213 Miles From Shea

The Mets look to avoid being swept to day in Seattle. The Mariners have shutout the Mets in back-to-back games this weekend. The Braves finally won broke their losing streak, meaning the Mets lost control of the third wild card spot. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks and the Padres won yesterday as they move farther and farther ahead.

Winning fixes everything. The Mets will try to do just that today.

Luis Severino has a 4.06 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.251 WHIP and a 97 ERA+ over 128 2/3 innings. He’s in the midst of bad two game stretch, allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, over eight innings. The Mets really need Severino to bounce back and get the Mets back on track this evening in Seattle. The Mariners have the following career numbers against him:

• Randy Arozarena 0-3, 2 K
• Mitch Garver 0-3, BB, K
• Mitch Haniger 1-6, K
• Jorge Polanco 2-7, BB, K
• Justin Turner 1-4, 3 K

The Mets bats will look to break out of their funk against another good Seattle Mariners starting pitcher, this time it’s Luis Castillo. Over 142 1/3 innings, Castillo has a 3.48 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.166 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. He’s been the definition of average his last time two starts, allowing exactly three runs (all earned) over six innings in both games. Castillo started against the Mets in Citi Field last September and allowed five runs from eight hits and two walks over five innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Castillo:

• Pete Alonso 1-9, 2 K
• Harrison Bader 6-20, 2 2B, 4 BB, 9 K
• Ben Gamel 2-15, 2 2B, 4 BB, 9 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-9, 2 2B, K
• J.D. Martinez 0-2, BB, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 4-9, 2B, HR
• Brandon Nimmo 1-6, 2B, 3 BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, K
• Luis Torrens 1-3
• Mark Vientos 2-3, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. In search of hits. The Mets had only four hits on Saturday night, all singles. The Mets didn’t have an at bat with runners in scoring position. Just overall not a good feeling for the Mets and a low point of the road trip. The Mets have just tonight to left on this grueling road trip. Can the Mets muster up the energy tonight?
2. Don’t blame Lindor though. Lindor had two of the Mets four hits last night. On this road trip Lindor has gone 12-for-40 with a double and two walks hitting .300/.333/.325. He’s only scored five times though which speaks to everyone hitting behind him.
3. Jose Buttó. We’ll probably see Buttó tonight with the Mets bullpen needing to put in extra work on Saturday after Manaea pitched only three innings. On this road trip Buttó has pitched four innings over two games striking out six batters, allowing one hit and no runs. Since joining the bullpen at the start of July, Buttó has pitched in ten games, 20 2/3 innings, with a 0.87 ERA (2.98 FIP) while striking out 24 batters.

Let’s Go Mets!

The strength of the Seattle Mariners is their starting pitching and the Mets will go from one good starter in Bryce Miller to Logan Gilbert tonight in Seattle. The Mets couldn’t get anything going against Miller and the Mariners bullpen Friday night and lost the game 6-0. The Braves lost their sixth game in a row, so the Mets still have a half game lead for the last wild card spot, but both of the teams they are chasing for higher seeds won. Both the Mariners and the Mets need this series – can the Mets force the rubber game tomorrow?

Sean Manaea has made 22 starts tossing 120 innings for the Mets this season with a 3.30 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 1.183 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. He’s coming off of a tremendous start against the Cardinals where he held the Cardinals scoreless over seven innings while striking out 10 batters. In his last two starts he hasn’t allowed a run over 14 innings scattering eight hits while striking out 21. The Mariners have the following career numbers against Manaea:

• Randy Arozarena 2-6, BB, K
• Mitch Garver 1-5, 2B, 2 K
• Mitch Haniger 10-28, 3 2B, BB, 3 K
• Dylan Moore 3-10, 2B, 4 K
• Jorge Polanco 0-6, BB
• Cal Raleigh 0-2, K
• Luke Raley 1-1
• Victor Robles 0-3
• Josh Rojas 1-9, 2B, 3 K
• Justin Turner 5-13, 2B, HR, 3 K

