213 Miles From Shea

The Mets still control their own destiny! The Mets had a massive first inning to start of Tuesday night’s game, scoring five times and putting the entire pitching staff in a strong position to just maintain the lead. The vibes get better with each consecutive win, let’s stretch it to a three game streak tonight!

David Peterson has tossed 162 1/3 innings over 28 games with a 3.77 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.324 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. The last three starts haven’t been that great for Peterson, he’s allowed 15 runs over 12 1/3 innings. In his last two starts he’s allowed seven runs over 10 1/3. The Padres have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Luis Arráez  1-6, BB
• Jake Cronenworth 2-7, BB, K
• Elías Díaz 1-3, HR, BB
• Jose Iglesias 1-5, K
• Bryce Johnson 0-2, 2 BB
• Ramon Laureano 1-5
• Manny Machado 2-10, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Jackson Merrill 1-3
• Ryan O’Hearn 0-1, K
• Fernando Tatís Jr. 1-3

The Mets bats will look to keep the good times going against Nick Pivetta. Over 171 1/3 innings Pivetta has a 2.73 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 0.953 WHIP (league leading) and a 158 ERA+. He’s having a great September allowing only two runs on 11 hits over 13 innings while striking out 13 batters. The Mets missed Pivetta the last time they faced the Padres and have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-7, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 0-1, BB, K
• Starling Marte 5-9, HR, K
• Jeff McNeil 5-10, 2 2B, HR, BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 10-31, 2 2B, 2 HR, BB, 12 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-0, 4 BB, 2 K
• Jose Siri 2-6, HR
• Juan Soto 4-15, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Finally getting hits with RISP. Over the last two games before Tuesday the Mets have gone 2-for-19 with RISP. Tuesday the Mets went 4-for-7 with RISP, which fueled things like their massive first inning rally. The Mets also slugged four home runs on the night, which is what the offense was doing that one magical week at the end of July. Let’s keep it going tonight!
2. 30-30. Francisco Lindor is getting closer to his second 30-30 season. He already has 30 stolen bases and hit his 27th home run of the season last night. More importantly for the Mets, he is slowly heating back up again after going four games without a hit in the heart of the Mets losing streak. He now has a five game hitting streak and has reached base safely six times over the last two games. Juan Soto may be the best hitter on the Mets, but the Mets follow the way that Lindor goes.
3. Wild Card. The Diamondbacks won their fourth game in a row on Tuesday and stay 1.5 games behind the Mets for the third wild card spot. The Mets and Diamondbacks tied their season series, so a tie in the final standings would result in a second tiebreaker needed. The Giants and Reds enter play today three games back. The Reds played an early game against the Cardinals this afternoon with Brady Singer (3.94 ERA) taking on Pallante (5.34 ERA) in a game that should be wrapped up by the time you read this. The Giants send out Justin Verlander (3.94 ERA) against Pfaadt (5.31 ERA) in a game that will end right around the start of the Mets game tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

It’s another critical series at Citi Field!

The Mets are trying to hold onto the third Wild Card spot. On Sunday they finally snapped their eight game losing streak thanks to an extra-inning walk-off homer from Pete Alonso. Heading into play today the Diamondbacks are 1.5 games back, the Reds 2.0 and the Giants 2.0. The Padres have a five game lead for the second Wild Card spot. Both the Mets and Padres have the power to make the race look quite different by the end of this series.

Clay Holmes has pitched 151 innings over 29 starts this season with a 3.75 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.351 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a rough start where he allowed four runs over four innings. He’s allowed 11 runs, eight earned, over his last 13 2/3 innings spread over three starts. In San Diego back in July he allowed four runs, two earned from eight hits pitching only 3 2/3 innings against the Padres. In the second half of the year Holmes has largely lost his ability to go deep into games. The Mets are going to possibly try something new today by Sean Manaea relieve him tonight. The Padres have the following career numbers against Holmes:

• Luis Arráez 3-5, 3B, 2 BB
• Jake Cronenworth 0-3, K
• Elías Díaz 0-0, BB
• Freddy Fermin 1-3
• Jose Iglesias 1-4, K
• Ramon Laureano 2-6, 2B, K
• Manny Machado 3-5
• Jackson Merrill 0-4, K
• Ryan O’Hearn 2-5, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Gavin Sheets 1-3, HR, K
• Fernando Tatís 2-5

