213 Miles From Shea

The Mets look to win the rubber game of the series this afternoon against the Giants! The Mets bats finally woke up on Saturday scoring 12 runs off 13 hits. Demons were exorcised as the Mets went 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position and put up crooked numbers on the box score in four innings.

Today the Mets will look to get another demon haunting the team to leave. The Mets have massively struggled with starting pitchers getting through the sixth inning (except for David Peterson). Can Montas break the cycle today and give the bullpen a bit of a break?

Frankie Montas has made six starts over 29 2/3 innings with a 5.46 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 1.449 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. Montas cruised through the first four innings in his last start holding the Padres to one run. After Mark Vientos gave him the lead, the wheels fell off and he allowed two runs to score. He recorded one out, leaving two runners on for the Mets bullpen, and both of those runners scored too. Montas has shown flashes of brilliance this season and has pitched 5 2/3 innings twice. The Giants have the following career numbers against Montas:

• Willy Adames 3-10, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Matt Chapman 2-8, 2B, BB, K
• Rafael Devers 6-14, 2 2B, BB
• Wilmer Flores 2-4
• Grant McCray 0-2, K
• Heliot Ramos 2-6, K
• Casey Schmitt 0-2, K
• Dominic Smith 2-5, 2B, HR

The Mets bats will get a look at Carson Whisenhunt today. The southpaw was the Giants #3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline heading into the 2025 season. He made his major league debut against the Pirates last weekend allowing four runs from five hits including a home run and two walks while striking three batters over five innings. He has a 4.42 ERA and a 1.331 WHIP over 97 2/3 innings with Sacramento (minor league, not the Athletics) this season. In his first major league start he used a low-90’s sinker slightly more than half of the time mixing in a low-80’s changeup (35% usage) and low-80’s slider (10%).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. The Mets offense needs Francisco Lindor. On Saturday Lindor went 3-for-4 with a double, four RBI, a run scored and a walk. We’ve been waiting for Lindor to breakout of his slump and hopefully Saturday’s game was it. We’ll be watching today to see if he picks up where he left off.
2. Pete Alonso. Alonso has now homered in back-to-back days and now has 250 career home runs, just two behind Darryl Strawberry’s franchise leading 252. Alonso opened Saturday’s game with a homerun showing that the Mets were not going to squander opportunities with runners in scoring position. He’s been the critical bat this series, racking up 5 RBI already.
3. The Bullpen is tired. Between extra innings Friday night and Senga’s early exit Saturday, every pitcher in the Mets bullpen, prior to today’s roster move, has pitched at some point this weekend with recently DFA’d Rico Garcia pitching on back-to-back days for the Mets. Luckily, Stanek, Helsley and Díaz all had Saturday off. Let’s hope Montas can give the Mets at least five innings today!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets got close last night but couldn’t finish the comeback.

The Giants took a three run lead early which the Mets were able to claw back late. The Mets were able to rally with two outs in the bottom of the tenth to load the bases, but couldn’t get any runs across and ultimately lost 4-3. Now the Mets look to snap their four game losing streak this afternoon at Citi Field.

Kodai Senga has made 16 starts this season totaling 85 2/3 innings with a 2.00 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.214 WHIP and a 193 ERA+. It’s been a bit of a struggle for Senga since the All Star break allowing seven runs over eight innings from eight hits and eight walks. The uptick in walks has also come with an uptick in homers. He’s allowed three in his last two starts including two against the Giants last weekend. The Giants have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Willy Adames 1-5, BB, K
• Patrick Bailey 0-2, K
• Matt Chapman 3-4, 2B, 2 HR, BB, K
• Rafael Devers 0-6, 2 BB
• Wilmer FLores 0-3
• Andrew Knizner 0-2
• Jung Hoo Lee 0-2, BB
• Heliot Ramos 0-2, BB
• Dominic Smith 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K

