The Mets try to do the impossible tonight – win a baseball game!
It’s been a terrible two weeks for the Mets losing 11 straight games. Over losing streak we’ve seen injuries, extra-inning losses, hard-hit balls turn into outs, pitching completely fall apart and bats disappear. At some point though, the Mets will win snap this losing streak. Tonight would be a perfectly fine night to get back in the win column.
Nolan McLean has been on fire this season. Over four starts, 23 2/3 innings, he has a 2.28 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 0.761 WHIP and a 170 ERA+. His WHIP and H/9 (3.8) are both league leading while he’s striking out batters at a 10.6 K/9 clip. Last time out he allowed one run over seven innings, making it the second consecutive outing he went into the seventh inning. Josh Bell (1-for-3, 2 K) is the only hitter on the Twins who has seen McLean in a Major League game.
Simeon Woods Richardson is starting one night earlier than originally scheduled for the Twins tonight who put Mick Abel on the injured list yesterday with elbow inflamation. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Woods Richardson who was a second round pick by the Mets in 2018 and was traded in 2019 with Anthony Kay for Marcus Stroman.
Woods Richardson made 22 starts (23 total games) last season totaling 111 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.275 WHIP and a 106 ERA+. Over four starts, 20 2/3 innings, this season he has a 6.10 ERA, 5.60 FIP, 1.597 WHIP and a 73 ERA+. His HR/9 has jumped from 1.4 last to 1.7 this year while his K/9 has dropped from 8.6 to 4.8. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Bo Bichette 2-4, HR
- Francisco Lindor 1-3, K
- MJ Melendez 2-3, 2 B, 2 BB, K
- Tommy Pham 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 BB
- Luis Robert Jr. 0-5, 3 K
- Marcus Semien 1-6, HR
- Luis Torrens 2-2
- Mark Vientos 1-2, 2B
Three Things To Watch For:
- Watch Out! I’m not walking here, or anywhere. The Mets worked zero walks on Sunday’s loss to the Cubs while striking out nine times. Overall in the series they walked a total of six time times while striking out 22 times. As a team the Mets have walked 64 times, which is 28th in the league. Last season the Mets were 5th in the league, anchored by Juan Soto who set a new franchise record. Obviously the Mets free passes will jump as soon as Soto returns to the lineup, but the problem runs deeper than Soto’s injury right now.
- Nolan McLean. McLean has been one of the few bright spots on the team this year and every McLean start has been must watch. Hitters have a .125 BA (.168 xBA) and .213 SLG (.238 xSLG) this season. His xERA of 2.03 is even lower than his already low real ERA. Sarah Langs noted after his last start that he was one of three pitchers who had more than 80 strikeouts and allowed 20 or few runs in their first 12 games, joining Paul Skenes and Matt Harvey. Happy McLean Day!
- Citi Field + Player Vibes. It’s going to in the mid-40’s tonight with a chance of showers. The team is on an 11 game losing streak. Everyone’s vibes are down. There’s every reason to believe the fans may get on players early if they don’t jump out with a lead. There’s every reason the believe that players may start pressing. The atmosphere between the players and fans could spill throughout the rest of the week. Not to be hyperbolic or anything.
Let’s Go Mets!
