Mets Stat of the Day: April 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Mets this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
April 30: Phillies 2, Mets 1 -- Run production woes
The Mets went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position in Friday's loss to the Phillies, dropping their already league-worst batting average to .176 in such situations.
April 28: Red Sox 1, Mets 0 -- deGrom equals Nolan
Jacob deGrom struck out nine batters against the Red Sox on Wednesday, giving him 59 for the season. It's the most by a starter in his first five outings since Nolan Ryan in 1978. deGrom's 0.51 ERA is also the lowest ever by a Mets pitcher through five starts.
April 27: Red Sox 2, Mets 1 -- RISP woes continue
Last year, the Mets rated 22nd in the Majors in batting average with runners in scoring position despite leading the Majors in overall batting. This year, they're up to the same tricks, hitting .242 overall but .193 with runners on second or third -- last in the Majors in that category.
April 25: Mets 4, Nationals 0 -- Multiple shutouts in one series for 29th time
The Mets threw two shutouts this weekend against the Nationals, marking the 29th time in franchise history the club has pitched at least two in a three-game series. The last time that occurred was also against the Nationals, from Aug. 24-26, 2018.
April 24: Nationals 7, Mets 1 -- Mets' early unearned runs woes
The Mets allowed their 16th unearned run, placing them second only to the Padres in that category. They've allowed 67 runs in total, the third-lowest mark in the National League, meaning that 23.9 percent of their runs have been unearned; that's the highest rate in the Majors.
April 23: Mets 6, Nationals 0 -- deGrom passes Ryan, Bieber
Jacob deGrom became the first pitcher in history to strike out 50 batters in his first four starts of a season, passing Nolan Ryan (1978) and Shane Bieber (2021), who each had 48. He also became the third pitcher to collect 14 or more strikeouts in three consecutive games, joining Pedro Mart¨ªnez (1999) and Gerrit Cole (2019).
April 22: Cubs 4, Mets 3 (10) -- Ultimate utilityman
Luis Guillorme, who has become the Mets' go-to option when they need a position player to pitch, allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in the second game of the series. The following night, he led off the game for the Mets, flying out to left. Guillorme became the first player to do that since Anthony Rizzo on July 23-24, 2018.
April 21: Cubs 16, Mets 4 -- Four-plus errors for 135th time in Mets history
The Mets didn't come close to their record of seven errors in a game, but they were charged with four in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs, and it could have been more had an official scorekeeping decision or two gone differently. J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor and James McCann all committed errors for the Mets.
April 20: Cubs 3, Mets 1 -- Walker's stats a first since 2009
In his third start of the season, Taijuan Walker gave up two earned runs, walked six and struck out seven. The last Mets pitcher to match his stat line, allowing two or fewer earned runs, was Oliver P¨¦rez in 2009.
April 18: Mets 2, Rockies 1 -- Stroman in rarefied air
Combining two starts at Coors Field from June and September 2019, plus Sunday's game, Marcus Stroman put together a streak of 15 scoreless innings. That ties for the third most by a visiting pitcher at the hitter-friendly park behind Jair Jurrjens (15 2/3 innings) and Tyler Walker (16 2/3).
April 17: Mets 4, Rockies 3 (Game 1 of DH) -- 9 straight K's
Jacob deGrom struck out nine Rockies batters in a row, falling one shy of Tom Seaver's 51-year-old MLB record. Of the nine pitchers who have struck out at least nine in a row in a single game, seven have accomplished it in the past 15 seasons.
April 14: Mets 5, Phillies 1 -- Mets match 2020's best streak
Eight games into the 2021 season, the Mets won their third consecutive contest. They won three straight just twice in 60 games last season, and never extended that to four in a row.
April 13: Mets sweep Phils in twin bill -- Nimmo an OBP machine
Brandon Nimmo joined Freddie Freeman, Adri¨¢n Gonz¨¢lez, Shin-Soo Choo, Todd Helton and Sammy Sosa as the only players since 2003 to reach base safely multiple times in each of their team's first seven games. Nimmo owns a .581 on-base percentage through his first seven games.
April 10: Marlins 3, Mets 0 -- deGrom the second to fan 14, walk none, allow 1 run ... and lose
Before Saturday, James Shields (on Oct. 2, 2012) was the only pitcher to strike out at least 14 batters, walk none, allow one run and take a loss. Jacob deGrom joined him in a defeat to the Marlins at Citi Field, fanning 14 over eight innings of one-run ball.
April 8: Mets 3, Marlins 2 -- Mets claim third walk-off HBP
This may have been more controversial than the previous two, as Anthony Bass' final pitch crossed the strike zone before grazing Michael Conforto's right elbow. It was nonetheless the third walk-off hit-by-pitch in franchise history -- and the first since June 22, 2011, when Justin Turner took one for the team against the A's at Citi Field.
April 7: Phillies 8, Mets 2 -- Mets 1-for-12 with RISP
The Mets, who led the league in hitting last year but fell to 22nd in the Majors with runners in scoring position, have fallen into a similar trend so far this year. Michael Conforto personally stranded nine runners in an 8-2 loss to the Phillies, which saw the team leave 14 on base.
April 6: Mets 8, Phillies 4 -- Alonso bests Judge ... again
Pete Alonso became the fastest player in Major League history to reach 70 career homers. It took him 220 games -- 11 fewer than previous recordholder Aaron Judge. In 2019, Alonso also broke Judge's rookie record for home runs, with 53.
April 5: Phillies 5, Mets 3 -- deGrom's Opening Day streak
Making his third consecutive Opening Day start and the third overall of his career, Jacob deGrom extended his scoreless streak to 17 consecutive innings in season openers. He has 25 strikeouts and four walks in those games.