Kai-Wei Teng makes his 2025 debut this afternoon for the Giants. Teng pitched 11 innings over four games in the majors last season with a 9.82 ERA, 6.71 FIP, 2.091 WHIP and a 41 ERA+. He’s pitched in 25 games making four starts with Sacramento (the AAA team, not the Athletics) this season totaling 54 innings with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.111 WHIP. The Giants have been stretching him out since the end of June and he’s up to 80+ pitches now. Over his last 21 1/3 innings (five games) he has a 0.42 ERA allowing only one earned run while striking out 39 batters.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso showed signs of breaking out of his slump Friday night! He went 1-for-3 including a massive solo home run, a sacrifice fly and a walk. Pete Alonso now sits at 249 career home runs. He’s one really good day at the plate away from Strawberry’s 252 franchise leading home runs.
2. Keeping the basepaths clear. Friday night had the potential to be much more lopsided for the Giants. The Giants went 3-for-14 with RISP leaving 11 batters on base (the Mets left a staggering nine batters on). More runners on mean more pitches thrown. With only David Peterson giving the Mets consistent length as a starter right now, the Mets bullpen needs quick innings. Between the 7th and 9th inning last night the Mets bullpen allowed six base runners (only one scored).
3. Stealing Bases. Juan Soto stole his 16th base of the season last night. This was the Mets 88th team stolen base, putting them 9th in the majors and just six behind the Phillies. The Phillies lead the league in team average spring sprint speed (28.1 ft/s). The Mets are 27th in the league at 27 ft/s. Stealing is obviously more than just speed and Antoan Richardson deserves so much praise for what he has created for the Mets on the basepaths this season. Even when the Mets are struggling to get extra-base hits, there is now a feeling when the Mets get on they may get themselves into scoring position.

Let’s Go Mets!

What a trade deadline! For the second the time in three series, the Giants and the Mets will face off against each other, but the teams look a little different. The Mets have traded for three players over the last two days. Cedric Mullins will now pratol centerfield. Ryan Helsley will now set up Edwin Díaz. The iron man in the Giants bullpen, leading the league in games pitched in four of the last six years, Tyler Rogers, will now be wearing orange and blue. In addition to trading Tyler Rogers to the Mets, the Giants have also traded away Mike Yastrzemski and Camilo Doval.

After being swept by the Padres the Mets need to get back into the win column tonight. It’s a rematch of 2025 All-Star lefties tonight in Queens! David Peterson will square off again against Robbie Ray!

David Peterson has pitched 121 innings this season which ties 2024 for the most innings he’s ever pitched at the major league level. He has a 2.83 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.248 WHIP and a 135 ERA+. Peterson has been on fire recently allowing only three earned runs, five runs total over his last four starts and 25 2/3 innings pitched (1.05 ERA, 3.25 FIP). This includes his last start against the Giants (and Robbie Ray) where he allowed only one run over six innings, scattering eight hits and three walks. The Giants have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Willy Adames 3-10, 2B, 9 BB, 2 K
• Patrick Bailey 1-2, K
• Matt Chapman 1-3, K
• Rafael Devers 5-13, 2B, 3 K
• Wilmer Flores 3-8, HR, BB, 2 K
• Andrew Knizner 0-2, K
• Jung Hoo Lee 2-3
• Luis Matos 1-4, BB
• Heliot Ramos 2-4, 2B, K
• Casey Schmitt 0-4, BB
• Dominic Smith 2-5, 2 K

Robbie Ray has pitched 129 innings over 22 starts with a 2.93 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.140 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. Ray is coming off of a solid start against the Mets where he allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings from five hits and three walks. Once the Mets got him out of the game, they just erupted at the plate and would go on to win 9-5. Ray’s last start was just his second start in his last eight where he did not allow any home runs. The Mets have the following career stats against Ray:

• Pete Alonso 2-9, 3 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, 3B
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 1-5, HR, BB, 2 K
• Starling Marte 9-25, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 3 BB, 9 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-6, K
• Cedric Mullins 4-12, 2 HR, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-8, 3B, HR, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-8, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 2-11, 2B, 4 K
• Mark Vientos 1-3, 2B, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Cedric Mullins. The Mets have struggled against left-handed pitching this season slashing .226/.303/.356 vs southpaws compared to .246/.325/.428 against righties. This season Mullins is slashing .229/.305/.433 (105 OPS+) against all pitchers but against lefties he is hitting .298/.390/.476. Further Mullins has been on a hot streak of late hitting .321/.333/.547 over his last 16 games with six doubles and two homers. Mullins might not be an impact bat in the way we traditionally think of an impact bat at the trade deadline, but he’s upgrade in a position the Mets have been struggling to get consistent production out of this season.
2. Playing Time. With Mullins now in the mix, Jeff McNeil is going to slot back into the infield. The Mets are now going to need to find consistent at bats for Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuña, Jeff McNeil and Starling Marte. Over the next week we’ll get a sense of who gets the start based on a righty starter vs a lefty starter. We’ll also get a sense of who gets a start when the Mets send out a groundball heavy pitcher. The Mets bench looks stronger now but everyone is going to need to see game time in order to stay productive.
3. Slumping Mets. Sometimes bringing in new faces can help other players break out of slumps. Pete Alonso has hit .083/.162/.150 over his last 17 games. Francisco Lindor has hit .136/.150/.220 over his last 13 games. Juan Soto has slashed .116/.240/.279 over his last 12 games. The younger Mets hitting in the back up of the lineup has been carrying the team over their seven game winning streak followed by the three game losing streak, hopefully Alonso, Lindor and Soto can start to break out of their slumps tonight!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets try to escape San Diego with a win this afternoon. The last two games have just been no good, terrible times. Monday night the Mets had a bullpen collapse and allowed the Padres to take the lead after the Mets took the lead on a massive Mark Vientos grand slam. The Mets would later come back in the game and blow the game in the ninth inning. Tuesday the Mets and Padres were close for most of the game until the bullpen had another meltdown, leading to a 7-1 Padres win. Soto left Tuesday’s game with a foot contusion and avoided a broken toe.

Let’s just get out of California with one more win!

Clay Holmes has tossed 113 2/3 innings over 21 starts with a 3.40 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 1.276 WHIP and a 112 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a strong start against the Giants where he allowed one run from six hits and a walk over five innings. Holmes has been in a rut this month alternating between solid starts and allowing five runs. Can he break the pattern this afternoon? The Padres have the following career numbers against him:

• Luis Arráez 2-3, 3B, BB
• Xander Bogaerts 1-6, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• Jake Cronenworth 0-1
• Elias Díaz 0-0, BB
• Jose Iglesias 1-2, K
• Manny Machado 1-2
• Martin Maldonado 0-1, K
• Jackson Merrill 0-1
• Gavin Sheets 0-1
• Fernando Tatis Jr. 1-3

The Mets bats will get a look at Yu Darvish this afternoon. Over four starts and 16 2/3 innings, Darvish has a 9.18 ERA, 5.32 FIP, 1.800 WHIP and a 47 ERA+. Darvish had an elbow injury that kept him off of the field since the start of July and things haven’t been great for him since returning. His best outing so far was on July 19th were he allowed three runs over five innings. Last time out he got tagged for eight runs over 3 1/3 innings including two homers. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 3-17, HR, BB, 6 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 6-22, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 7 K
• Starling Marte 9-23, 2B, HR, BB, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 3-20, 2B, HR, BB, 4 K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-15, 3B, BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 3-4, HR, BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-3, K
• Luis Torrens 0-3, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Hugs. I’m currently writing this article at 11:27 EST. With the amount of rumors around the Mets swirling, it feels like the roster is going to go through some changes by the time this team plays again on Friday night. Will the Mets trade someone off of the major league roster? Will someone have to get optioned to the minors to make room for a new trade acquisition? Will the Mets bring back some familiar faces who are currently on other teams? We’ll be watching for hugs in our dugout and around the league.
2. Pete Alonso. Alonso is mired in a slump right now. Over his last 12 games he has gone 4-for-42 at the plate with one home run and five walks (.095/.188/.167). Alonso currently sits at 248 career home runs, just four behind Darryl Strawberry’s franchise leading 252. Francisco Lindor was stuck in a terrible slump about two weeks ago. He recorded a multi-hit game the Wednesday for a Thursday travel game and then went on a tear for a few days. Let’s hope Pete can start the same trajectory today.
3. Jeff McNeil. McNeil has quietly been putting together a solid 2025 campaign. He’s already at 1.7 bWAR, surpassing 2024’s 1.6 bWAR in 50 fewer games. He’s also already at 33 walks on the season and is on pace to smash past his career best of 40 walks which he set in 2022 (the season he hit .326 and led the league). He’s also only one home run away from his third consecutive season with double digit homers. McNeil’s 133 OPS+ is fourth best OPS+ he’s ever put up and it comes after two consecutive seasons of a sub-100 OPS+.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to rebound after the Padres snapped the Mets seven game winning streak Monday night.

