As long as yesterday’s 20-inning, 6-hour-and-25-minute Mets game was, it wasn’t the longest in team history.
The Amazin’s lost 4-3 to St. Louis in a 25-inning affair back on Sept. 11, 1974. Here’s a fun bit of trivia: Hank Webb was charged with the loss after throwing a wild pitch, and his son Ryan pitched for the Marlins yesterday.
It was the longest game in Citi Field’s five-year history and the longest in the majors since 2010, when the Mets beat the Cardinals 2-1 in 20 innings on April 17.
The Mets broke a dubious team record by going 0-for-19 with men in scoring position and stranding 22 men on base. The old mark was 0-for-15.
* Rookie outfielder Juan Lagares has a strong day with the bat and the glove. He drove in the Mets’ only run with a second-inning double and threw out Adeiny Hechavarria at the plate from center field to end the fifth.
* Rick Ankiel will be designated for assignment before today’s game to make room for outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Ankiel went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts after entering the game in right field in the 13th inning to extend his skid to 2-for-35.
Nieuwenhuis has 10 homers for Triple-A Las Vegas.
* The Mets promoted righty reliever David Aardsma, optioning Collin McHugh to Triple-A and moving Jeurys Familia to the 60-day DL. Aardsma pitched a scoreless 12th inning, allowing no hits and striking out one.
* Prized pitching prospect Zack Wheeler — who allowed four runs and eight hits in 42/3 innings Friday night for Triple-A Las Vegas — seems more likely to make his Mets debut June 18 in Atlanta than Friday at Citi Field.
Consecutive rainouts leave yesterday’s starter Matt Harvey on schedule to go again Friday against the Cubs, and the Mets are disinclined to mess with his schedule. They also are wary of promoting Wheeler before the “Super Two” cutoff for arbitration eligibility.
They need an extra starter for next Tuesday’s doubleheader at Turner Field, 30 miles from where Wheeler grew up as a Braves fan in Dalton, Ga. Wheeler is 4-1 with a 4.14 ERA, 25 walks and 66 strikeouts in 63 innings.