Michael King has pitched 62 2/3 innings over 12 starts with a 2.87 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.069 WHIP and a 151 ERA+. King recently missed about a month dealing with left knee inflammation. In his return he allowed two runs over five innings scattering three hits and a walk. He has actually only pitched in two games since mid-May. How far do the Padres push King tonight? The Mets have the following career stats against King:

• Pete Alonso 2-8, 2B, 4 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-3
• Brett Baty 0-1
• Francisco Lindor 1-6, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-6
• Cedric Mullins 3-12, 2 2 B, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-6, BB, 3 K
• Jose Siri 0-1
• Juan Soto 0-0, BB
• Mark Vientos 0-2, BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Sean Manaea. There have been reports this week that Sean Manaea would join the bullpen. These reports started before Sunday’s game, and since Manaea wasn’t used, we’ll probably see him in today’s game. Like many veteran Mets pitchers, Manaea has struggled to go deep into games recently. Over 50 innings this season, Manaea has a 5.76 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.240 WHIP and a 71 ERA+, a large departure from last season (114 ERA+). Batters have a .703 OPS the first time they see Manaea in a game, the second time that number jumps to .811 and by the third time it’s an alarming 1.071.
2. Hitting with RISP. On Sunday the Mets got the big hit, a three-run homer in the 10th inning by Pete Alonso. Most of the afternoon the Mets were chasing the same ghosts that were haunting them for the better part of two weeks. The Mets went 1-for-9 with RISP, following a game where they went 1-for-10. Let’s see if Alonso’s big knock takes some of the pressure off of the Mets at the plate tonight.
3. Wild Card race. The Reds take on the Cardinals tonight with Andrew Abbott (2.79 ERA) taking on Michael McGreevy (4.44 ERA). The more important series is happening in Arizona with the Giants taking on the Diamondbacks. As of writing this morning, the Giants have not announced a starter for this game. These are must win games for both teams. The Mets have the tiebreaker with the Giants and a tie between the Diamondbacks and the Mets would result in needing a second tiebreaker (3-3 this season).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Dodgers did the Mets a solid last night beating the Giants. Despite losing their 8th straight game on Saturday the Mets wake up this morning still in control of their own destiny. With a day off tomorrow and a series against the Padres looming on Tuesday, the Mets need to get a win this afternoon and salvage something from this series against the Rangers.

The Nolan LcLean magic ran out in his last start. It wasn’t his fault, he was great! He allowed only one run, scattering seven hits while striking out five over 5 1/3 in Philly. The Mets just couldn’t back him up and ended up losing the game 1-0 (McLean should talk to deGrom in other dugout at some point this weekend). Anyway McLean has been the pitcher the Mets need. Over his first five career games he has pitched 31 2/3 innings with a 1.42 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 0.947 WHIP and a 288 ERA+. The Mets are going to need another classic McLean start this afternoon.

Jacob Latz has pitched 74 1/3 innings this season over 29 games, including six starts, with a 2.91 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.238 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. He’s been fantastic in the rotation in September allowing only two runs on eight hits over 11 innings. He’s been more effective as a starting pitcher with a 2.73 ERA, 1.079 WHIP over 29 2/3 innings compared to a 3.02 ERA, 1.343 WHIP over 44 2/3 innings. Only two players on the Mets have faced Latz in a major league game:

• Cedric Mullins 0-5, 2 K
• Jose Siri 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Hitting with runners in scoring position. Friday night the Mets brough both runners in scoring position home on sacrifice flies, making a rare situation where the team went 0-0 with RISP but converted 100% of their chances into runs. It also wasn’t enough. Saturday was the more textbook frustrating scenario with the Mets going 1-for-10 with RISP, spoiling the 11 hits they had as a team. It is just demoralizing at this point and the Mets need to figure this out against the Rangers this afternoon.
2. Juan Soto. Soto continues to be the best hitter in the Mets lineup. Saturday he went 2-for-5 with his 40th home run of the season. He still leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.398) and is now only two home runs away from a career high.
3. Wild Card race. The Giants and Reds both lost yesterday, and sit 0.5 and 1.5 games behind the Mets. The Diamondbacks are only 2.0 games behind the Mets now too. The Dodgers and Giants have another fantastic pitching matchup this afternoon with Tyler Glasnow (3.21 ERA) against Robbie Ray (3.32 ERA). The Reds have Nick Lodolo (3.10 ERA) trying avoid being swept by the Athletics this afternoon. Former Met Nabil Crismatt (3.24 ERA) on the Diamondbacks goes up against the Twins. The Mets just need to win.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets could possibly lose a play off spot today. The slide has reached that point.