Monday’s game was a back and forth affair with a home run robbery, a grand slam by Mark Vientos, a Mets comeback and eventual Padres walk-off in the ninth inning. Both teams had meltdowns at different points of the game leading to crooked numbers on the scoreboard. In the background of all the excitement on the field though was a particularly noticeable ump show. The home plate umpire made four questionable calls early in the game to Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto that led to Soto and the umpire exchanging words before Mendoza got involved (and eventually ejected). This continued throughout the game with another questionable call to Soto in seventh inning. It felt like a playoff atmosphere Monday night, what will tonight bring?

Sean Manaea makes his third start of the season tonight for the Mets. Over his three outings he has pitched 12 1/3 innings with a 2.19 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 0.973 WHIP and a 179 ERA+. In his last start he pitched five innings allowing only one earned run, his longest outing yet in the majors in 2025. The Mets have steadily increased his pitch total from 65 in his first outing in relief, to 69 to 82 last week. Manaea had a strong outing against the Padres last season where he held them to one run from four hits and a walk over five innings. The Padres have the following career numbers against him:

• Luis Arráez 4-9, HR, K
• Xander Bogaerts 7-15, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
• Jake Cronenworth 2-10, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Elias Díaz 2-11, HR
• Jose Iglesias 5-14, 2B, 2 K
• Bryce Johnson 0-2
• Manny Machado 7-19, 3 2B, BB, 4 K
• Martin Maldonado 7-21, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 6 K
• Jackson Merrill 1-2, HR
• Gavin Sheets 1-3
• Fernando Tatis Jr. 2-14, BB, 6 K

Rookie Ryan Bergert gets the start tonight for the Padres to give Yu Darvish and extra day of rest. Over 10 games in the majors Bergert has pitched 31 2/3 innings with a 2.84 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.137 WHIP and a 149 ERA+. In his last two major league starts he has allowed five runs from eight hits over 7 2/3 innings. Bergert started his major league career with four pristine innings of relief only allowing a hit and nothing else. In two of his six starts he’s held his opponents scoreless.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Everyone’s Emotions. Monday night felt like a playoff game. The park was packed, there were plenty of Mets fans in attendance and the crowd was into everything from the first pitch. There were amazing defensive plays, incredible defensive blunders, bad calls, a hit batsman, a comebacker that knocked Cease in the head, a manager got ejected and a walk-off hit. Things were intense – but it was just a regular season game at the end of July. The Mets are at their best when they play at their own pace and do their own thing. Let’s take a deep breath before tonight’s game.
2. Hitting with runners in scoring position. The Mets were so effective over the weekend preventing the Giants from doing anything with runners in scoring position (0-for-23). Monday night the Padres went 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position. The Mets on the other hand went 1-for-7 with RISP Monday Night, although that one hit was pretty grand.
3. Strikeouts. Related to going 1-for-7 with RISP Monday night, the Mets struck out 15 times with Nimmo, Lindor and Soto each striking out three times (although some of that was umpire assisted). The Padres have the best bullpen by ERA in majors (3.03) and have struck out 386 batters (10th in the majors). For context, the Mets bullpen has 416 strikeouts (6th) and has a 3.72 ERA (tied for 7th). The Mets may be able to push Ryan Bergert out early tonight since he doesn’t often go deep into games, but can the Mets respond to the Padres bullpen?

Let’s Go Mets!

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:

1. 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.
2. 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+.
3. 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!

The Mets go for the sweep tonight in San Francisco! Saturday night was a much closer game than Friday night with the Mets holding on to a 2-1 lead. David Peterson and Robbie Ray, both 2025 All-Stars, delivered fantastic performances constantly weaving in and out of trouble. Then the bullpens for both clubs were essentially flawless. The Mets bullpen allowed one hit and the Giants allowed two hits.

Now the Mets look to complete the sweep and hold on to their first place lead in the division. Pressure continues to build on the Giants who have now lost nine of their last 12 games. They need to do a bullpen game tonight followed by a spot starter game tomorrow.

