Mets Enjoy the Comforts of Home

The Mets left town after Wednesday’s game with a 7-6 record. They will play their next 10 games in California, visiting the Oakland Athletics for three, the Los Angeles Dodgers for three and the San Francisco Giants for four. It is too early for a true read on the team, but the Mets recovered nicely after their opening road trip ended with three consecutive losses in Milwaukee.

“We played really good team ball,” Alonso said. “We pitched well, we played great defense, and I feel like overall we had great team at-bats — one through nine, we did a great job grinding down starting pitchers, getting deep into bullpens and capitalizing on opportunities. We’re going to get better as the season goes on, but going 4-2 was a good bounce-back.”

The ace right-hander Justin Verlander, signed as a replacement once Jacob deGrom had departed for the Texas Rangers, did not fly with the team; he is heading to Florida as he works through shoulder inflammation. Before he can make his Mets debut, Showalter said, Verlander will need a couple of bullpen sessions, a round of live batting practice, and then a minor league rehab game.

That program seems likely to keep Verlander out until early May — not late April, as he had hoped — but there is no reason to rush. There are six National League playoff spots, after all, and Tylor Megill has now won three times in Verlander’s absence after working five innings on Wednesday.

Showalter used four relievers to finish up, knowing they all could rest before the next game on Friday. The star closer, Edwin Díaz, was on site but was still using crutches after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee at the World Baseball Classic in March.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/sports/baseball/mets-homestand-padres.html