213 Miles From Shea

The Mets snapped their losing streak Saturday, cruising to an uncomplicated 5-2 win over the Pirates, clinching the season series. Today they will look to at least split their current series in Pittsburgh.

Sean Manaea has made 16 starts over 83 1/3 innings for the Mets this season with a 3.67 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.272 WHIP and a 105 ERA+. He’s coming off of a fantastic start where he held the Nationals to two runs, only one earned, over seven innings from five hits and two walks. In his last four starts he has a 1.99 ERA and 3.60 FIP. Hitters have a paltry .523 OPS with 21 strikeouts over those 22 2/3 innings. The Pirates have the following career numbers against him:

• Joey Bart 0-4, 3 K
• Yasmani Grandal 0-3, BB, K
• Ke’Bryan Hayes 1-4, BB, K
• Connor Joe 0-6, K
• Andrew McCutchen 1-9, BB, 3 K
• Edward Olivares 0-4, BB, K
• Joshua Palacios 0-2
• Bryan Reynolds 2-5, HR, 2 BB
• Jack Suwinski 1-9, 2 K
• Michael A. Taylor 2-5, HR, 2 K
• Rowdy Tellez 2-3

Luis Ortiz will make his second start of the season for the Pirates this afternoon. Over 23 games this season he has pitched 55 innings with a 3.27 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 1.236 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. His one start was a good one back on June 26th where he allowed one run over six innings from four hits while striking out seven. He reached 85 pitches in that start.

Ortiz faced the Mets in relief back in April and allowed three runs from two hits and a walk over 1 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-1
• Francisco Alvarez 0-1
• Harrison Bader 1-3, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-0, BB
• J.D. Martinez 0-2, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Pirates Bullpen. Luis Ortiz is making a spot start in the rotation for Jared Jones who landed on the injured list earlier this weekend. If Luis Ortiz is effective today he can give the Pirates a normal length start. If he isn’t, they’ll have to go to a bullpen that pitched seven innings in last night’s game. The Mets working counts early today can go a long way!
2. The Mets Bullpen. The Pirates weren’t the only team that had to work yesterday. Peterson was only able to last 4 1/3 innings. Luckily Garrett, Núñez, Buttó, and Díaz all turned in good performances that kept the Pirates off the board.
3. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo went 3-for-4 today at the plate with a stolen base, raising his OPS to .810 on the year. Nimmo is having a fantastic year for the Mets so far and is in line to have season best totals for doubles, home runs, RBI’s and stolen bases. Hopefully the league will recognized him later this afternoon with a selection to his first All-Star game.

Let’s Go Mets!

Friday night’s game was a bit of a disaster for the Mets who lost 14-2 and gave up seven home runs to the Pirates. This stretched the Mets losing streak to three games and was one of the more lopsided losses of the season. The Mets will try to snap this losing streak and channel all the Grimace they can as they take on the Pirates for game two this afternoon.

David Peterson has made six starts for the Mets this season totaling 33 1/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.440 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. Last time out against the Nationals he allowed two runs from seven hits and a walk over 6 1/3 innings. In his last three starts he has allowed only five runs despite allowing 14 hits and walking nine batters – while the Mets hope he has a quieter afternoon with runners on the basepaths, he has shown an ability to get out of trouble this season.

Peterson had a relief outing against the Pirates back in 2023 where he allowed one run from three hits and six (!) walks over 3 2/3 innings. The Pirates have the following career numbers against him:

• Joey Bart 1-5, 2 K
• Oneil Cruz 0-1, K
• Ke’Bryan Hayes 1-2, BB, K
• Connor Joe 0-0, 2 BB
• Andrew McCutchen 1-11, HR, 4 BB, 2 K
• Joshua Palacios 0-2, K
• Bryan Reynolds 0-4, 2 K
• Michael A. Taylor 0-5, K
• Jared Triolo 0-1, BB, K

The Mets bats will face Bailey Falter tonight. Over 16 starts and 88 1/3 innings, Falter has a 3.87 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 1.147 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. So far this has been Falters best year in the major leagues and thankfully for the Mets Falter is having his best year with the Pirates and not for his original team that traded him in 2023 – the Phillies.

