Rain forces Mets-Nationals into Tuesday doubleheader
General view of the field covered before the first inning between the Mets and the Nationals at Citi Field on Monday. Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier
The Mets’ minute divisional dreams got to live another day Monday, even when they lay dormant due to the weather.
Atlanta lost to the Marlins, 4-0, and the Mets’ game was postponed until Tuesday, meaning that the Mets still mathematically have a (very outside) chance to win the NL East title.
The Mets will play the Nationals twice Tuesday as part of a single-admission doubleheader at Citi Field. Tickets for Monday’s game will not be valid for the doubleheader. There also is rain in the forecast for Tuesday.
Atlanta’s magic number remains at 1. Because Atlanta holds a tiebreaker advantage, for the Mets (98-61) to finish first, they would have to win their final three games and Atlanta (100-60) would have to lose its last two.
“We’re hoping they lose three and we win three,” Buck Showalter said. “I ain’t giving in.”
Escobar player of month
From hitting .177 in the month of August to driving in all five runs in a walk-off win last week, Eduardo Escobar had a September to remember. Major League Baseball seemed to think so, too.
The Mets third baseman was announced as the NL Player of the Month for September on Monday, joining American League counterpart Aaron Judge. After a very slow start, Escobar was nothing short of lightning personified last month, posting a .340/.393/.649 slash line with eight homers, 16 runs and 24 RBIs. It’s his first monthly award, and he’s the first Met to win the award since David Wright in June 2010.
The key, Showalter said, has been a shift in mindset.
“There was more than just the physical part of it,” he said.
“He’s gotten I think to a good place mentally and emotionally and I do know he did some things mechanically that helped him get a little more upright . . . It’s such a mental and emotional thing that I think he got to a place in his summer that he was in a lot better place mentally and emotionally.”
McNeil takes lead
Jeff McNeil (who was idle) passed the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (who was 0-for-4) for the top batting average in the National League. McNeil is at .326 (actually .32571) and Freeman is hitting .325 (actually .32450).
Help for Fort Myers
Daniel Vogelbach, who lives in Fort Myers, Florida, and has friends and family there, is raising money to help the victims of Hurricane Ian, which wiped out swaths of the area. Vogelbach is auctioning off items at vogelbachcares.org, with 100% of the proceeds going to Community Cooperative, a nonprofit that will use the money to aid businesses and residents and help provide meals to displaced individuals.
Vogelbach’s home, along with that of his parents, remained unscathed, but others in his circle weren’t as fortunate.
“Just seeing pictures as the hurricane goes through, your mind goes to places that you probably don’t want it to, but stuff like that just puts things in perspective,” Vogelbach said. “This game we play is obviously very important, and I love it, but there’s a lot more to life than wins and losses . . . I’m talking to people that literally have worked their whole life for things and they’re gone.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