Logan Gilbert has tossed 147 2/3 innings over 23 games this season with a 3.05 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 0.887 WHIP and a 124 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start his last time out against the Phillies where he held them to one run over six innings. In his two starts before that though he allowed 12 runs, eight earned, over 9 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Logan:

• Pete Alonso 1-3, 2B, K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-3, K
• José Iglesias 3-6, HR
• Francisco Lindor 0-3
• J.D. Martinez 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-3
• Brandon Nimmo 1-3, HR, K
• Jesse Winker 1-5, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Runners in scoring position, again. The Mets lack of offense Friday night was due to runners in scoring position, again. The Mets went 0-8 with RISP and wasted doubles from Vientos, Nimmo, and J.D. Martinez. The Mets need to take advantage of situations where they get runners on.
2. Holding runners on base. Earlier this season it felt like teams were running wild on the Mets. Friday night that feeling came back with the Mariners stealing four bases off the Mets.
3. Can the Mets win in Seattle? Jerry Blevins was the winning pitcher for the Mets the last time they won a game in Seattle on 7/28/17. Mike Mayer shared the Mets lineup for that game Friday.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head to Seattle fresh off of a series win in Colorado. Winning three of their last four games, the Mets pushed their way back into a wild card spot Thursday, knocking out the Braves who got routed by the Brewers. Overall, there are seven teams separated by seven games in the wild card race. Every game is critical.

Things are a bit different on the American League wild card race where the teams that hold the spots are at least 12 games above .500. The Mariners are four games above .500 and four games out of the last wild card spot. If the Mariners are going to break into the race they need to beat the Mets. So we have a series where both teams need to win!

Jose Quintana has pitched 118 1/3 innings with a 3.95 ERA, 4.91 FIP, 1.268 WHIP and a 100 ERA+. Quintana didn’t look as sharp in his last start, allowing three runs from three hits and four walks over five innings, in a game the Mets eventually lost 3-2 because the offense couldn’t get anything going. Before this start, Quintana allowed two runs over 11 innings while striking out 11 batters. The Mariners have the following numbers against Quintana:

• Randy Arozarena 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Luis Castillo 4-11, 2 K
• Mitch Garver 0-1, BB, K
• Mitch Haniger 1-3, HR
• Dylan Moore 0-2, K
• Jorge Polanco 5-12, HR, BB, K
• Cal Raleigh 0-1
• Victor Robles 1-6, 2 K
• Josh Rojas 0-1, BB
• Justin Turner 6-20, 2B, 5 BB, 3 K

Bryce Miller has tossed 126 2/3 innings over 22 starts with a 3.62 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.050 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. Miller oscillates between being dominant and human on the mound. In his two starts around the All-Star break he allowed no runs over 13 innings, scattering eight hits and no walks. In his two starts since then he’s allowed seven runs from 13 hits and a walk over 10 2/3 innings. This is a microcosm of his whole season. The only hitters in the Mets lineup that seen Miller before are Harrison Bader (2-for-4) and J.D. Martinez (0-for-2, K).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Jesse Winker. The Mets got Jesse Winker to help the team against right-handed pitching. Before Wednesday’s game he had gone 3-for-15 over his first six Mets games hitting .200/.250/.200, which is not great. On Wednesday though Winker went 3-for-5 recording his first RBI as a Met. He’s still looking for his first extra-base hit as a Met. Was Wednesday the start of something for Winker?
2. Francisco Alvarez. From July 2nd to August 2nd Alvarez recorded only 13 hits, slashing .186/.250/.257. In his last four games Alvarez has gone 6-for-13 slashing .462/.462/.615. He has two multi-hit games in his last three games. The strikeouts are still high over this stretch (five over his last four games), but it looks like things are starting to click again for Alvarez.
3. Victor Robles. When the Nationals released Robles earlier this season, he was hitting .120/.281/.120 (22 OPS+) over 14 games. He then signed with the Mariners and has become a completely different hitter, going .320/.383/.474 (151 OPS+) over 39 games. The closest OPS+ he’s ever had in his career was in 2018 when he was only 21-years old (127 OPS+). This tear has pushed his season OPS+ to 123, and marks only the third time in his career where his OPS+ is above 100. This is all to say, he’s not the Victor Robles we remember.