Friday night the Mets welcomed Jacob deGrom back to Citi Field but before he could even take the mound the Mets just absolutely imploded with Jonah Tong allowing six runs in the first inning. deGrom then retired the Mets in just six pitches in the bottom of the first. The Mets would cut the Rangers lead to just three runs but couldn’t muster anything more than that. Entering today’s slate of games the San Francisco Giants are just a half game back of the Mets. Today is a must win game.

Brandon Sproat makes his second major league start this afternoon after allowing three runs from three hits and four walks over six innings while striking out seven in a solid debut last weekend. Sproat had allowed only one run through the first five innings of work, with the additional two runs coming in his last inning. The Mets have been desperate for their pitchers to get through five innings, so finishing the sixth inning was a major accomplishment. Now the Mets will need Sproat to effectively save their season. No pressure!

The Mets are not facing the Patrick Corbin you remember. He’s slightly better now. Over 27 games he has totaled 142 1/3 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and an 84 ERA+. He is not leading the league in hits, like he has in three of the last six seasons, and he is not leading the league in earned runs, something he has done in three of the last five seasons. He’s coming off a strong start allowing only one run over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 17-49, 3 2B, 5 HR, 10 BB, 12 K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-5, HR, 3 BB
• Brett Baty 1-2
• Francisco Lindor 13-44, 2 2B, 3 HR, 9 K
• Starling Marte 13-42, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 10 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2
• Jeff McNeil 10-37, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Cedric Mullins 3-10, 2B, K
• BrandoN Nimmo 12-43, 2 HR, 2 BB, 13 K
• Jose Siri 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Juan Soto 0-7, 2 BB, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 4-8, 3 2B, 3B, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Getting runners on base. The Mets worked 0 walks Friday night and mustered only five hits. They technically had zero at bats with runners in scoring position because each time they got someone over to third, they came in on a sacrifice fly. It’s great not to leave runners on third, but it’s not great to give yourself only two opportunities for this to happen. In the last two games played the Mets have only scored in two separate innings. Hopefully the Mets can flip this script tonight.
2. Juan Soto stat watch. Juan Soto has been one of the few bright spots on the Mets recently while everyone else has been withering away. He still leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.398). He is eight walks away from breaking John Olerud’s Mets franchise record set in 1999. He is only three home runs away from a career high. At the rate he is stealing bases, maybe (although unlikely) he can reach a 40-40 by the end of the season (needs one more homer and eight more bases).
3. Wild Card Picture. The Mets have the benefit of playing first today, and not having to worry about keeping up with anyone else live during the game. The Giants and Logan Webb (3.12 ERA) will take on Clayton Kershaw (3.27 ERA) and the Dodgers at 9:05. The Reds send out Hunter Greene (2.59 ERA) against Luis Severino (4.67 ERA) and the Athletics at 10:05. The Mets just need to win and hold on.

Let’s Go Mets!

Without the context of everything happening around the Mets for the last two months, tonight’s game should be an incredibly exciting game. Jacob deGrom returns to Citi Field to take on the Mets. The Mets send out Jonah Tong and are about to send out a trio of phenom prospects. The most exciting group of starting pitchers since deGrom et al. Both teams are in a playoff race. This should be must watch TV.

The Mets are just playing terribly right now. They have lost six games in a row and are one bad weekend away from losing their Wild Card spot. Thursday night the Mets looked great after the first inning but then fell apart again. They desperately need a win.

Jonah Tong will make his third start of his career tonight. In his first two starts he allowed eight runs, five earned over 11 innings scattering nine hits while striking out 12 batters. Tong cruised through his first start before running into trouble in the fifth inning from Marlins hitters and Mets fielding. The Reds just played a very Reds game in his last start. He allowed only three hits and all three of them were home runs, which matches almost exactly how the Great American Ball Park plays.

