Rocky Mountain Highs, 17 Hits, 13 Runs,6 Home Runs as Mets Sweep Series with 13-5 Win

Mets 13 Rockies 5 (Coors Field, Denver, CO)

Mets record: 42-24

Mets streak: Won 3

L10 : 8-2

WP -Tylor Megill (5-4)

LP - Chase Dollander (2-6)

SV -Paul Blackburn (1)

Seat on the Korner: Jeff McNeil

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Each night, we hand out a virtual seat on the Korner a tribute to the great Ralph Kiner and his iconic postgame show on WOR-Channel 9, where the game’s star would sit down for a little chitchat with Ralph (whether they liked it or not). Today’s Seat on the Korner goes to Jeff McNeil, who might’ve felt more at home in Colorado than the squirrels themselves. Ralph Kiner, were he still holding court on WOR Channel 9, might’ve opened with a wistful grin and a note that Colorado is home to three main types of tree squirrels, Abert’s, pine, and fox as well as a few ground-dwellers like the Wyoming ground squirrel, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, and the rock squirrel. And then, perhaps with a chuckle, Ralph would’ve turned to McNeil, nicknamed “The Squirrel”and said, ‘Well Jeff, looks like one of their own came to visit.’ McNeil certainly foraged well, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and a double, his first career game with three extra-base hits. He drove in four runs, scored three, and added a pair of slick defensive plays just to round things out. On a day when the Mets feasted at Coors, McNeil wasn’t just gathering nuts—he was driving the Rockies absolutely nuts

Need to Know

• New York has won four of their last five, eight of their last

  ten games and 12 of their last 15.

• The Mets completed their seven-game road trip (5-2)

  Los Angeles (2-2) and Colorado (3-0).The Mets are off on Monday before the

  start of six-game homestand against the Nationals (three games) and Rays

  (three games).

• The Mets are a season high 18 games above .500 through just 66 games a benchmark they didn’t reach until Game 156 on September 22 last season

• The Mets’ sweep of the Rockies marks just the second time in franchise history they’ve swept a season series against Colorado, the first coming in 2015 when they went 7-0. That year also included their last sweep at Coors Field, from August 21–23.

• The Mets own a 42-24 record this season. That is the best record in the National League. Only the Tigers have more wins with 43. It is the fifth-best record to start a season. Only the 1986 (46-19), 1988 (42-23),2022 (42-23) and 2006 (42-23) teams had better season-opening records.

• Francisco Lindor’s streak of safely reaching base in eight straight games including hits in seven of them, came to an end as he went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts before being removed to rest his broken toe. He remains two stolen bases shy of 200 for his career.

• Pete Alonso has reached base safely in 17 straight games, tying the third-longest on-base streak of his career. Over that stretch, he’s batting .323 (22-for-68) with four doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI, and five walks. Alonso now has 61 RBI in 66 games this season—the most in the majors. By comparison, he finished with 88 RBI over 162 games last year. His 61 RBI are also the second-most through the first 66 games in franchise history, trailing only his own 2022 pace, when he drove in 63 runs through 65 games. Alonso’s home run in the third inning was the 242nd of his career, tying him with David Wright for second on the Mets’ all-time list, he then took sole possession in the 8th with his second of the game and he is now just 9 behind franchise leader Darryl Strawberry.

  
  

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• Juan Soto has recorded 55 walks in 65 games this year. His 53 walks are the most in the majors. His 55 walks through the team's first 65 games are the most since John Olerud recorded 53 walks in 65 team games in 1999. He would go on to set the single-season franchise record with 125 walks that year. Soto has recorded at least 125 walks in a season four times in his career (145 in 2021, 135 in 2022, 132 in 2023 and 129 in 2024).

• The Rockies 6-25 record at Coors Field is the worst home record in the Majors and their worst start through 30 home games in franchise history ,it's the only time in franchise history the Rockies have lost 25 of 31

  home games at any point of a season.

