Your Friday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.
Meet the Mets
The Amazins still can't seem to score against the Marlins, but it didn't matter last night. A David Wright solo home run was all they needed to defeat Miami, as Zack Wheeler went the distance in his first career shutout.
Recap Parade:Amazin' Avenue, MLB.com, ESPN NY, New York Times, Post, Daily News, Star-Ledger
Adam Rubin says the stellar performance could be a sign that Wheeler is finally living up to the hype that has surrounded him since the Mets made that trade with San Francisco back in 2011.
Jason Fry assures you that you weren't the only one worried about how last night's game would go horribly wrong for the Mets.
Yesterday, Jim Callis reported that the Mets had reached a contract agreement with first-round draft pick Michael Conforto. The Oregon State outfielder, however, denied the report on Twitter.
Dillon Gee, on the disabled list since May 14 with a strained right lat, threw 50 pitches during a bullpen session on Thursday and could pitch in a rehab game early next week.
Baseball Prospectus recently had the chance to scout under-the-radar pitching prospect Gabriel Ynoa.
Around the NL East
Wheeler wasn't the only young stud on the mound last night. Andrew Heaney looked great in his debut and could have a big effect on the division race.
The Phillies are rolling, people. They just defeated the Cardinals 4-1 to move within four games of the division lead. A big part of their recent success is veteran slugger Ryan Howard, who loves hitting in his hometown.
The Braves smoked Washington 3-0, but they lost Gavin Floyd to a broken elbow.
Around the Majors
Nick Swisher sent his home state into a frenzy with a walk-off grand slam against the Angels.
Billy Hamilton made an incredible, game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth, but the Buccos eventually defeated the Reds on a Russell Martin 12th inning RBI walk.
MLB yesterday apologized for the incorrect interpretation of the new home plate collision rules that caused a force out at home to be overturned in Wednesday's Reds vs. Pirates games.
Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus is too smart of a guy to be making offensive jokes during postgame press conferences.
This Jason Turbow essay is like a theory of relative (or "effective") velocity that could revolutionize pitching.
During batting practice, Tampa Bay's Matt Joyce hit the ball right back into the pitching machine.
Yesterday at AA
On this date in 2006, Steve Trachsel hit a home run to lead the Mets to a win over the Reds.