Jacob deGrom has pitched over 100 innings this season for the first time since 2019. Over 155 2/3 innings, spread over 27 starts deGrom has a 2.78 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 0.931 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. He’s coming off of a more human start against the Astros where he allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings, mostly due to two home runs. In the three starts before that he allowed only two runs over 15 innings while striking out 18 batters. The Mets have the following career stats against deGrom:

• Starling Marte 2-12, BB, 5 K
• Cedric Mullins 1-7, K
• Juan Soto 5-18, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 5 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Jacob deGrom. deGrom will make his first start against the Mets since leaving the Mets in 2022. The long time ace for the Mets ranks third in Mets career pitching bWAR (41.2, behind Gooden 41.6 and Seaver 76.1) and has the best career ERA (2.52, in front of Seaver 2.57). I personally thought I would have more feelings about his return, but I don’t. It’s a combination of how poorly the Mets have played recently and how long ago 2022 was. This is deGrom’s first really dominant year since signing that massive contract with the Rangers. If he returned one or two seasons after signing with the Rangers emotions would be stronger but the Mets have lived multiple different lives since he left.
2. Repeat last night’s start. The Mets had the perfect start to Thursday’s game. Lindor single. Soto single. Double steal. Multiple hits with runners in scoring position. Four runs scored. Shut down first inning on the field. But then the hitters were basically silent for the rest of the night. As the game got to the middle innings, where things fall apart for the Mets, they allowed six runs and just could not recover. The Mets need another fast start, but then need to sustain it throughout the game.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets are going to need some help tonight. The two most important games will start probably around when the Mets game ends. The Reds and Brady Singer will take on the struggling Athletics. Justin Verlander and the Giants will take on Yamamoto and the Dodgers. There’s a world where we wake up tomorrow and the Mets have a 2.5 game lead in the Wild Card race. There’s also a world where the Mets have a 0.5 game lead.

Let’s Go Mets!

There have been better weeks to be a Mets fan.

The Mets are on a five game losing streak right now and will try to avoid the four game sweep by the Phillies tonight. At this point the Mets are fighting to stay in the Wild Card race. The Mets hold on the second wild card spot has shrank to two games over the Reds and Giants. The Mets desperately need a win tonight.

David Peterson has made 27 starts this season totaling 157 1/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.316 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. He’s had a rough go of it over his last two starts allowing a total of 12 runs over 7 1/3 innings. In his two starts before that he allowed a total of three runs over over 13 2/3 innings. He had a solid start against Philly back in April holding them to only two runs over 5 1/3 innings. In June he faced them again and allowed five runs over four innings. The Phillies have the following career stats against him:

• Harrison Bader 0-2
• Nick Castellanos 7-17, 2 2B, 4 K
• Bryce Harper 9-24, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 6 K
• Otto Kemp 1-2, K
• Rafael Marchan 2-2
• Brandon Marsh 2-3, HR
• J.T. Realmuto 3-22, 2B, 4 BB, 4 K
• Kyle Schwarber 3-24, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 12 K
• Edmundo Sosa 5-7, HR
• Bryson Stott 0-3, BB, K
• Weston Wilson 3-8, 2 2B, 2 K

The Mets bats look to break out of their slump against Jesús Luzardo tonight. He has pitched 161 2/3 innings spread over 29 starts this season with a 4.01 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.293 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. He has allowed only two runs over 12 2/3 innings in his last two starts while striking out 15 batters. He faced the Mets in his start before that and the Mets were able to score four runs over four innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 0-2, K
• Pete Alonso 4-27, HR, 12 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-5
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 6-24, 2 BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 4-16, BB, 3 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-4, BB, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 5-14, 4 K
• Cedric Mullins 3-4, 2 BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 5-17, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Jose Siri 3-6, 2 2B, K
• Juan Soto 6-17, 2B, HR, 5 BB, 3 K
• Mark Vientos 1-12, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. A Positive Start. The Mets need a positive, fast start to the game to flip the script. Francisco Lindor has gone 0-for-15 in his last four games. Wednesday night, Soto tried to get something started in the first, getting on base and stealing a base, but the Mets couldn’t get him home. Then Clay Holmes pretty much immediately loaded the bases and allowed two runs to score. A Lindor hit, crooked number in the first inning, and a clean inning by David Peterson in the bottom of the frame tonight could go a long way to flipping the funk around the team.
2. 30-30? Nah. 40-40. Juan Soto, who currently leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.401) has become one of the more prolific base stealers over the last month or so. Wednesday night he went 3-for-4 at the plate with his 31st stolen base and his 39th home run of the season. He is on pace to have a career high in home runs. If he goes on a little run right now (pun a little intended), he has a chance to push 40 stolen bases on the season.
3. Scoreboard Watching. I’ve personally have had some anxiety opening up the MLB schedule recently thanks the Mets recent slide. The Giants and the Reds are both off today, so the Mets have a chance to gain a half game on two teams chasing them. The Padres, who have also struggled recently, play the Rockies in San Diego tonight. McCade Brown of the Rockies (12.54 ERA, 3 G) takes on Randy Vásquez (3.91 ERA).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to snap a four game losing streak tonight. It’s been a rough go of it recently for the Mets who have won just three games in their last ten played. On Monday night they lost 1-0, Tuesday night was more of a rout with the Phillies winning 9-3. The Mets bats have started to fall into a slumber and have a tough challenge tonight against Cristopher Sánchez.

