The Mets finally face the Nationals again! In spring training the same five teams play each other constantly due to geography, so the Mets played the Nationals what felt like every other day. Then the two teams met up near the end of April for a three game series in DC that the Mets won two of three games.
Now the two teams meet with a third of the season done. The Mets have established themselves as the top team in the division with a four game lead over the Phillies. The Nationals, surprisingly, are in third with a two game lead over the Braves. While they are five games below .500, they are only seven games out of the wild card and have played .500 ball in their last ten games. The Mets are about to play four divisional series in their next five series – it’s time to cement this divisional lead!
Griffin Canning has pitched 59 innings (12 games) with a 2.90 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. Canning’s last two starts in May were weird. He had a 2 2/3 inning start that was cut short by 90+ minute rain delay. His next start was moved up six hours to avoid rain. He was back to his old self his last time on the mound holding the Dodgers to no runs and only three hits over six innings. He faced the Nationals at the end of April and held them scoreless over five innings, scattering four hits and three walks. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Canning:
- CJ Abrams 1-5, K
- Josh Bell 1-1, BB
- Alex Call 3-8
- Luis García Jr. 0-7, BB, 2 K
- Nathianiel Lowe 3-15, 2 HR, 4 K
- Amed Rosario 2-3, 3B
- Keibert Ruiz 3-7
- José Tena 1-4, BB K
- James Wood 2-5, 2B, HR, BB, K
- Jacob Young 1-4, 2B, K
MacKenzie Gore has stepped into the ace roll for the Nationals. Over 13 starts, 75 1/3 innings, Gore has a 2.87 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 1.142 WHIP and a 137 ERA+. All career bests. He also leads the league with 108 strikeouts and 12.9 K/9. In his last three starts he has allowed only one run over 19 innings while striking out 24 batters. The Mets hit Gore well last season, scoring 11 times off 15 hits and eight walks over 14 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Gore:
- Pete Alonso 2-15, HR, BB, 2 K
- Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 BB, 2 K
- Brett Baty 0-1, BB, K
- Francisco Lindor 2-14, 2 BB, K
- Starling Marte 4-8, K
- Jeff McNeil 7-10, 2 BB, K
- Brandon Nimmo 4-14, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
- Juan Soto 2-9, 5 K
- Tyrone Taylor 1-9, 4 K
- Luis Torrens 1-4, 2B, 2 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Live from New York, It’s the Juan Soto trade! Juan Soto, MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams were all part of the same blockbuster trade. Juan Soto is coming off a game where he reached based six times (for the first time in his career!). The performance was enough to raise his OBP from .372 to .384 and his OPS from .800 to .820. MacKenzie Gore is following his breakout year with an All-Star year. CJ Abrams is doing the same, going from a career high 110 OPS+ in 2024 to 123 OPS+ this year. Robert Hassell III, who was in that trade, made his major league debut a couple of weeks ago (although off to a rougher start). As long as these four players are in the National League East, playing for these two teams, their names will forever be linked.
- Pete Alonso Watch. Alonso is coming off of a huge game where he went 3-for-6 at the plate with two home runs and four RBI’s. He now has 17 homers on the year and is sitting at 243 career home runs, nine away from Strawberry’s franchise leading 252. Alonso is still leading the league with RBI’s at 61. Since May 25th Alonso has played in 14 games hitting .333/.406/.825 (1.231 OPS) with eight home runs.
- Jeff McNeil. McNeil is sixth on the team with six home runs, despite only playing 35 games. He has a 1.1 bWAR already. For context, he had a 1.6 bWAR over 129 games over all of last season. In his last two games he has gone 4-for-8 at the plate with four runs scored, a double and three home runs. Could McNeil be the x-factor for the Mets this season?
Let’s Go Mets!
