NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Braves, 3-2, last night…The Mets are seeking their third straight series win and their 16th series win of the season…New York is 37-15 when scoring first this season….Tonight, the Mets finish a seven-game road trip (4-2) to St. Louis (3-1) and Atlanta (1-1)…The Mets are off on Thursday before returning to New York for a 10-day, nine-game homestand against the Angels (three games), Rangers (three games) and Mariners (three games).
RETURN OF THE BACH: Daniel Vogelbach has recorded four home runs over his last 10 games…He is batting .321 (9-28) in that span with six runs, 11 RBI, eight walks with a .486 OBP and a .750 SLG…He has popsted an .830 OPS in 26 games following the All-Star break.
HANG 10: New York has won seven of its last 10 games…The Mets are batting .272/.345/.488 and have posted a 3.78 ERA (37 ER/88.0 IP) during the streak…Over the last 10 games, the Mets have outscored their opponents 65-37.
QUINTESSENTIAL: José Quintana has made six starts this year and is 1-4 with a 3.03 ERA (12 ER/35.2 IP) with 14 walks and 25 strikeouts this season…He has not allowed more than three runs this season and his tossed at least 6.0 innings in five of his six appearances.
LINSANITY: Lindor is on a nine-game hitting streak, batting .395 (15-38) in that span with 10 runs, four doubles, one home run, eight RBI, two walks and three steals…Over his last 55 games, he is batting .309 (64-207) with 44 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 34 RBI, 27 walks, 16 steals with a .393 OBP, a .546 SLG and a .939 OPS…Lindor has stolen 22 bases in 125 games this season, exceeding his total from 2022 (16 steals in 161 games)…His career-best is 25 steals 158 games in 2018.
I DECLARE fWAR: Francisco Lindor ranks fifth in the majors and fourth in the National League with a 5.3 fWAR…Since he joined the Mets, Lindor has posted a 16.3 fWAR…Only Freddie Freeman (17.9) and Mookie Betts (17.0) have posted a higher mark in the Senior Circuit…His 16.3 fWAR since 2021 ranks fifth in the majors in that span.
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUIST: Jeff McNeil has hit .389 (42-108) with 16 runs, nine doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, six walks with a .426 OBP and a .528 SLG in 28 career games at the home of the Braves…In 67 career games against Atlanta, McNeil is a .346 (88-254) hitter with 33 runs, 22 doubles, five home runs, 25 RBI, 10 walks with an .876 OPS…He has safely hit is eight straight games against ATL, batting .417 (15-36) with five runs, one double, two RBI, two walks and an .892 OPS in that span.
JEFF McHITS: Jeff McNeil is on a seven-game hitting streak, batting .419 (13-31) with six runs, two doubles, one home run, six RBI, one walk and two steals…He has safely hit in 16 of his last 18 games, batting .366 (26-71) with 13 runs, three doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI, and four walks with a .410 OBP and a .535 SLG in that span…In 37 games following the All-Star break, McNeil is batting .301 (44- 146) with 22 runs, six doubles, one triple, three home runs, 21 RBI, seven walks with a .352 OBP…He has struck out only 12 times in 159 plate appearances following the All-Star break.
PLAYER GAMES SLASHLINE HOME RUNS RBI
Brandon Nimmo 18 .338/.434/.523 3 4
Francisco Lindor 20 .346/.407/.500 2 13
Jeff McNeil 22 .337/.375/.472 3 13
Pete Alonso 22 .253/.372/.646 9 20
Daniel Vogelbach 15 .233/.365/.512 4 11
METS NUMBERS IN AUGUST
DINGERS: The Mets have homered in nine straight games, blasting 21 home runs in that span…It is the third-longest streak of the season…Overall, the Mets have hit 165 home runs, which is fourth in the National League.
MONTHLY REPORT: Pete Alonso has recorded nine home runs in 20 games this month…His career-best for any singly month is 11 home runs, which he recorded in 27 games in September of 2019…He has recorded five months with at least 10 home runs in his career…His next home run would mark the second time this year that Alonso has hit 10 homers in a single month…He hit 10 home runs in May…He also hit one home run in March and nine in April.