Let’s Go Mets!

Francisco Lindor broke through for the Mets in the top of the ninth Wednesday night, and the Mets took the second game of the series. The Padres and Diamondbacks continued their hot streaks, both winning their fourth game in a row, holding onto to the top two wild card spots. The Braves fall continued though last night, and now the Mets are only a half game out of the playoffs. Every game is critical right now!

David Peterson has pitched 59 2/3 innings over 11 starts with a 3.47 ERA, 4.56 FIP, 1.425 WHIP and a 113 ERA+. Peterson is coming off of a good start against the Angels where he held them to only two runs over six innings. He walked only one batter, which is the big story. In his previous three starts he walked 10 batters, minimum three per game. The Rockies have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Charlie Blackmon 1-3
• Kris Bryant 1-4, K
• Elias Díaz 1-3 HR, BB
• Ryan McMahon 2-4, HR, BB
• Brendan Rodgers 0-3, 2 K
• Jacob Stallings 1-2, BB, K

Austin Gomber is looking to give the Rockies a long outing after their bullpen had to go eight innings Wednesday night. Over 116 innings (21 starts), Gomber has a 4.66 ERA, 4.91 FIP, 1.293 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. Gomber is coming off of a long start against the Padres where he allowed only two runs over seven innings. Before that start Gomber had a 7.15 ERA (5.13 FIP) over 50 1/3 innings (10 starts). The Mets have the following career numbers against Gomber:

• Pete Alonso 2-8, 2B
• Francisco Alvarez 2-4, HR, BB, K
• Harrison Bader 1-5, HR
• Ben Gamel 0-4, BB
• José Iglesias 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 4-14, 2B, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 5-9, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-1, HR
• Luis Torrens 1-1, BB
• Mark Vientos 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Rockies Bullpen. The Rockies have a weak bullpen – except when it comes to the Mets. The Mets finally were able to breakthrough the bullpen Wednesday night in the ninth inning. Before that they kept getting shutting down the Mets before they could get anything meaningful going. But the bullpen had to do a lot of work. Noah Davis went four innings and then five other pitchers had to get in the game. Four players pitched on back-to-back days. Peter Lambert and Anthony Molina are the only pitchers who haven’t pitched in the last three calendar days.
2. Brandon Nimmo. Is he coming out of his slump or he’s slipping back into it? Before Wednesday’s game we made the argument that he was starting to come out of his slump. On Tuesday he went 2-for-4 with a double. It was the second time in four games he had an extra-base hit. It was the second time in five games he had multiple hits. The last time he had an extra-base hit before that was July 11th. July 6th and 8th was the last time he had multiple-hit games in a close span. Wednesday night Nimmo went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. It was his third hit-less game in his four, and he has five strikeouts in that same stretch.
3. Keep it on the ground. David Peterson has a 55% ground ball percentage this season. Every season he has pitched, his ground ball percentage has increased (44.2, 47.3, 49.1, 53.9, 55). That’s in the 93rd percentile for the majors!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to get back in the win column tonight after they dropped the series opener to the Rockies Tuesday night, the third Mets loss in four games. The Mets struggled with runners in scoring position last night and had enough weird/unusual things happen just made whole night feel like “not their night”. Luckily for the Mets, the Braves lost yesterday, so the Mets are still only 1.5 games out of the last wild card spot.