Kodai Senga looks to rebound tonight. Senga is coming off of his worst start of the season allowing four runs from four hits and three walks over three innings of work against the Angels last week. He has made 15 starts this season totaling 80 2/3 innings with a 1.79 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 1.178 WHIP and a 214 ERA+. Senga is a very different pitcher than the last time he faced the Giants. He faced the Giants in April 2023 where he allowed four runs from five hits over five innings while walking four batters. This was the phase at the start of his MLB career where he was walking the world. The Giants have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Willy Adames 0-2, BB, K
• Matt Chapman 1-1, 2B, BB
• Rafael Devers 0-3, 2 BB
• Wilmer Flores 0-3
• Andrew Knizner 0-2
• Dominic Smith 1-4, 2B, 2 K
• Brett Wisely 0-3, K
• Mike Yastrzemski 2-3

It’s a bullpen game for the Giants this evening! Matt Gage will start things off for the Giants. He’s pitched in nine major league games between the Tigers and the Giants this season totaling 9 2/3 innings with a 0.00 ERA, scattering eight hits and three walks (2.57 FIP).

Carson Seymour is in line to get the bulk of the work of the afternoon and his name should sound familiar to you. The Mets drafted Seymour in 2021 and traded him with J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki to the Giants for Darin Ruf at the 2022 trade deadline. Seymour has pitched in three games this season totaling six innings allowing two runs, four earned, from eight hits and a walk. He has allowed three home runs in only six innings. Critically for the Giants today, before being called up at the end of June, Seymour was stretched out to six innings in the minors. He routinely tossed more than 80 pitches, maxing at 102. The Giants need a long outing from Seymour today.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos. Vientos’ name has started to bubble up in trade rumors. It’s been reported that the White Sox have been asking for Mark Vientos in trade discussions for Luis Robert Jr. Vientos has been showing signs of his 2024 since July 10th. Over his last 12 games Vientos has gone 13-for-43 at the plate with four doubles, a triple and six RBI’s (.302/.318/.442). He’s raised his season stat line from .210/.272/.341 to .226/.280/.358. Currently he has a six game hitting streak and has hit doubles in back-to-back games.
2. Gregory Soto. Soto joined the team yesterday and is expected to be active for today’s game. Soto is the first (and probably not last) acquisition the Mets made during this trade deadline, sending Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster to the Orioles. Soto is a power lefty with a fastball that averages 96.8 mph (86th percentile) with swing and miss stuff (87th percentile). He does struggle with control (11th percentile for walks) but hitters struggle to barrel the ball against him (94th percentile).
3. Francisco Lindor’s new streak. Lindor has reached base at least twice in three straight games! Saturday night he went 1-for-4 with a walk. Unfortunately the bats behind him were struggling and the Mets couldn’t bring him home. Over his last three games he has gone 6-for-13 at the plate with a double, a home run and four runs scored (.462/.500/.769).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to six games tonight! The Mets are coming off of a convincing 8-1 win Friday night. Before the game the Mets jumped into the trade deadline acquiring Gregory Soto from the Orioles for Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster. Soto is a hard throwing lefty that generates a lot of whiffs (87th percentile) but also walks a lot of batters (10th percentile). Lefty relieving has been a weak spot for the Mets this season but with Brooks Raley returning last week and now Soto, the Mets look a lot better than they did a couple of weeks ago.

Tonight’s matchup pits two 2025 All-Star lefties against each other. There is pressure on the Giants who have lost seven of their last ten games and have a bullpen game on deck for tomorrow.

David Peterson has a chance tonight to set a new career record for innings pitched in a season. Last season he tossed 121 innings over 21 games. He is sitting at 115 innings over 19 starts this season with a 2.90 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 1.217 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. This season has been comparable to last season where he ended the season with a 2.90 ERA and a 133 ERA+.

Peterson is coming off of a strong start against the Reds where he held them to one unearned run over six innings. In July he has allowed four runs, two earned over 19 2/3 innings (0.92 ERA, 3.24 FIP). The Giants have the following career stats against Peterson:

• Willy Adames 2-9, 2B, 7 BB, 2 K
• Patrick Bailey 1-2, K
• Rafael Devers 4-10, 2B, 2 K
• Wilmer Flores 1-5, HR, BB, K
• Luis Matos 1-1, BB
• Heliot Ramos 1-2, 2B, K
• Casey Schmitt 0-2
• Dominic Smith 2-5, 2 K
• Mike Yastrzemski 0-3, K

Robbie Ray has pitched 123 1/3 innings over 21 starts this season with a 2.92 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.127 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. He started July off strong with a 2.18 ERA, 4.25 FIP over 20 2/3 innings spread over three games including a complete game. His last start was rough though allowing five runs over 4 1/3 innings of work. The Mets have the following career numbers against Robbie Ray:

• Pete Alonso 1-6, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 8-23, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 BB, 9 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-6, K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-6, 3B, HR, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-6
• Luis Torrens 2-11, 2B, 4 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor is back. Lindor went 2-for-4 on Wednesday with a run scored and two RBI’s. It was a massively positive sign for the Mets leader who was mired in an 0-for-30 streak. The weight has been lifted from Lindor’s shoulders and he came out swinging Friday night. He went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, a stolen base and scored three runs. Hopefully this is the start of a hot streak!
2. Get Robbie Ray out of the game. The Mets were able to get Logan Webb out of the game early Friday night forcing the Giants to use four of their relievers to close out the game. Camilo Doval, one of their high leverage relievers, needed to toss 29 pitches. As of right now, the Giants are looking at a bullpen game on Sunday night. The Giants are also spiraling a bit right now, and tonight is their best chance of winning a game this series. There’s a lot of pressure on the Giants tonight. Look for the Mets to work counts, drive up pitch counts, steal bases. The Mets should be as annoying as possible and make the bullpen work tonight so tomorrow is even tougher.
3. Basepath battle. The Mets stole three bases Friday night bringing them to 84 on the season, which is good for 10th in the majors. For context, the Giants have only stolen 46 bases this season, which is tied for 28th in MLB. Robbie Ray has struggled with allowing runners to advance on the base paths this year. From Statcast, if there is only a runner on first, Ray has allowed 10 stolen bases and has only caught one batter. Hitters have attempted to steal a base on Ray though only 1.7% of the time this season (last season it was a very high 6.2% of the time). He ranks towards the bottom of the league with a -4 net bases prevented. David Peterson actually leads the league by himself with +7 net bases prevented. Runners on first are attempting to steal on Peterson only 0.3% off the time. Only one runner has been successful at stealing on Peterson when they are at first and the only runner on the base paths.

Let’s Go Mets!

Hope you like the San Francisco Giants because the Mets are going to see the Giants a lot over the next week or so. Over their next nine games the Mets will play the Giants six times! Going into play today the Mets are on a four game winning streak with a half game lead in the division. The Giants have won back-to-back games and have struggled winning only three games in their last 10 games played. They are five games over .500 and one game back in the Wild Card race, chasing the Padres (who the Mets play next). Both the Mets and the Giants would feel a lot more confident about October baseball getting the potential tie-breaker by taking the season series.

Clay Holmes makes his 21st start of the season this evening! Over 108 2/3 innings, Holmes has a 3.48 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.270 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. Things haven’t been great lately. He’s allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, from 18 hits and four walks over his last 15 1/3 innings (6.46 ERA, 3.16 FIP) and has hit three batters over that stretch. The Giants have the following career stats against him:

• Willy Adames 1-1, 2B, BB
• Matt Chapman 3-10, BB, K
• Rafael Devers 2-7, HR, 2 BB
• Wilmer Flores 0-2
• Andrew Knizner 0-1, K
• Heliot Ramos 0-1, K
• Casey Schmitt 0-1
• Dominic Smith 1-3
• Brett Wisely 0-1
• Mike Yastrzemski 1-4, 2B, K

Logan Webb has pitched a league leading 131 2/3 innings this season over 21 starts, he’s on track to lead the league in innings pitched for a third season in a row. So far in 2025 he has a 3.08 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 1.208 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. He’s also had a rough last couple times out on the mound. Over his last two starts he has allowed 10 earned runs from 17 hits and two walks over 11 1/3 innings. Webb was terrific against the Mets in 2024 allowing only one unearned run over 16 innings, scattering nine hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-16, HR, 2 BB, 6 K
• Brett Baty 0-7, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-14, 2B, 5 K
• Starling Marte 7-15, 2B, K
• Jeff McNeil 4-15, 2 2B, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-17, HR, 2 BB, 5 K
• Juan Soto 3-15, 3B, BB, 3 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 1-4

