Watch Live: Mets and Twins wrap up series in Free Game of the Day
You’ll have to excuse Mets fans if they’re feeling a little conflicted today.
On one hand, it’s impossible not to be excited after Saturday’s wild walk-off win behind Curtis Granderson’s extra-inning heroics. On the other hand, it’s difficult to stay completely positive when the rug has been pulled out from under them again.
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That internal conflict will only intensify on Sunday. This was supposed to be a joyous day at Citi Field. It was supposed to be the day New York’s playoff hopes were further bolstered by the return of Jacob deGrom.
That’s not going to happen now. As we learned Saturday, deGrom is potentially facing season-ending surgery after irritation with his ulnar nerve flared up again. Instead, the Mets will go right back to mixing and matching in their starting rotation. Rookie Gabriel Ynoa, who’s allowed nine runs over six relief appearances this season, will take the ball for Sunday’s afternoon game against the Twins.
Talk about the ultimate yank of the rug. We were all looking forward to watching deGrom pitch on Sunday. Especially knowing the Twins-Mets game will be featured as the MLB Free Game of the Day on Yahoo Sports. DeGrom is a great hook. Then again, maybe getting a chance to see the Mets resilience on display will prove to be just as interesting.
If you’re curious too, you can stream the game at Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home beginning at 1:10 p.m. ET.
And let us just say, we’re definitely not counting the Mets out with deGrom out. If they’ve made it this far without him and others, they’re resilient enough to finish the race. With Saturday’s win, they’ve surged into a tie for the first wild card spot. They’re also at a season-high 10 games over .500. That’s not how this is supposed to work
Perhaps that’s not how it’s supposed to work. Not with the injuries. Not with the inconsistencies. Certainly not with the Cardinals and Giants involved in the race. But the Mets don’t care, because it’s their reality.
The list of injuries is a mile long. It includes names like Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Neil Walker. But that doesn’t matter on Sunday as long as the players Terry Collins puts on the field outperform and outproduce Minnesota’s. It’s cliched now. It’s one game at a time. It’s even one batter at a time. The Mets have to continue winning these battles.
More importantly, they can’t afford to look back. They can’t change what’s already happened. All they can do is focus and keep pushing forward. If they do that, they could shock the world in October.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
