Mets Survive, Face Atlanta with 1-Game Lead in East

 

METS 5 – MARLINS 4 – 10 INNINGS

The New York Mets got a little help from the Washington Nationals, then went ahead and helped themselves to a much needed victory.

The Mets defeated the Miami Marlins last night 5-4 in an extra inning thriller, just moments after the Nationals finished off the Atlanta Braves 3-2 down in D.C. That means the Mets are back in first place in the NL East by one whole game.

Now the attention turns to a critical three-game series down in Atlanta between the Mets and Braves that will all but determine who wins the NL East.

The Mets trailed 4-0 in the seventh inning when Eduardo Escobar played the role of hero.

Escobar crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to get the Mets back into it at 4-2. Later, in the eighth inning, Escobar reached on an soft single to left as the Marlins throw into home was wide, allowing both Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo to score, tying it at four.

After Adam Ottavino, Edwin Diaz and Drew Smith combined to toss three no hit innings, the Mets walked it off in the bottom of the tenth.

With Francisco Lindor the lead runner, the Marlins intentionally walked Jeff McNeil, electing to pitch to the red hot Escobar. Big mistake.

Escobar punched a single through the hole in right, allowing Lindor to score from second to send the Mets to an exciting 5-4 victory.

Judge Cracks Number 61 To Tie Roger Maris

 

Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris with home run number 61 last night in Toronto.

Six games after tying Babe Ruth with 60 home runs, Judge finally got around on a pitch in the top of the seventh inning — in a game that was tied at three — and crushed it into the bullpen in left. Not only was it the home run that tied Judge with Roger Maris for the most home runs by an American League hitter and a Yankee in a single season, it gave New York a 5-3 lead. 

 The Yankees would win 8-3.

But this was all about Judge and his pursuit of history.

“When I hit it, I thought I got enough, but it’s been a couple of games since I did that,” Judge said.

Judge’s mother was seated next to Roger Maris Jr. The two of them embraced. Later Judge and Maris Jr. met after the game to talk about it. 

 

“As soon as he hit it I was like ‘OK, that’s gone,'” Maris Jr. said. “Then it was just a matter of enjoying him run the bases and giving his mom a big old hug and just enjoying the moment.” 

READ MORE ON FOX SPORTS NEW JERSEY. 

 

Mets Blast Athletics, Maintain 1.5 Game Lead in NL East

 METS 13 - ATHLETICS 4 

The New York Mets maintained their lead of 1.5 games over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East by putting away the Oakland A's 13-4 on Sunday in a series that was defined by the Mets ability to score early and often in two of the three games. 

Moreover Pete Alonso drove in five runs to give the slugging first baseman 125 RBI on the year setting a new club record for RBI in a season. The previous mark of 124 belonged to Mike Piazza (1999) and David Wright (2008). 

With nine games left in the regular season, Alonso is going to obliterate that record; he has enough time to challenge 135 or 140 RBI when its all said and done in a couple weeks. 

Alonso cracked a two-run homer to straight away center field that highlighted a four-run fourth inning for the Amazin's as New York took a 7-0 lead. Later, he cleared the bases on a three-run double to put the Mets up 11-1 in the eighth inning. 

 

Alonso hit safely in every game of this series, and homered twice. He is starting to get hot at the right time. 

Francisco Lindor also enjoyed a big afternoon for the Mets, with three hits, including a two-run double in the fourth and a RBI single in the eighth inning. 

Eduardo Escobar, who has been tearing the cover off the ball of late had three more hits and a pair of RBI on the afternoon as well. 

On the mound Max Scherzer held the A's to a run on four hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Scherzer is 11-4 on the season. 

The Mets will be off Monday, before returning to Citi Field for a quick two-game series with Miami before heading to Atlanta for the series that will determine the NL East champion.

Jets Fall Flat vs. Bengals

 BENGALS 27 - JETS 12 

So much for all that momentum from last week's historically bizarre victory at Cleveland. The Jets fell back to their script from Week 1 as they struggled on both sides of the ball as the Cincinnati Bengals blew them away 27-12 in a game that wasn't even that close. 

The Jets struggled to establish anything up front. Defensively they struggled to get enough pressure on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow who picked them apart for 275 yards and three touchdowns. 

On the flip side, Joe Flacco was under siege all day. 

The Jets couldn't run the football, and couldn't pass protect for Flacco, who was sacked four times and tossed two interceptions. New York turned the ball over four times against the Bengals. 