Paul Blackburn looks to build off of his impressive Mets debut where he held the Angels to one run over six innings (six hits, one walk, six strikeouts). Across 57 innings this season he has a 4.11 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.175 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. He pitched in Colorado last season allowing only two runs, scattering nine hits over six innings while striking out seven batters. The Rockies have the following career numbers against Blackburn:

• Elias Díaz 1-3, 2B, K
• Ryan McMahon 1-3, 2B
• Jacob Stallings 0-1, K
• Michael Toglia 1-2
• Ezequiel Tovar 0-3, 2 K

Ryan Feltner has tossed 121 1/3 innings this season with a 4.97 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.409 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. He faced the Mets right before the All Star break and allowed four runs, three earned over 3 2/3 innings, walking five batters. Since then he has allowed seven runs, six earned over 19 innings spread across three starts. Home runs have been an issue giving up five of them over his last three starts. He also has a wide margin between his ERA and FIP during that stretch (2.84 vs 6.12). The Mets have the following numbers against Feltner:

• Pete Alonso 3-5, HR, BB
• Francisco Alvarez 1-1, 2B, BB
• Ben Gamel 1-3, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 0-4, 5 BB, K
• J.D. Martinez 0-4, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 3-6, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 1-4, 3 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Mark Vientos 0-2, K
• Jesse Winker 1-2, BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Weird things happen in Colorado. This isn’t about the hole in the net last night, or the water logged field. Colorado is a big ballpark. We saw Severino last night get stung by two-run homer where the runner got on base thanks to a long, long hit and the homer would have been a flyout in normal altitude conditions. Weird things can happen in Colorado. Without any data to back it up, it feels the Mets have just been unlucky over the last few days (hard hit balls hit directly to fielders). Eventually that luck has to change right? Why not in Colorado?
2. RISP. Runners in scoring position continues to be a problem for the Mets until it’s not. Over their last six games they have gone 12-for-52 (.231). Monday afternoon Tyrone Taylor got a big hit clearing the bases with a double. It would do wonders for everyone’s confidence and the narrative starting to build around the team to do better with RISP tonight.
3. Is Nimmo coming out of his slump? Brandon Nimmo had a double on July 11th. He then didn’t have another extra-base hit until August 3rd. Tuesday night he went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. It was his second double in four games and his second multi-hit game this month.

Let’s Go Mets!

Sometimes it only takes one game to get your swagger back.

The Mets, who had looked dreadful with runners in scoring position all weekend woke up on Monday scored six runs on nine hits during their make up game with the Cardinals. They still managed to go only 2-for-7 with RISP, but one of of those hits was a bases clearing double by Tyrone Taylor that broke the game open.

The National League wild card race has collapsed with the Mets on the outside looking in. The Braves, Diamondbacks and Padres are all “tied” for the first wild card spot (technically the Braves are in first by 0.001 winning percentage points). Meanwhile the Mets victory over the Cardinals on Monday pushed them to four games back, causing. It’s going to be a chaotic final seven weeks of the season!

Luis Severino has tossed 123 2/3 innings over 21 starts with a 3.93 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.237 WHIP and a 100 ERA+. Severino just did not have it in his last start against the Twins, allowing six runs from six hits, including two homers over three innings. Before that start Severino allowed only four runs over 17 1/3 innings in three starts while striking out 17 batters. Only two members of the current Rockies team have seen Severino in a game: Kris Bryant (0-for-3, 2 K) and Jake Cave (0-for-3, 2 K).

The Mets bats look to build off of Monday’s win as they take on Kyle Freeland this evening. Over 59 innings this season Freeland has a 5.64 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.508 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. Freeland is coming off of one of his strongest starts of the season where he held the Angels to one run over seven innings. Since June 23rd he has had a 2.91 ERA, 3.65 FIP. The Mets have the following career numbers against Freeland:

• Pete Alonso 1-2, K
• Harrison Bader 3-5, 2B, K
• Ben Gamel 2-7, BB, 3 K
• José Iglesias 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 2-7, 2B, BB, K
• J.D. Martinez 5-9, 2B, HR, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 3-8, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-9, 4 K
• Luis Torrens 0-1, K
• Jesse Winker 2-6, BB, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Bottom of the Mets lineup coming through for the Mets. The Mets offense has been mired in a bit of a slump recently, especially with runners in scoring position. On Monday the 7th-9th hitters on the Mets (McNeil, Alvarez, Bader) combined to go 6-for-12 with four runs scored, two doubles, a homer and two RBI’s. When the Mets are hitting their stride, their entire lineup is a threat and it’s balanced. Let’s see if the back of the lineup can anchor the team again this evening.
2. Contain Brenton Doyle. The Rockies Brenton Doyle won the National League Player of the Month award for July. This season he is hitting .266/.327/.471 with a 115 OPS+. In the month of July he hit .333/.394/.800 with 11 home runs (for context, he has only 19 on the season). In the month of August so far he has gone 2-for-17, so a bit of a cool off.
3. Strikeouts are still too high. Despite the Mets offense clicking yesterday, the strikeouts are still too high. The Mets had 10 strikeouts as a team, including three from J.D. Martinez. On Sunday the Mets had 10 strikeouts as a team. Eight on Saturday. The high strikeouts is directly related to the low batting average with RISP. We are looking to see if the Mets can start to buck this trend tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head to St. Louis today for one afternoon only! After dropping a series to the Angels, the Mets find themselves 1.5 games out of the wild card race, but only 2.0 games out of the top wild card spot. The Cardinals, who lost a Sunday night game in Chicago on Sunday, are 1.5 games behind the Mets. It’s a tight race!

The Mets and Cardinals are making up a game from May 8th. The Mets won the first two games of the series, so if the Mets win today, they sweep the Cardinals! The Mets were 18-18 after their game on May 7th, about to enter a terrible spiral. The Cardinals were in last place in the NL Central at 15-21. A couple of months has made a huge difference for both clubs!

Sean Manaea has tossed 113 innings over 21 starts with a 3.50 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.204 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. Manaea is coming off of a phenomenal start against the Twins where he held them scoreless over seven innings while striking out 11 batters (season best). Thanks to the May 8th game being postponed, Manaea will pitch in this series for the second time. On May 6th he allowed three runs over six innings from sit hits and a walk in a game the Mets won 4-3. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Nolan Arenado 3-9, HR, 3 K
• Alec Burleson 0-1
• Matt Carpenter 0-0, BB
• Willson Contreras 4-8, 2 2B, 3 K
• Brandon Crawford 5-16, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Brendan Donovan 1-3, 2B, K
• Paul Goldschmidt 1-5, 3B, BB
• Lars Nootbaar 0-3
• Tommy Pham 6-12, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 K
• Masyn Winn 1-2, 2B

Andre Pallante has pitched in 19 games for the Cardinals in 2024 throwing 62 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.364 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. As a starter only he has pitched 52 1/3 innings with a 3.61 FIP, 1.261 WHIP. Two of his last three starts haven’t been great, allowing seven runs over 11 1/3 innings. His other start was great, holding the Pirates to only one run over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Pallante:

• Pete Alonso 1-2, BB
• José Iglesias 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 2-6, BB, K
• J.D. Martinez 0-3, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-5, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-7, 2B, K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-5, K
• Jesse Winker 1-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Willson Contreras. The last time the Mets and Cardinals faced in May 7th, Willson Contreras fractured his arm during a catcher’s interference play while J.D. Martinez was batting. Contreras got through rehab quickly and came back at the minimum initial estimate rehab time (6-8 weeks). Since June 24th he has hit .242/.363/.424 with seven homers. It’s great to see that he’s back and will be able to finish out the series against the Mets.
2. Old Friend Tommy Pham. Tommy Pham was traded at the trade deadline for the second consecutive season. This time he went from the White Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals, his original club. Since joining the Cardinals he has hit .381/.409/.714 over six games with a 208 OPS+ including a grand slam in his first at bat back with the organization.
3. Hitting with runners in scoring position. The Mets are struggling hitting with runners in scoring position. In Sunday’s game they went 2-for-10. Since last Wednesday the team has gone 6-for-38, which incapsulates the overall frustration the Mets have experienced recently. Hopefully the offense clicks again tonight!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets will try to bounce back this afternoon and take the series from the Angels. The Mets roared last night with a four-run seventh inning (J.D. Martinez grand slam) to take the lead, but the bullpen gave the lead right back in the bottom of the seventh. The Mets slipped out of the wild card by half a game due to the loss and now trail the Braves (+2), Padres (+1) and the Diamondbacks (+0.5). Like every game for the rest of the season, today is a big one for the Mets.

