213 Miles From Shea

The Mets absolved their hitting woes last night and scored nine runs on 17 hits against the Cardinals. It was the second time in three games that the Mets left at least 10 runners on base, but that doesn’t matter when you score nine runs. Five hitters in the Mets lineup had multi-hit games including three-hit games from Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez. Hopefully the bats still have a few more hits left in them as they take on the Cardinals for game two of the series.

Tylor Megill has a 1.74 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 1.129 WHIP and a 223 ERA+ over six starts and 31 innings this season. The pitching line in his last start (three runs over 6 1/3 innings, nine strikeouts) doesn’t tell the whole story. Megill was cruising through the first six innings and the Mets pushing him into the seventh for the first time. It already was the first time this season that he completed six innings. Things fell apart and he allowed two runs. The bullpen then collapsed behind him and the Mets fumbled a 7-1 lead. That being said, Megill has struck out 19 batters over his last 11 2/3 innings. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Nolan Arenando 0-4, BB
• Willson Contreras 1-2, HR, K
• Brendan Donovan 1-3, K
• Nolan Gorman 0-3, 2 K
• Jordan Walker 1-2, 2B

The Mets bats will get a look at former National Erick Fedde. Fedde played with the Nationals from 2017 until 2022. After a couple of poor seasons with the Nationals, he went to the KBO, re-established himself and came back to the White Sox as a strong pitcher. The Cardinals traded for him before the deadline last season.

This season Fedde has pitched 32 2/3 innings over six starts with a 4.68 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 1.347 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. The big change for Fedde has been his walk rate. His last season before the KBO it jumped to 4.1 BB/9, coming back from the KBP it was a 2.6 BB/9. This season it has jumped again to 4.4. His earned run stats this season are being heavily influenced by his last start where he allowed seven runs from 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Fedde:

• Pete Alonso 6-16, 2 2B, 6 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-0, 2 BB
• Francisco Lindor 6-19, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Starling Marte 3-11, 2B, HR, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 7-16, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 6-25, 3 BB, 4 K
• Juan Soto 2-3, 2B
• Tyrone Taylor 0-4, K
• Luis Torrens 1-2
• Mark Vientos 1-2
• Jesse Winker 4-12, 2 HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mets are creeping back up the home run charts. The 2024 Mets were sixth in the majors with 207 home runs (Yankees, first 237). The 2025 Mets are starting to climb back up the leader boards, tied the Orioles right now for 10th in the league with 38, trailing the Red Sox who have 41. Over the last two games they have hit four home runs, all hit by players hitting in the 2-4 spots in the lineup (Soto, Alonso and Nimmo). Let’s see if they keep this up this afternoon.
2. Mets and triples. Did you know the Mets are second in the league in triples hit (8)? They trail the Cubs who have nine and are ahead of a slew of teams with six. Definitely a fun fact about the 2025 Mets.
3. The Bullpen is finally rested. Yesterday we talked about how Díaz essentially hasn’t pitched in a week. Thanks to Holmes, Buttó and Stanek, most of the bullpen got the night off on Friday. Kranick and Garrett each got a much needed ay of rest and Brazobán hasn’t pitched for a couple of days now. With Blade Tidwell pitching tomorrow, the Mets will be hoping for another day where they only need three innings from their pen this afternoon.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have lost the last two games by a combined three runs. Hitters are getting on base but the offense just hasn’t been able to push them across the plate. With the frequency the Mets are getting on base they eventually have to score more runs and hopefully that starts tonight as they start a series in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

The Mets turn to Clay Holmes to continue his strong 2025. Over six starts and 30 2/3 innings Holmes has a 2.64 ERA, 2.18 FIP, 1.272 WHIP and a 147 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a strong start where he held the Nationals scoreless over five innings. In his last three starts he has allowed only two runs over 16 innings from ten hits while striking out 16 batters. This includes a start against the Cardinals where he held them to one run over six innings. This will be the second time this season that Holmes will face a team for a second time. The second time he faced the Marlins he had a season high 10 strikeouts but also had a season high four runs scored. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Nolan Arenado 2-4, BB
• Alec Burleson 1-3, K
• Willson Contreras 3-8, 2 K
• Brendan Donovan 1-3, 2B, K
• Nolan Gorman 0-3, K
• Lars Nootbaar 0-4, BB
• Pedro Pages 0-2, BB
• Victor Scott II 0-2, K
• Jordan Walker 0-4, 2 K