Clay Holmes has pitched 147 innings over 28 starts this season with a 3.61 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.327 WHIP and a 112 ERA+. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in four consecutive starts, but has only pitched 9 2/3 innings in his last two starts. Walks held him back a bit in his last start with three free passes. The Phillies have the following career stats against him:

• Harrison Bader 1-2, 2B
• Nick Castellanos 0-3, K
• Bryce Harper 0-3
• Max Kepler 0-3, 2 K
• Brandon Marsh 0-1
• J.T. Realmuto 2-2
• Kyle Schwarber 2-7, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
• Edmundo Sosa 0-1, K
• Bryson Stott 2-3, K

Cristopher Sánchez has pitched 176 1/3 innings over 28 starts with a 2.60 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 1.117 WHIP and a 170 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed two runs over 14 innings, scattering 13 hits while striking out 13 batters. Before those two starts though, the Mets tagged him for six runs over 5 1/3 innings. Sánchez hasn’t allowed a home run in seven consecutive starts now and has a league best 0.5 HR/9. The Mets have the following stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 0-4, BB
• Pete Alonso 5-24, 2B, HR, 10 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-6, 3 K
• Brett Baty 0-4, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 6-17, 2 BB, K
• Starling Marte 4-15, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
• Ronny Mauricio 1-4, HR, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 2-12, 2B, 4 K
• Brandon Nimmo 6-19, BB, 3 K
• Jose Siri 3-11, BB, 4 K
• Juan Soto 3-11, BB, 4 K
• Mark Vientos 5-13, 4 2B, HR, 3 BB, 6 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor is having a streaky year. He was on fire not even a week ago. In the first two games against the Reds He went 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs scored and four walks. In his last three games he has gone 0-for-12 with a walk. The Mets need Lindor to start tonight’s game off with a bang tonight.
2. 40-30? Juan Soto stole his 30th base of the season last night and became the first player in the majors in 2025 to reach the 30-30 mark. Soto has never stolen more than 12 bases in a year before this year and over the last six weeks he’s become one of the more prolific base stealers in the league. Soto now needs two more home runs to reach the 40-30 mark. He’s never homered against Cristopher Sánchez and Sánchez is leading the league with a 0.5 HR/9.
3. Wild Card Sadness. The Wild Card race is becoming depressing for the Mets. Their lead is now down to two games over the Giants and three games over the Reds. Eduardo Rodriguez (5.22 ERA) of the Diamondbacks will take Carson Seymour (4.25 ERA) of the Giants tonight. The Diamondbacks are only 4.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot and need salvage something from their current series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:45 and the game should be over around first pitch in Philly. At 8:40 tonight Andrew Abbott (2.88 ERA) for the Reds will take on Nick Pivetta (2.85 ERA) of the Padres. The Mets are also chasing the Padres (3 game lead) for the second wild card spot, so as long as the Mets win, any result of the Reds/Padres game will be positive.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had a disappointing 1-0 loss to the Phillies Monday night. The game ended with runners on second and third for the Mets with only one out in the ninth inning. The loss makes it incredibly difficult for the Mets to catch up to the Phillies in the division, and now the Mets need to focus their attention on the wild card race.

While the Mets have gone on a three game losing streak, the Padres have gone on a three game winning streak, getting a three game lead for the second wild card spot. The Giants are now only three games behind the Mets for the last wild card spot. Winning fixes everything, the Mets just need to win a few games!