THIS IS ALMOST 40: Pete Alonso is third in the majors and second in the National League with 39 home runs…Alonso is one home run shy of recording his third season of 40 or more home runs…He socked 53 in 2019 and 40 last season… He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs…Since he entered the league in 2019, only two other players have recorded multiple seasons with 40 or more home runs (Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout)… Only one active player (Nelson Cruz, four) has more than three 40-HR seasons…Alonso’s 185 home runs since he entered the league in 2019 are the most in the major leagues…With one more long ball, he’ll become the fifth player in MLB history with three or more seasons with 40+ home runs in a player’s first five years…He would join Ralph Kiner (4), Ryan Howard (3), Albert Pujols (3) and Eddie Matthews (3).
THE ROAD TO 100: Pete Alonso is second in the majors and in the NL with 95 RBI… He has previously recorded two seasons with 100 RBI (120 in 2019 and 131 in 2022)…He is seeking to become the fourth player in Mets history to record three or more seasons with 100 or more RBI…David Wright is the franchise leader with five such seasons…Carlos Beltrán and Darryl Strawberry recorded three seasons each.
RANK PLAYER HR
- Darryl Strawberry 252
- David Wright 242
- Mike Piazza 220
- Howard Johnson 192
- Pete Alonso 185
RANK PLAYER RBI
- Carlos Beltrán 559
- Edgardo Alfonzo 538
T8. Cleon Jones 521
T8. Jose Reyes 521 - Pete Alonso 475
METS CAREER LEADERS, HOME RUNS AND RBI
GIMME A BREAK: Alonso is hitting .256 (34-133) with 20 extra-base hits, 34 RBI, 23 runs, 17 walks and a .966 OPS in 37 games following the All-Star break…He batted .211 (64-304) with 50 runs, seven one triple, 26 home runs and 61 RBI in the 82 games before the break.
INVADER NIM: Over the last 14 games, Brandon Nimmo is batting .370 (20-54) with eight runs, two doubles, three home runs, four RBI, nine walks, a .460 OBP and a .574 SLG…He is batting .297 (46-155) with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 13 RBI, 12 walks with a .366 OBP and a .419 SLG against left-handed pitchers this year…His .297 average is the eighth-best in the majors by a left-handed hitter against fellow lefties.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Mets are 28-40 on the road this year…They have posted a 4.79 ERA in away games…New York has played 68 games on the road this year…That is the most in the majors.
I DON’T WANT TO ROCK, DJ: In 30 games this year, DJ Stewart is batting .246 (16-65) with nine runs, two doubles, six home runs, 12 RBI, eight walks, a .333 OBP and a .554 SLG…Over the last seven games, Stewart is batting .375 (9-24) with five home runs and nine RBI…Stewart recorded a career-high 12 home runs in 100 games with Baltimore in 2021.
150: Kodai Senga now has 154 strikeouts on the season…He became the seventh pitcher in franchise history to record at least 150 strikeouts in his rookie season…
Senga is tied with Gary Gentry for sixth place among rookie pitchers in team history (Gentry had 154 in 1969)…His is the fifth pitcher of Japanese origin to post at least 150 strikeouts as a rookie, joining Hideo Nomo (236 in 1995), Yu Darvish (221 in 2012), Daisuke Matsuzaka (201 in 2007), and Kenta Maeda (179 in 2016)…
Courtesy of sportsradar.
DOING THE SPLITS: Brandon Nimmo is batting .292 (73-250) with 37 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 30 RBI, 35 walks, a .380 OBP and a .444 SLG on the road this season…This compares to a .238/.345/.444 slashline with 21 extra-base hits at home…Francisco Lindor is a .278 (74-266) hitter with 50 runs, 20 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 53 RBI, 25 walks, a .348 OBP, and a .526 SLG on the road in 2023…He is slashing .223/.322/.398 with 18 extra-base hits at Citi Field this year.
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 37-10 when the starting pitcher throws at least 6.0 innings…New York has gone 15-1 when its starter pitches 7.0+ innings and are a perfect 5-0 when the starter completes 8.0 innings.