Sonny Gray has made six starts totaling 35 innings this season with a 3.60 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.000 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. He’s been the definition of quality in his last two starts, allowing six total runs over 12 innings from 13 hits and four walks while striking out 10. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed three runs over six innings from six hits while striking out six batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against Gray:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-3
• Pete Alonso 2-8, HR, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 7-27, 3 HR, 4 BB, 9 K
• Starling Marte 3-12, HR, 2 BB
• Jeff McNeil 2-6, 2B, K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-11, 4 K
• Juan Soto 5-10, HR, 4 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 3-11, HR< K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Jesse Winker 3-10, 2B, 3 BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Was Thursday afternoon the Juan Soto breakout game? Juan Soto went 2-for-3 with two home runs and a walk, his first multi-home run game as a Met. His next home run will tie the total amount he had in the month of April. Soto has already getting on base at a healthy clip (.379) and now has a .822 OPS, 136 OPS+. Soto hitting bombs on top of that just opens things up for the Mets offense.
2. Edwin Díaz. It’s been a minute! Due to the nature of the Mets games over the last week, we haven’t seen Díaz since April 26th. At some point, even if game script doesn’t require it, we’ll see him. Between his two games on the 21st and 23rd he allowed two runs from two hits over 2 1/3 innings. In his last game he allowed no runs and no hits while walking one and striking out three.
3. Hitting with runners in scoring position. The Mets had an opportunity near the end of the game on Thursday to at least tie the game. Same thing happened on Wednesday night. Between the two games the Mets are 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving 20 batters on base. This just feels like a statistical aberration that has to return to the mean eventually.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to bounce back from a frustrating loss and take the series victory against the Diamondbacks this afternoon.

Last night’s game was always penciled in to be the tough game for the Mets game in the series, but it ended up being difficult for completely different reason. The Mets used Brandon Waddell as a bulk pitcher to give their starters an extra day of rest and he was tremendous – keeping the Diamondbacks scoreless over 4 1/3 innings. The Mets bats had to deal with Corbin Burnes and were able to make him work, but just couldn’t get runs. Last weekend we saw that every time the Mets fell, they picked themselves right back up, hopefully today is more of the same.

Kodai Senga looks to continue his tremendous season with his sixth start. Over five starts, 28 2/3 innings, Senga has a 1.26 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 1.047 WHIP and a 310 ERA+. He’s been so good that allowing two runs in his last start raised his seasonal ERA by almost half a run. Senga faced the Diamondbacks twice in 2023 and held them to only one run over 14 innings while striking out 22 batters. The Diamondbacks have the following career numbers against him:

• Corbin Carroll 1-6, 3 K
• Randal Grichuk 1-5, 2 K
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 0-5, 3 K
• Garrett Hampson 0-3, BB, 3 K
• Gabriel Moreno 0-2, K
• Geraldo Perdomo 1-6, K
• Eugenio Suárez 0-3, 3 K
• Alek Thomas 0-5, 2 K

Which Zac Gallen will the Mets see today? The long time ace of the Diamondbacks has made six starts totaling 32 1/3 innings with a 5.57 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.392 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. He has made one tremendous start this season, his second start of the season in the Bronx, keeping the Yankees scoreless over 6 2/3 innings while striking out 13 batters. Since then he has allowed 16 runs over 21 2/3 innings from 23 hits and 11 walks (6.65 ERA, 5.48 FIP). Last season Gallen only tossed six pitches against the Mets before leaving the game with hamstring strain. The Mets have the following career stats against Gallen:

• Pete Alonso 4-14, 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
• José Azócar 1-4, 2B, K
• Francisco Lindor 3-10, 2B, BB, K
• Starling Marte 0-2, 2 BB, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-16, 2B, 4 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-7, 2B, BB, K
• Juan Soto 4-22, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 5 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-5, 2B, BB, K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, 2B
• Mark Vientos 1-3, HR, K
• Jesse Winker 1-2, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. An old foe returns. The Mets struggled with runners in scoring position earlier in the season. That returned in a frustrating way last night with the Mets going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position leaving 13 batters on base. There was a bit of bad luck (hard hit outs, an unreviewable play). The Mets have shown before that if they collect the hits and the walks, eventually they’ll score.
2. Tyrone Taylor. How important has Taylor been over the last couple of days for the Mets? On Monday he made the catch of the year and last night he opened the game with a tremendous catch. He went 3-for-4 at the plate last night including a stolen base and a solo homerun that started the rally in the 9th inning. In this series he has gone 5-for-8!
3. Juan Soto. There is one glaring difference on Juan Soto’s Baseball Savant page from last year to this year – Barrel%. Juan Soto is still in the top of the league in squaring up the ball, chasing, striking out, walking and average exit velocity. Last season he was in the 99th percentile for for Barrel% and in the middle of the league for launch angle sweet-spot (which was new for him, he’s usually in the bottom third there). This season he is in the 30th percentile for Barrel%. This will change at some point.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to win the series against the Diamondbacks tonight in Queens!

The series opener was a firework filled affair with the Mets launching three home runs (Lindor, Alonso and Marte) and the team making defensive play after defensive play in the field. They cruised to an 8-3 lead and were able to save the bullpen thanks to Kevin Herget working multiple innings to close the game.

Starting next week the Mets will have several weeks in a row with Thursday off, creating a nice rhythm for starters. Today they are inserting a “sixth starter” to create some rest for the team. Brandon Waddell will get the bulk of the work with the bullpen filling in the rest.

Brandon Waddell is the bulk guy this evening for the Mets. The last time Waddell pitched in the majors was 2021 where he pitched 9 1/3 innings over nine games for three different organizations, allowing eight runs, seven earned, from 14 hits. He spent the last two seasons in the KBO and the CPBL putting up some respectable numbers, including a 2.82 ERA over 175 2/3 innings across both leagues in 2023. He has a 1.54 ERA over 23 1/3 innings (five starts) in Syracuse this season. Waddell has thrown over 80 pitches twice this season so if he gets into a groove he can give the Mets a solid start this evening.

The Mets face off against the big off season signing for the Diamondbacks – Corbin Burnes! Burnes has made five starts pitching 26 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 4.73 FIP, 1.350 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. He has been considerably better in his last two starts, allowing three runs, five earned, over 11 1/3 innings from nine hits, three walks while striking out eight. The Mets have the following career stats against Burnes:

• Pete Alonso 6-15, 2B, 3 HR, BB, 3 K
• Francisco LIndor 6-16, 2 2B, 3B, 8 K
• Starling Marte 3-7, 2B, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 4-15, HR, K
• Brandon Nimmo 6-15, 2B, 2 3B, 3 K
• Juan Soto 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Jesse Winker 2-8, BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Great Hitting vs Great Glove Work. Going into the play today the Diamondbacks are 4th in the majors in OPS (.772). The Diamondbacks got eight hits on Tuesday night, and ripped the ball all over the place. The Mets gloves though had a phenomenal game. From Lindor being Lindor, to Pete Alonso turning guaranteed hits into outs to Tyrone Taylor possibly making the catch of the year, the Mets put on a show. With a bulk pitcher tonight, the Mets are really going to need to keep that same energy.
2. Pete’s Back! Pete Alonso didn’t really go anywhere, but he had three games in a row where his hitting came back down to Earth, going 3-for-13 with a double and four walks (.444 OBP). Over the last two games Pete has gone 4-for-8 with a home run, two walks and five runs scored. His home run puts him at 233 for his career, 20 left to set a new franchise record. Alonso currently leads the league in doubles (11), SLG (.664), OPS (1.126) and OPS+ (219).
3. The Other Corbin. The Mets bats are dealing with Corbin Burnes tonight, but the pitchers are handling Corbin Carroll. Carroll is having a much more typical season, hitting .298/.365/.645 (174 OPS+) after hitting .231/.322/.428 (107 OPS+) last season. He currently leads the league with four triples and total bases (80). The Mets pitchers were able to contain him last night, keeping him hitless in four at bats.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had a message for all of us on Monday. The Mets were coming off of a brutal loss on Sunday where they let a 7-1 lead slip away. Trying to force a series split, the Mets bats exploded for 19 runs on 21 hits. Monday’s game had one of craziest box scores in Mets history. The Mets are the only team in the league with 20 wins and they look to improve their record taking on the Diamondbacks tonight.

