 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in four career starts at Citi Field.

Careful what I wish for, but glad we didn't get Cueto. Just the memories of the World Series combined with how hot he has been, don't think it would end up well for our boys.
 

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SYNDERGAARD CAN MOVE UP METS' K RANKS
Noah Syndergaard will make his fourth career postseason start on Wednesday and already has 26 strikeouts in the playoffs. If he gets four against the Giants, he'll move into fifth on the Mets' all-time postseason list, ESPN Stats & Info notes. Those still ahead of him:

  • Tom Seaver - 46 postseason K's
  • Al Leiter - 40
  • Dwight Gooden - 38
  • Jerry Koosman - 31
 

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NL wild-card mega preview: MadBum's Giants or Thor's Mets?


Morning Briefing: It's now or never for Mets

NEW YORK -- Is this the final day of the New York Mets’ season? Or will they be boarding a flight postgame bound for Chicago and a division series?

Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA) opposes San Francisco Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74) in Wednesday’s 8:09 p.m. ET wild-card game at Citi Field, which will be televised by ESPN.

Lucas Duda has been left off the wild-card roster and Josh Edgin was selected over Josh Smoker as a second left-handed reliever. The Mets will carry nine pitchers and 16 position players for Wednesday's game.
 

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Date with Madison Bumgarner next step in Noah Syndergaard's ace evolution


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Noah Syndergaard will go toe-to-toe with Madison Bumgarner in Wednesday's NL wild-card game.


NEW YORK -- Nineteen months ago, before his rookie season, Noah Syndergaard had his lunch tossed into the garbage by New York Mets veteransDavid Wright and Bobby Parnell because he decided to chow down during a spring-training game rather than be present in the dugout.

Now Syndergaard is the most feared member of the team's depleted rotation. And he is battle-tested as he prepares to oppose San Francisco Giants aceMadison Bumgarner in Wednesday's National League wild-card game at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Syndergaard, 24, had a 14-9 record and 2.60 ERA in his second season. His ERA ranked third in the majors, ahead of Bumgarner, who ranked fourth at 2.74.

Syndergaard's fastball averaged 97.9 mph this season. That led all MLB pitchers, comfortably ahead of runner-up Yovani Gallardo's 96.0 mph with theBaltimore Orioles.

"I'll put him up against anybody in baseball, and that includes Madison Bumgarner," Wright said Tuesday about Syndergaard. "That's probably one of the biggest compliments you can give a pitcher that's facing Madison in the postseason -- that I like our guy as well. He certainly has matured. He's got a World Series game under his belt. He's had success in the playoffs -- maybe not to the extent that Madison Bumgarner has. But I know all the guys in that clubhouse certainly feel confident with him out there."

Syndergaard was the obvious choice to start for the Mets, if for no other reason than Matt Harvey (thoracic outlet syndrome), Jacob deGrom (ulnar nerve) andSteven Matz (bone spur) all have undergone season-ending surgeries. Because the Mets were able to clinch on Saturday in Philadelphia, they were able to preserve Syndergaard for the wild-card assignment rather than burn him on the final day of the regular season.

Manager Terry Collins simply had to point to last year's postseason for the clearest reason why Syndergaard is ready for this moment. With the Mets having lost the first two games of the 2015 World Series at Kauffman Stadium, the series shifted to New York, where Syndergaard earned the Mets' lone win. He scored points with his teammates by throwing the game's first pitch to the backstop to send a message to the Kansas City Royals about not being too comfortable in the batter's box. Collins also raved about Syndergaard entering Game 5 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium in relief and logging a scoreless seventh inning that included strikeouts of Corey Seager and Justin Turner.

"Noah Syndergaard believes in Noah Syndergaard. Make no mistake about it," manager Terry Collins said. "And you can call it whatever you want. Great pitchers have egos. The great players have big egos. When they go out there, they think they're better than you. And a lot of nights they are, because they're talented.

"He's certainly made himself the No. 1 guy right now. And our staff, with all the injuries we've had, he's got to be the guy you want to give the ball to."

Syndergaard has faced the Giants twice this season, including a May 1 matchup with Bumgarner at Citi Field that the Giants won 6-1. Syndergaard allowed four runs in 5⅔ innings and surrendered a two-run homer to Hunter Pence in that game, and Bumgarner tossed six scoreless innings. Syndergaard rebounded to toss eight scoreless innings in a 2-0 win against the Giants on Aug. 21 in San Francisco. Earlier in that series, Bumgarner allowed four runs, all on a grand slam by now-sidelined Justin Ruggiano, in five innings in a no-decision.

"It's two Goliaths going at it, two big guys, and that makes for some good drama, some good excitement," Pence said. "The fun of baseball is going out there and competing against the best."

Syndergaard's primary vulnerability has been stolen bases. He allowed 48 steals in 57 attempts this season. The 48 steals are the most a pitcher has allowed in the majors since Hideo Nomo allowed 52 with the Boston Red Sox in 2001.

