213 Miles From Shea

The Mets look to win their third game in a row this evening at Citi Field! The Angels took the lead early Monday. As we noted yesterday, the Angels are in the top half of the league in scoring, ahead of the Mets, but are near the bottom of the league in runs allowed. With the way the Mets have been hitting recently being down 4-0 with their starter leaving after three innings felt insurmountable.

But the Mets showed a lot of fight last night! The bullpen picked up Kodai Senga and allowed only one more run. The Mets bats, mostly through the bottom of the lineup, scratched out seven runs. Edwin Díaz struck out the side in the ninth inning to shut the door. Now the Mets have the momentum going into game two!

Frankie Montas makes his fifth start of the season tonight for the Mets. Over his first four starts he has pitched 19 2/3 innings with a 5.03 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 1.169 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. He has been excellent in two starts, his first start and his last start, allowing only one run over 10 innings. In the two starts between he allowed 10 runs over 9 2/3 innings. Which Montas will we get tonight at Citi? The Angels have the following career numbers against Montas:

• Jo Adell 0-5, 2 K
• Travis d’Arnaud 0-3, K
• Yoan Moncada 2-5, 2 BB, 2 K
• Kevin Newman 1-2
• Luis Rengifo 1-9, HR, 2 BB
• Jorge Soler 0-6, 2 K
• Mike Trout 5-19, 2 BB, 5 K
• LaMonte Wade Jr. 3-9, 2 HR, 2 BB
• Taylor Ward 4-12, 3B, HR, 2 K

The Mets bats take on the Professor tonight! After many years in Chicago, Kyle Hendricks is now an Angel. Over 18 games, 96 innings, Hendricks has a 4.88 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 1.292 WHIP and an 87 ERA+. July hasn’t been so kind to Hendricks – he’s allowed eight runs, seven earned over nine innings from 10 hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-7, HR, 3 BB, K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-5
• Brett Baty 1-1
• Francisco Lindor 3-15, BB, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 3-7, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-6, 2 K
• Juan Soto 4-13, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-4, 2B
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mets bullpen management. Barring a move before game time, the Mets have three pitchers in the bullpen that didn’t pitch in Monday night’s game – Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett and Alex Carrillo. Edwin Díaz and Huascar Brazobán have both pitched on back-to-back days. Frankie Montas has topped out at around five innings in his starts this year so even in the best scenario where Montas comes out strong tonight, the Mets are going to need 3-4 innings of work from their already tired bullpen.
2. Brett Baty. Baty is in a hot streak! Over his last four games Baty has gone 5-for-11 at the plate with two home runs, two walks and a stolen base. He has three RBI’s and has scored four runs (.455/.538/1.000). The Mets offense for most of the season has run through their big four, and we’ve seen when one or two of the big four struggle, the whole offense sputters. Baty’s resurgence is coming at the best time for the Mets.
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor’s funk continued for another day Monday night, going 0-for-5 at the plate but he did record a run and had an RBI on a force out in the Mets big 7th inning. In his last five games he has gone 0-for-24. There are signs though that he is going to break out of this funk soon. He didn’t strikeout out at all Monday night and three of his five at bats had exit velocities above 90 mph. Two of his at bats had an xBA of .440 and .550. He’s going to regress to his mean soon, which means he’s going to get some hits!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets escaped the weekend with the Reds! The Mets were holding on to a tenuous 2-1 lead for the vast majority of Sunday’s game. The Reds were able to scratch out a run in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game and the Mets responded by finding a run in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead for good. Now the Mets welcome a similarly scrappy team – the Angels – to Citi Field.

Like the Reds, the Angels are also in 4th place in their division, right around .500 and are playing sort-of well lately. The Angels are 14th in runs scored (Mets are 16th) but are 26th in runs allowed (Mets are 7th). Here’s hoping the Mets can make it two wins in a row!