David Peterson has a 3.29 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 1.427 WHIP and a 117 ERA+ over five starts and 27 1/3 innings. Peterson is coming off of a solid start against the Phillies where he allowed two runs from eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. The base paths have been busy for Peterson all season. In his first two starts he allowed only eight hits, but allowed eight walks. In his last three starts he has allowed only one walk (which is fantastic) but has allowed at least seven hits in each start. Peterson had a solid start against the Diamondbacks last August holding them to two runs from seven hits over seven innings. The Diamondbacks have the following career numbers against him:

• Corbin Carroll 1-3, 2 K
• Randal Grichuk 5-10, HR, BB
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 2-5, HR
• Garrett Hampson 1-8, 3B
• José Herrera 1-4
• Geraldo Perdomo 0-3, 2 BB, K
• Pavin Smith 3-4, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Eugenio Suárez 1-4, BB, K

If you strolled through Central Park on Monday, you already know who is starting today for the Diamondbacks! Eduardo Rodríguez had a catch with a person just passing by in the park. No word on if that person then sent his scouting report on Rodríguez to the Mets.

Rodríguez has a 4.40 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 1.291 WHIP and a 94 ERA+ over five starts and 28 2/3 innings this season. He’s coming off of a rough start against Rays where he allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings from six hits and a walk. In one start against the Mets last year he allowed five runs 5 1/3 innings from five hits and a walk while striking out five. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-6, BB, 3 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-4, K
• Francisco Lindor 4-19, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Starling Marte 2-8, BB, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-3, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-8, BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 0-1, 2 BB, K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, K
• Mark Vientos 0-3, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brandon Nimmo. Brandon Nimmo just changed his season stats in one game. Monday afternoon Nimmo went 4-for-6 at the plate with a double, two home runs and a franchise tying 9-RBI’s. Nine of his 19 RBI’s happened in one game! Hopefully this is the game Nimmo needed to breakout of the funk that he has been recently (0-for-4 in three of his last four games games before Monday).
2. Mark Vientos Season. Yes, Vientos had a three-run home run against Amed Rosario, which slightly skews things. That out of the way, Vientos is fully heating up. Since April 13th Vientos is hitting .326/.373/.630 (1.003 OPS) with three doubles, a triple and three home runs over 15 hits. He has 13 RBI’s and has scored 11 runs over those 12 games.
3. Eugenio Suárez. Suárez made waves through the baseball world over the weekend going 4-for-4 with four home runs in a game the Diamondbacks loss. This just feels like a Shohei Ohtani / Mike Trout on the Angels stat. He now leads the league with 10 home runs. Hopefully the Mets can keep him contained this week.

Let’s Go Mets!

Get the Mets out of DC!

The Mets have had two, tough losses so far this series. On Friday night, Jeff McNeil didn’t make a play on tough, low to the grounder that capped off a comeback for the Nationals. Earlier in the game, a Mets rallied was ended by a botch call on a lineup leading to a triple play. The Mets were cruising on Sunday afternoon with a 7-1 lead and then imploded, allowing the Nationals to score seven unanswered runs.

The best way to get over an ugly loss is to win the next game. The Mets did it on Saturday with a masterful pitching performance and key hitting by Francisco Alvarez. Let’s do that again today!

