213 Miles From Shea

It all comes down to the last game of the season for the Mets. A loss today completely knocks the Mets out of the playoffs. A win is not enough, the Reds will need to lose too as they hold the tiebreaker. Saturday the Mets got one of the best performances they have all season from Clay Holmes, negating the need to have a piggy-back start with Sean Manaea, pushing him to start the final game of the season. Buckle up!

Sean Manaea has pitched 59 innings over 14 games this season with a 5.80 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.220 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. His last two outings haven’t been great. Manaea has allowed five runs from six hits over four innings, including two homers. In fact, he’s allowed 13 home runs this season, seven in September alone. The Marlins have the following career stats against him:

• Xavier Edwards 2-4, 2B, BB
• Otto Lopez 3-8, 2B, K
• Joey Wiemer 1-2, K

Is Edward Cabrera making his last start as a Marlin this afternoon? Cabrera made his debut for the Marlins in 2021 and is arbitration eligible in 2026. The Marlins are somewhat unpredictable with trades, and he could be a trade candidate, especially since he doesn’t become a free agent until 2029.

Anyway this season he has pitched 132 2/3 innings over 25 starts, the most in his career, with a 3.66 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.221 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. Cabrera started against the Mets at the end of August allowing six runs, five earned from eight hits over four innings and then landed on the injured list after that start. He came back on the 23rd, pitching four innings allowing three runs from five hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 5-17, 3 HR, 4 BB, 5 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 3-17, HR, 4 BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 0-1, BB
• Ronny Mauricio 1-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-16, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 1-5, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 5-14, 2B, 7 BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 1-7, HR, 2 BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-5, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 3-6, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. One of my strongest and fondest memories of Francisco Lindor in 2024 came on the last day of the season. The Mets needed to go to Atlanta to play a doubleheader. The first game was a back-and-forth affair with Francisco Lindor completing the final comeback for the Mets, smashing a home run sending the team to Milwaukee for the Wild Card series. The Mets need that Francisco Lindor this afternoon!
2. Pete Alonso. There is a chance today is Pete Alonso’s last game as a Met. He can walk out of the deal at the end of this season. The Mets all-time home run leader came through for the Mets on Saturday going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI’s. He was a post season hero for the Mets last year and we’ll need him again today.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets need the Reds to lose today. The Reds will be taking on a Brewers team that has home field advantage through the NLCS all wrapped up, but is also about to have multiple days off. Brady Singer (3.95 ERA) will take on Freddy Peralta (2.68 ERA). The Mets still have to win this afternoon, and with all games starting at 3:10, there will be scoreboard watching throughout the afternoon.

Let’s Go Mets!

A rough night for the Mets means the pressure is on today. The Reds now control their own destiny with two games left to play this season. The Mets got the scoring started last night, thanks to another leadoff homer from Francisco Lindor but fell apart shortly after and just couldn’t come back. The Marlins in September have burned the Mets since 2007, is this another chapter in that book, or can the Mets flip the script today?

Clay Holmes gets the start today for the Mets. Over 159 2/3 innings he has a 3.66 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.328 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. He’s been used in relief the last two outings totaling 4 2/3 innings allowing one unearned run scattering four hits and striking out three. The Marlins scored four, two earned over five innings at the end of August and the have the following career numbers against him:

• Griffin Conine 3-4, 2 BB, K
• Xavier Edwards 2-8, K
• Heriberto Hernandez 0-2, K
• Liam Hicks 3-7, 2 K
• Troy Johnston 1-3
• Otto Lopez 3-8, 2B, K, BB
• Jakob Marsee 1-3
• Graham Pauley 0-4, 3 K
• Agustin Ramirez 0-2, K
• Javier Sanoja 1-4, 3 K
• Eric Wagaman 0-2

Eury Pérez will set a career high in starts and innings pitched today. He has made 19 starts this season with 90 innings tossed. He has a 4.20 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.044 WHIP and a 105 ERA+. Pérez hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts (Rockies and Rangers), scattering three hits over nine innings while striking out 15 batters. The Mets scorched him though last month, scoring five runs in 2/3rds of an inning. This was the game the Mets eventually won 19-9. The Mets have the following career stats against Pérez:

• Pete Alonso 1-2, K
• Brett Baty 0-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-2, BB
• Starling Marte 0-1
• Ronny Mauricio 1-1, BB
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Cedric Mullins 1-2, K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-2, HR, BB
• Juan Soto 1-1, HR
• Tyrone Taylor 1-2, 2B, K
• Mark Vientos 1-1, HR, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Sean Manaea. Will the Mets use Sean Manaea today? Manaea pitched on the 24th against the Cubs (1 IP, 2 ER) and should be good to go today. It’s been a rough year for Manaea who has pitched 59 innings with a 5.80 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.220 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. It has been a while since the Mets got a long start from Clay Holmes and we’ve seen the piggy-back start work recently.
2. Dylan Ross. The Mets need bullpen help for these final two games of the season and have called up Dylan Ross. Ross is working his way back from two UCL injuries. He was drafted by the Mets in the 13th round back in 2022. Across Syracuse, Binghamton and Brooklyn this season he has pitched 54 innings with a 2.17 ERA, 1.148 WHIP and a 13.3 K/9.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets play first today, and set the tone. A win and the pressure is on the Reds to keep their Wild Card spot. A Mets loss and the Reds can end it for the Mets tonight. The Reds will be sending out Abbott (2.80 ERA) take on Gasser of the Brewers (6.00 ERA). It’s a must win day for the Mets.

Bonus: Juan Soto stats. Juan Soto stole two bases in Friday night’s game. He’s now only two stolen bases away from a 40-40 season. He is also still only two walks away from breaking the Mets single season walk record set by John Olerud in 1999 (125 walks).

Let’s Go Mets!

The pressure was on the Mets Thursday night. They already knew before first pitch that the Reds had barely beaten the Pirates 2-1. The Mets would need to leave Thursday in order to keep control of their destiny.

And win they did! The Mets would eventually get a 6-0 lead thanks to big home runs from Francisco Lindor and Brett Baty. Nolan McLean was cruising until he hit some bumps in the sixth inning, and the Cubs were able to get the score a bit closer (8-5). After that the Mets bullpen was able to shut things down and hold on. The Mets magic number is three, they just need to win out. Standing in their way is a Miami Marlins team that has won seven of their last ten games and would love to just ruin the Mets parade.

Brandon Sproat has made three starts this season allowing seven runs from 13 hits over 16 innings, good for a small-sample-size 3.94 ERA, 2.39 FIP, 1.188 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. The Nationals were able to tag Sproat for four runs in his last start and tonight will be his first start against the Marlins. His fastball averages nearly 96 mph and is already in the 75th percentile for velocity. According to statcast his fastball has also been a bit unlucky so far with a .316 BA compared to a .270 xBA, .474 SLG compared to a .322 xSLG, and a .410 wOBA compared to a .348 xwOBA.

The Mets bats will try to get the weekend started against Sandy Alcantara. Over 30 starts this season Alcantara has pitched 167 2/3 innings with a 5.48 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.276 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. Alcantara went on a run over the last four starts in August with a 1.67 ERA, 2.62 FIP over 27 innings while striking out 29 batters. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed only one run over seven innings. He’s come back down to Earth in September with a 4.12 ERA, 4.51 FIP over three starts and 19 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-2, 2B
• Pete Alonso 5-37, 3 2B, HR, 2 BB, 9 K
• Brett Baty 0-3, K
• Francisco Lindor 9-30, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
• Starling Marte 5-16, 2 3B, HR, BB, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 12-37, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
• Cedric Mullins 4-9, 2 HR, K
• Brandon Nimmo 5-34, 2 2B, HR, 5 BB, 8 K
• Juan Soto 12-43, 2B,2 HR, 6 BB, 6 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-6, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 0-4, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The big hitters in the lineup. The Mets beat the Cubs 8-5 on Wednesday with the top four hitters in the Mets lineup (Lindor, Soto, Alonso and Vientos) going a combined 2-for-17 with a home run). Lindor reached base twice, but it was pretty quiet behind him. Nimmo in the five spot had three hits and the Mets were buoyed by big nights from Baty and Taylor. If the Mets are going to have a successful night, they are going to need their best hitters to show up tonight.
2. Tyrone Taylor. What a couple of games for the Mets x-factor. When he returned to the field on Wednesday he immediately made an amazing play throwing out a runner at home in the first inning. Wednesday night he went 2-for-4 with a massive two-run double that gave the Mets an 8-2 lead, which ended up being critical with the mini-Mets meltdown that followed in the next inning.
3. Wild Card race. The Reds will face the Brewers this weekend. The Brewers have the first round bye already clinched and is trying to clinch home field advantage through the NLCS this weekend before they take a few days off. Quinn Priester (3.25 ERA) will take on Littell (3.86 ERA) of the Reds. The Diamondbacks window to the Wild Card got a smaller on Thursday with their lost to the Dodgers. Tonight Zac Gallen (4.70 ERA) pitches to keep that window slightly open against Darvish (5.51 ERA) and the Padres.