Kodai Senga looked good last weekend in his first start back. Over four innings he allowed four hits and walked two batters while shutting out the Royals and racking up four strikeouts. The Mets let him get up to 67 pitches. Over 14 starts this season Kodai has pitched 77 2/3 innings with a 1.39 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 1.113 WHIP and a 276 ERA+. He pitched against the Angels back in 2023 allowing only two runs from four hits while striking out 10 batters. The Angels have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Travis d’Arnaud 1-2, K
• Kevin Newman 1-2
• Logan O’Hoppe 1-2, BB, K
• Luis Rengifo 1-3
• Nola Schanuel 0-2, K
• Jorge Soler 3-8, 2B, BB, 3 K
• LaMonte Wade Jr. 1-3, HR, BB

The Mets bats will try to get going against Tyler Anderson tonight. Over 19 games (101 2/3 innings), Anderson has a 4.34 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 1.407 WHIP and a 98 ERA+. Teams have been scoring against him lately scoring seven runs over 10 innings from 16 hits and four walks. The Mets hit him moderately well in 2024 scoring three runs over eights from five innings of work. The Mets have the following career stats against Anderson:

• Pete Alonso 2-9, HR, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-12, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-6
• Brandon Nimmo 8-15, HR, 3 K
• Juan Soto 3-20, 5 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-6
• Luis Torrens 0-4
• Mark Vientos 1-3, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez is back! The Mets sent him down to Syracuse on June 21st. Since then he has played in 19 games and has hit 11 home runs going 20-for-67 at the plate slashing .299/.397/.836 while striking out 21 times. He has been hitting absolute bombs including one shot over the batters eye this past weekend. Alvarez struggled to get power going at the plate this season slashing .236/.319/.333 over 35 games. He hit .237/.307/.403 in 2024 with his power taking a hit after his thumb injury.
2. Containing Taylor Ward. Taylor Ward has been a solid player stuck on a middling team for the last four seasons. He has a 9.2 bWAR from 2022 until now and has had an OPS+ above 100 for the last five seasons. He had 23 and 25 home runs in 2022 and 2024, but this season he has taken off already collecting 23 home runs by late July. He’s coming off a five hit series in Philly hitting two home runs.
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor is in a funk right now. In his last four games he has gone 0-for-19 with six strikeouts. That being said, by the end of Sunday’s game he was making solid contact and loud outs. Hopefully this is the start of Lindor turning the corner.

Let’s Go Mets!

Oh boy, the Mets have put themselves in a pickle today.

The Mets have lost the first two games of the series against the Reds and could get swept this afternoon. As Gary Cohen pointed out multiple times during the broadcast on Saturday, both games this series have followed pretty much the exact same story. The Mets got the lead early, the Mets lost the lead, the Mets tried to make a comeback in the ninth but fell short. The only additional wrinkle on Saturday was an increase in defensive miscues by the Mets and some questionable umpiring calls against the Mets. Now the Mets will try to avoid the sweep against the ace of the Reds staff.

It’s a battle of All-Star pitchers this afternoon at Citi Field. David Peterson gets the start fresh off his first career All-Star game. Over 18 starts this season Peterson has pitched 109 innings with a 3.06 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.239 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. He’s allowed three runs, two earned over his last two starts and 13 2/3 innings while striking out 10 batters. The Reds have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Santiago Espinal 0-2
• TJ Friedl 1-4, BB, 2 K
• Austin Hays 0-1
• Connor Joe 0-2, 2 BB, K
• Gavin Lux 0-2, BB
• Noelvi Marte 2-3
• Spencer Steer 1-3, HR, 2 BB
• Tyler Stephenson 2-5, 2 K
• Jose Trevino 1-1