Griffin Canning has a 3.12 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.385 WHIP and a 124 ERA+ over 26 innings over five starts. In his last two starts he has allowed only two runs from 10 hits and three walks over 11 innings while striking out 13 batters. Canning has been a surprise in the Mets rotation this year. The Mets pushed Canning to rely more on his slider than his other pitches. In 2024 he used his four seamer 37.3% of the time and it had a 14.8 Whiff%, while his slider was used 24.1% of the time with a 33.1 Whiff%. This season he is using his slider 35.7% of the time and the Whiff% has gotten even better at 36.0%! The Nationals have the following career numbers against Canning:

• CJ Abrams 0-2, K
• Josh Bell 1-1, BB
• Alex Call 2-6
• Luis García Jr. 0-5
• Nathanial Lowe 3-13, 2 HR, 4 K
• Nasim Nunez 1-1
• Amed Rosario 2-3, 3B
• Keibert Ruiz 2-5
• José Tena 1-3
• James Wood 2-3, 2B, HR
• Jacob Young 1-2, 2B

The Mets bats will face off against a familiar face in Trevor Williams this afternoon. Williams has a 5.11 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.581 WHIP and a 78 ERA+ over five starts and 24 2/3 innings. Similar to Canning, he is also coming off of two strong starts where he allowed only two runs over 10 innings from nine hits and four walks while striking out 10. He’s looked more like his 2024 self (2.03 ERA) in those starts than his previous three starts where he allowed 12 runs over 14 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 3-13, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 4-14, 2 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Starling Marte 0-3, BB
• Jeff McNeil 4-13, 2B, 3B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-10, BB, 4 K
• Juan Soto 2-15, HR, 7 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Jesse Winker 7-11, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. José Ureña. The Mets called up Ureña before Sunday’s game to fill the roster spot for AJ Minter who landed on the injured list after Saturday’s game. The Mets bullpen needs a fresh arm after being overworked the last couple of days. It also feels like this roster spot will be a bit of a revolving door as the Mets need a sixth starter later in the week. Ureña pitched 109 innings last season over 33 games (nine starts) with the Rangers, posting a 3.80 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. He had a 2.89 ERA in Syracuse over 9 1/3 innings (three starts) this season.
2. How many times does Juan Soto walk today? Juan Soto was on base four times Sunday afternoon going 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. His batting stats against Williams are, for a lack of a better word, funny? He only has two hits out of 15 at bats but has worked seven walks.
3. Survive the transition to the bullpen. The Mets pitching this season has carried this team. The pitching as a whole ranks towards the top of the league while the hitting is in the middle. When you look at the box scores for pitchers though, it’s that last time through the lineup, that is causing them trouble, which can then spell trouble for the team. It’s happened most frequently, like Sunday, with pitchers just trying to go one more inning. This is the next big area the Mets need to figure out in 2025.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets bounced back from Friday’s loss with a 2-0 win Saturday afternoon. The Mets relied on their pitching, like they have most of this season, to win an MLB leading 19th game this season.

Tylor Megill and Mitchell Parker face off in a matchup of breakout starting pitchers. Both starters have ERA’s below 1.50 for the season, leaving fans hoping that this is more than just a hot streak. Can Megill lead the Mets just like Clay Holmes yesterday? Can Parker shut down the Mets lineup?

Tylor Megill has a 1.09 ERA, 2.18 FIP, 1.257 WHIP and a 357 ERA+ over five starts and 24 2/3 innings this season. The next big step for Megill is to finish the sixth inning – he has pitched into the sixth inning three times so far this season but has only recorded two outs. He’s coming off of his best start this season where he held the Phillies to one hit over 5 1/3 innings while striking out 10 batters (however four walks worked up his pitch count). In two starts against the Nationals last season, Tylor allowed six runs, four earned over 11 innings from nine hits and five walks while striking out eight. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 1-5
• Riley Adams 0-2
• Josh Bell 3-10, HR, BB, 3 K
• Alex Call 2-3, 2B
• Dylan Crews 1-2, 2B
• Luis García Jr. 1-12, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Nathaniel Lowe 1-3, K
• Keibert Ruiz 3-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• José Tena 0-3
• James Wood 0-3, K
• Jacob Young 0-1, BB