Let’s Go Mets!

If the Mets make the playoffs, they’ll need to buy the Pirates a beer or something.

The Mets had a sloppy 10-3 loss on Wednesday, but they are still in control of their own destiny. The Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks. The Pirates beat the Reds in 11 innings, a game where the Reds came back multiple times. Wednesday night was a cycle of “we’re so back / it’s so over / we’re so back”, and that seems like the only constant this week.

Nolan McLean has emerged as the most reliable starter on Mets staff, even though he has only started seven games pitching a total of 42 2/3 innings. He has a 1.27 ERA, 2.41 FIP, 1.008 WHIP and a 321 ERA+. He has allowed only two earned runs in his last three starts totaling 16 1/3 innings (1.10 ERA, 2.41 FIP) while striking out 18 batters. This will be his first start against the Chicago Cubs.

Shota Imanaga has made 24 starts in his second major league season totaling 139 innings with a 3.37 ERA, 4.77 FIP, 0.957 WHIP and a 115 ERA+. Imanaga has been incredibly consistent in his last five starts allowing three earned runs in each start. Over his last 29 innings he has a 4.66 ERA and a 6.38 FIP allowing 10 home runs over that stretch. The Mets have the following career stats against Imanaga:

• Pete Alonso 1-5, 2B, 3 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, HR, K
• Brett Baty 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 2-4, 2 2B
• Starling Marte 1-5, K
• Jeff McNeil 2-3
• Brandon Nimmo 2-2, HR, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-3, K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Under-the-hood McLean. Nolan McLean is causing whiff’s, racking up strikeouts and generating groundballs. He has a 27.9 K% and 28.0 Whiff%. Hitters are barreling him only 5.8% of the time and he has a sky high 63.1% groundball rate. This has led to great results, as long as the Mets can field behind him, which has been a question of late.
2. Mets Homers. Home runs has been an issue for Imanaga this year, allowing 29 of them this season, two more than his rookie season despite making five less starts. This explains the discrepancy between his FIP and his WHIP. As we discussed early, 10 homers have come in his last five starts. Heading into play today the Mets are tied with the Angels for fourth in the league with 220 home runs, already far surpassing 2025’s 207 homers.
3. Lindor & Soto. Francisco Lindor is one home run away from his second 30-30 season. When the Mets needed Lindor most on Tuesday he led the game off with his 29th homer. Juan Soto is one walk away from matching John Olerud’s 1999 Mets franchise record 125 walks. He’s also currently leading the league with a .399 OBP. The Mets are going to need their two best hitters to carry the team in these last few games of the season.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets are back in control of their own destiny! The Mets got the night started off with a bang on Tuesday with Francisco Lindor leading off of the game with a home run. The Cubs pretty much immediately bounced back scoring five runs, just suppressing the vibes. But the Mets fought back! First to make it 6-6, then to take a 7-6 lead. The Cubs would eventually tied it again before Francisco Alvarez called game with a two-run go-ahead blast. The Mets have to play postseason baseball now if they want to playing in October next week!