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso broke out of his slump in a big way Wednesday afternoon going 2-for-4 at the plate with a massive 437-foot three-run home runs. He now sits at 248 career home runs as he continues to chase Strawberry’s franchise leading 252 homers. While Alonso may not have the greatest career numbers against Logan Webb, Alonso has enjoyed hitting in San Francisco. Over 17 career games at Oracle Park Alonso is slashing .250/.307/.603 hitting seven home runs out of 17 total hits.
2. Francisco Lindor. Heading into Wednesday’s game Lindor was in a historic slump, going 0-for-30. On Wednesday he went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI’s. Between Logan Webb tonight and Robbie Ray tomorrow, the Mets are going to need Lindor to be more like Lindor. He was hitting balls hard in the games leading up to Wednesday’s two-hit performance, hopefully that continues tonight!
3. Fan Favorites in San Francisco. Two of the most beloved former Mets play for the Giants. Dominic Smith was signed and cut by the Yankees twice this season before signing with the Giants at the start of June. His Giants career has gotten off to a solid start, hitting .250/.330/.280 with a 106 OPS+ over 32 games so far. Wilmer Flores has a 103 OPS+ this season over 91 games with 12 home runs. He hit seven of the 12 home runs in the first 23 games of the season!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for the sweep this afternoon! The last couple of days have followed similar scripts. The Angels took the lead early, then extended their lead. On Tuesday night this meant going ahead 1-0 on a homerun early and tacking on another run a few innings later. The Mets bats just couldn’t figure Hendricks out until the 5th inning where Francisco Alvarez ripped a two-run homer off of the Professor. Nimmo would plate another run and that’s all the Mets needed to beat the Angels 3-2.

The Mets head to San Francisco after the game and get a day off tomorrow. They desperately need the rest for their bullpen that has been over taxed the last couple of days. The Angels similarly have used their bullpen a lot over the last five days and are going with a bullpen game today. It’s going to be a tired, getaway day for everyone at Citi Field!

Sean Manaea has pitched 7 1/3 innings over two outings this season with a 2.45 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 1.091 WHIP and a 164 ERA+. His first start was right out of the gate after the All-Star break where he allowed one run over four innings from a single hit (solo home run) while striking out six batters. Manaea has struck out 13 batters in only 7 1/3 innings this season! In his first relief outing Manaea tossed 65 pitches and the Mets let him go up to 69 in his last start. We’ll see how deep the Mets allow him to go today. The Angels have the following career numbers against Manaea:

• Jo Adell 1-1
• Travis d’Arnaud 2-6, BB, 3 K
• Yoan Moncada 0-4
• Kevin Newman 1-3, BB< K
• Luis Rengifo 1-2, 2B
• Jorge Soler 2-9, HR, BB, 2 K
• Mike Trout 9-21, 3B, 3 HR, 4 BB, 4 K
• Taylor Ward 2-10, 3 K

The Angels will try to survive the afternoon with a bullpen game. Brock Burke will start things off. Over 47 games he has pitched 40 innings with a 3.38 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.350 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. Earlier this series he pitched 2/3’s of an inning against the Mets allowing no runs and not hits throwing only 12 pitches.

Lefty Jake Eder looks to get the bulk of the work this afternoon. Eder was originally drafted by the Mets in 2017 but opted to go to Vanderbilt and was drafted by the Marlins in 2020. He has pitched 12 1/3 innings over seven games this season with a 3.65 ERA, 5.85 FIP, 1.297 WHIP and a 120 ERA+. On July 13th he pitched four innings allowing only two hits. Over the weekend the Phillies scored three runs off of Eder over his three innings of relief.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo looks to extend his on-base streak to 17 games this afternoon. During his current 16 game stretch he is hitting .305/.391/.508 with three doubles, three home runs and seven walks. It’s nice to see Nimmo finding a balance between old and new, working walks and hitting bombs. He also has a three game stretch with recording an RBI!
2. Bring Juan Soto Home. Juan Soto walked three times in Tuesday night’s game, bringing his league leading total to 82. At one point he even put himself into scoring position stealing his 13th stolen base of the season, a career high for Soto! The Mets failed to bring him home throughout the game. Soto has been on base six times over the last four games but has only scored one run. Hopefully the Mets can find a way to get him across the plate this afternoon!
3. Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. The Mets All-Stars are slumping! This was going to happen at some point of the season. Over the last couple of days Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez have been able to pick up the Mets. Lindor hasn’t had a hit in 30 at bats, a career worst for the Mets best hitter. Alonso has gone 2-for-33 in his last 10 games played with five walks and 12 strikeouts.

Let’s Go Mets!