Get to know the Mets

The Mets opened a three-game road series against the first-place Philadelphia Phillies last night. On paper, the pitching duel – Aaron Nola versus Jose Quintana – clearly favored the Phillies. But Quintana ended up having the better night, as the veteran left-hander threw seven hitless innings. Nola, on the other hand, held the Mets hitless for the first four innings, but then conceded two two-run home runs in the fourth inning and his night was over. The Mets ended up scoring five more runs – including another three-run home run – to take an impressive 11-3 victory.

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Francisco Lindor had to leave yesterday’s game due to back problems, but there is hope that it was just a precautionary measure and he will be back in the squad today.

The Mets may finally get a rookie at bat, as Luisangel Acuña is reportedly set to move up to the Major Leagues.

Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo have both struggled recently, but both hit home runs yesterday, an encouraging sign that better times are ahead for them.

The Mets will be without one of their best bullpen options for the rest of the season as Dedniel Núñez is out for the year with a strained flexor tendon.

Kodai Senga will soon be facing real batsmen as he continues to look to return at some point this season.

Francisco Lindor’s candidacy for MVP is attracting the most attention, but other Mets players are also in the running for the awards.

Luis Severino is convinced that the Mets can earn a legitimate postseason spot if they put their minds to it.

Pablo Reyes was claimed off waivers and sent to Syracuse after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

The Mets have reportedly hired NBA executive Samantha Engelhardt as their new COO.

All about the National League East

The Braves built a five-run lead in the first two innings and a strong start by Spencer Schwellenbach led to an easy 6-2 victory over the Dodgers.

Ozzie Albies promised to return to the Braves soon and even hinted that he would be willing to bat exclusively from the right side.

Zack Wheeler talked about the possibility of facing his former team in the postseason.

Dylan Crews continued to impress in the field and on the bases in the Nationals’ 4-1 victory over the Marlins.

All about Major League Baseball

Thanks in large part to Dylan Cease’s strong start, the Padres regained the lead in the Wild Card race with a 5-0 win over the Giants.

The Diamondbacks had trouble getting on offense in their 2-1 loss to the Brewers last night.

Jacob deGrom made his highly anticipated return from Tommy John surgery last night, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings for the Rangers.

Numerous offseason additions are playing a key role in leading their teams into the postseason.

There is at least a possibility that Shohei Ohtani could pitch in the postseason.

After leading them to last year’s World Series title, the Rangers extended General Manager Chris Young’s contract and promoted him to President of Baseball Operations.

The Yankees have relegated Marcus Stroman to the bullpen, at least temporarily.

If you’ve ever thought, “Man, you know what would be really cool? If players had ugly advertisements on their helmets during the playoffs,” MLB has the solution for you.

Yesterday on Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore looked for the upside in his preview of the weekend series in Philadelphia.

Joe Sokolowski provided a roundup of interesting Mets-related quotes this week.

This date in the history of the Mets

On this day four years ago, Steve Cohen completed his purchase agreement for the Mets.