The Mets will try to look past Friday night’s weird slog of a game and even the series against the Dodgers tonight at Citi Field.
The game Friday night took a bizarre turn in the 3rd inning when Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor collided for a ball. Tyrone Taylor bobbled it and eventually some how caught it. Michael Conforto tagged up on the initial touch and then went. The whole baseball world then found out that according to MLB, that is how you are supposed to tag, so the inning ending double play never happened. At the same time, the skies opened up and the game got delayed with a 3-1 count with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd.
The game delay would last over 90 minutes and the Dodgers immediately scored when the game resumed. Eventually the Mets came back sending the game into extra innings. The game would go through 13 innings, ending after 1 AM tiring everyone out. And now the Mets get to play again!
David Peterson looks to go as deep into todays game as possible to save the Mets tired arms. Over 50 1/3 innings this season he has a 2.86 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.331 WHIP and a 135 ERA+. He has pitched six innings in three consecutive starts including last weekend against the Yankees where he allowed two runs, only one earned, working around four walks.
Peterson’s first start in 2024 was against the Dodgers allowing three runs, two earned over five innings from seven hits and and one walk. In the playoffs he allowed five runs, four earned, over six innings spread across two games. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against him:
- Mookie Betts 3-11, 2 2B, BB, K
- Michael Conforto 1-3, K
- Tommy Edman 2-3, K
- Freddie Freeman 6-21, 2 HR, BB, 7 K
- Kiké Hernández 4-8, 2B, BB, 2 K
- Teoscar Hernández 2-7, HR, BB, K
- Max Muncy 2-7, HR, 2 K
- Shohei Ohtani 5-10, BB, K
- Andy Pages 3-4, HR
- Miguel Rojas 7-14, 3 2B, HR, K
- Will Smith 2-5, 2B, HR, BB
Tony Gonsolin has a 4.05 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.300 WHIP and a 98 ERA+ over 20 innings this season. His deepest outing was his first start of the season where he allowed three runs against the Marlins over six innings. He’s coming off of a start where the Angels tagged him for four runs over four innings including two home runs. While he only pitched four innings in that game, he did get to 97 pitches, by far the most he has this season. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Pete Alonso 1-4, 2 K
- Francisco Alvarez 0-2
- Brett Baty 0-1, K
- Francisco Lindor 0-1, BB
- Starling Marte 0-7
- Jeff McNeil 0-3, BB
- Brandon Nimmo 1-5, HR, K
- Juan Soto 4-12, 2B, 3B, 2 K
- Tyrone Taylor 2-4, 2 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Hangover from last night. Last night was a late night for both clubs. The worst thing the Mets hitters can do today is have quick at bats. Make Gonsolin have long battles, it led to him throwing nearly 100 pitches by the end of the fourth inning. Get into that tired bullpen, make them throw more pitches. Allow Friday’s game to impact the rest of the weekend. The opposite is true for the Mets. Push David Peterson deeper into the game, give the Mets bullpen a breather.
- Brett Baty. Baty had his second multi-hit game in a row for the Mets Friday night. Over his last two games he has gone 4-for-8 at the plate with four RBI’s, a walk and a stolen base. The only downside for the Mets – despite getting on base so much Baty has only scored once (on his own home run). The hitters behind him need to get him home!
- Grounders. Connected to the above, the Mets are third in the league in grounding into double plays, with 46 already this season (the Athletics and Pirates lead the league with 49). These rally killers have become a culprit in the Mets woes with hitting with runners in scoring position. Is this a statistical fluke or the sign of a deeper problem with team approaches at the plate?
Let’s Go Mets!