• Colorado has been outscored 233-118 (-115) at home this year.

• The Rockies have scored five or fewer runs in ten-straight home games dating back to May 19, tied for the third-longest single season streak in franchise history and their longest streak since an eight-game run July

  18-Aug. 2, 2023 (longest: 15 games, July 14-Aug. 21, 2018).

• The Rockies have gone 5-20 since naming Warren Schaeffer interim manager on May 11.

• The Mets' win, combined with losses by every other team in the National League East, extended their first-place lead to 4.5 games over the Phillies, 11.5 over the Nationals, 14 over the Braves, and 16.5 over the Marlins.

• With the game well in hand, Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were at their blowout best, turning the booth into a comedy lounge and pop culture playground. The two riffed on classic cartoon sidekicks debating the merits of Boo-Boo, Baba Looey, and Ricochet Rabbits less-remembered pal, Droop-A-Long, while Gary sprinkled in a few timely musical drops, including Timbuk 3’s “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” and Bill Haley & His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock.” As the score climbed, so did the booth banter, proving once again that in a laugher, nobody calls a game quite like Gary and Keith

  
  

Turning Point

In a lopsided game, identifying a turning point can feel like trying to pinpoint the exact moment a snowball becomes an avalanche. But when you’re facing a team struggling at a historic level like the Rockies, momentum matters more than ever. That’s why the swing from the bottom of the first into the top of the second stood out. After Rockies rookie Chase Dollander—not to be confused with Derek Zoolander, though the Mets looked equally puzzled in the opening frame held New York scoreless, Tylor Megill responded with a sharp 1-2-3 inning, striking out the side. The Mets rode that jolt into a two-run second, jump-started by Jeff McNeil’s first homer off the game, a shot to right-center. Ronny Mauricio followed with a single, Tyrone Taylor drew a walk, and Francisco Alvarez capped the inning with an RBI bloop single up the middle . From that point on, it was clear the Mets were in command—while the Rockies were left trying to stop a train already out of the station.

Three Keys

The Mile-High Mash Unit

The thin air at Coors Field has a way of making long balls look like routine flyouts elsewhere, but there was nothing routine about the Mets’ power display on Sunday. They launched six home runs—two by Jeff McNeil and Alonso and one by Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez. It marked the fifth time in six games against the Rockies this season that the Mets have hit at least three home runs. Whether it’s the elevation, the pitching, or simply a team finding its swing, the Mets are mashing at a historic clip whenever Colorado is on the schedule.

Mop up in Aisle 6

Tylor Megill followed up a career-high-tying 105-pitch outing with another strong performance, but manager Carlos Mendoza opted for the cautious route. Despite holding an 8–2 lead after five innings and throwing just 82 pitches, Megill was lifted—perhaps a nod to his recent workload, which included back-to-back 100+ pitch starts for the first time in his career. Still, he was highly effective, allowing only three hits and two runs, extending his streak of allowing four hits or fewer to a career-best five consecutive starts. With the bullpen needing coverage, Mendoza handed the ball to veteran Paul Blackburn, who delivered in a big way. Blackburn threw four innings of relief, yielding three runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking one, earning his first career save in the process. It was a rare but efficient piggyback effort that sealed the series sweep

Heart of the Order, Heart of the Beatdown

The heart of the Mets’ lineup was nothing short of explosive in Sunday’s rout. Juan Soto reached base all six times he came to the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three walks and scoring three runs, it marked the first time in his career he reached base six times. Pete Alonso mashed his way to a 3-for-6 day, belting two home runs and driving in four while crossing the plate three times himself. Not to be outdone, Jeff McNeil turned in a vintage performance, going 3-for-5 with two homers, a double, four RBI, and three runs scored. Together, the trio combined to go 9-for-14—a scorching .643 average—and reached base 12 times in 17 plate appearances, good for a .706 on-base percentage. When the middle of the order is clicking like this, the Mets’ offense becomes a runaway train