The Mets head down the coast to San Diego bringing their seven game winning streak with them! The Mets are coming off of a sweep of the Giants, maintaining their hold on first place in the NL East. Tonight they start a series against the Padres who are second in the NL West. With a tightening playoff race, its not outside of realm of possibility that the Padres and Mets will need to use a tiebreaker at the end of the season to determine seeding. After this week’s series, the two teams won’t meet up again until mid-September.
There are only a few more days until the MLB trade deadline, there’s a chance both teams rosters change in a big way during this series!
Frankie Montas has pitched 25 1/3 innings over five starts with a 4.62 ERA, 4.55 FIP, 1.303 WHIP and an 83 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed three runs from 12 hits and two walks over 10 2/3 innings while striking out 11 batters. The Mets have also won all three of his starts in July. Montas pitched against the Padres last May allowing four runs from nine hits and a walk over six innings of work. The Padres have the following career numbers against Montas:
- Luis Arráez 6-9, 2 2B, K
- Xander Bogaerts 1-12, 2B, 2 BB
- Jake Cronenworth 0-6, K
- Elias Díaz 3-10, 2B, 3 K
- Jose Iglesias 3-11, 2 K
- Manny Machado 1-6, 2B, 4 K
- Martin Maldonado 3-18, 2B, BB, 6 K
- Jackson Merrill 1-3
- Gavin Sheets 0-3, K
- Fernando Tatis Jr. 0-3
- Tyler Wade 0-2, K
Dylan Cease has pitched 113 2/3 innings over 21 starts this season with a 4.59 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.302 WHIP and a 90 ERA+. He’s allowed three runs, only two earned in his last two starts totaling 10 1/3 innings. Before that he allowed 14 runs, 13 earned over 16 innings spread across three starts (7.31 ERA, 7.40 FIP). Cease has just not been consistent over the last two months. As in he hasn’t been consistently good or consistently bad. Which Cease will the Mets get tonight? The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Pete Alonso 2-8, HR, 4 K
- Francisco Alvarez 0-3, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 4-12, 2B, 3 HR, BB, K
- Starling Marte 0-3, 2 BB, K
- Jeff McNeil 3-8
- Brandon Nimmo 3-6
- Juan Soto 2-8, HR, BB, 3 K
- Tyrone Taylor 1-6, 2B, 3 K
- Luis Torrens 1-2, K
- Mark Vientos 1-6, 2B, 4 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Ronny Mauricio. Mauricio is coming off of a career game going 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. He has a three game hitting streak going and has looked a lot better at the plate since Juan Soto started giving him tips in the batting cage. Sunday night he showed his potential and we can’t wait to see the next steps he continues to make this season.
- Jose Iglesias. The Mets will finally face off this season against the player who quite literally wrote the theme song for the 2024 Mets. Jose Iglesias signed a non-roster invitee deal with the Mets before the 2024 season. Over 85 games he hit .337/.381/.448 with a 138 OPS+ and 3.1 bWAR (a career high). His song (and subsequent dance and sign) became the home run celebration for the Mets. He was a huge reason why the 2024 Mets are unforgettable. He’s played in 75 games with the Padres this season slashing .233/.291/.271 with a 59 OPS+.
- Clouds over rumored players in trades. The Padres are not afraid to make a deal at the deadline. They are not afraid to make deals to get prospect pieces to then trade away in later deals. With the limited amount of teams selling this year, there have been some murmurs that the Padres may trade away Dylan Cease. Will this amp Cease up? Not impact him at all? Cause the Padres to take him out early to prevent injury? On the Mets side, there have been rumors swirling around Mark Vientos (and just the plethora of infielders the Mets have in general) and Starling Marte.
Let’s Go Mets!
