213 Miles From Shea

What a series so far! Monday night the Mets had an extra-inning win. Tuesday night the Dodgers had an extra-inning win. The four game series is tied at 1-1 and the Mets currently lead the season series at 3-2.

This particular seven game series with the Dodgers is the first time I can recall that all seven games had some sort of national broadcast. The three game series in Queens were true national broadcasts (Apple TV+, FOX, ESPN). The four games in LA have been also available on MLB Network and TBS, in addition to the local broadcasts for the both clubs. The Mets and Dodgers have made the series worth it so far, with three extra-inning games in the five games so far.

Griffin Canning has a 3.23 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.396 WHIP and a 118 ERA+ over 53 innings so far this season. His last start was a rough one, allowing five runs, three earned, over three innings from four hits and four walks against the White Sox. This was the game the Mets moved up significantly in order to avoid rain and both starting pitchers really struggled with command. His start before that against the Dodgers has a massive asterisk over it. He was charged with three runs from one hit and four walks over 2 2/3 innings, but it started to rain heavily during the inning where the Dodgers scored the bulk of their runs against him, and it was the pitcher who relieved him 90+ minutes later, inheriting a 3-1 count that allowed the runs to score. No one will be happier than Griffin Canning for a normal weather night tonight. Anyway the Dodgers have the following career numbers against Canning:

• Mookie Betts 3-8, 2B, HR, 2 BB, K
• Michael Conforto 1-1
• Tommy Edman 1-5, HR, BB, K
• Freddie Freeman 1-6, HR, BB, 2 K
• Kiké Hernández 1-4, 2B, BB
• Teoscar Hernández 4-10, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Max Muncy 0-9, 3 BB, 5 K
• Shohei Ohtani 0-4, BB, K
• Andy Pages 1-2
• Miguel Rojas 0-2, BB
• Will Smith 2-5, 2B, BB

Tony Gonsolin has pitched 31 innings over six games with a 5.23 ERA, 6.01 FIP, 1.452 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. The last three starts have been rough for Gonsolin, allowing 13 earned runs over 15 innings including a start against the Mets where he allowed four runs from seven hits and four walks over five innings. His last start was incredibly rough, allowing four home runs against the Yankees (leading to five runs) over six innings. In addition to his home run troubles, he’s walked 11 batters over his last 15 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-7, 4 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2
• Brett Baty 1-2, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-3, 2 BB
• Starling Marte 1-9, BB
• Jeff McNeil 0-6, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-5, HR, K
• Juan Soto 6-15, 2 2B, 3B, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 3-6, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, 2 K
• Jared Young 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Soto has a five game extra-base streak going on right now. Over his last five games he has gone 6-for-18 at the plate with two doubles, three home runs, three walks and has scored five times (.333/.455/.944). Juan Soto’s results are starting to match the under-the-hood Statcast numbers he’s had all season. Eventually the narratives around Juan Soto will start to melt away too.
2. Ronny Mauricio. You can’t really keep a roster move under wraps when one of the players has to travel across the country. It was announced by reporters fairly early in the day yesterday that Mauricio was on his way to Los Angeles to fill in for Mark Vientos. Tuesday night he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. In his 2023 rookie season he slashed .248/.296/.347 with a 78 OPS+. In nine games with Syracuse before getting called up, he was slashing .515/.564/.818 with three home runs and four stolen bases.
3. José Castillo. The Mets bullpen has been in high use over the first two games of this series, with Castillo getting the night off on Tuesday there’s a good chance we’ll see him tonight. Castillo allowed eight runs on 10 hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks. Since joining the Mets he has allowed one unearned run from three hits and three walks over four innings while striking out six batters. the walks are still concerning, but in a limited sample, he’s having more success with the Mets. Part of that may be how the Mets are using him. He pitched in five games with the Diamondbacks leading to 6 1/3 innings. With the Mets he has also pitched in five games, but only four innings.

Let’s Go Mets!

While most of us slept, the Mets had a comeback win stretching their winning streak to four games!