STARTING PITCHER – JOSÉ QUINTANA LHP #62
2023 STATS: 1-4, 3.03 ERA
RECENTLY: Quintana made his first start with the Mets on July 20 against his former team, the Chicago White Sox….Quintana signed a two-year contract with New York on December 9, 2022…The southpaw began the season on the IL due to a stress fracture in his rib cage…Underwent surgery on March 17.
LAST TIME OUT: Quintana made his sixth start of the season on August 17 against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium and earned his first win in a Mets uniform…He threw 6.0+ innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five batters.
REHAB ASSIGNMENT RECAP: Made five appearances across St. Lucie (A), Binghamton (AA) and Syracuse (AAA) as part of his rehab assignment after being placed on the 60-day IL with a left rib fracture…Threw 15.2 innings in five games, four of which were starts, pitching to a 4.60 ERA (8 ER/15.2 IP) while tallying 16 strikeouts compared to eight walks.
HOME OF THE BRAVES: Today, Quintana will make his seventh career start against the Braves…Quintana last faced Atlanta just 11 days ago on August 12, 2023 at Citi Field and allowed one run over 6.0 innings.
YOU GOTTA EARN ‘EM: Quintana has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last 20 starts dating back to July 23, 2022…It is the longest such streak of his career and the longest such active streak in the majors by a starting pitcher (excluding openers)…It marks the longest such streak in the majors since Atlanta’s Max Fried allowed three earned runs or fewer in 21 straight starts from June 20, 2022 – April 28, 2023…Quintana’s streak of 16 straight starts allowing
two earned runs or fewer came to an end in his start against Kansas City on August 1.
HOT STREAK: Quintana’s homerless inning streak came to an end at 97.1 innings in his last start after allowing a solo homer to Tyler O’Neill to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning…The last pitcher before Quintana to reach 90.0+ homerless innings was Tyson Ross (100.0 IP) in 2015…Courtesy of Elias… Last season Quintana owned the lowest ERA (0.89) in Major League Baseball during the month of September last year and is the lowest ERA in any month in his career.
LEFT ‘EM SPEECHLESS: Reached 1,500 career strikeouts in his start vs. Colorado on August 16, 2022. Currently ranks fifth among active MLB lefties in strikeouts (1,557 behind Clayton Kershaw (2,918), Chris Sale (2,145), Madison Bumgarner (2,070) and Patrick Corbin (1,563).
ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
Non-Losing Season
Atlanta’s win last night was its 81st of the season, guaranteeing a non-losing season. Since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, this is the 35th non-losing season for the club. Just four teams in baseball have more such seasons in that span. The Yankees have 48 seasons at .500 or better, the Dodgers have 46, the Red Sox have 45, and the Cardinals have 43. Dating to 1991, Atlanta has been .500 or better in 27-of-33 total seasons. The Braves reached 81 wins in game no. 125, the third-fewest amount of games needed to guarantee .500 in a 162-game season since 1966. The 2003 club did so in game 124, and the 1998 Braves reached the mark in their 122nd game.
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Mets tonight conclude a three-game series with what is the 13th and final game between the teams this season…The two last met just nine days ago in the conclusion of a four-game set at Citi Field.
- Atlanta’s win last night moved the club to 9-3 in 12 games with New York this season, a .750 winning percentage…Since the Mets were founded in 1962, the best single-season winning percentage the Braves have logged against New York is .778, going 14-4 in 18 games with the Mets in both 1964 and 1966…The Braves can go 10-3 (.769) against the Mets this season with a win tonight.
- The Braves have won 15 of the last 19 games with New York dating to last season, outscoring the Mets 131-73 (+58) over the stretch.
- The Braves went 10-9 against the Mets last season, taking the season set from their N.L. East rivals for the fifth consecutive season…They also went 10-9 in 2021, 7-3 in 2020, 11-8 in 2019 and 13-6 in 2018…Since the start of the 2018 season, Atlanta is 60-38 (.612) against New York overall.
