The Mets start their largest challenge of the season tonight – a ten game road trip where they will face the Dodgers, Padres and Angels.
Overall the Mets have had a difficult schedule to start the season and this is the the stretch that feels like the peak. They are about to play three good teams, including one of the best in baseball, for ten road games. Most of the games are happening outside normal, east coast fan viewing hours. The Mets though are also riding a six game winning streak and are coming off their first two sweeps of the season.
Taijuan Walker looks to keep the Mets on the winning path tonight. Over his first seven starts and 35.0 innings, Walker has a 2.83 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.257 WHIP and a 141 ERA+. Walker has allowed 12 runs, 11 earned this season, and seven of those runs came against the Phillies one start. Since that start he has allowed five runs over 24 innings with a 1.88 ERA. Walker faced the Dodgers last season in back to back starts, allowing one run over 6 `2/3’s on August 14th and then four runs over six innings on August 19th. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against him:
- Trea Turner 4-13, 2B, BB, 2 K
- Cody Bellinger 3-14, HR, 3 K
- Justin Turner 3-13, 2B, BB, 3 K
- Chris Taylor 2-11, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
- Freddie Freeman 2-11, HR, 4 K
- Mookie Betts 2-5, BB, 2 K
- Will Smith 2-6, 2B, HR
The Mets bats will get a look at Tony Gonsolin who is off to a tremendous start this year. Over nine starts and 45.0 innings, Tony has a 1.80 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 0.933 WHIP and a 230 ERA+ (all career bests). He has been a bit more human over his last three starts, allowing five runs over 18 innings, translating to a 2.50 ERA. Tony missed the month of August last season, which is when both series with the Mets happened. There are only two Mets on the roster who have seen him in a major league game: Eduardo Escobar (5-13, 2B, 2 HR, 3 K) and Starling Marte (0-4).
Let’s Go Mets!