Lindor started Monday night’s game off with a bang, hitting a leadoff home run. Even though the Dodgers came back in the 9th inning, those with faith knew the Mets had won 26 straight games when Lindor homered. The Mets scored two runs in the 10th, locking down the 27th consecutive win when Lindor homered.

A tired Mets team that used almost every member of the bullpen tonight will go for the season series victory tonight behind Tylor Megill!

Tylor Megill has a 3.52 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.360 WHIP and a 108 ERA+ over 53 2/3 innings. He had a fairly terrible stretch of games allowing 15 runs over four consecutive starts from the end of April to mid-May. In his last two starts he has allowed only three runs over 10 1/3 innings while striking out 16 batters. Megill had a fantastic regular season start against the Dodgers in 2024, holding them scoreless over seven innings, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out nine. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Megill:

• Mookie Betts 2-5, K
• Michael Conforto 0-1, BB
• Tommy Edman 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Freddie Freeman 6-16, 3 K
• Kiké Hernández 1-2, K
• Teoscar Hernández 2-10 2B, 3 K
• Max Muncy 4-5, 2B, HR, 3 BB
• Shohei Ohtani 1-6, HR, K
• Andy Pages 0-2, K
• Miguel Rojas 1-4, BB, K
• Will Smith 1-6, BB, K

The Mets will face Clayton Kershaw again tonight! Overall this season he has allowed six runs from 11 hits and six walks over 11 innings (4.91 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.545 WHIP and an 82 ERA+). On the game level, his season has been a bit weird. He had a rough first start against the Angels, allowing five runs over four innings. He looked great in two innings against the Mets, allowing no hits and one walk, but then the skies opened up and a 90+ minute rain delay prevented him from coming back up. His last start was his most complete, allowing only one run in five innings against the Guardians. The Mets have the following career numbers against Kershaw:

• Pete Alonso 1-8, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 2-8, BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 4-23, BB, 9 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-8
• Brandon Nimmo 0-9, 4 K
• Juan Soto 3-15, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-6, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. The Mets have now won 27 consecutive games where Lindor has homered. Francisco Lindor has homered four times in his last four games. His last four games have just been bonkers going 8-for-16 at the plate with four home runs, a stolen base, two walks and seven runs scored (.500/.556/1.260). Video game numbers!
2. Tylor Megill. Two weeks ago the Dodgers and the Mets played a game where basically the whole bullpen had to get involved. Last night was another one of those games. The Mets are going to need Megill to go deep into tonight’s game to give the bullpen some relief. The deepest Megill has gone in a game this season is 6 1/3 innings against the Nationals. The first time through an order Megill has been great with opposing hitters slashing .180/.263/.326 (.588 OPS) against him. Things start to blow up the second time through though (.268/.367/.329, .697 OPS). Opposing hitters get OBP at the highest clip his third time through the order (.375). It has been difficult to push Megill deep in games this season.
3. Reed Garrett. Good news for the Mets, Reed Garrett wasn’t used Monday night. Garrett is off to a strong start this season allowing only three runs, two earned, over 25 2/3 innings (0.70 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 1.130 WHIP and a 549 ERA+). His walk rate is about the same as last season and his strikeout rate is about the same. The difference is he’s keeping the ball in the park and allowing less hits. The under-the-hood numbers are a bit surprised by this development as hitters are barreling the ball a bit more often this year and have a better hard-hit%. Garrett is turning it all into outs. A depleted Mets bullpen is going to lean on Garrett tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head west to start a four game series against the Dodgers. At stake is the season tie-breaker. If the Dodgers and Mets both end up as Wild Card teams, the tie-breaker will get the team that has it into a more favorable scenario.

Right now the Mets have a 2-1 season series lead. The Dodgers won the first game of the series after a 90+ minute rain delay in a game that went 13 innings depleting the bullpens of both teams. The Mets then picked up wins on the next two games, both nationally televised. A win today for the Mets would be their third in a row against the Dodgers and fourth in a row in the traditional sense.