Jose Quintana over 113 1/3 innings has a 3.89 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.262 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only two runs from eight hits and six walks while striking out 11 batters over 11 innings. Since June 15th he has a 1.91 ERA (4.42 FIP) over 47 innings with only one terrible start. Quintana is hitting his stride when the Mets need him the most. The Angels have the following career numbers against him:

• Willie Calhoun 1-2
• Brandon Drury 1-6, HR, 3 K
• Luis Guillorme 0-2
• Kevin Pillar 6-20, 3 2B, BB, 5 K

The Mets bats will close out the series against Griffin Canning who has tossed 116 2/3 innings over 22 starts with a 5.25 ERA, 5.33 FIP, 1.414 WHIP and an 82 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed 13 runs over 14 1/3 innings. He was effective in one of those starts, allowing only one run over five innings, the other two starts not so much. The Mets have the following career numbers against Canning:

• Pete Alonso 1-3, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-3, K
• Harrison Bader 1-5, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-3
• J.D. Martinez 3-4, 2B, HR, BB
• Jeff McNeil 1-3
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, BB, K
• Mark Vientos 0-3, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Watch out Djokovic. Because J.D. Martinez is collecting grand slams now! The Mets took the lead briefly last night thanks to a J.D. grand slam, his second grand slam in the last seven games. Over that stretch he’s gone 9-for-24 with 12 RBI’s slashing .375/.448/.667.
2. Hitting with runners in scoring position. This is becoming a sore spot for the Mets recently, going 1-for-7 with RISP Saturday in Anaheim. Friday the Mets went 3-for-18. Wednesday 0-for-3. Hopefully this is more of a blip than a collective slump for the Mets. Facing a starting pitcher with a WHIP north of 1.4 should help the Mets today.
3. Homer drought for Brandon Nimmo. Brandon Nimmo hit home runs in three games in a row between July 8th and July 10th. Since then he has played 18 games with no homers slashing .169/.294/.197. In his last four games though he has gone 5-for-15 hitting .333/.412/.400. Is he starting to shake off the slump?

Let’s Go Mets!

Good News: Not only did the Mets win on Friday night, the Cardinals and Pirates lost, dropping them to 2.5 and 3.0 games back in the Wild Card race. The Padres also lost, effectively putting them in a tie with the Mets, but since the Mets have played fewer games, the Mets get to hold on the third Wild Card spot.

Tough News: The Braves and Diamondbacks are each on a four game winning streak. The wild card race is staying tight with the Mets holding on while they tour the entire United States in the month of August. A win tonight guarantees a series win in Anaheim.

David Peterson looks to continue his best season since his rookie year tonight in Anaheim. Over 10 starts, 53 2/3 innings, Peterson has a 3.52 ERA, 4.81 FIP, 1.472 FIP and a 112 ERA+. He’s coming off his first rough start since June 12th. In his last start he allowed four runs from four hits over five innings against the Braves. Before that start he had a 2.53 ERA over 32 innings (six starts). The Angels have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Jo Adell 1-1
• Brandon Drury 2-5, K
• Mickey Moniak 1-3, K
• Matt Moore 0-2, K
• Kevin Pillar 3-7, 2 2B
• Luis Rengifo 1-2, BB

