The Mets face a critical rubber game this afternoon in Queens.
The Mets cruised past the Nationals on Tuesday night with an 8-0 victory. The Nationals flipped the tables on the Mets last night, bashing the Mets 14-2. David Peterson and Sean Manaea put the Mets into a hole that the struggling Mets hitters could just not climb out of. The vibes aren’t great as the Mets close out April!
Freddy Peralta has pitched 32 1/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.206 WHIP and a 103 ERA+ over six starts this season. He’s coming off of a solid start against the Rockies where he allowed only two runs over 5 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits and three walks while striking out eight batters. His only start against the Nationals last year was great, holding them to one run over 6 2/3 innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Peralta:
- CJ Abrams 3-6, 2B, 2 K
- Luis García Jr. 2-9, 2B, 2 K
- Brady House 0-3, K
- Daylen Lile 1-3
- Keibert Ruiz 2-7, K
- James Wood 1-3, 2 K
- Jacob Young 2-4, K
Miles Mikolas has had a rough season so far. Over six games, three starts, Mikolas has a 8.49 ERA, 6.93 FIP, 1.843 WHIP and a 48 ERA+. He’s allowed seven home runs over 23 1/3 innings, which is good for a 3.9 HR/9 which is well above his 1.8 career rate. Last season he allowed two runs over 4 2/3 against the Mets who have the following career numbers against Mikolas:
- Francisco Alvarez 0-2, K
- Brett Baty 2-8, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
- Bo Bichette 4-9, 2B, 2 K
- MJ Melendez 1-5, K
- Luis Robert Jr. 1-3
- Austin Slater 1-1, HR
- Juan Soto 8-24, 2B, HR, 5 K
- Tyrone Taylor 4-12, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 K
- Luis Torrens 0-2, K
- Mark Vientos 0-2
Three Things To Watch For:
- Juan Soto. Don’t blame Soto for the Mets recent struggles. Soto homered for a second straight game last night, becoming the second Mets hitter to have at least three home runs on the season. Soto was on base three times last night, but the rest of the hitters couldn’t bring him home.
- Get the rally going! The Mets are struggling again with runners in scoring position. Last night the Mets stranded runners on second and third multiple times. Over the weekend they grounded into a ton of double plays that just prevented anything from getting started. The Mets have grounded into 22 double plays this season, which is tied for 9th in the majors. This is, somehow, and improvement from last year where they were 4th in the league.
- Carlos Mendoza. I’m not weighing in on whether the Mets should or shouldn’t fire Mendoza and shake up the coaching staff. Based on the how the Mets are playing right now, there is a possibility that this is Mendoza’s last game managing at Citi Field (or even his last game managing the Mets). Both the struggling Red Sox and Phillies have fired their managers this week. If you’re looking for historical symmetry, Willie Randolph was fired in the middle night after a series in Anaheim, a city that the Mets are heading to next.
Let’s Go Mets!