Cincinnati sent a huge message on the opening drive when Burrow tore up the Jets on an 11-play, 75 yard drive that included three third down conversions. In fact the final play of the drive was on third down and goal when Burrow rolled out of a potential sack and hit Samaje Perine for the touchdown to put the Bengals up 7-0. 

The Jets showed signs of life early. Flacco had the Jets moving on their opening drive; a 23-yard completion to Garrett Wilson set the Jets up at the Bengals 33. However the drive quickly stalled, and New York had to settle for three. 

Even when the Jets got a break when Cincinnati fumbled on its ensuing possession, the Jets couldn't cash in. They had the ball at the Bengals' 43, and could only move 21-yards before settling for a field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6. 

That was as close as the Jets would get. 

The Bengals quickly answered when Burrow again scrambled out of a pressure on third down, hit Taj Boyd in the flat, and the big tight end did the rest chugging past Jets defenders to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown to put Bengals up 14-6. 

The Jets would never get close again as the offense managed only two more field goals the rest of the afternoon.

With the loss the Jets drop to 1-2. Now the attention turns to next Sunday when the Jets visit Pittsburgh in what should be Zach Wilson's return under center after missing nearly two months with a knee injury. 

All Smiles as Mets Slap A's 9-2

 It was night full of "smiles" as the Mets beat up on the hapless Oakland A's 9-2 at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night. 

 For starters, the Mets thoroughly dominated the A's in a game that wasn't even close. New York jumped out to a 3-0 second inning lead on RBI base hits by Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo. 

 

Later Eduardo Escobar put the game away in the fifth inning when he lined a pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam homer to put the Mets up 7-0. Escobar has been killing it with the bat of late. He is hitting .329 with seven homers and 17 RBI at a time when the Mets are without Starling Marte (hand injury). Escobar's September surge is a huge need for a ballclub that is trying to hold off the Atlanta Braves. 

Speaking of the Braves, they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 9-1 on Friday, meaning New York holds a 2.5 game lead in the NL East.

But the Mets weren't the only ones smiling in Oakland last night. During the early stages of the game, just under the scorebug in the front row was a woman in a highlighter yellow t-shirt that read "SMILE." For the longest time she sat there with a evil smile frozen on her face. SNY zoomed in on the woman who certainly sent a jolt through fans watching the game, as everyone jumped on Twitter to remark on it. 

 

Apparently it was party of a marketing ploy for the upcoming horror movie "Smile." Talk about brilliant marketing for a movie most people probably wouldn't had thought twice about seeing, let alone knowing about.

 

 

Judge Still Stuck on 60, But Yanks Keep Winning

 Aaron Judge remains at 60 home runs on the season, but the Yankees keep winning ball games, taking care of the Red Sox, for the second straight night, 5-4 at the Stadium. The Bronx Bombers have now won five in a row. 

Judge went 1-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts in a game that was exclusively broadcast on Apple TV+ drawing the expected hand-wringing from fans who don't have access to the $4.99 a month streamer. 

Albert Pujols however, gave Apple it's money's worth blasting home runs 699 and 700 last night in Los Angeles. 

Instead of Judge, it was Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres in the starring role for the Bombers on Friday night. 

Hicks homered in the third and drove in a run in the fifth to help New York build a 2-1 lead.

Later a double by Torres, assisted by a two-base error by Boston brought home Marwin Gonzalez and Hicks to make it a 4-1 game. 

Things would get interesting when Alex Verdugo cracked a three-run homer to tie the game at four in the top of the sixth. However Ronnie Marinaccio and Jonathan Loaisiga did an outstanding job blanking the BoSox over the next two innings, setting up Jos Trevino to put the Yankees up for good, when he delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. 

Giants Win Battle of Trenches with Panthers

 

It wasn’t pretty, but the Giants will surely settle for it. 2-0 is 2-0, and the Giants haven’t been there since 2016.

On Sunday, the Giants pervaded 19-16 over the Carolina Panthers, who lost their ninth straight game dating back to last season. It was ugly, but head coach Brian Daboll will take it.

“Whether you score a lot or not, it’s important to figure out ways to win games,” Daboll said. “You can win a game a variety of ways, and also lose it a lot of ways. Again, the object of the game is to have one more point and to give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter.”

Even though his completion percentage was solid (22-of-34) Daniel Jones had a rough day at the office; sacked three times and hit nearly a dozen times. He didn’t have much time in the pocket. Saquon Barkley also had a slow day. At one point Barkley had only three yards on five carries in the first half. He would finish with 72 yards on 21 carries.

However when it mattered, the Giants got the job done.