Andrew Abbott has taken off this season with a 2.07 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and a 217 ERA+ over 91 1/3 innings this season. He’s coming off of a 7 2/3 inning performance against the Marlins holding them to only one run from six hits. He’s not invincible though. He allowed four runs against the Phillies on July fourth and allowed five runs in two starts in June (he allowed three runs total in his other three June starts and one of those five run games in June was mostly due to bad defense). Abbott made one start against the Mets last season allowing three runs, two earned over five innings from seven hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 3-4, 2B, HR, BB
• Ronny Mauricio 2-2
• Jeff McNeil 1-3, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-5, K
• Juan Soto 3-5, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 1-4, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 1-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo currently has a 13 game on-base streak where he is slashing .327/.411/.571 with three doubles, three home runs and four stolen bases. His season slash line has gone from .252/.313/.448 to .262/.327/.465. He’s now only five home runs, seven doubles and four stolen bases his 2024 numbers. He’s only six home runs and five stolen bases away from career highs in those categories.
2. Juan Soto. Speaking of career highs, Juan Soto stole his 12th stolen base of the season on Saturday. He has hit 12 stolen bases in a season now three times in his career and his next stolen base will be a career high.
3. Brett Baty. Let’s keep the career best conversation going! Brett Baty went 2-for-3 on Saturday with a home run, his 10th of the season. In 2023, when Baty played in 108 games and had 389 plate appearances, Baty had nine home runs. In 77 games (247 plate appearances) in 2025 he now has a career highs in home runs and stolen bases (4) and is only four doubles and three RBI’s away from career highs in those categories too. Baty has a 1.6 bWAR, by far the best in his career.

Let’s Go Mets!

Happy David Wright Day!

The Mets are retiring David Wright’s #5 today and inducting him into the Mets Hall of Fame. The fourth captain in Mets history defined a generation of Mets baseball with his trademark slick fielding, timely hitting and excellent leadership. If you’re going to the game today, have a wonderful time! Hope you are able to make new memories while celebrating one of the truly greatest Mets players of all time.

After the ceremony the Mets will try to get back in the win column. The Mets came out strong Friday night. Sean Manaea was dealing, Juan Soto was slugging and the Mets got a hit with runners in scoring position. As soon as the Mets went to the bullpen things fell apart and the Mets lost 8-4. Let’s bounce back!

Clay Holmes has tossed 103 1/3 innings over 19 starts with a 3.31 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.258 WHIP and a 115 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a solid start where he allowed two runs over five innings against the Royals. Being a reliever in the American League for the last couple of years, the Reds have barely faced Holmes recently. Holmes faced the Reds once last season striking out all three hitters he faced in his one inning of relief. The Reds have the following career numbers against him:

• Will Benson 0-2
• Santiago Espinal 0-1, K
• Jake Fraley 1-1
• Austin Hays 2-8, 2B, 2 K
• Gavin Lux 1-2
• Noelvi Marte 0-1, K
• Matt McLain 0-1
• Spencer Steer 1-2, K
• Tyler Stephenson 0-2, K
• Brent Suter 0-2, K

Nick Martinez is finally, primarily, a starting pitcher. He debuted with the Rangers as a starter back in 2014 and slowly was moved into the bullpen over his four years with Texas. He then played four seasons in Japan, coming back to America in 2022. Since then he’s been slowly moved back to the rotation.

This season he has pitched in 21 games, 19 starts, totaling 111 innings with a 4.78 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.207 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. July is a good microcosm of his season. His last start was solid, allowing only two runs over 5 1/3 innings. His start before that was terrible, allowing 10 runs over five innings. Before that he allowed four runs from nine hits over 6 2/3 innings. He’s just been inconsistent in the rotation oscillating from excellent starts (one run over eight innings on June 27th) to terrible starts. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-4, HR, BB
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 2-6, 2B
• Jeff McNeil 0-3
• Brandon Nimmo 2-6, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-1, HR
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, 2 2B, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. There are going to be a lot of eyes on the leader of the 2025 Mets today. For a while now Lindor has essentially been the assumed captain of the Mets. Official MLB accounts accidentally released a video for the David Wright celebrations that seemed to suggest that Lindor will be named named the captain soon. Whether or not that is true, the Mets need Francisco to be Francisco today. He’s gone 0-for-10 over his last two games. Before that that though he was on a mini-hot streak hitting .333/.438/.630 over seven games with two doubles and two home runs.
2. Juan Soto. Soto picked up right where he left off before the All-Star break, by hitting another tank. Soto has now homered in three of his last four games and has 24 on the season. He’s now at 4.0 bWAR for the season while still leading the league with 77 walks. The Mets broadcast noted that after his three strikeout game before the All-Star break, 2025 is the first season since 2019 that Soto has more strikeouts than walks. He struck out two more times yesterday and now has struck out 80 times this season.
3. Brooks Raley. The Mets activated Brooks Raley before Friday night’s game. Raley was traded to the Mets before the 2023 season and pitched in 74 games with a 2.48 ERA from 2023 to 2024. He needed Tommy John surgery after eight games in 2024. Raley has not allowed run in any of eight rehab games, scattering seven hits over nine innings. The Mets bullpen could use a boost and hopefully Raley can provide it.

