For sny.tv: Scouts I spoke to were a bit higher on the Mets chances of reaching post-season than I expected. Some of it is NL parity, some of it is potential for improvement ahead. Here are their observations I found most significant. tinyurl.com/3cyrr6nu

Maybe there's hope for this Mets' offense yet. Some notable signs: Alonso had a breakout game w/2B & HR; Nimmo continues to hit rockets; McNeil looking a bit better; Lindor seems to have settled in; and JD Martinez putting good swings together. But can they find any consistency?

Cardinals are a mess but still impressive for the Mets to bounce back in St. Louis, especially down 3-0 tonight, after that troubling sweep in St. Pete. They have significant flaws that were highlighted vs. Rays but their identity under Mendoza continues to be their fight.

Diaz with important bounce-back save. Showed some trust in his FB again. Threw 6 FBs, 5 sliders in a 1-2-3 ninth. Threw the gas to K Burleson for first out, up-and-in with life at 98 mph. Good sign for him and Mets.

tune into WFAN Sports Radio now. Topics: MSG on fire. x - New York Rangers game 1; NEW YORK KNICKS beat Sixers, preview Pacers game 1. New York Mets - the good is Christian Scott, the bad is Alonso & McNeil and getting swept. New York Yankees & Juan Soto does it again. Guests: Ian Begley, Mollie Walker & John Harper

Mets have lost 10 of 14, not fluky either. Some major issues right now. Was only a matter of time before the highest-walk total in MLB for starters and worst caught-stealing % caught up with them. Diaz has lost confidence in his FB. And Alonso and McNeil couldn't look more lost.

Brutal loss for the Mets. This stolen-base thing has gotten ridiculous. Pitchers doing terrible job of holding runners. And then, at the end, Darling was begging for Diekman to throw something off the plate, saying DeLuca was in swing-mode, especially 0-2. Diekman wouldn't do it.

Diaz looked a little gun-shy about throwing his FB. Threw 13 straight sliders to start the 9th, hanging the last one that Arozarena took deep to tie the game. Which goes against scouting report that Arozarena has been vulnerable this year to fastballs.

When I see an exciting MLB debut, I like to get some perspective from someone who's been covering baseball for years in our market. John Harper will be my guest tonight on WFAN Sports Radio at midnight. tune in on radio or Audacy app. thanks, LR

Column from last night for sny.tv: It's plain to see Scott's stuff is extraordinary yet in some ways his intangibles stood out most during and after his dazzling debut. Why that combination could make for instant stardom. tinyurl.com/jddw74f9

Column for sny.tv: It's plain to see that Scott's stuff is extraordinary, yet in some ways his intangibles stood out most during and after his dazzling debut. Why that combination could make for instant stardom. tinyurl.com/jddw74f9

Scott's debut matters most, big picture-wise, but the Mets have lost 9 of last 13 due mostly to lack of day-to-day offense. Lindor better lately, obviously, but hard to win consistently with him hitting .202 and the slumping Alonso down to .214. Both went 0-fer tonight.

Sensational play by Lindor here to save the Mets, at least temporarily. The all-in-one-motion, on-the-money throw to the plate from that position is so impressive.

Safe to say Christian Scott will be staying in Mets' rotation after outstanding debut vs. Rays. Gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings, showed off his electric stuff as he retired 18 of the last 21 hitters he faced. Had 6 K's, 18 swings-and-misses.

Mets people have made the point they're as impressed by Scott's poise as his electric stuff, and his debut so far validates that observation. Gave up hits to 1st three hitters he faced, then got out of trouble with minimum damage, has retired 11 straight Rays since through 4.

One more from Wainwright on Scott because it speaks to what scouts say about the late life on his fastball: 'It looks like it's coming out of a cannon. That 96 (on the gun) looks like 106 to me.'

Haven't heard much of Wainwright so not sure how often he dishes out this type of praise, but he seems awfully impressed with Scott. After Scott's 8-pitch 2nd inning: 'This guy's stuff is electric. E-lectric.'

Wainwright very impressed with Scott's fastball in 1st inning: 'His ball is exploding. It has tremendous carry to it.' Later: 'You can hear the ball spinning out of his hand. He's got some real life on that fastball.'

Plenty of interest in Christian Scott's debut with the Mets tonight. As a scout told me, 'I can tell you that nobody saw this coming when he was at (U. of) Florida. He had command but it's rare to see a kid make as big a leap, stuff-wise, as he has. His ceiling is very high now.'

Sad day, Jay. Dan was the best. Hired me for my first newspaper job, for the Morristown Daily Record. Back then he was so renowned as a HS wrestling writer that fans would chant 'Big Dan' when he showed up for a match. Moved on the Ledger where he became a great BB writer. RIP.