- Atlanta is 4-1 against New York here at Truist Park this season, after sweeping the first three games between the teams at Truist Park this season, June 6-8…Since Truist Park opened in 2017, the Braves are 34-23 (.597) against the Mets here.
- RH Charlie Morton is set for his 22nd career appearance against New York and his 21st start, including his fourth this season…The 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander is 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA (47 ER/111.0 IP) in his career versus New York, and 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA (8 ER/15.0 IP) this season…He pitched 5.0 scoreless innings against them just 12 days ago, August 11 at Citi Field.
- LH José Quintana is set for his eighth career start against Atlanta and his second in the last two weeks…The 6-foot-1, 220-pound native of Arjona, Colombia, is 2-4 with a 6.49 ERA (25 ER/34.2 IP) over his first seven games with the Braves… Quintana started Game 2 of a doubleheader with Atlanta on August 12 and took the loss, depsite allowing just four hits and one run in 6.0 innings.
WIN: The Braves rebounded to beat the Mets, 3-2, last night, and the two teams have split the first two games of this series…Atlanta and New York will play the rubber match tonight.
- Atlanta is 9-2 in rubber games this season, but lost its last such game on August 6 at the Cubs.
- All nine Atlanta hits came from just four batters in the lineup, as Ronald Acuña Jr., Marcell Ozuna, Eddie Rosario and Nicky Lopez all collected multi-hit games…Atlanta’s other five hitters combined to go 0-for-20.
- The Braves improved to 26-8 (.765) against the N.L. East this season…No other team in the division is over .500 in intra-division games this year.
TWENTY HOMERS: Eddie Rosario clubbed a second-inning home run last night, his 20th of the season and fourth of this homestand.
- He joins Matt Olson (43), Austin Riley (29), Ronald Acuña Jr. (28), Ozzie Albies (28), Marcell Ozuna (27) and Sean Murphy (20) as Braves with at least 20 homers this season, the first time in franchise history that seven players reached the mark.
- Six players had done so twice previously, first in
1965 and most recently in 2003. - Atlanta’s seven such players this season are easily most in baseball, and no other team has more than four (Dodgers)…Four teams do not have a 20- homer player yet this season.
- The single-season record for 20-homer players is eight, done by the Twins in 2019…Rosario was also a member of that club.
RAISEL IGLESIAS: Pitched a scoreless ninth for Atlanta last night to earn his 25th save of the season, and has converted 16 straight opportunities dating to June 20.
- Iglesias’ run is the longest active streak in the National League, and trails just Boston’s Kenley Jansen and Toronto’s Jordan Romano, both with 20 straight saves, for the longest in the majors.
- Iglesias has now pitched 13.0 straight scoreless innings, the third-longest streak in the N.L. behind just Derek Law (15.0 IP) of the Reds and teammate Spencer Strider (14.0 IP).
- In 71 games for Atlanta since the Braves acquired him last season, Iglesias is 3-4 with a 1.88 ERA (14 ER/67.0 IP) and 26 saves in 29 opportunities.
- Since the date of his first appearance with Atlanta, August 5 of last season, his 1.88 ERA is fifth lowest in baseball among pitchers with at least 60.0 innings.
ACUÑA JR. RUNS: Ronald Acuña Jr. had two more hits last night but failed to score a run, snapping his four-game streak of crossing the plate…Acuña Jr. has a majors-most 113 runs of the season, and 507 in his career.
- With his next run scored, Acuña Jr. will move into the Top 10 in Atlanta franchise history (since 1966), tying Javy López…Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones has the most runs since the team moved to Atlanta, scoring 1,619 times.
- The single-season Atlanta record is 131 runs, set by Dale Murphy in 1983…Acuña Jr. is on pace for 146 runs this season.
MORTON DECISIONS: Charlie Morton enters tonight’s start 12-10 in 24 total starts, and his 22 decisions on the season are two more than any other pitcher in baseball…No other Braves pitcher has more than 18 decisions this season.
- Morton has taken just two no-decisions on the season, and they came in back-to-back starts on June 7 and June 12…He has taken a decision in each of his last 11 turns (7-4, 3.47 ERA).
