The Mets play a must win rubber game this afternoon against the Nationals. The Mets fell behind early Wednesday night with the Nationals going up 4-0 by the time the third inning had ended. The Mets would then go on to score four runs in the next two innings, making the score 5-4. Old problems crept in for the Mets who went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position, hitting into three different, rally killing double plays.
Sean Manaea has pitched 32 innings over seven games with a 4.78 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.156 WHIP and an 84 ERA+. In the month of July he allowed only four runs over 17 1/3 innings (four games), a 2.08 ERA. August has not been kind to Manaea as he has allowed 13 runs over 14 2/3 innings. Manaea’s first two games in August followed a similar script. He cruised early, struggled in the fourth or fifth. His last time out he just started allowing runs from the jump. He was quite good against the Nationals in 2024 holding them to only three runs, two earned over 14 innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:
- CJ Abrams 3-10, 3 K
- Riley Adams 1-1, HR
- Josh Bell 4-8, 2B
- Andres Chaparro 0-3, K
- Dylan Crews 0-3, K
- Luis García Jr. 2-5, 2 K
- James Wood 0-6, K
- Jacob Young 2-4, 2B, BB, K
The Mets bats will get a look at 2025 All-Star MacKenzie Gore today. Over 138 innings, Gore has a 4.04 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.319 WHIP and a 102 ERA+. Gore’s numbers are being inflated by three of his four starts between July 20th and August 5th. In that stretch he allowed 23 runs over 15 2/3 innings, raising his season ERA from 3.02 to 4.29. Since August 5th, Gore has allowed two runs over 12 innings while striking out 17 batters. Against the Mets earlier this season he allowed two runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Pete Alonso 2-18, HR, BB, 2 K
- Brett Baty 0-1, BB, K
- Francisco Lindor 3-17, 2 BB, 2 K
- Starling Marte 4-11, 2 K
- Ronny Mauricio 0-2, K
- Jeff McNeil 8-12, 2 BB, K
- Cedric Mullins 1-6, BB, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 5-17, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
- Juan Soto 3-12, 6 K
- Tyrone Taylor 2-11, 2B, HR, 5 K
- Luis Torrens 1-6, 2B, 3 K
- Mark Vientos 2-7, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Brett Baty Season. Brett Baty now has a four game hitting streak where he has gone 5-for-13 at the plate with two walks and two home runs. He now has 15 homers on the season and if his hot streak continues, he has a legitimate chance to finish the season with 20 homers. What a turn around for Baty for this season!
- Adjusting without key bats. Before Tuesday’s game Francisco Alvarez landed on the injured list with a base running thumb injury. Early in Wednesday’s game Brandon Nimmo was pulled from the game with reoccurrence of his stiff neck injury that has plagued him at points in his career. We’ll see today how the Mets organize themselves today, a day game after a night game with a banged up lineup.
- An opportunity to gain a half game today. The Mets have had a weird schedule the last week with an off-day last Thursday and this Monday. Because of that, they are now on day 3 of 16 consecutive days with a game. This also means they’ve played two less games than the Reds who are only one game behind them for the third and final wild card spot. A win today will give the Mets just slightly more breathing room in a tight race.
Let’s Go Mets!
