The Mets look to stretch their win streak to seven games as they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to Citi Field tonight!
The Mets are rolling right now coming off of consecutive sweeps against the Rockies and Nationals. The Rays were rolling, winning six of seven games from June 3rd through June 9th before losing two games in a row to the Red Sox. Whose momentum will win out this weekend?
Clay Holmes has officially pitched a career high innings in the majors. In 2016 he pitched 136 1/3 innings for the Pittsburgh AA team (Altoona), his professional career best. Over 73 1/3 innings this season, Holmes has a 2.95 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.186 WHIP and a 128 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of another strong start where he held the Rockies to only one run from nine hits and no walks over six innings. The Rays have the following career numbers against Holmes:
- Jonathan Aranda 1-1, 2B, BB
- Yandy Díaz 2-9, 2 BB, 3 K
- Danny Jansen 0-2
- Brandon Lowe 1-6
- Josh Lowe 0-2, BB, 2 K
- Curtis Mead 0-1, K
- Christopher Morel 0-2
- Taylor Walls 1-4, K
Taj Bradley has pitched 74 2/3 innings this season with a 4.58 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.246 WHIP and an 85 ERA+. June has been interesting for Taj – he’s had his worst start and best start of the season. He started June by tossing seven innings, allowing one unearned run while striking out 10 batters. The following start he allowed seven run from six hits and two walks over four innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Taj:
- Pete Alonso 1-1, HR, BB
- Brett Baty 0-2
- Francisco Lindor 0-2, BB
- Jeff McNeil 1-2, K
- Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
- Juan Soto 0-6
Three Things To Watch For:
- Keeping the ball in the yard. Holmes has allowed quite a few home runs recently. Hitters have eight on the season against Holmes, and they all have happened from May 9th on. The Rays are tied for 15th in the majors for home runs, so they aren’t the most dangerous team that Holmes has faced this season.
- Stolen Bases. Juan Soto stole his 8th base of the season Thursday which is notable because he only stole seven bases in 2024. The Mets now have 58 stolen bases on the season, good for 10th in the league. This is a notable shift for the Mets who finished 16th in stolen bases in 2024. Across the diamond, stolen bases are the Rays thing. They lead the majors with 96, 10 more than the Brewers who are in second and 21 ahead of the Pirates/Mariners who are tied for fourth.
- Brandon Nimmo is getting hot. Nimmo went 2-for-4 Thursday with a home run. It was his third home run over his last two games and his second consecutive game with multiple hits. Nimmo and Soto heating up at the same time is dramatically increasing the Mets run scoring abilities.
Let’s Go Mets!