Falter already faced the Mets this season and was pretty solid, holding the Mets to two runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Falter:

• Pete Alonso 1-8, HR, BB, K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-4
• Harrison Bader 0-2, K
• Ben Gamel 0-5, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-8, 3 BB, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-8, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-10, HR, BB, 4 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Keeping the ball in the ballpark. Luis Severino gave up three homers on Friday. Adcock allowed three. Diekman gave up a solo shot and failed to record an out. The Mets desperately need their pitchers today to keep them in the game. It is clear over the last three games the offense has hit a bit of rough patch so this is more important than ever for the Mets.
2. Pete Alonso: Outside of Jeff McNeil, Alonso is the only Met who had a good day at the plate Friday night going 2-for-3 with a double. In his last nine games Pete has gone 10-for-34 with two doubles, two home runs and seven runs scored hitting .294/.385/.529. This is even better when you consider that there was an 0-for-7 skid between July 3rd and July 4th.
3. The Bullpen is actually good to go. Luis Severino struggled on Friday, but he still gave the Mets six innings. Tyler Adcock was forced to push through a large chunk of the relief outing. As a result Garrett, Núñez, and Buttó  have all not been used in three calendar days (Garrett hasn’t gone since Monday). Ottavino has had two days of rest and Houser has had one day, and only tossed 15 pitches his last time out.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets got look to rebound after a disappointing series in DC. After taking the first two games in extra innings, the Mets struggled on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday they blew a five-run lead. Thursday the Mets failed to score at all and lost to the Nationals 1-0 in an early game.

Now the Mets will look to find their bats as they go right through the heart of the young Pittsburgh rotation.

Luis Severino has made 16 starts this season tossing 97 1/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.161 WHIP and a 112 ERA+. Severino allowed four runs over seven innings in his last start against the Astros. It was a start that if the bullpen was in a better place, Severino would have probably been pulled in the fifth inning after allowing his third and fourth run of the day, but he pushed through and gave the Mets another two scoreless innings. He pitched at least six innings in each start of June, which is exactly what the Mets need. Against the Pirates earlier this season he allowed one unearned run and nothing else over six innings. The Pirates have the following career numbers against him:

• Oneil Cruz 3-6, BB
• Yasmani Grandal 1-5, BB
• Ke’Bryan Hayes 1-4, 2 K
• Connor Joe 0-2
• Edward Olivares 0-2, BB, K
• Bryan Reynolds 3-7, 2B, BB, K
• Jack Suwinksi 0-8, 2 K
• Michael A. Taylor 202, HR
• Rowdy Tellez 1-7, 3 K
• Jared Triolo 0-2, K

The Mets bats will go against one of the more exciting pitching prospects in game tonight, Paul Skenes. Skenes has made nine starts this season totaling 52 1/3 innings with a 2.06 ERA, 2.61 FIP, 1.032 WHIP and a 199 ERA+. In his last four starts he has allowed only three runs from 23 hits and four walks over 25 1/3 innings while striking out an absurd 32 batters. The blight on his game so far has been homers. He’s allowed six so far, which is good for one home run every nine innings. He also gives up quite a few hits (7.6 H/9), but because he strikes out the world, he can work around this. Tonight will be Skenes’ first start against the New York Mets.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Skenes’ Heater: Paul Skenes’ four seam fastball averages 99 mph and hits 102 on a regular basis. He is in the 99^th percentile for fastball speed this season. It is the type of fastball that turns heads and should have everyone’s attention today at the ballpark. Look to see how the Mets approach Skenes the first time through the order and then what adjustments they make the second time around.
2. Let’s get some hits. The Mets only had one hit Thursday, a single from Jeff McNeil. Every single starter in the Mets lineup had one strikeout except for Tyrone Taylor who had two. The only Met who worked a walk was DJ Stewart. The offense has been carrying the club for the last month and it was due for a bad day. It’s going to be tough to bounce back against one of the better talents in the game. During this hot stretch though the Mets have consistently risen to the challenge, hopefully it happens again today.
3. Taking the season series. The last time the Mets and Pirates faced in April, the Mets were surging after a terrible start to the season. The Mets ended up sweeping the Pirates and in the process finally got a winning record on the season. Currently the Pirates are chasing the Mets in the wild card standings. If the Mets beat the Pirates tonight, they will win the season series, thus clinching a tie-breaker scenario at the end of the season if it comes to that.

Let’s Go Mets!

Happy 4th of July! The Mets look to celebrate Independence Day in our nation’s capitol, closing out their series with a win! It’s an early start for the Mets who will be playing a rare morning baseball game.