Jonah Tong makes his fifth major league start tonight. Over his first 16 2/3 innings, he has a 5.94 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.440 WHIP and a 69 ERA+. He’s coming off of his best start of his career holding the Padres to one unearned run, scattering four hits while striking out a career high eight batters. Tong has not been hit exceptionally hard this season, he’s just given up a lot of hits (.293 BA on the fastball, .271 xBA). Hitters have a .537 SLG on his fastball despite an average exit velocity of 89.7 mph. Hopefully he can build off of his last start tonight!

Matthew Boyd is having a career year for the Cubs. He earned his first All-Star nomination and is tied for the second highest bWAR (2.5) of his career. Over 174 1/3 innings he has a 3.20 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.107 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. He’s had a tough go of it lately with a 6.54 ERA, 5.36 FIP over his last 31 2/3 innings (six starts). In his last two starts he has allowed eight runs over eight innings from 12 hits, including two homers. Boyd had a solid start against the Mets back in May holding the Mets two runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-2
• Pete Alonso 0-3, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 13-36, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 K
• Starling Marte 2-9, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, K
• Juan Soto 1-7, HR, BB, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 1-2, 3B
• Mark Vientos 1-3, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Power. The Mets are the best when they are swinging for the fences. Their top four hitters in the lineup each have 25 HR+ in Lindor, Soto, Alonso and Nimmo. Vientos has as much power as anyone when he’s in a groove. Baty has been power surprise this season with 17 bombs. Francisco Alvarez hit his 10th home run last night to put the Mets in lead. When the Mets play like themselves, there is a fear they can take over the game in any inning. We saw glimpses of that Tuesday night!
2. Season Stats. Francisco Lindor is now only one home run away from his second 30-30 season. Juan Soto is sitting at 124 career walks. His next walk will tie John Olerud for most walks by a Mets hitter in a single season (125 – 1999). Less likely, but not impossible, Soto is only four stolen bases away from 40 for the season. Pete Alonso has an outside chance at 40 double – 40 home run season, but he’ll really need to put in work over the last five games of the season. He needs two doubles and three homers.
3. Wild Card race. Get ready to root for the Pirates again tonight. They have a great pitching match up with the Reds with Paul Skenes (2.03 ERA) taking on Hunter Greene (2.74). That game will start about 90 minutes before the Mets game. About 90 minutes after the Mets game starts the Dodgers and Blake Snell (2.44 ERA) will take Ryne Nelson (3.44 ERA). The Reds and Diamondbacks are just one game behind the Mets.

Let’s Go Mets!

It’s crunch time borderline panic time for the Mets. After dropping two straight against the Nationals, the Reds have officially tied them for the last Wild Card spot. The Diamondbacks are only a game behind the Mets and Reds. It’s worth noting that the Reds currently have the tiebreaker with the Mets so the Mets no longer control their own destiny. Is this enough to put a fire under the Mets for the rest of the season? We are about to find out!

David Peterson has pitched 167 1/3 innings with a 3.98 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.339 WHIP and a 102 ERA+. He’s coming off of a brutal start against the Padres where he allowed six runs from six hits and three walks over five innings. In his last four starts he has allowed 21 runs over 17 1/3 innings from 28 hits while only striking out 14 batters (10.90 ERA, 4.59 FIP). The Cubs have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Willi Castro 1-2, 2B
• Ian Happ 1-8, 5 K
• Nico Hoerner 2-3, BB, K
• Carson Kelly 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, K
• Carlos Santana 0-2, BB
• Seiya Suzuki 2-3, 3B, 2 BB
• Dansby Swanson 3-17, 2B, 2 BB
• Justin Turner 0-0, 2 BB