Sean Manaea has pitched 45 innings over 10 games with a 5.60 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.244 WHIP and a 73 ERA+. Manaea is coming off of a rough start against the Tigers where he allowed five runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. In the start before that he held the Phillies to only two runs over 4 2/3 innings, scattering six hits while striking out six. The Phillies have the following career numbers against him:

• Harrison Bader 1-2, K
• Nick Castellanos 6-21, 2B, 3 HR, 6 K
• Bryce Harper 6-16, 2 2B, HR, 3 K
• Max Kepler 1-7, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Marsh 0-3, BB, 2 K
• J.T. Realmuto 1-11, BB, 6 K
• Kyle Schwarber 2-10, HR, 3 BB, K
• Edmundo Sosa 6-12, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 K
• Bryson Stott 3-7, HR, 2 BB, K
• Garrett Stubbs 1-2
• Weston Wilson 0-4, K

The Mets bats will try to let the last two games wash off of them against Ranger Suárez tonight. Suárez has made 22 starts totaling 137 innings with a 2.89 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 1.175 WHIP and a 154 ERA+. Suárez has been tremendous of late, allowing only one run over his last 18 innings (three starts), scattering 10 hits while striking out 17 batters. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-2, HR
• Pete Alonso 3-18, 2 2B, 9 BB, 4 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-9, HR< 4 K
• Brett Baty 1-3, HR
• Francisco Lindor 6-19, 2 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 6-20, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-4, K
• Jeff McNeil 2-10, 2B, 3B, K
• Cedric Mullins 1-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 3-27, 4 BB, 5 K
• Juan Soto 0-12, BB, 4 K
• Mark Vientos 5-17, 2 2B, HR, BB, 7 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Impacts from injuries. The Phillies beat the Mets without making any changes to their batting lineup on Monday night. No pinch runners. No pinch hitters. They don’t really have a choice right now, before Monday’s game game Trea Turner and Alec Bohm both landed on the injured list. The Mets weren’t immune to the injury bug. Luis Torrens was moved to the injured list before Monday’s game as well. The Mets will now push an injured Francisco Alvarez even farther.
2. Bullpen. While the Mets bats were off on Monday night, the Mets bullpen turned in their third strong performance in the last four games. Helsley, who has struggled as a Met, pitched a clean 8th inning allowing no runs, no hits and struck out two batters. Hopefully this is a turning point. Díaz hasn’t pitched since throwing 30 pitches on Friday, so the Mets may need to get him into the game tonight regardless of game script.
3. Wild Card Picture. The two games to watch will start after 9:40 PM. The Reds will will send Littell (3.81 ERA) against the Padres’ King (2.81 ERA). The Diamondbacks have Zac Gallen (4.77 ERA) starting against against Robbie Ray (3.31) on the Giants. The Giants are the closest to the Mets at three games back heading into today’s slate of games.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets cannot take the division lead this week against the Phillies, but can effectively lose it. The Mets start a critical four game series in Philadelphia tonight. The Phillies have a seven game lead in the division and are on a three game winning streak. The Mets swept the Phillies the last time they met, making the division a bit of a race again. Since then the Phillies have been able to slowly build their lead back up. While winning the NL East feels like an extremely long shot, beating the Phillies in this four game set would not only give the Mets a moral boost, it would also mess with Phillies players, who had a team meeting after getting swept at Citi a couple of weeks ago.

Nolan McLean has been a revelation for the Mets so far. He’s 4-0 over his first four starts as a Met totaling 26 1/3 innings with a 1.37 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 0.759 WHIP and a 300 ERA+. This will be the first time in his career that he faces a lineup for a second time. Last time he played the Phillies he scattered four hits over eight shutout innings while striking out six batters. The Phillies have the following career numbers against him:

• Harrison Bader 0-3, K
• Alec Bohm 2-3
• Nick Castellanos 0-3, K
• Bryce Harper 1-3, K
• Max Kepler 1-3, K
• J.T. Realmuto 0-3
• Kyle Schwarber 0-3
• Bryson Stott 0-3, K
• Trea Turner 0-3, K