Trailing 13-6, Jones orchestrated an eight play, 75-yard drive, culminating in a 16-yard touchdown to Daniel Bellinger, who scored by hitting the pylon.

From there the two rivals exchanged field goals, until Graham Gano connected on a 56-yarder with 3:34 to go in the game to put New York up 19-16. 

See more on Fox Sports New Jersey. 

Giants Show Guts and Honor in Trilling Season Opening Win

 GIANTS 21 – TITANS 20

Maybe the New York Giants aren’t all the way back. They still got a long way to go. But the facts are on Sunday, the Giants showed their fans and the entire NFL what a rebuild is supposed to look like. They found themselves down 13-0, never gave up, hung tough and found a way, multiple ways to come away with a thrilling 21-20 victory.

It was the first time the Giants won on Opening Day since 2016, the last year they made the playoffs.

In recent years the Giants would have gladly folded the tents. But not this team. Not under new Head Coach Brian Daboll, who was part of a restored winning culture in Buffalo.

And it also helped that the Giants appear to have the Saquon Barkley from 2018 back. Barkley owned the moment rushing for 164 yards, a touchdown and the game-winning two point conversion.

In fact it was Barkley’s 68-yard run with 12:45 to go in the third quarter that really turned the game around. Two plays after that gallop, Barkley hit paydirt on a four-yard scamper to cut the Titans lead to 13-6.

After the Giants defense forced Tennessee into a three-and-out, Daniel Jones joined the party with a 65-yard touchdown strike to Sterling Shepherd, where he found the speedy receiver break single coverage at the 50, before hitting him at the Tennessee 40. Shpeherd did the rest, cutting up field and dashing into the endzone with the tying score.

 

However it soon appeared that the Giants momentum had dissipated. The Titans responded quickly with a 75-yard scoring drive, and the Giants offense went into a bit of shell. On top of that when Jones had the Giants moving again into Titans territory, he was picked off in the end zone.

In the past the likes of Joe Judge or Pat Schurmur would either say nothing or look at the iPad with Jones. Not Daboll who channeled his inner Bill Parcells to ream out his quarterback.

Jones got one more shot, and he orchestrated the game winning touchdown drive. He even fooled the Titans defense on fourth and one at the Tennessee 17 by scrambling for two yards to give the G-Men a new set of downs.
Finally on second and goal at the one, with the Titans expecting to see Barkley get the ball, Jones rolled out and hit Chris Myarick for the touchdown.

 Daboll then rolled the dice, showed confidence in his team and went for two. Barkley got the call and plunged into the endzone for the score.

Giants 21-Titans 20.

Still there was more drama to come. The Titans got to within in field goal range with four seconds to go, but Randy Bullock’s field goal was wide left.

Check out more from my article on Fox Sports New Jersey. 

 

Same Ol' Jets! Gang Green Dropped by Ravens

 RAVENS 24 - JETS 9 

In short the opener to the 2022 season for the New York Jets was a complete and utter disaster. 

A team that came into the season with the promise of better days ahead, a team that had taken on so many kudos in the off-season for what so many in the media had claimed was an impeccable off-season and draft, came out flat as a pancake when it mattered the most. 

If this was a debut of what is to come for the Jets in 2022, you better start preparing your 2023 draft boards. 

Sunday's 24-9 loss wasn't just a defeat at the hands of a better team, it was a total indictment of the Jets current predicament. 

The Jets offensive line, which has been battered and beaten this summer with the losses of Meckhi Becton and Duane Brown looked like a sieve on Sunday. Joe Flacco, who is not exactly fleet of foot, was under siege all afternoon. The fact he came out of Sunday's game having been sacked only three times was a miracle in itself. 

George Fant, who was expected to start at left tackle when Becton was healthy, then moved to right tackle when Becton got hurt and the team brought in Duane Brown, was back at left on Sunday and couldn't stop anyone. 

Let us not forget that even kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a field goal and an extra point, and Braden Mann shanked a punt to help set up a Ravens touchdown. It was a great day all the way around.

Yes, there were moments for the Jets offensively. Michael Carter had a couple of nice runs, including a 22-yarder on the first play of the game. And Breece Hall showed some speed on his first carry of 14 yards, but it was few and far between. 

Flacco struggled to get the ball to his receivers, and whenever he got the ball on the back-shoulder, it was either an incompletion or a drop. 

Defensively, the Jets held their own against the Ravens through the first two quarters of the game. We saw Jermaine Johnson get a big sack, and Sauce Gardner make a couple of nice plays in the secondary. But, with the lack of offensive production, it was only a matter of time before Lamar Jackson did his thing. 