Paul Blackburn makes his 2025 debut this evening. The Mets acquired Blackburn in a trade at the the deadline last year from the Athletics. He had mixed success last season. In three starts for the Mets he allowed two runs or fewer. He allowed 12 runs in his other two starts, which overwhelm his season stats (5.18 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 1.562 WHIP, 76 ERA+ over 24 1/3 innings).

Blackburn is coming back from a terrifying injury. He got hit in the hand by a comebacker at the end of August, which initially sidelined him. While he was rehabbing from that injury it was discovered that actually had a spinal fluid leak and needed back surgery. He had a specific version of the surgery that would allow him to continue to pitch. He was actually ready to go in spring but had a different knee injury that sidelined him until now. Over seven starts in the minors he has pitched 29 1/3 innings with a 3.68 ERA and 1.091 WHIP. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 1-6, HR, K
• Tommy Edman 0-2
• Kiké Hernández 1-3, K
• Teoscar Hernández 0-3, BB
• Shohei Ohtani 4-9, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 3 K

The Mets bats will look to keep their power surge going against Dustin May tonight. Over 10 games, 55 2/3 innings, May has a 4.20 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.240 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. May missed the Mets a couple of weeks ago. Homeruns are the issue for May right now. He gave up at least one home run in every start in May (six homers in five starts) and the homers have essentially determined whether he had a quality or not start. He is hitting his stride with strikeouts, getting 25 strikeouts in his last three starts (16 innings). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-3
• Brett Baty 1-2
• Francisco Lindor 0-2
• Starling Marte 0-3
• Jeff McNeil 2-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 1-5, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-9, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Hope all the baseball pundits writing negative think pieces about Soto are ready, because he’s on a hot streak now. After going hitless in four straight games, he has three extra-base hits in his last three games. This past weekend he went 4-for-9 at the plate with a double, two home runs, two walks and four runs scored (.444/.583/1.222).
2. Homeruns. Power has been the Mets salvation the last three days. The Mets have hit eight homers. On Saturday the homers piled onto a big lead. On Sunday the Mets homered allowed the Mets to keep coming back each time the Rockies either took the lead or tied the game. May has allowed six home runs over his last five starts. The Mets have won the last 26 games in a row where Lindor has homered, and he homered three times over two games this past weekend.
3. Containing Shohei. Ohtani has seen Blackburn plenty back from their AL West days. Ohtani is having another Ohtani season with 22 home runs already (good for second in the league behind Cal Raleigh and in front of Aaron Judge). The Dodgers offense runs through Ohtani who has already scored 63 times (league leading, Judge is the next closest at 55). The Mets attacked Ohtani head one a couple of weeks ago and he went only 2-for-13 that weekend with a solo home run and two runs scored.

Let’s Go Mets!

Four teams enter play today tied for the best record in the National League – the Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and the Mets! The Mets go for the sweep against the Rockies this afternoon before heading out west to take on the first place Dodgers.

The Mets look to build on Saturday’s display of power where Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil all homered in their 8-2 win over the Rockies. Thanks to offense explosion all of the Mets best high leverage relievers were able to take the afternoon off. It’s a beautiful day to sweep the Rockies!

Clay Holmes has a 2.98 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.243 WHIP and a 129 ERA+ over 60 1/3 innings. He allowed only one run from four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last start against the White Sox. Holmes broke two different streaks in his last start. He had a four start streak of going at least six innings. He also had a three start streak of allowing at least one home run. We’ll take the slightly shorter start if it means he kept the ball in park! The Rockies have the following career numbers against him:

• Orlando Arcia 1-4, BB, K
• Thairo Estrada 0-1
• Kyle Farmer 1-2
• Keston Hiura 1-3
• Ryan McMahon 0-0, 2 BB
• Jacob Stallings 0-1, K
• Ezequiel Tovar 1-1