The Mets will be looking to bounce back from yesterday’s loss. They had the lead early but Scott had some trouble deep into his start and the bullpen wasn’t able to bail him out. Losing a five run lead is always difficult and it’s the second similar loss for the Mets in the last week. Winning today is a great way to reset the vibes!

Mets Pitcher

Jose Quintana has made 16 starts for the Mets this season, totaling 82 2/3 innings with a 4.57 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 1.367 WHIP and an 84 ERA+. Over his last three starts he has allowed four runs, three earned in 16 1/3 innings of work (1.65 ERA, 3.67 FIP). The biggest change recently for Quintana has been his strikeout numbers, he has 21 over his last three starts. For context, he has only 65 on the season. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 0-2
• Luis García Jr. 1-2, 2B, K
• Joey Meneses 2-5, 2B
• Harold Ramirez 2-2
• Keibert Ruiz 1-5
• Nick Senzel 7-18, HR
• Lane Thomas 2-8, K
• Ildemaro Vargas 1-6, 3 K
• Jesse Winker 3-15, 2B, 5 K
• Jacob Young 1-3, 2B

Jake Irvin is having a nice sophomore year of his major league career. Over 17 games he has pitched 98 innings with a 3.03 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 1.061 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed two runs over 12 innings from four hits and four walks while striking out 15 batters. Since May 22nd he has pitched 47 1/3 innings with a 2.09 ERA (3.73 FIP).

Jake made one start against the Mets in 2023 and the Mets got him. He allowed six runs from six hits over 4 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-2, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-3, 2B, K
• J.D. Martinez 1-4, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-3, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mets should expect breaking pitches this morning. Jake Irvin is not going to over power Mets hitters before noon. He only uses his mid-90’s fastball 35% of the time. He also throws his curveball 35% of the time (low-80’s) and mixes in a sinker, cutter and changeup. According to Baseball Savant the run value on his breaking pitches are in the 88th percentile (59th percentile for his fastball).
2. Early Morning Fireworks: The Mets were great at providing fireworks in Wednesday’s game, hitting three home runs between Taylor, Vientos and Lindor. It’s rare to lose a game when hitting three home runs, but the Mets only had five hits as a team on Wednesday. Overall the Mets having been hitting the ball with authority during this hot streak – hopefully that continues this morning despite the early game time.
3. Containing Luis García Jr.: García took the Mets out of Wednesday game. He went 2-for-3 at the plate with a three-run homer in the sixth and then a solo shot in 8th inning. In the first two games of the series he was 0-for-4.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to take series against the Nationals tonight as they continue their four game set in DC. Monday the Mets finally awoke in the 10th inning, scoring six runs. The bullpen made things dicey though, but the Mets were able to hold onto a 9-7 win. Tuesday was the opposite with the Mets cruising to a victory behind a strong start by Sean Manaea, big days at the plate by most of the Mets hitters and a triumphant return for José Buttó. Now the Mets look to repeat with Christian Scott on the mound.

Christian Scott finally returns to the Mets rotation! Scott was successful in five starts for the Mets a few weeks ago where he pitched 27 2/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. As other members of the Mets rotation rehabbed from injury, and the Mets playing schedule got more spread out, Scott was optioned back to the minors. He has made four starts over the last month with Syracuse where he allowed four earned runs (one in each start) over 17 innings, striking out 19 batters. The only concern has been opposing batters hitting three homers against him during that stretch. This will be his first start against the Nationals in his career.

