The Mets demons are back, unfortunately.
Monday night was a feel good night for the Mets. They were hitting home runs all over the place, Pete Alonso set the franchise record for home runs and the Mets just absolutely crushed the Braves. Tuesday night started the same way. By the end of the second inning the Mets had a 6-0 lead. The middle innings have been plaguing the Mets of late. The Mets had multiple big leads get erased, but none as bad as Tuesday night. The Braves scored nine runs in the fourth inning, flipping the script on their way to beating the Mets 11-6. Utterly demoralizing. The Mets desperately need a win.
Kodai Senga will try to get the Mets back on the right track tonight. Over 18 starts and 94 innings, Senga has a 2.30 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.245 WHIP and a 173 ERA+. It’s been a rough stretch for Senga since returning from the injured list. Over five starts he has allowed less than three runs only once and gone at least five innings only once. In four of five starts he has walked at least three batters. The Braves have the following career numbers against Senga:
- Ozzie Albies 0-2, BB, K
- Nacho Alvarez Jr. 0-2
- Michael Harris II 0-2, K
- Sean Murphy 0-2, 2 K
- Matt Olson 1-4, BB, 3 K
- Marcell Ozuna 1-4, 2B, K
- Jurickson Profar 0-2, BB, 2 K
The Mets bats will look to keep hitting tonight against Bryce Elder. Over 19 innings he has pitched 100 innings with a 6.12 ERA, 5.15 FIP, 1.560 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. Elder is coming off of a rough start where he allowed five runs over six innings. Through his first ten starts this season he had a 4.08 ERA, 4.33 FIP. Since then he’s had a 8.86 ERA, 6.25 FIP over 42 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Elder:
- Pete Alonso 3-8, 2B, HR
- Francisco Alvarez 0-2
- Brett Baty 1-4, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 4-7, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB
- Starling Marte 1-6, 4 K
- Jeff McNeil 1-9, BB, K
- Cedric Mullins 1-2, 2B, BB
- Brandon Nimmo 1-7, 3 K
- Juan Soto 2-3, HR
Three Things To Watch For:
- Juan Soto. Soto has been doing everything he can to keep the line moving. He has reached base in 11 straight games, every game so far in August. He’s slashing .279/.392/.558 (.950 OPS) over this stretch with four home runs and seven walks. He’s now one home run away from his fourth 30 home runs season, his third in a row. To put this season in context, Soto has a 151 OPS+, behind his absurd 178 OPS+ last season but on par with his 155 OPS+ in 2023.
- Can a starter go five innings? David Peterson was supposed to be the chose one. He has been the one the Mets have been relying on to go six innings if not more. With his early exit yesterday, the Mets went a full rotation without a starter going five innings. Luckily Justin Hagenman put four innings in on Monday and Paul Blackburn returned to the majors Tuesday with a five inning relief outing. They have saved the bullpen. It will go a long way for everyone’s moral if Kodai can be effective through five innings tonight.
- Pete Alonso. Alonso continues to be scorching hot for the Mets with his second consecutive three hit game on Tuesday night. Over his last four games he has gone 9-for-17 with three doubles and three home runs (.529/.556/1.235). Over 11 August games Pete is slashing .386/.408/.886 with six home runs. He has raised his season stat line from .259/.351/.491 to .272/.356/.530, something that’s difficult to do this late in the season!
Let’s Go Mets!