Rookie Carson Palmquist makes his fourth career start this afternoon. MLB Pipeline had him as the Rockies #8 Prospect heading into the season this year. Over his first three starts he has allowed 14 runs, 13 earned over 13 1/3 innings from 19 hits and eight walks. He’s also has had a tough draw of teams to start his career going against the Diamondbacks, Phillies and Cubs. His last start against the Cubs was pretty good, holding them to only two runs from three hits and three walks. According to MLB Pipeline, Palmquist has a low-90’s fastball with some movement and two different types of sliders.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Saturday was Lindor’s third multi-hit game in his last four games played. Saturday afternoon Lindor went 2-for-3 with two walks. Over the series he has gone 5-for-7, getting on base seven times and scoring five times. The Mets are hitting their stride when Lindor gets on base and the hitters behind him get him home.
2. Brandon Nimmo. We have a Nimmo hot streak everyone! Nimmo has a five game hit streak where he is going 8-for-19 with a double, home run, two walks and five runs scored (.421/.476/.632). He has raised his his on base percentage 20 points during this current run.
3. Groundballs. Clay Holmes is somehow getting even better at producing groundballs. Hitters are producing grounders up to 55.9% of the time against him, putting him in the 91st percentile. Hitters are still hitting the ball pretty hard (44.1% hard hit percentage, 7.6 barrel %) which does get Holmes into danger sometimes. Hopefully today’s defensive alignment matches Holmes’ grounder rate.

Let’s Go Mets!

Francisco Lindor welcomed the Rockies to Queens Friday night with fireworks! The Mets took the first game of the series behind Lindor’s two home runs. Actual thunder followed Lindor’s show. We’ve had quite a bit of rain in the area throughout the night, but as of writing the weather looks alright for today’s afternoon game.

The Mets end the month of May with their ace Kodai Senga on the mound. Over 55 2/3 innings, Senga has a 1.46 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 1.240 WHIP and a 264 ERA+. Senga had a particularly tough start on May 19th, where he allowed three runs over six innings against the Red Sox. It was a gutsy performance that could have completely fallen apart after allowing the runs early, but Senga kept the Mets in the game and lasted through the sixth. Last time out Senga held the high powered Dodgers lineup to only one run (a solo homer), scattering five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings. The Rockies have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Orlando Arcia 0-4, 2 K
• Thairo Estrada 0-2, BB
• Ryan McMahon 0-3
• Mickey Moniak 0-3, 3 K
• Jacob Stallings 0-5, BB, 3 K
• Ezequiel Tovar 0-2

The Mets bats will get a look at Antonio Senzatela this afternoon. Senzatela has played his entire career with the Rockies, making his debut in 2017. He’s had a rough few years tearing his ACL in August 2022, then needing Tommy John in 2023. Some how the injuries were spaced out in such a way that he never missed an entire season, but he made only 24 starts between 2022 and 2024.

This season he has pitched 54 innings over 11 games with a 6.50 ERA, 5.06 FIP, 1.944 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. He’s currently leading the league in hits allowed with 90. The Mets have the following career stats against Senzatela:

• Pete Alonso 4-11, 2B
• Brett Baty 0-1, BB
• Francisco Lindor 3-13, HR, 4 K
• Starling Marte 7-13, 2B, HR
• Jeff McNeil 2-11, HR
• Brandon Nimmo 2-8, 2 HR, 3 K
• Juan Soto 1-2, HR, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 3-5, K
• Luis Torrens 2-4, BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor had a huge night at the plate Friday night going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three runs scored. It was his second multi-hit game in three nights. Lindor is also tied Derek Jeter for the 4th most homeruns (260) by players who spent at least 60% of their time at shortstop. When Lindor is on fire good things generally happen to the Mets.
2. Juan Soto. Soto has mired in a mini-slump, going 0-for-14 with only two walks in four games. Friday night he went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. This lineup is designed for Soto to either get Lindor in or put Pete in a good position to get some RBI’s, even with Soto hitting in the three-spot now. Let’s hope Soto and Lindor run it back again today.
3. Chris Devenski. The Mets called up Chris Devenski before Friday’s game. Devenski pitched two innings against the Diamondbacks about a month ago, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out two. He’s been great for Syracuse this season, pitching 18 1/3 innings with a 1.96 ERA (13 K’s). The righty has a low-to-mid 90’s mph fastball, but he leans on his low-80’s changeup as his primary pitch. It will be interesting to compare his 2025 pitch selection to previous seasons. Has the Mets pitching lab changed anything?

