I’m PickleMet, a die-hard Mets fan sporting the Retro 1920s Rubber Hose look—always ready to rock and roll the bases or run wild on the pickleball court. I may look like a cartoon from the ’20s, but I play like it’s game seven.
Tag: Mets
Almost Perfect
Binghamton Mets starter Jonah Tong was one out shy of a perfect game when the team’s manager, Reid Brignac, pulled him from the game.☹️
One away! 1️⃣‼️
❓Several more pitches would have made that big a difference?🤷♂️ (Tong threw 13 pitches to get the first 2️⃣ outs in the final inning.)
Joe DeMayo wrote this about Tong in his article, “Probably the biggest thing that has helped him is his openness to learn and continuously be challenged,” Mets pitching and performance integration coordinator Kyle Rogers told SNY.”
Tong is the Mets 6th-ranked prospect and the third pitcher — behind Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean, per mlb.com.
Learn more about Tong in DeMayo’s article — “Jonah Tong discusses his journey from Canada to rising Mets pitching prospect.”
Pick the best caption
Mets fans! Help pick the best caption for this cartoon!
1. “Can’t swat the gNats!”
2. “Drat the gNats!”
3. “Those gNats are pests!”
Mets Pitching Will Be Tested Against Top-Hitting Cardinals
After dropping two of three to the Twins—despite both teams scoring 11 runs in the series—the Mets now face the Cardinals. That near sweep got me wondering: how have the Mets fared against St. Louis lately?
Since 2020, the Mets are 15–12 against the Cardinals, including just 5–8 at home. And the last time the Mets swept the Cardinals at home was all the way back in 1988. It’s the only time it’s ever happened. That was before Citi Field, before Mike Piazza, and before most of today’s roster was even born.
That 1988 Mets team won 100 games. Darryl Strawberry led the league with 39 home runs, and Dwight Gooden went 18–9 with a 3.19 ERA. It’s been a while.
This season, the Cardinals are sitting at 9–9, right in the middle of the NL Central, while the Mets lead the NL East at 11–7. But here’s the twist: the Cardinals lead the majors with a team batting average of .280. The Mets? They rank 22nd at .219—a 61-point gap.
So how are the Mets winning? Pitching. Until the Twins series, their staff had been in lockdown mode, keeping runs off the board and covering for an offense that acted like it had to pay a silent penalty every time it reached base.
Seven Mets batters are barely treading water at the plate. Four haven’t even cracked .200—and one is barely visible:
- José Siti: .050 (That’s not a typo.)
- Mark Vientos: .145
- Tyrone Taylor: .163
- Starling Marte: .167
- Brett Baty: .175
- Jesse Winker: .200
- Brandon Nimmo: .203
If I hit like that in Little League, I never would’ve made it off the bench.
And while batting average isn’t the most fashionable stat these days—on-base percentage is the current darling—it’s still hard for me, as an old-school fan, to ignore how poor these numbers are.
Where does that leave us for tonight’s game? Griffin Canning is starting for the Queens men. He faced the Cardinals once last season, throwing six innings for San Diego and notching the win. Before that, in two other starts—one in 2023 and one in 2019—he split the results, with one win and one loss. Given his win against the Cardinals last year as a Padre and the Mets’ adjustments to his pitching, I’m hoping Canning can keep them from outscoring the Mets tonight during his time on the mound.
Bats and Stats 