The Mets season depends on them beating a rookie who is off to a terrific start. Cade Horton has pitched in 22 games totaling 115 innings with a 2.66 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 1.096 WHIP and a 144 ERA+. In his last three starts he has a 1.10 ERA, 1.80 FIP over 16 1/3 innings while striking out 14 batters. His major league debut was against the Mets, who tagged him for three runs over four innings from three hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 0-2, K
• Pete Alonso 1-2
• Francisco Alvarez 0-1
• Brett Baty 1-2, HR, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-2
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, K
• Juan Soto 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso’s last week? I don’t want to think about it, but this could be Pete Alonso’s last week as a Met. Alonso has a 145 OPS+ this season, the third highest in his career (147 in 2019, 146 in 2022). He’s three home runs away from 40 homers for the fourth time in his career and is two doubles away from 40 doubles (already has a career high). Does he have one more mega week in him? Are the Mets and Alonso really going to split?
2. Lindor 30-30 season? Lindor hit his 28th home run of the season on Sunday and is now only two homers away from his second 30-30 season. The Mets need a huge night from their captain to inject life back into the team. We’ve seen Lindor do this before on the road, he has the opportunity to open the game with a bang and set the tone for the night.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets season depends on how much the Pirates want to play spoiler. Johan Oviedo (3.52 ERA) takes on Brady Singer (3.86 ERA). The Diamondbacks will face starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani tonight. As of now, all eyes are on the Reds. The Mets just need to win and need the Reds to lose to take control of their destiny again.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets comeback fell short last night and margins for error in the final week got a bit smaller. It was a night of defensive miscues for the Mets. Mistakes in the second inning led to a 3-0 Nationals lead. The Mets came alive late scoring twice in the 8th and once in the 9th to tie the game, but left the bases loaded tempting fate with extra-innings. In the top of the 11th Daylen Lile hit a ball that hit the outfield wall at a sharp angle. Cedric Mullins didn’t handle it well, Lile ended up with a two-run inside the park home run (under 14 seconds around the bases) and the Mets went on to lose.

The Reds and Diamondbacks both won Saturday, and now the Mets have a one game lead. Things are getting a little hectic in this last week!

Sean Manaea will start this afternoon for the Mets with Clay Holmes as a possible candidate for the piggy-back start this afternoon. Over 12 games this season, Manaea has pitched 55 innings with a 5.40 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.200 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. Last week Holmes started first with Manaea coming out to relieve him. Manaea allowed only one run (solo homer) on four hits and no walks over five innings, it was the best he’s looked in a while. It’s also been a big week for Sean, he was on the paternity list just a couple of days ago! The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 3-12, 4 K
• Riley Adams 1-2, HR, K
• Josh Bell 4-8, 2B
• Andres Chaparro 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Dylan Crews 0-4, 2 K
• Paul DeJong 0-2, K
• Luis García Jr. 2-5, 2 K
• Brady House 2-2, 2B
• Daylen Lile 0-2
• Nasim Nuñez 0-1, BB
• James Wood 0-9, 3 K
• Jacob Young 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K

The Mets will look to get out to an early lead against Jake Irvin this afternoon. Over 31 starts and 168 2/3 innings, Irvin has a 5.76 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 1.435 WHIP and a 72 ERA+. Irvin is in the midst of a particularly tough stretch allowing 35 runs over his last seven games (32 2/3 innings) good for a 9.37 ERA and 7.03 FIP. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed six runs from eight hits over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Irvin:

• Pete Alonso 2-18, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-14, 7 K
• Brett Baty 1-6, HR, BB
• Francisco Lindor 7-20, 3 2B, HR, 5 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-1
• Jeff McNeil 5-15, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 1-8, K
• Brandon Nimmo 7-20, 2 HR, 2 BB, K
• Jose Siri 0-2, K
• Juan Soto 2-8, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 0-5, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 2-15, HR, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Clay Holmes. Holmes may be used a reliever for the first time this season this afternoon. Holmes has pitched in 30 games with 155 innings, posting a 3.77 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 1.342 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. He allowed two runs from three hits off of two solo homers in his last start where he was relieved by Sean Manaea. Holmes last faced the Nationals all the way back in April keeping them scoreless over five innings.
2. Frustrations from last night. The Mets are at their best when they are playing loose. Saturday the Mets went 3-for-16 with RISP, leaving 13 batters on base. They had a lot of opportunities to win the game. Hopefully the Mets hitters can move beyond that and just hit Jake Irvin as they have hit him this season. For what it’s worth, the Nationals also struggled with RISP, going 1-for-12, leaving six runners on base.
3. Wild Card race. The Cubs and Reds will kick off at the same time as the Mets today, and the game will be on MLB Network if you want to frantically flip channels. Andrew Abbott (2.88 ERA) will take on Jameson Taillon (3.93 ERA). The Phillies and Ranger Suárez (2.84 ERA) will take on Eduardo Rodriguez (5.12 ERA) and Diamondbacks at 4:10. Also in the late window, The Giants will take on the Dodgers. The Giants lost again on Saturday and are now four games back and their window into this Wild Card race is closing quickly.

