The Mets look to take their second consecutive series tonight! Bo Bichette was the story after Sunday’s game, owning up to a rough first three games, and he came through last night going 1-for-5 with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI hit later in the game. Mendoza was able to lean on the three arms he didn’t use on Sunday (Myers, Raley and Williams) who combined to pitch 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Mets bats were on fire after the first game of the season and we haven’t really seen that since, hopefully tonight is the night the Mets bats get back on track.
Kodai Senga had a bizarre season last year. He made 22 starts, pitching 113 1/3 innings with a 3.02 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 1.315 WHIP and a 133 ERA+. Before his injury he made 13 starts with a 1.47 ERA. In his nine starts after his injury he had a 5.90 ERA and accepted a minor league assignment in September to figure out what was happening. This spring though Senga has looked fantastic, allowing only two runs over 9 2/3 innings while striking out 11 batters. He is routinely hitting 97 mph on the radar gun. The Cardinals have the following career stats against Senga:
- Alec Burleson 0-6, 2 BB, 2 K
- Nolan Gorman 0-5, 3 K
- Yohel Pozo 0-2
- Thomas Saggese 2-2, 2B
- Victor Scott II 0-2
- Jordan Walker 1-2, HR, BB, K
- Masyn Winn 0-2, K
Andre Pallante had a strong 2024, pitching in 29 games including 20 starts, with a 3.78 ERA over 121 1/3 innings. He couldn’t repeat those numbers in 2025 when fully moved to the rotation. Over 31 starts, 162 2/3 innings. Pallante had a 5.31 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 1.445 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. The Mets tagged him for eight runs over 9 1/3 innings in two starts last season off 16 hits and four walks. The Mets have the following career numbers against Pallante:
- Francisco Alvarez 2-3, BB
- Brett Baty 1-2
- Bo Bichette 2-6, 2B, K
- Francisco Lindor 6-13, 3 BB, 2 K
- Marcus Semien 1-4, K
- Juan Soto 1-9, 2 BB, K
- Tyrone Taylor 6-12, 2B, K
- Luis Torrens 0-2
- Mark Vientos 2-4, HR, BB
Three Things to Watch For:
- Francisco Lindor, triple hitter? Lindor already has two triples this season. Lindor had three triples from 2023-2025. The most Lindor has ever had in a season was five (2022). He is generally not a triple hitter, and for Lindor to get a triple some other things have to happen (bad reads on the ball, lucky bounces in the outfield, etc). When you get two triples in the first four games of the season, it does make it a lot more likely that you could reach five or more by the end of the season!
- Get to the Cardinals bullpen. The Mets have had historical success against Andre Pallante. Behind Pallante is a bullpen that has been struggling, posting a 7.94 ERA off 26 hits and no home runs in the first four games of the season. The Rays did most of the damage to the Cardinals pen and the bullpen bounced back last night allowing no runs over four innings, scattering two hits and three walks. While the Cardinals bullpen was not going to spend an entire season being as bad as it was this past weekend, tonight is the time to stop them from building positive momentum.
- Carson Benge. Benge had a huge first game of the season getting a walk and hitting his first home run. He’s been pretty quiet since. Last night he went 2-for-4, stole his second base of the season and didn’t strikeout. The radio broadcast noted that it felt like Benge and Alvarez were making sure Lindor and Soto had runners to drive in all night.
Let’s Go Mets!