In 2024 Mitchell Parker had a 4.29 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.305 WHIP and a 94 ERA+ over 151 innings. This season he has a 1.39 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 0.928 WHIP and a 286 ERA+ over 32 1/3 innings. Parker is coming off of his best start of the season where he held the Orioles to only one hit and no runs over eight innings and 99 pitches. He has gone at least six innings in each start this season. Today is a test for Parker though as the Mets put up numbers against him in his rookie season. In 2024 the Mets scored 10 earned runs off of 12 hits and two walks over 9 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Parker:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-2, 2B
• Pete Alonso 1-5, K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, HR
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, HR, K
• Starling Marte 1-1, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
• Juan Soto 0-1, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 2-4, HR
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Mark Vientos 1-4, HR, K

Three Things To Watch Out For:

1. Homeruns. Mitchell Parker allowed 18 home runs in 2024, four of them in two starts against the Mets. He has allowed only one home run so far in 2025. His HR/9 rate has dropped from 1.1 down to a paltry 0.3. The Mets lineup has hitters who had success against him last year. Does 2024 repeat itself or has Parker broken through?
2. Francisco Lindor. Do you know who is good at baseball? Francisco Lindor. Friday night he went 0-for-4 at the plate, snapping his streak of four games in a row reaching base at least three times. Yesterday he reached base three times. So in his last six games, he has five games getting on base three times. In the three most recent ones, he has only scored two runs, which is a good indication on how things around him are going.
3. Containing Dylan Crews. Crews has evaded Mets pitchers so far this series going 5-for-8 at the plate with a triple and three runs scored. Since April 16th Crews has slashed .368/.368/.684 with a double, triple and three home runs from 14 hits. He has raised his season slash line over this time from .120/.170/.120 to .227/.253/.364. His season OPS+ is still a 75, but won’t be for long if he keeps hitting like he has for the last two weeks.

Let’s Go Mets!

For the first time in 2025, we’ll see how the Mets respond to an ugly loss.

According to the umpires, Jesse Winker lined into a triple play (the ball hit the ground before being caught) which upset the momentum in the game – two on and no out instantly became three outs. The Mets would later overcome this thanks to a bases clearing triple by Mark Vientos, giving the Mets the lead. Jeff McNeil couldn’t make a play in the bottom of the ninth and the Mets went on to lose. A rough game of emotions. A hallmark of a strong club is how loose they come back after an April loss like this – hopefully we see that today!

Clay Holmes has a 3.16 ERA, 2.13 FIP, 1.364 WHIP and a 121 ERA+ over 25 2/3 innings spread across five starts this season. He’s allowed only two runs from six hits and four walks over his last two starts striking out 14 batters while pitching 11 innings. He completed the sixth inning in his last outing against the Cardinals, the deepest he has gone this year and the next critical step in his development as a major league starter. He also pitched six complete innings only needing 91 pitches. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 1-1
• Riley Adams 0-1
• Josh Bell 0-2
• ALex Call 1-1
• Luis García Jr. 0-1
• Nathaniel Lowe 0-1, BB, K
• Amed Rosario 2-8, 3 K
• Keibert Ruiz 0-1
• José Tena 0-1