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to shake off Wednesday’s clunker of a game this evening against the Rockies, who are off to a historically bad start this season. In addition to facing the Rockies, both teams will be playing against the weather tonight. As of writing, there’s a pretty consistent chance of rain from 9 PM on, that get worst as the night progresses. The threat of rain continues early Saturday before a dry Sunday.

Last weekend the Mets needed David Peterson. The game before his start had an early 90+ minute rain delay and the Dodgers and Mets ended up playing 13 innings, needing the bullpen to cover about ten of those innings. Peterson came through for the Mets pitching 7 2/3 innings the following game, holding the Dodgers to only two runs from five hits while striking out seven.

Overall this season Peterson has pitched 58 innings with a 2.79 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.276 WHIP and a 137 ERA+. In his last six starts he has pitched 36 innings with a 2.50 ERA, 3.57 FIP. He has allowed two runs or fewer in each start and has pitched at least six innings in each of his last four starts. Peterson held the Rockies to one run on four hits over five innings in 2024 and the Rockies have the following career numbers against him:

• Orlando Arcia 1-5, 3 BB, 2 K
• Brenton Doyle 0-2
• Kyle Farmer 3-5, 2B, 2 K
• Hunter Goodman 0-1, BB
• Ryan McMahon 2-4, HR, BB
• Mickey Moniak 1-3, K
• Jacob Stallings 1-4, BB, K
• Michael Toglia 0-2, K
• Ezequiel Tovar 1-3, K

Kyle Freeland has pitched 55 1/3 innings this season with a 5.86 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.681 WHIP and a 79 ERA+. It’s his third consecutive season in a row with an ERA above five, and his lowest ERA+ in his last six seasons, but he’s having a career best season for FIP. HIs FIP is 1.5 runs lower than last season and lower than any season where he had an ERA+ above 100. It’s probably because he’s allowing only 0.8 HR/9, which is lower than his last couple of seasons (1.7 HR/9). Last season he allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Mets while striking out seven batters. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-3, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 2-10, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Starling Marte 3-13, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 4-11, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Juan Soto 5-28, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 4 BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-11, 2B, 5 K
• Luis Torrens 0-3, K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Fielding and Walks. The Mets did not look sharp on Wednesday making multiple errors in the field leading to unearned runs. Compounding the fielding problems, Mets pitchers walked six batters, giving the White Sox so many chances. (The White Sox returned the favor walking eight Mets, but the Mets went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 on base). If the Mets play a crisp, sharp game tonight, they’ll be fine.
2. Brandon Nimmo. Last Friday Brandon Nimmo exited the game early with neck stiffness. Since returning he has gone 5-for-12 with a double, three runs and two walks (.417/.500/.500). He looked like vintage Nimmo on Wednesday collecting two hits and two walks.
3. Familiar Face, New Place. The Braves released Orlando Arcia last weekend and he signed with the Rockies a few days later. The middle infielder has been with the Braves since the 2021 trade deadline, had his best season in 2022 (102 OPS+) and was a 2023 All-Star. He massively struggled in 14 games for the Braves this season slashing .194/.219/.226 (25 OPS+). In his first game with the Rockies he went 2-for-3.

Let’s Go Mets!

There is a possibility of two different sweeps this afternoon at Citi Field:

• The Mets sweep the White Sox in a three game set
• The rain sweeps away both the Mets and the White Sox

The Mets moved to make the first option more of a possibility on Tuesday by beating the White Sox 6-4 and moving today’s game from 7:10 up to 1:10. As of writing, there’s at least a 50% chance of rain throughout the afternoon that increases as the afternoon goes on. Hopefully the Mets can wade through all of this and extend their winning streak to five games.