Mitchell Parker has had a solid start to his major league career. He’s made 14 starts in 2024 pitching 78 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.119 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Since June 6th he has made five starts (28 2/3 innings) with a 2.83 ERA against the Braves, Tigers, Marlins, Rockies and Rays. Despite the outcome, there are some signs that at least more recently he has been more hit-able. He has a 3.95 xERA and since June 10th his xwOBA has been above the league average (league average is a bit above .300 and over his last 100 PA’s his has been .362). This will be his first career start against the Mets.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor: Major League baseball will be announcing their All-Star rosters in a few days and this is a great time to highlight a few players who are more than deserving to be on the All-Star team. Lindor went 2-for-5 last night with his 14th homer of the year. He’s been one of the best hitting and fielding shortstops in the majors this year (again) and yet still hasn’t been named to an All-Star game as a New York Met. He’s on track for a 25-25 season.
2. Brandon Nimmo: Nimmo has been a solid, top-hitting outfielder for several seasons now and still has not been named to an All-Star game. He has had an OPS+ of above 129 for five consecutive seasons and is currently on track to have about 25 home runs. Nimmo is coming off of a scary situation Monday where he fainted at the hotel. He didn’t start in Tuesday’s game but came off the bench and went 2-for-3 with his 16th homer of the season.
3. José Iglesias: Has the All-Star game ever had an opening concert from a musical artist who has a .974 OPS? Obviously Iglesias hasn’t played enough this season to warrant a trip to the All-Star game, but he’s another key player to watch for the Mets tonight. He had his fifth double already this season on Tuesday’s game.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets took a weird path back to the win column but they finally did that on Monday evening in DC. The Mets went down early but clawed back and took a 3-2 lead. The Nationals came back sending the game to extra innings. The Mets exploded for six runs in the top of the tenth which ended up being critical as the Nationals scored four of their own before the Mets were finally able to close the door. Now the Mets look to make it two games in a row tonight!

Sean Manaea has made 15 starts totaling 76 1/3 innings this season with a 3.89 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.297 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. He is coming off of a strong start against against the Yankees where he held the Bronx Bombers to only two hits and no runs over five innings, despite walking five batters. It was his third straight start going at least five innings, a stretch where he has allowed four runs over 15 2/3 innings while striking out 16 batters.

In two games (8 1/3 innings) against the Nationals in 2023, Manaea allowed 12 runs, eight earned, from 14 hits. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 1-6, K
• Luis García Jr. 2-5, 2 K
• Joey Meneses 1-7, BB
• Harold Ramirez 2-3
• Keibert Ruiz 2-3
• Lane Thomas 2-8, 2B, 3 K
• Ildemaro Vargas 1-6, 3B, K
• Jesse Winker 0-1, K

The Mets bats will get a look at rookie DJ Herz tonight. Over his first five major league games he has pitched 21 1/3 innings with a 5.48 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.500 WHIP and a 72 ERA+. He made his major league debut against the Mets on June 4th allowing four runs from seven hits and two walks over four innings. He would later have a tremendous start against the Marlins where he held them to only one hit and no runs while striking out 13 batters. Since that start he has allowed eight runs, seven earned, in seven innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against Herz:

• Pete Alonso 1-3, K
• Harrison Bader 1-2, HR
• José Iglesias 1-2, 2B, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-3, 2B
• J.D. Martinez 0-2, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, BB
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. A second start against the Mets. The Mets will be the first team in DJ Herz’s young MLB career that he faces twice. With the exception of two starts this season, Herz has struggled at the major league level. This time though he knows what the Mets hitters look like, will that change his approach? He’s also a known quantity now to the Mets, who did a good job against him the first time around, how will the Mets sharper their approach?
2. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo had a health scare Monday at the hotel. He fell and passed out and spent a good amount of the day at the hospital. Before Monday’s game he indicated that he intends to play tonight. Nimmo twice tied the game on Sunday. He went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBI’s. Since June 14th Nimmo is hitting .382/.485/.782 with six home runs. Sunday was the first time over this stretch where Nimmo has homered and the Mets lost the game. Keep riding this hot streak Nimmo!
3. Martinez is back! J.D. Martinez spent most of the weekend in a slump, but broke out of it in a big way Monday night with a three run homer in the top of the tenth. After an extra-inning beat down on Sunday, it was nice for the Mets to be on the offensive side on Monday night. 

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Nationals last met near the start of June and the Mets swept the Nationals, really kicking off the tremendous month of June that the Mets had. At the the time, the Nationals were four games below .500 and sweep (plus an additional loss) pushed them to seven games below. The Nationals then channeled the Mets and won eight of nine games. Since that hot streak the Nationals have cooled off a bit and are now five games below .500.

This is a big two weeks for the Mets. They have had a tremendously difficult schedule for the first half of the season and now have a lighter two weeks. Does June magic spill into July?

David Peterson has made five starts this season tossing 27 innings with a 3.67 ERA, 5.01 FIP, 1.481 WHIP and a 106 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only three runs over 10 1/3 innings from seven hits and eight walks while striking out 14 batters. His last two starts have featured season highs in both strikeouts and walks. On a positive note, he has tossed more than 100 pitches in his last two, after not getting to 90 in his first three. But 103 pitches his last time out only got 4 1/3 innings.

