Mets Stat of the Day: August 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.

• Mets Stat of the Day: July 2021

Aug. 31: Mets 6, Marlins 5 (Game 1); Mets 3, Marlins 1 (Game 2) -- Báez in two places at once
Javier Báez rapped an RBI infield single as part of the Mets' ninth-inning rally in Tuesday's first game -- but because it was a resumption of a suspended game that began April 11, all the stats, including Báez's RBI, will be credited to that original date. What makes it extra fun is that Báez already had an RBI on April 11 when he homered as a Cub against the Pirates. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the second player since RBIs became official in 1920 to have an RBI for two teams on one day. The other is first baseman/DH Cliff Johnson, who was credited with five RBIs on May 28, 1980 -- one for the Indians and four for the Cubs after he hit a walk-off grand slam in a suspended game resumed on Aug. 8 following his June 23 trade to Chicago.

Aug. 29: Mets 9, Nationals 4 -- Loup's scoreless streak
Aaron Loup's streak of 23 consecutive appearances without a run ended when Juan Soto hit a leadoff homer in the sixth inning Sunday. (Inherited runs don't count against the streak.) Loup's 23 straight scoreless outings is second in Mets history behind only Mark Guthrie, who made 33 consecutive scoreless appearances in 2002.

Aug. 28: Mets 5, Nationals 3 -- Stroman's consistent efforts
Marcus Stroman allowed two runs over six innings, marking the 20th time in 27 starts this season he has given up two or fewer earned runs. His career high in such starts is 23, set in 2016 with the Blue Jays.

Aug. 27: Nationals 2, Mets 1 -- Báez reaches 25 HRs again
In hitting his 25th homer in Friday's loss to the Nationals, Javier Báez became one of only five infielders with 25 home runs in each of the last three full MLB seasons (2018-19, 2021). The others are Max Muncy, Matt Olson, Rhys Hoskins and Nolan Arenado.

Aug. 26: Giants 3, Mets 2 -- A rare sweep
The Mets were swept in three games by the Giants, marking San Francisco's first sweep in Queens since May 7-9, 2002. The Mets had not been swept by the Giants at any site since June 6-8, 2014, when they lost three in a row in San Francisco. The Mets lost five of their six games against the Giants this season, with the lone win coming in 12 innings on Aug. 18.

Aug. 25: Giants 3, Mets 2 -- A lefty finally gets Loup
Brandon Crawford's go-ahead two-run double off Aaron Loup in the seventh inning was the first extra-base hit Loup allowed to a left-handed hitter this season. Prior to that frame, lefties were 10-for-63 (.159) off Loup with 17 strikeouts and two walks.

Aug. 24: Giants 8, Mets 0 -- A challenging stretch
The Mets are currently playing a string of 13 consecutive games against the Giants and Dodgers, who both feature winning percentages over .600. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Mets are the first team since the 1980 Blue Jays to play 13 consecutive games against clubs holding a .600 or better win rate at least 100 games into a season. The Jays went 4-9 over their stretch, while the Mets are 2-9 so far in theirs.

Aug. 22: Mets 7, Dodgers 2 -- Stro adds a win
In delivering his second consecutive quality start, Marcus Stroman improved to 3-8 in his last 13 outings despite a 3.44 ERA over that span. The only other pitchers with eight losses over that stretch have ERAs over 6.00.

Aug. 21: Dodgers 4, Mets 3 -- Veterans match up
Albert Pujols' first-inning home run off Rich Hill was his first against Hill since Aug. 17, 2007 -- a gap of 14 years and four days. That's the third-longest span between homers in an individual batter-pitcher matchup in AL/NL history, behind Carlos Beltran and Bartolo Colon (15 years, 313 days), and Barry Bonds and Jesse Orosco (14 years, 69 days).

Aug. 20: Dodgers 3, Mets 2 -- The Mets' walk drought
From the third inning of their Aug. 18 win over the Giants through the seventh inning of this loss to the Dodgers, the Mets went 26 consecutive innings without a walk. The streak finally ended when Michael Conforto drew a 10-pitch free pass against Alex Vesia with two outs in the eighth.

Aug. 19: Dodgers 4, Mets 1 -- McNeil, Smith scuffling
Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith finished a combined 0-for-8 with four strikeouts, deepening the slumps for two of the Mets' most important left-handed hitters. Over their past eight games dating to the second game of a doubleheader on Aug. 12, McNeil and Smith are a combined 6-for-61 (.098) with 13 strikeouts.