The Mets bats will get a look at Brad Lord this afternoon. Over 13 1/3 innings in his first major league season, Lord has a 4.73 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.875 WHIP and an 85 ERA+ over six games including three starts. He’s been pitching in the rotation since April 8th allowing six runs over 11 1/3 innings from 13 hits and seven walks while striking out ten. This will be the first time anyone on the Mets has seen Lord in a major league game.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos. After the game on April 11th, Mark Vientos was slashing .109/.241/.152 on the season. Since then he has gone 11-for-38 at the plate with three doubles, a triple and two home runs slashing .289/.325/.579. Vientos is the X-factor for the Mets when he provides the pop. Last weekend he homered in back-to-back days against the Cardinals. Friday night he came up clutch with a bases clearing triple. All of this has raised his season slugging from .152 to .345 over the last 10 games.
2. What do the Mets do with Jeff, Tyrone and Luisangel? We are obviously not talking about anything drastic – Jeff McNeil has only been back for one game. Essentially the Mets have navigate a few things. They need more offensive production from center field. Tyrone Taylor, defensively, has been playing a strong center field since Siri went down. Luisangel Acuña has a better glove and has started to come around with the bat at second. McNeil is a veteran and when he’s locked in at the plate he can consistently get on base.
3. Brandon Nimmo. Is Brandon Nimmo finally starting to breakout of the funk that he’s in? He has a 78 OPS+ on the season, he hasn’t been below 100 since his rookie season. He’s now gotten on base in six consecutive games, going 6-for-24 at the plate with a walk. He’s not walking as much this season, concentrating on power, but hasn’t had an extra base hit since April 13th. Going 2-for-4 at the plate last night, and setting up the Mark Vientos triple is a positive sign!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets hit the road tonight looking to extend their winning streak to eight games in the Nation’s capital tonight!

What a week for the Mets! The Mets completed a four game sweep of the Cardinals and a three game sweep of the Phillies go a perfect 7-0 at home and improve their home record to 12-1. Heading into the last week of April the Mets have the best record in baseball (18-7) and a five game lead in the competitive NL East.

The Nationals are starting to hit a stride, winning four of their last six games. They are led by a stronger than expected starting rotation and are held back by one of the worst bullpens in baseball. Similar to Phillies, the Mets batters will need to push starters out quickly and get to the bullpen.

What a start for Kodai Senga this season! Senga has a 0.79 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 0.971 WHIP and a 486 ERA+ over four starts and 22 2/3 innings this season. He hasn’t allowed any runs (earned or unearned) in his last three starts (17 2/3 innings), working around 12 hits and six walks while striking out eight. Players are struggling to barrel up his pitches (86th percentile), leading to Senga’s success this so far this season. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Senga:

• CJ Abrams 2-3, 2 BB
• Josh Bells 2-5, HR, BB
• Alex Call 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K
• Luis García Jr. 0-4, BB, K
• Keibert Ruiz 0-4, BB

Jake Irvin has a 3.68 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 1.057 WHIP and a 108 ERA+ over 29 1/3 innings and five starts this season. Irvin started the season allowing 10 runs over 16 innings (three starts) and has since allowed only two runs over 13 1/3 innings. He’s coming off of a season high nine strikeouts against the Rockies last weekend. He was pretty effective against the Mets last season, holding them to only seven runs from 14 hits over 21 1/3 innings while striking out 15 batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against Irvin:

• Pete Alonso 1-11, 4 K
• Francisco Lindor 5-10, 2B, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-7, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-12, HR, BB, K
• Juan Soto 0-0, 2 BB
• Tyrone Taylor 1-6, 2B, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-9, K
• Jesse Winker 0-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Changes to the roster. Brett Baty and Hayden Senger were optioned to Syracuse after Wednesday’s game to clear up roster space for Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez. Baty was just starting to heat up and hit a massive homerun in Wednesday’s game. Senger made a critical play at the plate and did more than enough to keep the Mets afloat with Alvarez down. Neither of them deserved a demotion, but the Mets don’t have enough roster spots go around. Jeff McNeil looks to solidify the Mets as a super utility player, and it will be interesting to see how much time he and Nimmo get in centerfield in the coming weeks. Alvarez and Torrens are a powerful catching combination on the Mets roster. While rehabbing Alvarez hit only .180/.273/.256 going 7-for-39 at the plate with one homerun. We are anxiously awaiting to see if his power comes back.
2. Soto returns to DC. Soto has already returned to DC with the Padres in 2022 (less than two weeks after being traded), and in 2023. Last season he played a series as a member of the Yankees. The Padres though only played one series a year in DC. The Yankees played one series every other year in DC. As a member of the Mets Soto will now be playing at least two series a season in DC.
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk on Wednesday. It was his fourth consecutive game getting on base three times. Over his last four games he has gone 10-for-17 with three home runs hitting .588/.632/1.118 (1.749 OPS). He now has a 147 OPS+. Video game numbers!