Syndergaard might get a slight reprieve. Eduardo Nunez, who had a combined 40 steals with the Minnesota Twins and Giants during the regular season, has been slowed by a hamstring strain that has sidelined him since Sept. 25. The only other Giants with double-digit stolen bases totals this season are ex-MetAngel Pagan (15) and Denard Span (12).

"As of now I feel pretty confident," Syndergaard said. "I feel like I've done my job over the last two or three months, kind of improving holding runners on. I've just got to go out there and stay nice and loose and relaxed and try not to get too tense out there when runners get on."

Confidence has never been an issue for Syndergaard. Back in spring training in 2015, Wright did not dump Syndergaard's lunch in the trash out of malice. Sensing Syndergaard's immense talent, the captain merely wanted to get him to mature.

Now Wright is among the biggest fans of Syndergaard as he pitches the winner-take-all game opposite Bumgarner.

Said Wright: "He deserves it."
 

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The Mets lineup for Wednesday's wild-card game against the Giants @ Citi Field:

Reyes - 3B
Cabrera - SS
Cespedes - LF
Granderson - CF
TJ Rivera - 2B
Bruce - RF
R Rivera - C
Loney - 1B
Syndergaard - RHP
 

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NL WILD CARD: BUMGARNER VS. SYNDERGAARD

Both Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard have enjoyed All-Star seasons, though Syndergaard holds the edge in ERA and strikeouts. MadBum was better at keeping runners off base, though.

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Lets-go-Mets-2010.gif





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bt08

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Familia=Armando Benitez:L
 

Tai Chi≈Surfing

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Mets crazy season comes to an end....

Bumgarner, Gillaspie lead Giants over Mets 3-0; Cubs next

MadBum, unlikely hero Gillaspie put Giants in NLDS

Inside the numbers: Bumgarner vs Syndergaard

Opt-outta here? Mets brace for Yoenis Cespedes' expected free agency

Asdrubal Cabrera will see team doctors on Thursday to determine whether he needs surgery to address the lingering issue with his left knee. The Mets have described the issue as a strained patellar tendon.

Wilmer Flores' surgery will be later this week to remove the hook of the hamate in the base of his right hand, Sandy Alderson said. That's a minor procedure.

Kelly Johnson very much wants to return in 2017. It's too soon to make a call on that. But it would save having to acquire him at the trade deadline for a third straight year. Johnson hit .268 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in 183 at-bats after joining the Mets this summer and proved extremely valuable as a lefty-hitting bat off the bench.

David Wright expects to have a normal offseason. He was cleared to begin a three-month rehab program while with his doctor in Los Angeles recently. He has another check-up regarding his surgically repair neck disk scheduled for early to mid-December, at which point he expects to be cleared for his normal offseason baseball work. That's when he normally would begin his offseason baseball work anyway. Wright expressed similar confidence his back would hold up in 2017.
 

PhantomWarrior

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Heart breaker. They need to keep their heads up high.
 

Nasty_Magician

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Tough way to go but it was fun while it lasted. Need to hope 2017 is a healthy year for the team. Even if we had one I'm not sure the rotation was deep enough to make a legit run. We probably we have abused Syndergaard as well. Get deGrom, Harvey and Wheeler back next year and let's do this again.
 

jvett77

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I was rooting for the NL East Mets. Tough loss but Bum was on. So was Syn'gaard, and hindsight says why take him out after 7 innings of 10-K, 2-hit ball? wtf. Collins knows what he's doing though. 108 pitches is up there but Bum was in that range and ended up at 119. Still a great year for the Mets especially after the pitching staff, Niese, Wheeler, Matz, Harvey, crashed with injuries.
 

Tai Chi≈Surfing

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Tough way to go but it was fun while it lasted. Need to hope 2017 is a healthy year for the team. Even if we had one I'm not sure the rotation was deep enough to make a legit run. We probably we have abused Syndergaard as well. Get deGrom, Harvey and Wheeler back next year and let's do this again.

Lots of questions for this offseason....mainly the overall health & durability concerning the pitching staff.
Also...how effective will Wright be? What's the status of Cespedes contract wise? Will Walker & Grandy return? will Sandy trade Flores, d'Arnaud & Duda?
Hell, will they even look for a new manager..or stick with TC for another year?
I can go on & on......that being said, it would've been better had we won the division..just to avoid the one & done scenario (which really should be a best of 3 series..imho)..but I suppose it was a pretty decent season all things considered.

:suds:
 

Nasty_Magician

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Lots of questions for this offseason....mainly the overall health & durability concerning the pitching staff.
Also...how effective will Wright be? What's the status of Cespedes contract wise? Will Walker & Grandy return? will Sandy trade Flores, d'Arnaud & Duda?
Hell, will they even look for a new manager..or stick with TC for another year?
I can go on & on......that being said, it would've been better had we won the division..just to avoid the one & done scenario (which really should be a best of 3 series..imho)..but I suppose it was a pretty decent season all things considered.

:suds:

The fact we were held together by a thread and made the wildcard game means TC will be back.
 
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