Let’s Go Mets!

Major League baseball heads into the final week or so of games and the Mets are still hanging on to the last Wild Card spot. The Mets went down 4-1 early Friday night but had an explosive inning where they re-took the lead and then piled on runs for the rest of night to win 12-6. The Padres, Mets, Diamondbacks, Reds and Giants are all in the race for the final two Wild Card spots and the Mets will be the first team out of the bunch to play this afternoon.

Nolan McLean has made six starts with the Mets totaling 37 2/3 innings with a 1.19 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 0.982 WHIP and a 342 ERA+. He’s coming off of an excellent start against the Rangers where he shut them out for six innings, scattering five hits and two walks while striking out seven. In his last three starts he has walked seven batters (2-3 per start). It’s been the only blight on a sparkling start to his career where he has allowed only one home run and has a K/9 above 9. Tonight will be his first of many career starts against the Washington Nationals.

Cade Cavalli has pitched 39 2/3 innings over eight starts with a 4.76 ERA, 4.84 FIP, 1.462 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. Since returning from Tommy John surgery in August, Cavalli has had starts ranging from brilliant to dreadful. In his third start back he held the Phillies scoreless over seven innings. In his fifth start he allowed eight runs, seven earned, over 2 2/3 against the Yankees. He has a 4.20 ERA over three starts and 15 innings so far in September. No hitter currently on the Mets has faced Cavalli in a major league game.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor is heating up. Stretch run Lindor is back! Friday night Lindor went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and four runs scored. He now has a hit in eight straight games going 11-for-30 slashing .367/.472/.533 with two doubles, a home run and two stolen bases while scoring 12 runs. Lindor now has a 126 OPS+, his second highest OPS+ as a Met. Bring us to October Lindor!
2. Let’s Admire Soto’s Stats. Juan Soto went 2-for-3 Friday night with a home run, two walks and a stolen base. Soto now has a career high for home runs (42), is only six stolen bases from a 40-40 season, and is five walks away from breaking the Mets franchise record for walks in a single season. He has 6.2 bWAR, the third highest in his career and currently leads the league in walks (121) and OBP (.397).
3. Wild Card Race: On Friday the Reds won while the Diamondbacks and Giants both lost. The Reds are still two games behind the Mets for the third Wild Card spot while the Diamondbacks fell to three back and the Giants four back. The Padres also lost so now the Mets are three games behind them. Tonight the Reds and Littell take on Assad and Cubs and the Padres take on the White Sox. The Phillies will try to get Aaron Nola (6.44 ERA) right against the Diamondbacks. At the end of the night the Giants will try to beat Glasnow and the Dodgers. All the Mets need to do though is just keep winning.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets still control their own destiny!

The Mets bats are slugging the ball again as they come off a series win against the Padres thanks to a home run barrage. At the start of 2025 the Mets feasted on poorly performing teams, we are going to need that version of the Mets again as they take on a Nationals team that is hungry to play spoiler. Tonight will be a battle of the rookies as Brandon Sproat on the Mets takes on Andrew Alvarez.

Brandon Sproat has allowed three runs from nine hits over his first 12 innings (two starts) while striking out 10 batters. He’s coming off of a tremendous start against the Rangers where he shut them out over six innings, allowing six hits and walking no one. Walks caused him headaches in his first major league start (four over six innings), so it was nice to see him move beyond that. He’s going to face the Nationals a lot of his career, tonight is a great time to make a first impression.