Let’s Go Mets!

What a week for the New York Mets! The Mets secured a series win against the Phillies last night in Queens. The win extended the Mets winning streak to six games, their division lead to four games and now the Mets are 10 games above .500!

The Mets can make a massive statement today with a series sweep. The Mets would take a five game lead against their divisional rival and have a seven game winning streak for the first time this season. It’s a beautiful day in Queens to beat the Phillies one more time!

David Peterson has a 3.27 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 1.364 WHIP and a 118 ERA+ over 22 innings over four starts this season. The Cards were able to get three runs off of Peterson in his last start (5 1/3 innings) and for the second time this season Peterson recorded nine strikeouts in a start (26 on the season). In the regular season last year Peterson held the Phillies to six runs, five earned over 11 1/3 innings (3.97 ERA) while striking out ten. He faced the Phillies twice in relief in the postseason holding them scoreless over 5 1/3 innings. The Phillies have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Alec Bohm 7-23, 2 2B, 2 HR, BB, 6 K
• Nick Castellanos 6-12, 2B, 3 K
• Bryce Harper 8-21, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 6 K
• Rafael Marchan 2-2
• J.T. Realmuto 3-18, 2B, 3 BB, 4 K
• Johan Rojas 1-7, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Kyle Schwarber 2-19, 2B, 2 BB, 10 K
• Edmundo Sosa 1-2
• Bryson Stott 0-3, BB, K
• Trea Turner 3-19, 2 2B, 2 BB, 6 K

The Mets face the former Met, Zack Wheeler. Wheeler has become one of the most consistent and effective pitchers in baseball since joining the Phillies in 2020. He’s made 138 starts, totaling 860 2/3 innings with a 2.97 ERA. This season he has pitched 31 1/3 innings over five games with a 3.73 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 0.989 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. Wheeler had two rough starts in mid-April where he allowed nine runs from 15 hits over 11 1/3 innings. In his three other starts he has allowed only four runs over 20 innings, including his last start where he had a season high 13 strikeouts over seven innings against the Marlins.

Wheeler held the Mets to two runs, scattering seven hits over seven innings in one regular season start last season. He also had a phenomenal start against the Mets in the playoffs where held the Mets to one hit and no runs over seven innings (a game the Mets eventually won 6-2). The Mets have the following career numbers against Wheeler:

• Luisangel Acuña 1-3
• Pete Alonso 10-37, 2 2B, 2 BB, 12 K
• Brett Baty 3-8, K
• Francisco Lindor 8-31, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, 6 K
• Starling Marte 7-25, 2B, 3B, BB, 4 K
• Brandon Nimmo 13-46, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 8 K
• Juan Soto 13-51, 2 2B, 3 HR, 13 BB, 15 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-9, 3 K
• Mark Vientos 3-9, 2B, 3 K
• Jesse Winker 0-11, 4 BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Bullpens. The bullpens have been the story the whole week in this series. Both the Mets and the Phillies entered this series tired. The Mets have had starters go 5 1/3 and 5 innings over the last two games respectively. Sánchez left yesterday’s game after two innings for the Phillies. Both teams should have a similar game plan today – get the starter out earlier and hope they can catch the opponents bullpen running out of gas.
2. We cannot stop talking about Francisco. Lindor has been on another planet over the last three games going 8-for-13 with three home runs, six runs scored and six RBI’s. Since April 7th, his first three hit game of the season, Lindor is slashing .359/.400/.625. He now has a 0.8 bWAR on the season and has a 142 OPS+. Just phenomenal stuff from Lindor.
3. The Mets got hits with runners in scoring position. We have been complaining about the Mets hitting with runners in scoring position, even during the Mets’ winning streaks this season. Last night the Mets only had nine hits as a team (three of them by Lindor) but four of their hits were with RISP. They went 4-for-9 with RISP and even though they still left 10 runners on base, timely hitting by the Mets gave them some crucial insurance runs and saved Mendoza from needing to use Díaz.

Let’s Go Mets!