Aug. 18: Mets 6, Giants 2 (12 innings) -- Pillar haunts S.F.
In eight games against the Giants since being non-tendered by the club, Kevin Pillar is 11-for-31 (.355) with two home runs and seven RBIs.

Aug. 17: Giants 3, Mets 2 -- Stroman's grueling 7 innings
Marcus Stroman threw 114 pitches across seven innings of three-run ball. It was the first time Stroman has thrown at least that many pitches in a game since Aug. 6, 2017, when he hit 118.

Aug. 16: Giants 7, Mets 5 -- Coming up short
Over their last four games, the Mets are 3-for-36 with runners in scoring position, including just 1-for-7 in the series-opening loss to the Giants.

Aug. 15: Dodgers 14, Mets 4 -- A chance to pitch
Brandon Drury (three hits, two runs and one walk over two-thirds of an inning) and Kevin Pillar (one-third of an inning) each made his first career appearance as a pitcher in the ninth. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time the Mets used two position players to pitch in the same game, let alone the same inning, in franchise history.

Aug. 14: Dodgers 2, Mets 1 (10 innings) -- Stranding runners on base
Left-hander Aaron Loup struck out Cody Bellinger in the seventh inning to strand inherited runners at the corners. Loup has stranded 11 of his last 12 inherited runners and has allowed just one run since May 22.

Aug. 13: Dodgers 6, Mets 5 (10 innings) -- Trouble with LA at home
The Mets fell to 7-4 in extra-inning games this season and they are now 1-11 in their last 12 home games against the Dodgers dating back to May 28, 2016.

Aug. 12: Mets 5, Nationals 4 (Game 2); Mets 4, Nationals 1 (Game 1) -- Mets' 12th doubleheader
The Mets' doubleheader against the Nationals on Thursday was their 12th of the season. They are scheduled for two additional twin bills later this year, meaning they will finish with at least 14 of them -- the most by any MLB team since 1979.

Aug. 11: Mets 8, Nationals 7 -- Drury a (pinch) hit
Brandon Drury, who hit a go-ahead, pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning of a suspended game on Wednesday, became the first Met since Alejandro De Aza in 2016 to record 10 or more pinch-hits in a season. Drury is batting .538 in 15 games since the Mets recalled him from Triple-A Syracuse on July 24 and .476 as a pinch-hitter. He's one of 16 Mets this century to produce 10 or more pinch-hits in a season.

Aug. 8: Phillies 3, Mets 0 -- The one who got away
Zack Wheeler's two-hit shutout against the Mets was his 15th start of at least seven innings this season. All Mets starting pitchers have combined for just 14 such outings.

Aug. 7: Phillies 5, Mets 3 -- Back-to-back-to-back blasts
When Michael Conforto, Jonathan Villar and James McCann hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the ninth inning, they became the eighth trio of Mets to accomplish that feat in franchise history, and the first since Carlos Delgado, David Wright and Paul Lo Duca in 2007. (The Mets lost both of those games, and three of the eight in total.)

Aug. 6: Phillies 4, Mets 2 -- Smith's streak
Dominic Smith extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the third inning. Smith's career high is an 11-game streak set last season. The left fielder is batting .343 over the life of his current nine-game run.

Aug. 5: Marlins 4, Mets 2 -- Has to be 4
With the 4-2 loss in Miami, the Mets are now 12-42 when scoring three runs or fewer, compared to 44-10 when scoring four runs or more.

Aug. 4: Mets 5, Marlins 3 -- Still in first place
Though their lead has dwindled recently, the Mets remain in first place in the National League East. They’ve been there since Saturday, May 8, a streak of 89 days. That’s their longest run atop the division in the past 14 seasons.

Aug. 3: Marlins 5, Mets 4 -- Lack of wins for starters
Mets starting pitchers have recorded just four wins in their last 47 games, the lowest number in the Major Leagues over that stretch. The last Mets starter to earn a win was Tylor Megill on July 23. The staff has since gone 12 consecutive games without one.

Aug. 2: Marlins 6, Mets 3 -- Megill's tough first inning
Tylor Megill allowed four runs before recording an out on Monday, when Lewis Brinson hit a grand slam off him in the Mets' loss to the Marlins. That one swing produced more runs off Megill than he had allowed the entire month of July (three runs).

Aug. 1: Reds 7, Mets 1 -- Stroman's struggles
Marcus Stroman has been the Mets' most consistent pitcher this season, but length has increasingly become an issue for the right-hander, who has not completed six innings in seven of his last eight starts. Overall, the Mets are 1-9 when Stroman gives them fewer than 18 outs.