The Mets hit the road tonight looking to extend their winning streak to eight games in the Nation’s capital tonight!
What a week for the Mets! The Mets completed a four game sweep of the Cardinals and a three game sweep of the Phillies go a perfect 7-0 at home and improve their home record to 12-1. Heading into the last week of April the Mets have the best record in baseball (18-7) and a five game lead in the competitive NL East.
The Nationals are starting to hit a stride, winning four of their last six games. They are led by a stronger than expected starting rotation and are held back by one of the worst bullpens in baseball. Similar to Phillies, the Mets batters will need to push starters out quickly and get to the bullpen.
What a start for Kodai Senga this season! Senga has a 0.79 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 0.971 WHIP and a 486 ERA+ over four starts and 22 2/3 innings this season. He hasn’t allowed any runs (earned or unearned) in his last three starts (17 2/3 innings), working around 12 hits and six walks while striking out eight. Players are struggling to barrel up his pitches (86th percentile), leading to Senga’s success this so far this season. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Senga:
- CJ Abrams 2-3, 2 BB
- Josh Bells 2-5, HR, BB
- Alex Call 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K
- Luis García Jr. 0-4, BB, K
- Keibert Ruiz 0-4, BB
Jake Irvin has a 3.68 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 1.057 WHIP and a 108 ERA+ over 29 1/3 innings and five starts this season. Irvin started the season allowing 10 runs over 16 innings (three starts) and has since allowed only two runs over 13 1/3 innings. He’s coming off of a season high nine strikeouts against the Rockies last weekend. He was pretty effective against the Mets last season, holding them to only seven runs from 14 hits over 21 1/3 innings while striking out 15 batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against Irvin:
- Pete Alonso 1-11, 4 K
- Francisco Lindor 5-10, 2B, HR, 2 K
- Starling Marte 1-2, K
- Jeff McNeil 1-7, BB, K
- Brandon Nimmo 3-12, HR, BB, K
- Juan Soto 0-0, 2 BB
- Tyrone Taylor 1-6, 2B, 2 K
- Mark Vientos 0-9, K
- Jesse Winker 0-3
Three Things To Watch For:
- Changes to the roster. Brett Baty and Hayden Senger were optioned to Syracuse after Wednesday’s game to clear up roster space for Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez. Baty was just starting to heat up and hit a massive homerun in Wednesday’s game. Senger made a critical play at the plate and did more than enough to keep the Mets afloat with Alvarez down. Neither of them deserved a demotion, but the Mets don’t have enough roster spots go around. Jeff McNeil looks to solidify the Mets as a super utility player, and it will be interesting to see how much time he and Nimmo get in centerfield in the coming weeks. Alvarez and Torrens are a powerful catching combination on the Mets roster. While rehabbing Alvarez hit only .180/.273/.256 going 7-for-39 at the plate with one homerun. We are anxiously awaiting to see if his power comes back.
- Soto returns to DC. Soto has already returned to DC with the Padres in 2022 (less than two weeks after being traded), and in 2023. Last season he played a series as a member of the Yankees. The Padres though only played one series a year in DC. The Yankees played one series every other year in DC. As a member of the Mets Soto will now be playing at least two series a season in DC.
- Francisco Lindor. Lindor went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk on Wednesday. It was his fourth consecutive game getting on base three times. Over his last four games he has gone 10-for-17 with three home runs hitting .588/.632/1.118 (1.749 OPS). He now has a 147 OPS+. Video game numbers!
Let’s Go Mets!