Griffin Canning’s stats from his last start shouldn’t count. Over 10 starts and 50 innings this season, Canning has as a 2.88 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.320 WHIP and a 133 ERA+. His last inning pitched was one of wackier ones this season – it looked like the Mets should have had an inning ending double play, by doubling off Conforto at second base. The rule from MLB was a runner can tag when the ball contacts the glove, so it became runners on second and third. The skies then opened up as Canning fell behind a hitter 3-1. There was a 90+ minute delay and the pitcher who came into relieve Canning immediately allowed runs.

Anyway, before that outing Canning had a 1.67 ERA, 3.47 FIP over six starts (32 1/3 innings). He had an excellent outing against the White Sox last September holding them scoreless over six innings. The White Sox have the following career numbers against him:

• Andrew Benintendi 3-11, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Korey Lee 0-2, K
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-6, 5 K
• Josh Rojas 1-5, 2B, BB
• Lenyn Sosa 0-2, K
• Michael A Taylor 2-5, K
• Miguel Vargas 1-2, K

The Mets bats will get a look at rookie Shane Smith who is off to a fast start this year with a 2.36 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 1.106 WHIP and a 171 ERA+. He looked more average in his last start, allowing three runs over five innings from two hits and two walks. In his start before that he allowed six runs but only one earned over five innings – which is a way to beat the White Sox!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso has gone 5-for-15 over his last three games with two home runs. He had a 16 game home run drought that he broke on Sunday night and he homered again Tuesday night, evaporating a first inning White Sox lead. Alonso now has 11 home runs on the season and 237 for his career as he chases Strawberry’s franchise leading 252 homers. Is this another Pete Alonso hot streak loading?
2. Hit By Pitches. Jonathan Cannon hit Francisco Alvarez with a pitch Tuesday night, which was a league leading 34th time this season the Mets have been hit by a pitch. Shane Smith leads the league with six hit batters in 2025. This feels like a recipe for someone getting hit, which isn’t great.
3. Getting hits in bunches. Sunday night the Mets had six hits, with no one collecting more than one hit. Monday nigh the Mets had seven hits, with only Brandon Nimmo collecting more than one hit. This matches the general feeling of the Mets offense for the last couple of weeks. Tuesday night was a completely different story. The Mets had 12 hits with Lindor, Baty, Young and McNeil all collecting more than one hit. Hopefully this is a sign that multiple members of the Mets lineup are starting to get it going again.

Let’s Go Mets!

Have you exhaled from Monday’s game yet?

The White Sox took and early 1-0 lead against the Mets and the Mets responded by doing essentially nothing until the end of the game. Juan Soto had a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th. Francisco Lindor hit a walk-off sacrifice fly at the bottom the ninth. Thus the Mets avoided a disaster in dropping the first game against the White Sox.

After dropping series against the Yankees and Red Sox, the Mets won a series against the Dodgers this past weekend. With Monday’s win against the White Sox the Mets have now won three games in a row and four games in their last five, despite their bats not being all the way back yet. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Over ten starts Tylor Megill has pitched 48 innings with a 3.56 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 1.354 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. His last start was a breath of fresh air for Megill, allowing one run over 4 2/3 innings from one hit and one walk while striking out 10 batters, something he’s done only one other time this season. Prior to that start Megill allowed 15 runs over 18 2/3 innings spread over four starts (7.23 ERA, 4.30 FIP). Megill had a strong start against the White Sox in 2024 holding the Sox to one run from five hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six. The White Sox have the following career numbers against Megill:

• Andrew Benintendi 2-3, 2B, K
• Joshua Palacios 1-3
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-3, K
• Josh Rojas 0-2, K
• Mike Tauchman 0-2
• Miguel Vargas 0-4, BB, 2 K