The Mets bats will go against an old foe in Aaron Nola tonight. Over 13 starts and 69 innings this season Nola has a 6.78 ERA, 5.05 FIP, 1.507 WHIP and a 66 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed 10 runs from 10 hits over 11 innings. Since he’s returned to the majors he has made four starts with a 8.38 ERA. Nola last faced the Mets back in April allowing four runs from seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-3, K
• Pete Alonso 18-55, 3 2B, 6 HR, 5 BB, 16 K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-4, HR, K
• Brett Baty 0-7, 2 BB, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 8-38, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 10 K
• Starling Marte 11-33, 2 2B, HR, 10 K
• Jeff McNeil 14-43, 2 2B, HR, 5 BB, 9 K
• Brandon Nimmo 14-57, 3B, 2 HR, 13 BB, 21 K
• Juan Soto 10-41, 3 2B, 3 HR, 15 BB, 10 K
• Luis Torrens 2-6
• Mark Vientos 2-6, 2 K
• Jared Young 1-2, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto watch continues. Juan Soto went 1-for-4 on Sunday with a solo home run. He now has 38 home runs and 29 stolen bases. He will have his first 30-30 season at his next stolen base and if he has mega night at CBP, he could unlock a 40-30 season. He’s now at 5.9 bWAR, getting closer to his third six+ WAR season. Soto is also sitting at 117 walks, only eight away from John Olerud’s Mets single season record.
2. Knock on wood, the bullpen has stabilized a bit. The Mets lost Sunday’s game but Garrett looked good in his first game back from the injured list. He and Tyler Rogers both pitched clean innings of relief and the bullpen held on to 5-4 lead on Friday night. Hopefully this is a sign that things are starting to return to normal for the Mets relief corps.
3. The rest of the playoff picture. On Sunday the Reds and Cardinals won, the Giants and Diamondbacks lost. All four teams now are right around .500 for the season and are between 4.0 and 4.5 games behind the Mets for the last wild card spot. The Padres won and moved two games ahead of the Mets. The Reds and Padres start a series tonight along with the Diamondbacks vs the Giants. This is going to be a fun week to follow the wild card race!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets outhit the Reds on Saturday 9 to 6 but couldn’t get it done yesterday as the Reds ultimately won 6-3. The Reds now have a chance to win the tiebreaker today if they beat the Mets. If the Mets win, they will not only make more difficult for the Reds to eventually catch up to them (currently five games back), but would open up the more complicated intra-division record as a tiebreaker.

But that’s not the main story today! Brandon Sproat, the final major Mets pitching prospect makes his major league debut! Who would have thought a month or so ago that Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean would all be pitching in the major league rotation on consecutive days!

Brandon Sproat has pitched 121 innings over 26 games this season for Syracuse with a 4.24 ERA, 1.240 WHIP. Sproat is coming off a very strong start where he held the Rail Riders scoreless over seven innings, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out nine. Sproat can dial up his fastball to triple-digits and sits int he upper 90’s. He mixes in a sinker, changeup, sweeper, slider and curveball. We’ll be watching today to see what his pitch mix looks like, and which pitches fool hitters.

Hunter Greene has pitched 83 1/3 innings this season over 15 games with a 2.70 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 0.972 WHIP and a 171 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start against Toronto where he allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings while striking out seven. In his two starts before that he allowed eight runs, six earned, over 11 1/3 innings while striking out 15 batters. The Mets have the following stats against Hunter Greene:

• Pete Alonso 2-9, 2 HR, 3 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Brett Baty 2-5
• Francisco Lindor 1-9, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 0-9, 2 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2
• Jeff McNeil 4-10, 2B, 2 K
• Cedric Mullins 1-6, HR, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 5-9, HR, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto 30-30? Juan Soto is on track to have his first ever 40-30 season. He has 37 home runs and on Saturday he stole his 29th stolen base of the season. While hitting three home runs is unlikely today (but not impossible! It is Juan Soto and it is Great American Ball Park), he is only one stolen base away from his first ever 30-30 season.
2. Keep the Reds in the Ball Park. Great American Ball Park is a home run hitting park. It is the third friendliest park for hitters with a 103 Park Factor according to StatCast over the last three years and it is almost entirely due to home runs having a 123 factor (singles, doubles and triples are all below 100, park factors are weighted averages). We saw this impact Tong directly Saturday allowing three home runs. Sproat is going to have to keep the Reds sluggers in the ballpark to have a successful afternoon.
3. Playoff Picture. The playoff picture got a little tougher for the Mets yesterday with the Padres and Phillies winning. The Mets now trail the Phillies by seven games in the division, and the Padres by one game for the final wild card spot. It’s all the other teams involved that made things interesting. There are now four teams trying to close a 5.5 game wild card gap in the final weeks of the season: Giants (4), Diamondbacks (4.5), Reds (5), Cardinals (5.5). Meanwhile the Orioles beat the Dodgers again, so the Dodgers have lost five straight collapsing their division lead to one game. The Mets can close the narrow window all of the wild card chasers have with each additional win.

Let’s Go Mets!