The Mets scored four runs in the ninth inning Sunday to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3, giving New York (30-38) consecutive victories for the first time since it won four straight games from May 18 to May 21. They scored on a two-strike double by Jose Bautista, a two-run homer by Brandon Nimmo and a solo homer by Asdrubal Cabrera.
“We’ve been waiting for a big hit to happen,” Nimmo said. “I don’t know what it means for the future, but for right now, to get two wins in a row against a good D-backs team, that’s awesome.”
Nimmo’s homer gave the Mets only their sixth win in 25 games since May 21.
Meanwhile, Rockies closer Wade Davis gave up four runs in the ninth inning Sunday and threw 38 pitches in one-third of an inning as the Rockies (34-37) fell 13-12 to the Texas Rangers. The meltdown finished a 2-4 road trip and the Rockies slipped three games below .500 for the first time this season.
The Rockies have lost 12 of their past 16 games, and Sunday’s defeat marked the 21st time — the most in the National League — the Rockies lost after having a lead. Their bullpen has a 5.49 ERA Trysten Hill Jersey , the highest in the NL.
“It’s tough. There is no way around that,” Rockies shortstop Trevor Story said after the loss on Sunday. “You never want to lose games, obviously, late like that. It’s just one of those weird stretches right now. We are very confident in our guys, but it’s tough to put words to it.”
The Rockies have lost seven straight games at Coors Field where they play their next seven games against the Mets and the Miami Marlins. Their record there is 11-19.
The series against the Rockies will conclude a 10-game road trip for the Mets, who dropped the first four games before the back-to-back wins at Arizona.
The ace right-hander has the lowest ERA in the majors and has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 straight starts. During that span, he has a 0.87 ERA (six earned runs, 62 1/3 innings) with 83 strikeouts and 17 walks, but the Mets are 2-8.
In his last start Wednesday at Atlanta, de Grom gave up one run in seven innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. It was his sixth straight start of at least seven innings in which he allowed two or fewer earned runs.
DeGrom is the first pitcher since Randy Johnson of the 1999 Diamondbacks with five consecutive starts of seven innings or more with two or fewer runs allowed without his team coming away with a win.
De Grom is 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in five starts against the Rockies and 0-0 with a 4.26 ERA in one start at Coors Field.
Anderson has thrown seven innings in each of his past two starts — both on the road, including a 7-2 win on Wednesday at Philadelphia, where he gave up six hits and one run and broke a string of four straight no-decisions.
Anderson is 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA in one start against the Mets.
The Rockies are 7-7 in starts by Anderson, who is 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA in five starts at Coors Field this year and 9-6 with a 3.73 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) there.
Vic Fangio is returning to the Chicago Bears as defensive coordinator after being passed up for their head coaching job.
Fangio re-signed Friday and will continue to lead a defense he helped transform the past three seasons. He was the first candidate to interview for the Bears’ coaching job after John Fox was fired, but general manager Ryan Pace ultimately decided to go with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
Fangio was free to go elsewhere after his contract expired. Before he arrived in Chicago, the Bears’ defense ranked among the worst in franchise history. They were more than respectable in 2017 under Fangio despite losing several players to injuries, including linebacker Leonard Floyd.
Chicago’s defense ranked 10th overall, seventh against the pass Tony Pollard Jersey , ninth in scoring and 11th against the run.
With Fangio back, the Bears have filled all three coordinator spots.
The team announced Friday that it has hired former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator and Chris Tabor as special teams coordinator. The Bears also brought in Charles London to coach running backs and Mike Furrey as wide receivers coach.
Helfrich led Oregon to a 37-16 record in four seasons. That included a run to the first College Football Playoff championship game during the 2014 season with Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota at quarterback. He was fired after a 4-8 finish in 2016.
Before becoming the Ducks’ coach, Helfrich was their quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2009-12 under Chip Kelly. With their fast-paced and prolific spread-option offense, the Ducks went 46-7 during that span.
Helfrich didn’t call plays as Oregon’s offensive coordinator and he won’t in Chicago. Nagy plans to do that.
The Bears are looking to get the most out of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and emerge from one of the worst runs in franchise history.
They fired Fox after three seasons with a 14-34 record that gave him the second-worst winning percentage for a Chicago coach. Nagy spent the past decade working under Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City and served as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator this past season.
He is trying to help turn around a team that missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season and hasn’t finished above .500 since Lovie Smith was fired after going 10-6 in 2012. The Bears were 5-11 in 2017.
The development of Trubisky, the No. 2 overall draft pick last spring, could go a long way toward lifting an offense that ranked 30th overall and last in passing. But the Bears will need to acquire some playmaking receivers.
Tabor spent the past seven seasons as Cleveland’s special teams coordinator. The Browns ranked sixth in kickoff return average against (21.8), seventh in the NFL in punt return average (9.9), ninth in total kick return yards (8,974) and 10th in total return yards allowed (7,627) during that time. Tabor was Chicago’s assistant special teams coach from 2008-2010.
London has spent nine seasons in the NFL – the past four as Houston’s running backs coach. He was an offensive assistant with the Bears from 2007-09.
Furrey played eight seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams Noah Fant Jersey , Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. With Detroit in 2006, he ranked second in the league with 98 receptions while recording 1,086 yards and six touchdowns.
Furrey spent the past two years coaching at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C.