José Soriano made his major league debut in 2023 as a reliever and has been moved into the rotation this season. Over 19 games he has tossed 97 2/3 innings with a 3.69 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.208 WHIP and a 117 ERA+. Like Peterson, Soriano is also coming off of a rough start. Soriano allowed six runs, three earned, over 2 2/3 innings in his last start against the Athletics. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-0, HBP
• Harrison Bader 0-0, HBP
• Francisco Lindor 0-1
• J.D. Martinez 1-1
• Jeff McNeil 0-1
• Brandon Nimmo 0-1, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso is heating up! Pete Alonso hit his third home run in five games Friday night in Anaheim. This really is the best possible time for Alonso to get hot and carry the Mets. Alonso has been doing it this season with bat speed, he’s currently in the 91st percentile according to Baseball Savant.
2. Hitting is back! The off day before the series did the Mets some good as the team combined for 13 total hits on Friday night against the Angels. The only downside is the Mets still managed to go 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times. Let’s hope the hitting continues tonight and the Mets figure out a way to reduce the strikeouts.
3. Huascar Brazobán. Brazobán made his Mets debut on Wednesday against the Twins closing out the game striking out two batters, walking one in a scoreless inning. Zero pitches were hit hard during his inning of work. He hit 98 mph a few times in his inning of work. The Mets haven’t had a ton of power pitching out of the bullpen this season.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets start off a gauntlet of a month tonight in Anaheim. In August the Mets will have two West Coast road trips. This one features a series in Anaheim, a game in St. Louis, a series in Denver and then ends with a series in Seattle. There are no days off until after the series in Seattle.

To start the series the Mets will send out Paul Blackburn to make his first Mets start against Tyler Anderson, who could have been traded at the deadline but the Angels held on to him.

Paul Blackburn has made nine starts for the Athletics this season totaling 51 innings with a 4.41 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.157 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. His last start was his first since returning from the injured list with a stress fracture in his foot, it was also against the Angels in Anaheim. He allowed four runs from five hits over five innings including two homers. Blackburn is known for his large pitch repertoire with a 4-seam fastball, cutter, slider, changeup, curveball and sinker. The Angels have the following career numbers against Blackburn:

• Jo Adell 1-3, HR, BB
• Willie Calhoun 1-1, 2B
• Brandon Drury 0-5, K
• Mickey Moniak 0-6, 2 K
• Zach Neto 0-2
• Logan O’Hoppe 1-4, 2 K
• Kevin Pillar 0-2
• Luis Rengifo 4-12, 2B, K
• Nolan Schanuel 1-4, HR, BB, K
• Taylor Ward 3-8, 2B, 2 HR

Tyler Anderson has pitched 130 2/3 innings over 21 starts with a 2.96, ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.140 WHIP and a 145 ERA+. He’s coming off of a solid start against the Athletics where he allowed three runs over seven innings while striking out 10. It was the second time this month he struck out 10 batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against Anderson:

• Pete Alonso 1-7
• Harrison Bader 1-3, 2B, K
• Ben Gamel 1-2, 2B
• José Iglesias 2-9, HR
• Francisco Lindor 2-9
• J.D. Martinez 1-4, HR, BB, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-6
• Brandon Nimmo 5-12, HR, 3 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-3
• Luis Torrens 0-4

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The post-deadline Angels. The Angels could have gone full rebuild at the deadline. They instead traded two relievers who would be free agents at the end of the season (and the Mets will be thankful they won’t have to face this weekend). So Tyler Anderson remains to start against the Mets and Taylor Ward remains in the Angels lineup. They enter play today with a .431 win percentage, 13 games out of the wild card and without a direction. Do the play with a chip on their shoulders this weekend? Do they play like a team going through the motions?
2. Mark Vientos. Vientos was a bright spot on the Mets on Wednesday, their last game before heading west, going 1-for-3 with a home run. That was his second straight game with that identical batting line. Since July 10th he has gone 17-for-60 over 17 games, with five homers and six doubles (.283/.353/.633).
3. Surprisingly, we’ll see a lot of old friends. Former Mets Hunter Strickland, Brandon Drury, Luis Guillorme and Kevil Pillar all play for the Angels. Pillar has been in 53 games hitting .300/.345/.488 with a 129 OPS+, which is much better than he was with the White Sox this season where he slashed .160/.290/.360 with an 83 OPS+ over 17 games. Mets legend Luis Guillorme started the season hitting .150/.190/.250 (22 OPS+) over nine games with the Braves. Since coming over to the Angels he’s hitting .247/.315/.320 (78 OPS+). Drury has had a dreadful season over 56 games hitting .160/.234/.197 (23 OPS+). Strickland is having a solid year in the bullpen with a 3.35 ERA, 3.99 FIP over 51 innings.

Let’s Go Mets!