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets baseball is back!

The Mets are half a game out of first place and 13 games above .500 to start the second half. After stumbling in the second half of June, the Mets have been better of late. Heading into the All-Star break the Mets got Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga back from injury, the best start we’ve seen from Frankie Montas. Plus saw signs that Mark Vientos was turning things around.

The Reds are in 4th in NL Central, but have a winning record. If the season ended today the Brewers, Mets and Padres would each get a wild card spot, with the Mets 2.5 games ahead of the Padres and the Reds 2.5 games back of the Padres. This is a big series for the Reds who are trying to collapse the Wild Card standings a bit heading into the trade deadline.

Sean Manaea makes his first start at Citi Field this afternoon. Manaea looked excellent in his outing of the season right before the All-Star break pitching 3 1/3 innings allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven. At one point he struck out five batters in a row. Manaea had two different starts against the Reds in 2024. In his first start (April) he held them to one run and three hits over five innings. In September he allowed four runs from three hits including two home runs over 6 2/3 innings. The Reds have the following career numbers against him:

• Will Benson 0-1
• Elly De La Cruz 2-5, HR, K
• Santiago Espinal 0-3, 2 K
• Jake Fraley 0-4, 3 BB
• TJ Friedl 2-5, HR, 2 K
• Austin Hays 2-6, HR, 2 K
• Connor Joe 0-8, BB, K
• Matt McLain 0-1, BB
• Spencer Steer 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Tyler Stephenson 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Jose Trevino 1-8, 2B, 2 K

The Mets bats will get the second half started against Nick Lodolo who is having a career year. Over 19 starts, 106 2/3 innings, Lodolo has a 3.38 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.106 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. Lodolo is coming off of a strong start where he shutout the Marlins over six innings while striking out four batters. In his last five games he has a 2.28 ERA and a 4.35 FIP. His rise FIP can be attributed to the home runs he’s been allowing of late. He’s allowed eight home runs over his last seven starts. The Mets have the following career numbers against Lodolo:

• Pete Alonso 0-2, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 0-2, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-1, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Getting Plunked. Surprise, surprise – the Mets are leading the league in getting hit by pitches. Mets batters have been plunked 57 times this season. This isn’t new as the Mets were 3rd in the league in 2024 (92 times), 2nd in 2023 (107), and 1st in 2022 (112). Tonight they are facing Nick Lodolo who is leading the league with 11 hit batters. He also led the league in 2022 (19). Let’s put 11 hit batsmen in perspective. The Reds as a team have hit 39 batters. Anyway, the Mets need to stay safe at the plate tonight.
2. Pete Alonso. The countdown is on for Pete Alonso! Alonso is sitting at 247 home runs, five runs back from Strawberry’s franchise leading 252 career home runs. Pete has had more home run success on the road this season hitting 13 bombs with a .553 SLG compared to 8 home runs and a .509 SLG at home (50 away games vs 47 home games). Pete is having a phenomenal season so far, leading the league in doubles (26) and he has already accumulated 3.0 bWAR (2.6 last season). He’s coming off a huge All-Star game where he smacked a three-run home run.
3. Mark Vientos. Vientos was starting to put things together right before the All-Star break. In his last five games he has gone 7-for-19 at the plate (.368/.368/.579) with two doubles, a triple and three RBI’s. This mini-hot streak has raised his season slash line from .210/.272/.341 to .223/.280/.361. Under the hood, Vientos has had an average exit velocity of 90.9 mph (67th percentile) and is hitting the ball hard 48% of the time (79th percentile). While the rest of his Baseball Savant page is blue, these are the signs that he’s starting to turn his 2025 around!
4. BONUS. This is for fans heading to Citi Field this weekend. The Wok n’ Roll stand behind centerfield has a rotating egg roll for each opponent this season. They’re bringing out the knock-off Skyline (or Gold Star, I’m not weighing in on this debate) this weekend. The roll, which they advertised in April, has chili and spaghetti in it.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for a sweep this afternoon to end the first half of the season!