Jackson completed 17-of-30 for 213 yards and three touchdowns. His first score coming on a 25-yarder to Devin Duvernay with Bryce Hall drapped all over him to give Baltimore a 10-0 lead. 

In the third quarter, Jackson found Duvernay again in stride for a 17-yard score to push the Ravens up 17-3. 

Finally, after the Jets offense went five plays and out, Jackson hit the grand slam homer when he found a wide open Rashod Bateman for a 55-yard touchdown to push the game to a 24-3 Ravens lead. Game over. 

The Jets (0-1) look really, really bad. The expectations that this team would be improved in 2022 should/need to go out the window now. The question at this moment is, if the Jets are going to be this bad, when, oh when are they going to get at least one win? 

NFL Kickoff 2022: Joe Flacco, New Giants era, Picks and Predictions

 The 2022 season has already begun and we cannot wait. If Thursday's Bills smackdown of the LA Rams on the night they celebrated their Super Bowl Championship is any indication, it's going to be a wild one. 

The Jets and Giants of course enter the year with plenty of questions. Check out my story on FoxSports New Jersey for more! 

Yankees Honor Derek Jeter's Hall of Fame Career

 While the Yankees are struggling on the field right now, i.e. their latest 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, which has turned the AL East into a dog fight; the Bombers honored Hall of Famer Derek Jeter at the Stadium last night. 

It was steering ceremony as the Captain made his return to the stadium he built to address the generation of fans who saw him help lead the Yankees to five World Series titles from 1996 to 2009. 

Jeter defined the Yankees at the turn of the century.  His success in October and ability to come up big in the big spot served as the linchpin to the Yankees glorious past to the modern day Yankees fan, many of whom are in their late 30s/early 40s at this point. 

During his speech, Jeter offered a thanks to Brian Cashman, Hal Steinbernner and the Yankees front office, to which the fans booed. Jeter joked, "Guess you guys are ready for the postseason run." 

If anyone knows how passionate the Yankee fan is, it's Jeter. He knows they want to win as badly as he did when he made the dirt at short his office and playground. 

While the 2022 version is struggling, watching a 15-game lead shrink to two games in the loss column, Jeter's return was an important reminder of what was and what could still be possible. 

Read more on Fox Sports New Jersey!! 

Mets fall out of First Place in Latest Loss to Miami

 It was fun while it lasted. (As seen on Fox Sports NJ). 

After 155 days in first place, the Mets are now looking up in the standings after suffering an hideous 6-3 loss to the Miami Marlins on Friday night. Coupled with Atlanta’s 6-4 win over the Seattle Mariners, and the Mets are now in second place, a half game out. 

Can the Mets change things? Sure they can, but the feeling that this would be a season destined for postseason success, now feels like an opportunity quickly slipping away.

The Mets never led. Miami jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back. The closest the Mets came to storming back came in the sixth inning when Pete Alonso crushed a two-run homer to bring the Mets to within a run, 4-3. In the seventh inning the Mets had the bases loaded with one out, but Francisco Lindor grounded into an inning end, and game killing, double-play.

The look of dejection in the dugout was real. Coupled and made worse when Joely Rodriguez served up a two-run homer to Charles Leblanc that put the game out of reach. And just like that, for the first time since April 11, the Mets were out of first place.

It's a tragic place the Mets find themselves in. A place they never thought they would be. For a large chunk of those 155 days in first place the Mets were the toast of the baseball world. 

They carried themselves with incredible confidence. Edwin Diaz's "Narco" theme song became an international sensation. They had two of the best pitchers in baseball, and still won games when neither was able to pitch due to injury. 

Instead, here are the Mets. They are 3-4 against the underbelly of what was supposed to be an easy schedule. While the Braves are the midst of a west coast trip, seeing the Mets lose to the likes of the Nationals, Pirates and Marlins is an opportunity missed. 

What's more the injuries keep coming. Starling Marte is battling a broken finger, and Max Scherzer is out another week (at least) as he battles soreness on his side once again. 

In addition the Mets inability to address needs in the bullpen and adding only spot starters to the lineup like Daniel Voglebach (who was fun to watch in August) and Darrin Ruff (who has struglged to catch on, is a harsh reminder that the front office didn't do enough to address the Mets needs at the Trade Deadline. 

Now the Mets have to hope that the Braves start losing. And more importantly, they need to start playing better baseball. 

Jets Will Start Joe Flacco in Week One on Sunday

 So much for the speculation that Zach Wilson was close to returning to the field for the New York Jets. 