It’s been a while since the Mets faced a starting pitcher with a perfect nominative deterministic name. Jonathan Cannon is off to a strong start in his second major league season, pitching 55 innings over 10 games, eight starts, with a 3.76 ERA, 4.05 ERA, 1.309 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start where he allowed four runs, three earned over five innings against he Cubs. Prior to that he had a 2.00 ERA, 2.62 FIP over three starts (18 innings). The Mets hit him fairly well in 2024, scoring four runs on four hits and four walks over five innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-2, BB, K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-2, BB, K
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3
• Juan Soto 2-3, 2 HR
• Mark Vientos 1-2, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill. Paul Blackburn is making his last rehab start today in the minors. Frankie Montas is ramping up his rehab. Sean Manaea seems to be a week or so behind Montas. There are additional arms on the way to the Mets. Megill had a solid bounce back start his last time out, but his time in the rotation could be dwindling. You could make the argument that his last start was a statement start in response to Blackburn’s impending return. We’ll be watching to see how crisp Megill looks again in another effort to stay in the rotation.
2. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo made a strong return to the Mets on Monday going 2-for-4 at the plate with his 10th double of the season. Nimmo came out of the game on Friday during the rain delay with neck stiffness. Nimmo is off to a slow start this season with an OPS below .700. The White Sox followed by the Rockies would be a great way get Nimmo going!
3. Juan Soto. Soto is becoming a consistent RBI machine in the three-spot! He has four RBI’s over his last three games, getting at least one RBI in three games in a row. He’s gotten two RBI’s over the last two days without getting a hit. Soto currently has 25 RBI’s on the season, good for fourth on the Mets, two behind Brandon Nimmo who has 27.

Let’s Go Mets!

It has been quite the few weeks for the New York Mets playing the high powered offenses of the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers. Now they enter a possible trap week where they play the White Sox followed by the Rockies.

The White Sox are struggling in 2025, but not at the pace they were struggling in 2024. They actually have won three of their last five games including taking the series from Texas Rangers this past weekend. Their division is bonkers right now. If the season ended entering play today, all four teams ahead of them would make the playoffs.

Clay Holmes has pitched 54 2/3 innings over 10 starts this season with a 3.13 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.244 WHIP and a 123 ERA+. He is coming off of a solid start against the Red Sox where he allowed only two runs, both from solo home runs, over six innings. It was his fourth consecutive start going six innings for the Mets but over his last three starts he has started to give up the long ball. He’s allowed five home runs in three starts. Key tonight will be to keep the White Sox, who are 27th in the league in home runs, in the ballpark. The White Sox have the following career numbers against him:

• Andrew Benintendi 0-2, BB, K
• Joshua Palacios 0-1, K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-2, BB, K
• Josh Rojas 0-2, K
• Austin Slater 1-4, BB, K
• Mike Tauchman 0-2
• Michael A Taylor 1-3, K
• Miguel Vargas 0-0, BB

The Mets will face an old, temporary friend today in Adrian Houser. The Mets acquired Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor in a trade before the 2024 season for Coleman Crow. Houser struggled with the Mets, posting a 5.84 ERA, 67 ERA+ over 69 1/3 innings in a mix of starts and relief appearances. The Mets would release him at the end of July. He bounced around betweent he Cubs and Orioles for the rest of the season but didn’t make it back to the majors.

Houser started off this season with the Rangers and was released in mid-May making his way over the White Sox. In his first and only start this season last week, he held the Mariners to only two hits and three walks while shutting them out over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Houser:

• Pete Alonso 3-8, BB
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2
• Brett Baty 1-2, HR, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-8, K
• Starling Marte 3-11, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 2-7, 2 2B, K
• Brandon Nimmo 4-7, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Juan Soto 1-7
• Jared Young 0-4, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso finally ended his 16 game home run drought Sunday night, mashing his 10th home run of the season to give the Mets lead early in the game. This was his 236th career homerun on his pursuit to to break Strawberry’s franchise record 252 homers. Alonso has some of the better numbers against Houser over his career. Let’s get another Polar Bear hot streak going!
2. Stealing bases. The Mets stole two more bases last night, bringing them to 42 on the season, good for 15th in the league. This is more or less where the Mets were last year, where they ended the season 16th in the league. There’s an unusual name stealing bases though – Juan Soto. Soto stole his 7th base of the season Sunday night. He stole seven bases in all of 2024. The most he has ever stolen in one season is 12, which he did twice (2019, 2023). Is Juan Soto trying to have a 30-30 season in 2025?
3. Double Plays. Hitting into double plays has crushed the Mets so far this season, but now they are the one’s turning them! The Mets turned six double plays over the last two games, three in each start. Clay Holmes is in the 88th percentile for ground balls, getting them 53.9% of the time in 2025. This feels like a recipe for more double plays!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have a chance to take the series from the Dodgers tonight!

Friday night was a weird game that saw an odd tag up play, a 90 minute rain delay, and multiple scoreless innings of extra-inning baseball. There was a feeling early Saturday night that we were heading the same way. The Dodgers scored their second run when the umpires missed the ball being batted off of a hitters leg. Rather than letting snowball to a disaster, David Peterson settled in and delivered a masterful 7 2/3 inning performance, setting the Mets up for success tonight!

Kodai Senga has pitched 50 1/3 innings this season with a 1.43 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.192 WHIP and a 270 ERA+. His last start was one of the most important of the season. It was evident early on that he did not have his best stuff, but he battled through and was able to stop the bleeding at only three runs while giving the Mets six solid innings. Unfortunately, the Mets hitters took the night off and the Mets lost 3-1.

Senga will be looking to right the record after two relief outings against the Dodgers in 2024 where he allowed a total of six runs over three innings from five hits and four walks. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Mookie Betts 4-4, 2B, HR, BB
• Michael Conforto 0-2, BB, K
• Tommy Edman 1-7, 2B, K
• Freddie Freeman 0-2, 2 BB, K
• Kiké Hernández 1-3
• Teoscar Hernández 1-3, 2B, BB, K
• Max Muncy 1-3, 2 BB, K
• Shohei Ohtani 2-3, 2B, 3 BB
• Andy Pages 0-1
• Miguel Rojas 0-2
• Will Smith 0-4, K

Landon Knack has pitched in six games including four starts this season totaling 23 1/3 innings. He has a 6.17 ERA, 5.18 FIP, 1.543 WHIP and a 64 ERA+. His last two outings have been particularly brutal allowing nine total runs from 13 hits, including four home runs, over 9 2/3 innings against the Athletics and the Diamondbacks. While the Diamondbacks lit him up (five runs over 4 2/3), he did strike out eight batters in that game.

The Mets got to Landon Knack in the 2024 NLCS scoring five times over two innings of relief from five hits and three walks. Four of the runs scored on a Mark Vientos grand slam! The Mets have the following career numbers against Knack:

• Pete Alonso 1-1
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 0-0, BB
• Starling Marte 1-2
• Brandon Nimmo 0-1, K
• Juan Soto 0-2, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-1, 2B, BB
• Mark Vientos 1-1, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brett Baty. It’s the third day in a row that we’re talking about Brett Baty. He recorded his third multi-hit game in a row Saturday night, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, a run scored, a walk and two RBI’s. In his last three games he has now gone 7-for-11 with six RBI’s.
2. Somehow, both bullpens are okay. The concern going into Saturday’s game was how tired the bullpens were from Friday’s marathon of a game. Thanks to David Peterson, the Mets only had to run Edwin Díaz to pitch on back-to-back days. The Dodgers recalled Bobby Miller who covered two innings of relief for the squad. Anthony Banda was their only pitcher who needed to go on back-to-back days.
3. Shohei Ohtani. When the Mets shut down Aaron Judge last weekend (0-for-5, 3 K), they won the game. Saturday night the Mets did the same thing to Ohtani. He went 0-for-4 on the night with three strikeouts. Shohei has had good at bats against Kodai throughout his career. If Kodai can reverse that tonight, the Mets will be in a good spot.

Let’s Go Mets!