Juan Soto hit a two-run home run Saturday and that was pretty much all the Mets needed as they held on and beat the Royals 3-1. Carlos Mendoza went all out, pushing Edwin Díaz to get get a six out save. Today the Mets should be able to give most of the bullpen the day off as Clay Holmes will be followed by Sean Manaea’s 2025 debut!

Clay Holmes gets the start today, looking to end the first half of the season on a high note! Over 18 starts (98 1/3 innings) he has a 3.29 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.261 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a rough start against the Orioles where he allowed five runs over five innings from seven hits. Before that start, Holmes allowed only eight runs over 26 innings spread over five games (2.77 ERA). The Royals hit him well in 2024, scoring three runs off of five hits over 1 2/3 innings against Holmes. The Royals have the following career numbers against him:

• Freddy Fermín 0-1
• Maikel García 2-7, 2B, 2 K
• Jonathan India 1-3, 2 K
• Kyle Isbel 3-5
• Luke Maile 0-0, BB
• Vinnie Pasquantino 0-3, K
• Salvador Perez 2-5, HR
• Bobby Witt Jr. 0-6, BB, K

The Mets bats will close out the first half against rookie Noah Cameron. Cameron is off to a fine start to his major league career posting a 2.56 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 0.963 WHIP and a 160 ERA+ over 11 starts (63 1/3 innings). He’s been great in July allowing only two runs over 11 2/3 innings while striking out 12 batters. He was more human in the month of June allowing 13 runs over 20 innings stretched over four starts, mostly due to allowing four home runs. The Royals will need Cameron to go deep in today’s game after yesterday’s surprise bullpen game with Michael Lorenzen being a late start due to illness. Cameron can provide that length, going seven innings in his last start and going at least six innings in six of 11 starts this season.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Sean Manaea’s 2025 Debut. Manaea has been sidelined since spring training with an oblique injury followed by an elbow injury while rehabbing. Manaea was the ace of the Mets staff for stretches in 2024, especially when he dropped his arm slot and changed his delivery. Over 32 starts (181 2/3 innings) Manaea had a 3.47 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. In his last rehab start he allowed three runs from four hits over 3 2/3 innings getting up to 73 pitches. The Mets are counting on Holmes and Manaea to carry the pitching staff today.
2. Make this man an All-Star already. Juan Soto continued being Juan Soto on Saturday, going 1-for-4 with a two-run home run. It was his second straight game with a home run and his third straight game with an RBI. Soto has a 4.1 bWAR, a league leading 77 walks and is tied in 7th in the league with a .915 OPS this season. His 163 OPS+ is the fourth highest in his career. Hopefully the league makes this snub right today.
3. The Mets are stealing more bases. Francisco Lindor stole his 15th base of the season on Saturday. Earlier this week Juan Soto stole his 11th base, just putting him one shy of his single-season best 12 stolen bases in a single season. As a team the Mets have 74 stolen bases, tied with the Marlins for 11th in MLB. The Mets were 16th in the league in 2024, 13th in 2023 and 23rd in 2022. Something to keep an eye on as we head into the second half.

Let’s Go Mets!

I’ll admit it, I thought Friday night’s game was over when Bobby Witt Jr. hit a homerun in the seventh inning. The Mets were holding onto a 1-0 lead going into the sixth inning. At that point it felt like the Mets were going to fall apart at the plate, just like on Thursday.

