The Mets escaped the weekend with the Reds! The Mets were holding on to a tenuous 2-1 lead for the vast majority of Sunday’s game. The Reds were able to scratch out a run in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game and the Mets responded by finding a run in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead for good. Now the Mets welcome a similarly scrappy team – the Angels – to Citi Field.
Like the Reds, the Angels are also in 4th place in their division, right around .500 and are playing sort-of well lately. The Angels are 14th in runs scored (Mets are 16th) but are 26th in runs allowed (Mets are 7th). Here’s hoping the Mets can make it two wins in a row!
Kodai Senga looked good last weekend in his first start back. Over four innings he allowed four hits and walked two batters while shutting out the Royals and racking up four strikeouts. The Mets let him get up to 67 pitches. Over 14 starts this season Kodai has pitched 77 2/3 innings with a 1.39 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 1.113 WHIP and a 276 ERA+. He pitched against the Angels back in 2023 allowing only two runs from four hits while striking out 10 batters. The Angels have the following career numbers against Senga:
- Travis d’Arnaud 1-2, K
- Kevin Newman 1-2
- Logan O’Hoppe 1-2, BB, K
- Luis Rengifo 1-3
- Nola Schanuel 0-2, K
- Jorge Soler 3-8, 2B, BB, 3 K
- LaMonte Wade Jr. 1-3, HR, BB
The Mets bats will try to get going against Tyler Anderson tonight. Over 19 games (101 2/3 innings), Anderson has a 4.34 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 1.407 WHIP and a 98 ERA+. Teams have been scoring against him lately scoring seven runs over 10 innings from 16 hits and four walks. The Mets hit him moderately well in 2024 scoring three runs over eights from five innings of work. The Mets have the following career stats against Anderson:
- Pete Alonso 2-9, HR, BB, K
- Francisco Lindor 2-12, K
- Jeff McNeil 1-6
- Brandon Nimmo 8-15, HR, 3 K
- Juan Soto 3-20, 5 BB, 2 K
- Tyrone Taylor 1-6
- Luis Torrens 0-4
- Mark Vientos 1-3, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez is back! The Mets sent him down to Syracuse on June 21st. Since then he has played in 19 games and has hit 11 home runs going 20-for-67 at the plate slashing .299/.397/.836 while striking out 21 times. He has been hitting absolute bombs including one shot over the batters eye this past weekend. Alvarez struggled to get power going at the plate this season slashing .236/.319/.333 over 35 games. He hit .237/.307/.403 in 2024 with his power taking a hit after his thumb injury.
- Containing Taylor Ward. Taylor Ward has been a solid player stuck on a middling team for the last four seasons. He has a 9.2 bWAR from 2022 until now and has had an OPS+ above 100 for the last five seasons. He had 23 and 25 home runs in 2022 and 2024, but this season he has taken off already collecting 23 home runs by late July. He’s coming off a five hit series in Philly hitting two home runs.
- Francisco Lindor. Lindor is in a funk right now. In his last four games he has gone 0-for-19 with six strikeouts. That being said, by the end of Sunday’s game he was making solid contact and loud outs. Hopefully this is the start of Lindor turning the corner.
Let’s Go Mets!
