It all comes down to the last game of the season for the Mets. A loss today completely knocks the Mets out of the playoffs. A win is not enough, the Reds will need to lose too as they hold the tiebreaker. Saturday the Mets got one of the best performances they have all season from Clay Holmes, negating the need to have a piggy-back start with Sean Manaea, pushing him to start the final game of the season. Buckle up!
Sean Manaea has pitched 59 innings over 14 games this season with a 5.80 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.220 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. His last two outings haven’t been great. Manaea has allowed five runs from six hits over four innings, including two homers. In fact, he’s allowed 13 home runs this season, seven in September alone. The Marlins have the following career stats against him:
- Xavier Edwards 2-4, 2B, BB
- Otto Lopez 3-8, 2B, K
- Joey Wiemer 1-2, K
Is Edward Cabrera making his last start as a Marlin this afternoon? Cabrera made his debut for the Marlins in 2021 and is arbitration eligible in 2026. The Marlins are somewhat unpredictable with trades, and he could be a trade candidate, especially since he doesn’t become a free agent until 2029.
Anyway this season he has pitched 132 2/3 innings over 25 starts, the most in his career, with a 3.66 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.221 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. Cabrera started against the Mets at the end of August allowing six runs, five earned from eight hits over four innings and then landed on the injured list after that start. He came back on the 23rd, pitching four innings allowing three runs from five hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Pete Alonso 5-17, 3 HR, 4 BB, 5 K
- Francisco Alvarez 1-2, K
- Francisco Lindor 3-17, HR, 4 BB, 3 K
- Starling Marte 0-1, BB
- Ronny Mauricio 1-2, K
- Jeff McNeil 3-16, 2B, HR, BB, K
- Cedric Mullins 1-5, BB
- Brandon Nimmo 5-14, 2B, 7 BB, 3 K
- Juan Soto 1-7, HR, 2 BB, K
- Tyrone Taylor 1-5, 2 K
- Luis Torrens 0-2, K
- Mark Vientos 3-6, HR, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Francisco Lindor. One of my strongest and fondest memories of Francisco Lindor in 2024 came on the last day of the season. The Mets needed to go to Atlanta to play a doubleheader. The first game was a back-and-forth affair with Francisco Lindor completing the final comeback for the Mets, smashing a home run sending the team to Milwaukee for the Wild Card series. The Mets need that Francisco Lindor this afternoon!
- Pete Alonso. There is a chance today is Pete Alonso’s last game as a Met. He can walk out of the deal at the end of this season. The Mets all-time home run leader came through for the Mets on Saturday going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI’s. He was a post season hero for the Mets last year and we’ll need him again today.
- Wild Card race. The Mets need the Reds to lose today. The Reds will be taking on a Brewers team that has home field advantage through the NLCS all wrapped up, but is also about to have multiple days off. Brady Singer (3.95 ERA) will take on Freddy Peralta (2.68 ERA). The Mets still have to win this afternoon, and with all games starting at 3:10, there will be scoreboard watching throughout the afternoon.
Let’s Go Mets!