The Mets got the bases loaded in the 8th inning and Mark Vientos came through for the Mets with a bases clearing double. At that point it was like something was lifted from the Mets team and they started swinging again how they were earlier in the season. They put up four more runs in the 9th inning thanks to back-to-back homers by Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. Now the Mets look to keep that momentum going this afternoon and take the series from the Royals!

Frankie Montas has allowed 10 runs over 14 2/3 innings over three starts (6.14 ERA, 5.81 FIP, 1.295 WHIP, 64 ERA+). Last week against the Yankees he allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings, better than his previous start where he allowed six runs over four innings. Home runs have been an issue for Montas this season, allowing four so far. Luckily, Kauffman Stadium is one of the more difficult stadiums in the league for home runs (the caveat being that Montas allowed two home runs at PNC, which is even lower on the list than Kauffman). The Royals have the following career numbers against Montas:

• Kyle Isbel 1-4, 2B, BB
• Luke Maile 1-3, K
• Salvador Perez 3-14, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Bobby Witt Jr. 1-4, 2 K

The Mets batters will try to keep Friday night’s vibes going against Michael Lorenzen. Over 18 starts (99 2/3 innings) Lorenzen has a 4.61 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.304 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. Lorenzen is coming off of a strong start against the Diamondbacks holding them scoreless over seven innings. Before that he allowed seven runs over 10 1/3 innings from 14 hits and three home runs. Lorenzen faced the Mets last year as a member of the Rangers before he was traded to the Royals. He allowed three runs from four hits including two home runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Lorenzen:

• Pete Alonso 2-11, 2 BB, K
• Brett Baty 0-3
• Francisco Lindor 3-15, K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-8, 3 BB
• Brandon Nimmo 2-13, 2B, HR, K
• Juan Soto 1-10, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-0, BB
• Mark Vientos 2-2, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos. Mark Vientos has had a rough season so far, especially compared to 2024. Over 64 games this year he has slashed .217/.275/.350 with an 80 OPS+. This is all down from a .266/.322/.516 and a 136 OPS+ over 111 games last season. Friday night’s bases clearing double felt like a release. Over the last three games he has two multi-hit games and two doubles – let’s hope this is the start of a Vientos hot streak!
2. Francisco Lindor. Francisco Lindor is on a six game hitting streak going 8-for-23 with nine runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and four walks (.464 OBP!). He also has eight RBI’s over the stretch. Lindor continues to be heart of the Mets’ Fab Four and the offense as a whole. His next homerun will be his 20th of the season, reaching that mark for a fifth consecutive season and the eighth time in his career.
3. Edwin Díaz. Díaz has gotten a few days off in a row, last pitching on Tuesday, so he’s ready to go if needed. The three-time All-Star is in the midst of another excellent season for the Mets posting a 1.75 ERA, 220 ERA+ over 36 games this season. He’s on pace right now to surpass 250 saves at some point this season (currently at 243 saves).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to end the first half of the season on a strong note against the Royals. After beating the Brewers and Yankees in consecutive series, the Mets dropped a doubleheader (and the series) to the Orioles yesterday. Right now it feels like the Mets are bit depleted. But there’s good news for the Mets! Tonight they get Kodai Senga back! Sunday they get Sean Manaea back!

Kodai Senga returns to the Mets tonight! Senga was having a tremendous season for the Mets, pitching 73 2/3 innings over 13 starts with a 1.47 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 1.113 WHIP and a 261 ERA+. He injured his hamstring in early June and was diagnosed with a grade 1 hamstring strain. He allowed four runs, three earned over 3 2/3 in his rehab start last week. The Royals have the following career stats against him:

• Maikel Garcia 3-4
• Jonathan India 2-3, 2B, K
• Kyle Isbel 2-3
• Salvador Perez 1-3, 2B, 2 K
• Bobby Witt Jr. 2-3