Andrew Alvarez has a 1.15 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 0.830 WHIP and a 368 ERA+ over three starts and 15 2/3 innings. He’s coming off of his best start in his major league career where he shutout the Pirates over six innings, scattering three hits. In the start before that the Cubs scored two runs over 4 2/3 innings from three hits and three walks. Over his first three starts he has used a low-90’s fastball about a third of time mixing in a low-80’s curve and low-80’s slider. He has also sprinkled in a mid-80’s changeup and low-90’s sinker.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso has been on fire this week. Thursday was his fourth consecutive game with a home run. In his last five games he has gone 8-for-19 with four home runs and seven RBI’s (.421/.455/1.053). In his last 15 games he has slashed .305/.338/.661. Pete carried the team at the start of the 2025 and is looking to push the Mets over the finish line at the end.
2. Is Juan Soto walking here? Juan Soto is prolific and working walks. He’s lead the league in walks in four of the last five season and is currently leading the league with 119 walks, only six walks away from Jon Olerud’s 1999 Mets single season record of 125 walks. In his last nine games though he has walked only once. He has a season OBP of around .400 and his OBP over the last nine games is .300. Obviously this is just one part of his game (he has five extra-base hits over the last nine games with a .579 SLG, or 50 points higher than his season average).
3. Wild Card race. The Mets enter play today with a two game lead over the Diamondbacks and Reds for the last Wild Card Spot, and a three game lead over the Giants. By the time you read this, the Reds and the Cubs will have already wrapped up their early afternoon game. The Diamondbacks are hosting Taijuan Walker and Phillies tonight at 9:40. The Giants and Robbie Ray face Clayton Kershaw and his last home, regular season start of his career.

Let’s Go Mets!

There is a lot on the line this afternoon at Citi Field. The Mets can take the series with a win, protect their very small lead in the Wild Card race and help Jonah Tong get back on the winning track. Wednesday night was just not the night for the Mets. The bats continued hit homers for a second straight game, but a rough start by David Peterson, punctuated by a Manny Machado grand slam, constantly kept the Mets playing from behind. We are heading towards the end of the season, we just have to win a few more ball games!

Jonah Tong’s season numbers (8.49 ERA, 6.06 FIP, 1.714 WHIP, 49 ERA+) are heavily impacted by his last start. Last week Tong allowed six runs from four hits and three walks while recording only two outs. On a positive note, Over his two starts at home, he hasn’t allowed any home runs. All three homers he allowed were in the homer-friendly Reds stadium. We’ve seen Tong flash brilliance on the mound this season, and we absolutely need that brilliance tonight.

Randy Vásquez has a 3.72 ERA, 4.94 FIP, 1.346 WHIP and a 116 ERA+ over 123 1/3 innings. He’s allowed only two runs over 12 innings in his last two starts while striking out 12 batters, but both starts were against the Rockies. Vásquez was actually sent down to the minors after his August 15th start, but was recalled at the start of the September to fill for Nestor Cortes. The Mets have the following career stats against Vásquez :

• Cedric Mullins 0-3, 2 K
• Jose Siri 0-3, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-3, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Soto was just inches away Wednesday night from reaching a season high in home runs and being a hero again for the Mets. He now has 41 homers, as many as he had last season with the Yankees. We’ll take a big day from Juan Soto today!
2. Pete Alonso. The Mets cleanup hitter and all-time home run leader has been on a tear recently, hitting home runs in three consecutive games going 5-for-12 in those games. He now has a 142 OPS+, the third highest in his career and is slashing .270/.344/.520 (career .252/.340/.515).
3. Wild Card race. The Giants came back and beat the Diamondbacks yesterday, keeping the Diamondbacks 1.5 games behind the Mets. The Reds and Giants are both two games back. The Reds will send out Hunter Greene against a Cubs team that just clinched a playoff spot yesterday and may have a bit of hangover for today’s game. The Giants will send out Logan Webb to take on Yamamoto and the Dodgers in what should be a good late night game.

Let’s Go Mets!