The Mets comeback fell short last night and margins for error in the final week got a bit smaller. It was a night of defensive miscues for the Mets. Mistakes in the second inning led to a 3-0 Nationals lead. The Mets came alive late scoring twice in the 8th and once in the 9th to tie the game, but left the bases loaded tempting fate with extra-innings. In the top of the 11th Daylen Lile hit a ball that hit the outfield wall at a sharp angle. Cedric Mullins didn’t handle it well, Lile ended up with a two-run inside the park home run (under 14 seconds around the bases) and the Mets went on to lose.
The Reds and Diamondbacks both won Saturday, and now the Mets have a one game lead. Things are getting a little hectic in this last week!
Sean Manaea will start this afternoon for the Mets with Clay Holmes as a possible candidate for the piggy-back start this afternoon. Over 12 games this season, Manaea has pitched 55 innings with a 5.40 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.200 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. Last week Holmes started first with Manaea coming out to relieve him. Manaea allowed only one run (solo homer) on four hits and no walks over five innings, it was the best he’s looked in a while. It’s also been a big week for Sean, he was on the paternity list just a couple of days ago! The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:
- CJ Abrams 3-12, 4 K
- Riley Adams 1-2, HR, K
- Josh Bell 4-8, 2B
- Andres Chaparro 1-5, BB, 2 K
- Dylan Crews 0-4, 2 K
- Paul DeJong 0-2, K
- Luis García Jr. 2-5, 2 K
- Brady House 2-2, 2B
- Daylen Lile 0-2
- Nasim Nuñez 0-1, BB
- James Wood 0-9, 3 K
- Jacob Young 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K
The Mets will look to get out to an early lead against Jake Irvin this afternoon. Over 31 starts and 168 2/3 innings, Irvin has a 5.76 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 1.435 WHIP and a 72 ERA+. Irvin is in the midst of a particularly tough stretch allowing 35 runs over his last seven games (32 2/3 innings) good for a 9.37 ERA and 7.03 FIP. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed six runs from eight hits over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Irvin:
- Pete Alonso 2-18, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
- Francisco Alvarez 2-14, 7 K
- Brett Baty 1-6, HR, BB
- Francisco Lindor 7-20, 3 2B, HR, 5 K
- Starling Marte 1-2, K
- Ronny Mauricio 0-1
- Jeff McNeil 5-15, 2B, 2 BB, K
- Cedric Mullins 1-8, K
- Brandon Nimmo 7-20, 2 HR, 2 BB, K
- Jose Siri 0-2, K
- Juan Soto 2-8, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
- Luis Torrens 0-5, 2 K
- Mark Vientos 2-15, HR, 2 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Clay Holmes. Holmes may be used a reliever for the first time this season this afternoon. Holmes has pitched in 30 games with 155 innings, posting a 3.77 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 1.342 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. He allowed two runs from three hits off of two solo homers in his last start where he was relieved by Sean Manaea. Holmes last faced the Nationals all the way back in April keeping them scoreless over five innings.
- Frustrations from last night. The Mets are at their best when they are playing loose. Saturday the Mets went 3-for-16 with RISP, leaving 13 batters on base. They had a lot of opportunities to win the game. Hopefully the Mets hitters can move beyond that and just hit Jake Irvin as they have hit him this season. For what it’s worth, the Nationals also struggled with RISP, going 1-for-12, leaving six runners on base.
- Wild Card race. The Cubs and Reds will kick off at the same time as the Mets today, and the game will be on MLB Network if you want to frantically flip channels. Andrew Abbott (2.88 ERA) will take on Jameson Taillon (3.93 ERA). The Phillies and Ranger Suárez (2.84 ERA) will take on Eduardo Rodriguez (5.12 ERA) and Diamondbacks at 4:10. Also in the late window, The Giants will take on the Dodgers. The Giants lost again on Saturday and are now four games back and their window into this Wild Card race is closing quickly.
Let’s Go Mets!