The Mets batters will face off against one-time friend Michael Wacha tonight. Wacha had a 6.62 ERA over eight games and 34 innings for the 2020 New York Mets. He’s become a very consistent pitcher over the last four years, consisting putting up an ERA in the 3’s. This season he has pitched 101 innings over 18 starts with a 3.83 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.287 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough stretch where he he has allowed 12 earned runs over his last three starts (15 IP, 7.20 ERA, 4.55 FIP). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 3-6, HR
• Brett Baty 2-3, 2B
• Francisco Lindor, 1-2, BB
• Jeff McNeil 2-5
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, 2B, BB
• Juan Soto 4-9, 2B, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Luis Torrens 2-4, K
• Jesse Winker 5-15, 5 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Hitting with RISP. The Mets have just struggled with RISP this season. Yesterday the Mets went a combined 2-for-19 with RISP. Although the bullpen couldn’t finish the first game or keep the Mets in the second game, the bats just gave the team nothing to work with leaving 14 runners on base. Having at least one inning with a crooked number will go a long way for moral and setting the tone this weekend.
2. The Bullpen. The Mets used five relievers yesterday. That number is low because newly named All-Star David Peterson pitched seven innings. Waddell and Hagenman on bulk duty were able to complete five innings in the second game. The bullpen yesterday just didn’t get the job done, and it’s safe to assume they may have extra work with Kodai still ramping up to full strength today.
3. Juan Soto. Soto stole his 11th base of the season yesterday. He’s now only one stolen base away from matching his career high of 12 stolen bases set in 2019 and 2023. Soto still currently leads the league with 75 walks (five ahead of Devers) and is ninth in OPS at .901. Sounds like an All-Star to me.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Orioles are making things just slightly tougher for the Mets tonight, scheduling a split doubleheader rather than a day/afternoon doubleheader on a getaway day for the Mets. After tonight’s game the Mets will need to speed out of Baltimore and head to Kansas City. The Mets are getting reinforcements in Kansas City with Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea rejoining the rotation. Both pitchers though will probably be on pitch counts, so the Mets need to be careful tonight with their bulk pitchers, even though this game is a bullpen game.

Justin Hagenman looks to get the bulk of the work in the night cap for the Mets. Over three games this season for the Mets, Hagenman has pitched 10 1/3 innings with a 4.35 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 0.968 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. His last time out was a bit of a rougher appearance, allowing four runs from three home runs against the Yankees over 4 1/3 innings. In previous six innings he allowed only one run while striking out five batters.

Mets batters will get their first look Tomoyuki Sugano, the long time NPB pitcher who made the jump to MLB this season. Sugano has pitched 93 1/3 innings over 17 starts this season with a 4.44 ERA, 5.25 FIP, 1.307 WHIP and an 87 ERA+. Sugano had a 3.04 ERA, 4.70 FIP through is first 12 starts this season. Since then he has pitched 22 1/3 innings over five games with an 8.87 ERA and a 6.98 FIP. He’s given up 13 runs from 19 hits and two walks over his last two starts.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso homerun watch. Alonso is nearing Strawberry’s franchise record of 252 home runs. Alonso is sitting at 247 home runs and he loves hitting bombs at Camden Yards with five of them so far over nine games. Maybe he’ll provide some fireworks for all the Mets fans who traveled down 95 today to catch the Mets playing two!
2. Sugano’s bizarre under the hood stats. Sugano has had an odd season so far getting positive results over his first 12 games and struggling over his last five. Part of the reason for the discrepancy is what’s happening per at bat. He’s in the 93rd percentile for walks (4.8%) which is very good! But he’s near the bottom of the league in striking out batters (3rd percentile, 14.4%). He’s only getting groundballs 42% of time (50th percentile) and while he’s preventing batters from getting hard contact against him (38.8% of time, 67th percentile), hitters are barreling the ball at a high rate (12%, 8th percentile).
3. Justin Hagenman and pitch selection. Hagenman has used his sinker 32.1% of time this season, mixing in a cutter, changeup and a slider to round out his pitch mix. He’s getting groundouts around 42% of the time, which is slightly below the 50th percentile mark for the league. His sinker has also been his most hit able pitch so far over 10 1/3 innings, with a xBA of .299 and xSLG of .826. Some of this is noise from his last outing against the Yankees. Let’s see if the Mets pitching lab has him doing slightly different things today!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets went from losing 14 of 17 to games to winning 5 of their last 6! Tuesday night the Mets had a come from behind victory where they scored four runs off two, two-run home runs in the 8th inning before taking the lead in the 10th inning.