Joe Flacco will instead start on Sunday when Gang Green takes on Flacco's old team, the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium. 

The decision was announced by Head Coach Robert Saleh on Wednesday. Oddly enough it comes just two days after Saleh indicated that Wilson, who is coming off of arthroscopic surgery to his knee to repair a torn meniscus, would be ready for the opener if he showed positive signs this week. 

Instead Saleh confirmed that Wilson is still not 100 percent, and would be out three more weeks until at least Week 4 when the Jets visit Pittsburgh. 

So it will be up to Flacco to lead this team to open the season. Ironically it all comes against teams Flacco is familiar with, the AFC North. 

It will be Flacco's first opening day start since 2019 with Denver and his first start for the Jets since 2020 when he started in a loss at the LA Chargers. 

Going up against his former team in the Ravens, the team that drafted him, and he won a Super Bowl with only adds to the intrigue of the match-up on Sunday.

Max Scherzer Hits the Injury List as Mets are in tie for First Place

 

As I wrote for Fox Sports New Jersey. 

As if things couldn’t get more difficult for the New York Mets, it was announced before Wednesday’s double-header in Pittsburgh that starting pitcher Max Scherzer is heading back to the Injury List with left side irritation.

Both Scherzer and manager Buck Schowalter downplayed the injury as not that serious — or not as serious as the left oblique strain that kept the former Cy Young Award winner sidelined for seven weeks earlier this year.

“I don’t have one specific spot that you can point to where that hurts,” Scherzer said. “It’s just general fatigue on the whole left side.”

The Mets expect Scherzer to miss Friday’s scheduled start in Miami. He could miss a second next week when the Mets play host to the Cubs and Pirates at Citi Field.  The 38-year old Scherzer is 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 20 starts this season.

The Mets (85-51) have lost three straight and find themselves in a dog fight for the NL East as the Atlanta Braves tied the Mets atop the standings on Tuesday night. The Braves have won 21 of their last 26 ballgames.

The Mets hope that Scherzer is healthy enough to finish the regular season, especially with a series in Atlanta scheduled for the last weekend of the season.

Zach Wilson Might Be Back for Week 1

 According to Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh there is a chance that quarterback Zach Wilson could be in line to start on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. 

Saleh made the surprising revelation to reporters during his Monday Zoom press conference, in which he stated that the team put Wilson through some strenuous workouts, and all went well. 

If Wilson's knee responds well come Tuesday the Jets will at least consider the possibility that last year's second overall pick could open the season under center. 

That is a stark contrast from where the Jets thought Wilson would be just three weeks ago when he initially suffered a bone bruise and slight tear of his meniscus which needed surgery.  

The timetable was four weeks, and many believe that if there is doubt that veteran Joe Flacco would get the call to start against the Ravens. 

Obviously the Jets have a lot invested in Wilson, and rushing him into the opening game against the Ravens would be considered by many to be a mistake. Sometimes the old adage better safe than sorry is the best course of action. 

While Flacco is older and may not be as mobile as he used to be, or at least when compared to Wilson, he gives the Jets a good chance to win on Sunday. He's been around the league a very long time, and certainly is familiar with the Ravens having played with them for a majority of his career. 

The Jets are expected to make a decision come Wednesday.

Aaron Judge Blasts 54th Home Run as Yankees Trounce Twins

 

Aaron Judge continues to be a one-man wrecking crew. And considering how hard it has been for the Yankees to score runs lately, they need Judge to be at the top of his game.

With Monday's Labor Day Matinee knotted up at two a piece, it was Judge who provided the ruling when he crushed a 3-1 slider from Tevor Megill, and planted it in the second deck down the left field line. Yankees 3, Twins 2. The Yanks would never look back. 

 The blast was Judge's 54 of the season and his third consecutive game with a homer. He is still well on pace to shatter the Yankees single season home run record of 61 by Roger Maris. And in some eyes, he's got an outside chance to chasing down steroid users like Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa.

“Just trying to do what I can every single day,” Judge said. “I show up to work, prepared ready to go and do whatever it takes to help our team what it takes to get a win today. Whether it’s moving a guy over, driving a guy in, making a play on defense, that’s what I’m focused on.”

For the Yankees, who had lost six of seven before beating Tampa Bay 2-1 on Sunday, a red hot Judge is exactly what it needs right now. The AL East race is now just that, a race with the Yankees holding a 5.5 game lead on Tampa and a 6.5 game lead on Toronto.

It has not been easy for the Yankees. Their inability to hit in the clutch has hurt them the most, but if Judge can reignite this team, then maybe there is a chance to get the Yanks back on track.