Christian Scott should soon start throwing from 120 feet, which would be another step forward for the rookie right-hander in his return from a UCL strain he suffered on July 22.
“Everything’s going well,” Scott said after another practice session before the Mets-Marlins game at Citi Field.
He has yet to start throwing his curveball, which will be another test on his return.
Scott’s return could be key to a playoff push, as Senga Kodai is limited to upper-body workouts while recovering from a torn calf, and team president David Stearns said the team has no immediate plans to recall promising 23-year-old right-hander Brandon Sproat from Triple-A Syracuse.
The 25-year-old Scot was impressive in most of his first seven games but struggled badly in his final two.
Still, adding some more talented pitchers to a starting rotation that already lacks depth would help.
The team has also not used its starting pitchers much recently, but Luis Severino’s complete game shutout on Saturday and Sean Manaea’s seven innings on Friday contributed to the win.
Prior to that, only David Peterson had pitched more than five innings in a single rotation.
Given where the Mets are in the National League wild-card standings, they’ll likely count on Scott to help them out if he’s healthy.
“The intensity will increase soon,” manager Carlos Mendoza said of Scott’s rehabilitation. “But [how he is] Until I get on the mound and throw every pitch.”
Pete Alonso hit his 100th career home run at Citi Field. Only Darryl Strawberry and Mike Piazza have hit more home runs in Queens.
“It’s fun,” Alonso said of the milestone. “It’s really cool. It means a lot to me because this is a really special place. I’m just going to continue to do my best.”
Alonso is eligible to become a free agent after the season, so it remains to be seen whether he can catch Strawberry and Piazza.
Through the first three-plus months of the season, no regular player had a worse hitting performance than Jeff McNeil.
As of July 12, among 139 eligible hitters, McNeil’s OPS was .582, the worst in the majors.
Since then, McNeil has posted a 1.025 OPS as of Saturday, best on the Mets and 13th in MLB.
“He’s poised to do damage,” Mendoza said. “Whether it’s his lower body or just focusing on hitting the ball, not really guiding the ball, throwing it the other way or turning the ball over. … “He’s swinging the bat with power and has the ability to pull the ball when he needs to. He’s not missing pitches. We’ve seen some really good signs over the last three or four weeks.”
Francisco Lindor continues to thrive as a leadoff hitter.
The shortstop extended his hitting streak to 11 with a leadoff homer on Saturday.
Lindor had played in 79 games at the top of the batting order through Saturday with an .888 OPS, while he had played in 29 games as the No. 3 hitter with an OPS of .697 and as the No. 2 hitter with an OPS of .419.
And his 23 career home runs through Saturday were the most among National League shortstops.
Mark Vientos returned to the second position for the third straight game on Saturday and continues to perform solidly at third base.