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #50 Charlie Morton RHP
2023 Record: 12-10, 3.54 ERA • 2022 Record: 9-6, 4.34 ERA
vs. RHB: .256 (72-281), 6 HR • vs. LHB: .239 (55-230), 7 HR
Home: 6-5, 3.56 ERA (27/68.1) • Away: 6-5, 3.53 ERA (26/66.1)
Today’s Game
- Set to make his 25th start of the season and fourth against New York (NL).
- Struckout 10 New York (AL) hitters through 6.0 scoreless frames in his last start.
- At age 39 years and 277 days old, Morton joined Hall-of-Famers Phil Niekro and John Smotlz as the only pitchers of that age or older in Braves franchise to fan at least 10 hitters while tossing 6.0 shutout innings.
- His 12 wins are tied for fifth most in the National League.
- Since 2019, Morton’s teams have wone 75 of his starts; fourth most in the majors during that span.
- Has 20 starts in 10 different seasons.
- Earned his 10th win of the season spinning 7.0 shutout-innings on July 14.
- Morton has now won at least 10 games in six different seasons.
- Became the first Braves pitcher since R.A. Dickey in 2017 to toss 7.0 scoreless frames and get the win age 39 or older.
- Joined Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright as the only active pitchers in baseball to win at least 10 games at the age of 39 or older in a season.
- Became just the fifth pitcher in the Braves franchise history to record 10 wins in a season after turning 39 (Niekro [5], Spahn [4], Smoltz [2], Dickey [1]).
- Morton has struck out 373 hitters with his curveball since the beginning of the 2020; the most in the majors.
- During that span hitters are missing on 5340% of curveballs thrown, the second highest rate in the majors…The MLB average is 11.5% (among QS).
- Utilizing his curveball on 44.1% of pitches thrown this season; the highest rate in the majors among qualifiers this season.
- Morton’s 1050 strikeouts since the 2018 season are the fourth most in baseball.
- Prior to the 2018 season, Morton threw his curveball on 21 % of pitches throughout his career.
- Since the beginning of 2018 he has thrown his curve on 37 % of pitches.
- Morton’s 31.5% swing and miss rate is the fifth highest among qualifiers in the NL.
- Teammate Spencer Strider leads league with a rate of 40.1%
- Hitters are registering a .321 batting average on balls in play against Morton in ’23.
- Since the beginning of June, Morton owns a .302 BABIP.
- Had a .337 battting average on balls in play through his first 10 starts.
- Hitters are averaging a 9.10 launch angle against Morton; MLB average is 11.80.
- In his age 39 season, Morton is the sixth-oldest active pitcher in the majors.
2023 Recap
- Held New York (NL) to three hits and seven walks over 5.0 scoreless innings with
four strikeouts on August 11. - Joined Jack Flaherty and Dylan Cease as the only players in the majors this year
to toss 5.0 shutout innings while issuing at least seven walks and get the win. - Became just the sixth player in Braves franchise history to do so.
- Morton is one six active pitchers with at least 15 starts in 13 different seasons.
- Trails only Zack Greinke (17), Clayton Kershaw (15), Justin Verlander (15), Max Scherzer (14), and Cole Hamels (14).
- Morton struck out Miami’s Bryan De La Cruz for 1,800 on his career.
- Is now one of 13 acitve pitchers in baseball with as many punchouts.
- Became the sixth pitcher in franchise history to pitch at least 6.0 innings and strikeout nine or more in an outing at age 39 or older.
- Passed R.A. Dickey and Hall-of-Famer Cy Young with three such games.
- Trails Hall-of-Famers Phil Niekro (10), John Smoltz (8), and Warren Spahn (4).
- Struck out 10 hitters over 6.2 scoreless innings in his win against Texas on May 15.
- Has now struckout at least 10 hitters in six games since turning 38, passing Hall-of-Famer Cy Young for the ninth most such games dating to 1901.
- Morton is the first player with at least seven games of 10 or more strikeouts at his age since Hall-of-Famers Randy Johnson and John Smoltz.