Several hours after the Mets victory, Patrick Bailey, the catcher of the San Francisco Giants, hit a walk-off three-run inside-the-park home run against Phillies. The Mets enter play today a half game behind the Phillies, but with two games to play due to the rain in Baltimore on Wednesday.

David Peterson has pitched 102 innings over 17 games this season with a 3.18 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.275 WHIP and a 120 ERA+. Peterson is coming off of a fantastic start against the Brewers where he held them to only one run over 6 2/3 innings from five hits and three walks. It was a massive step in regressing towards the mean after allowing 13 runs in his previous three starts. Peterson pitched 7 innings against the Orioles last season allowing three runs, two earned from six hits and a walk. The Orioles have the following career stats against him:

• Colton Cowser 1-3, 2 K
• Gunnar Henderson 0-5, 2 K
• Jackson Holliday 0-3, 2 K
• Ramon Laureano 0-2
• Cedric Mullins 2-4, 2B
• Ryan O’Hearn 0-1, K
• Tyler O’Neill 1-3, K
• Jacob Stallings 1-4, BB, K
• Ramón Urías 2-4, 2B, HR
• Jordan Westburg 0-0, BB

The Orioles have decided to change the pitching matchup, having Charlie Morton pitch in the first game this afternoon. The Thursday day game was always Morton’s scheduled start, but instead of facing the bullpen game the Mets were probably going to do in this spot, he now gets David Peterson.

Charlie Morton has pitched in 19 games, 13 starts this season totaling 77 1/3 innings with a 5.47 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.552 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. Morton got off to a rough start this season with a 10.36 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in his first six games. In his last four games he’s been much better totaling 21 1/3 innings with a 2.53 ERA, 2.29 FIP. Morton pitched against the Mets three times in 2024 as a member of the Braves with a 5.87 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Morton:

• Pete Alonso 7-32, 2 2B, 4 BB, 7 K
• Brett Baty 3-8, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Travis Jankowski 2-7, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 7-48, 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 13 K
• Jeff McNeil 7-30, 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 7 K
• Brandon Nimmo 7-30, HR, 6 BB, 13 K
• Juan Soto 8-12, 3 HR, 7 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-4, BB, K
• Mark Vientos 4-5, HR
• Jesse Winker 2-7, BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso has now gone 4-for-11 in his last three games played with three home runs and three walks (.364/.500/1.182). His homerun Tuesday night tied the game and was his 5th career home run in eight games played at Oriole Park (.323/.371/.903). Alonso now sits at 247 home runs as he inches ever closer to Strawberry’s franchise record 252 homers.
2. Juan Soto. Juan Soto responded to his All-Star snub Tuesday night with a very Juan Soto game at the plate going 3-for-5 getting the go ahead RBI in the 10th inning. It was second game in his last four with at least three hits and his fourth game in his last five getting on base at least twice. Now he gets to face Charlie Morton. He has a .789 OBP against Morton with a 1.417 SLG!
3. Get to the Orioles Bullpen again. The game plan on Tuesday was to knock Brandon Young out early and put the stress on the Orioles bullpen. Young ended up pitching the best start in his career (five starts) so far, but the Mets were still able to get the Orioles to use six relievers Tuesday, scoring five runs off of them. It was the second game in the last three where the Orioles needed to put in a lot of extra work. Everyone got extra rest with the rainout on Wednesday, but the Orioles will have to figure out a way to get their beleaguered bullpen through two games today. Hopefully the Mets can make that even tougher applying the pressure in game one. 

Let’s Go Mets!