There have been better weeks to be a Mets fan.
The Mets are on a five game losing streak right now and will try to avoid the four game sweep by the Phillies tonight. At this point the Mets are fighting to stay in the Wild Card race. The Mets hold on the second wild card spot has shrank to two games over the Reds and Giants. The Mets desperately need a win tonight.
David Peterson has made 27 starts this season totaling 157 1/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.316 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. He’s had a rough go of it over his last two starts allowing a total of 12 runs over 7 1/3 innings. In his two starts before that he allowed a total of three runs over over 13 2/3 innings. He had a solid start against Philly back in April holding them to only two runs over 5 1/3 innings. In June he faced them again and allowed five runs over four innings. The Phillies have the following career stats against him:
- Harrison Bader 0-2
- Nick Castellanos 7-17, 2 2B, 4 K
- Bryce Harper 9-24, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 6 K
- Otto Kemp 1-2, K
- Rafael Marchan 2-2
- Brandon Marsh 2-3, HR
- J.T. Realmuto 3-22, 2B, 4 BB, 4 K
- Kyle Schwarber 3-24, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 12 K
- Edmundo Sosa 5-7, HR
- Bryson Stott 0-3, BB, K
- Weston Wilson 3-8, 2 2B, 2 K
The Mets bats look to break out of their slump against Jesús Luzardo tonight. He has pitched 161 2/3 innings spread over 29 starts this season with a 4.01 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.293 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. He has allowed only two runs over 12 2/3 innings in his last two starts while striking out 15 batters. He faced the Mets in his start before that and the Mets were able to score four runs over four innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Luisangel Acuña 0-2, K
- Pete Alonso 4-27, HR, 12 K
- Francisco Alvarez 0-5
- Brett Baty 1-3
- Francisco Lindor 6-24, 2 BB, 3 K
- Starling Marte 4-16, BB, 3 K
- Ronny Mauricio 0-4, BB, 4 K
- Jeff McNeil 5-14, 4 K
- Cedric Mullins 3-4, 2 BB, K
- Brandon Nimmo 5-17, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
- Jose Siri 3-6, 2 2B, K
- Juan Soto 6-17, 2B, HR, 5 BB, 3 K
- Mark Vientos 1-12, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- A Positive Start. The Mets need a positive, fast start to the game to flip the script. Francisco Lindor has gone 0-for-15 in his last four games. Wednesday night, Soto tried to get something started in the first, getting on base and stealing a base, but the Mets couldn’t get him home. Then Clay Holmes pretty much immediately loaded the bases and allowed two runs to score. A Lindor hit, crooked number in the first inning, and a clean inning by David Peterson in the bottom of the frame tonight could go a long way to flipping the funk around the team.
- 30-30? Nah. 40-40. Juan Soto, who currently leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.401) has become one of the more prolific base stealers over the last month or so. Wednesday night he went 3-for-4 at the plate with his 31st stolen base and his 39th home run of the season. He is on pace to have a career high in home runs. If he goes on a little run right now (pun a little intended), he has a chance to push 40 stolen bases on the season.
- Scoreboard Watching. I’ve personally have had some anxiety opening up the MLB schedule recently thanks the Mets recent slide. The Giants and the Reds are both off today, so the Mets have a chance to gain a half game on two teams chasing them. The Padres, who have also struggled recently, play the Rockies in San Diego tonight. McCade Brown of the Rockies (12.54 ERA, 3 G) takes on Randy Vásquez (3.91 ERA).
Let’s Go Mets!
