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The New York Mets finally ended their seven-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. The much-needed win comes on the same day Mets owner Steve Cohen appeared to suggest manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler’s jobs are safe.
At the center of the Mets’ winning efforts in Pittsburgh in the second game of the three-game set was right-handed starter Kodai Senga, who limited the Pirates to just one run, unearned, on two hits in seven innings of work. He struckout six and walked four, and with that effort, he lowered his ERA in this, his first MLB season, to 3.34. On offense, Brandon Nimmo reached base three times, Mark Canha doubled twice, and rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez hit his 12th home run of 2023:
He is now tied with Sean Murphy of the Braves and Salvador Perez for most home runs by a cacher this season. However, Alvarez reached his mark in 136 at bats, while Murphy and Perez needed 184 and 227 respectively. As Sarah Langs points out, Alvarez is on track to set the record for most home runs in a season by a catcher age 21 or younger. Currently, Hall of Famer Johnny Bench holds the record with 26 home runs in 1969. The 21-year-old Alvarez, who entered the year as our No. 3 prospect in all of MLB, now hits .250/.301/.559 for the season.
The win pushes the Mets to 31-34 on the season — and 2-7 in June — with a points difference of minus 22. They are in fourth place half a game behind the Phillies, and they are in first place Braves 9.5 games behind. In terms of wild cards, the Mets are three games away from the final NL playoff spot and are behind four teams in line. The SportsLine projection system came on Saturday’s slate giving the Mets a 45.5% chance of making the postseason.
Going forward, the challenge when it comes to making up ground is scoring runs without the team’s leading hitter and MLB home run leader Pete Alonso, who may be out for the next three or four weeks with a sprained wrist and a bone bruise.
After Sunday’s rubber game in Pittsburgh, the Mets return home for two games against the Yankees, followed by three against the Cardinals.
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