Peterson faced the Nationals back on June 4th and held them to two runs over 6 2/3 innings and the Mets would love another deep start like that one tonight. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 2-9, K
• Luis García Jr. 3-12, 3 K
• Joey Meneses 3-8, 2 2B, 2 BB, K
• Eddie Rosario 1-2
• Keibert Ruiz 2-10, K
• Nick Senzel 4-9, 2B, HR, K
• Lane Thomas 2-9, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Ildemaro Vargas 4-9, 2 2B, K
• Jesse Winker 2-4, 2B, K
• Jacob Young 2-2, BB

MacKenzie Gore has made 16 starts pitching 85 innings this season with a 3.60 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 1.388 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. Gore’s June got off to a rough start thanks to the Mets who got him for six runs over four innings from seven hits and four walks. He then allowed four earned runs over 17 innings over his next three starts before ending the month with another rough start (five runs in five innings). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-10, HR, BB, K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2, 2 BB, K
• Harrison Bader 1-3
• José Iglesias 3-4
• Francisco Lindor 1-9, BB
• J.D. Martinez 1-4, HR, BB, K
• Jeff McNeil 6-7, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 3-11, 2B, BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-5, HR, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 1-3, HR, 2 BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo twice tied the game on Sunday. He went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBI’s. Since June 14th Nimmo is hitting .382/.485/.782 with six home runs. Sunday was the first time over this stretch where Nimmo has homered and the Mets lost the game. Keep riding this hot streak Nimmo!
2. James Wood. The Nationals are welcoming the Mets to DC with James Wood’s Major League debut. MLB Pipeline has Wood as the Nationals #1 prospect and the #3 prospect overall in baseball. He found his way to the Nationals via the Juan Soto trade with the Padres a couple of season ago. The Nationals are hoping that James Wood can give their lineup the pop that it has been missing. Over 52 games in Rochester, Wood is hitting .353/.463/.595 with 10 homers. Overall he has 26 extra-base hits (out of 67 total hits) and 10 stolen bases.
3. MLB Deferment Day. Hopefully by now you have read Mike Mayer’s fantastic, annual thread on MLB Deferments. Remember, it’s not just Bobby Bonilla. If you’re watching the Nationals local broadcast or MLB Network’s national broadcast, you’ll probably hear more about the Mets and Bobby Bonilla than other teams. Today is also the day the Nationals pay Max Scherzer 15 million while he plays for another team!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to comeback from Saturday’s disappointing loss this afternoon in Queens. The Mets had a huge second inning in Saturday’s game to go up 5-1 but the Astros were able to take advantage of Tylor Megill and then the Mets overtaxed bullpen to comeback and win the game 9-6. A win today gives the Mets a winning record again, another winning series against a good team and closes out a good month for the Mets.

Luis Severino has pitched 90 1/3 innings over 15 starts for the Mets with a 3.29 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.151 WHIP and a 117 ERA+. Severino is coming off of a strong start against the Cubs in his last start where held them scoreless over six innings and struck out a season-high 10 batters. In four of his last six starts he has allowed one run or less. It’s best that we don’t talk about the other two starts. The Astros have the following career numbers against Severino:

• José Altuve 9-33, 2B, HR, 7 K
• Yordan Alvarez 3-11, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Alex Bregman 5-25, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 5 K
• Trey Cabbage 1-2, 2B, K
• Yainer Diaz 2-4, 2 HR, K
• Mauricio Dubón 0-4
• Chas McCormick 1-5, BB, K
• Jake Meyers 1-6, 2B, 4 K
• Jeremy Pena 2-6, BB, K

It’s a bullpen day for the Astros, starting with Shawn Dubin! Dubin has pitched 22 1/3 innings over 14 games this season with a 5.64 ERA, 2.52 FIP, 1.657 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. He has the rare combination of a 10+ H/9 and a 10+ K/9 inning. Dubin can give the Astros some length as he has pitched three innings once this season and 2 1/3 innings four times. The most pitches has has thrown in an outing is 42, so that’s probably about his maximum. Interesting to note, he has not allowed a home run this season. A few Mets have seen him in a major league game:

• Pete Alonso 1-1, 2B
• Francisco Alvarez 0-1, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-2, 2B, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-2
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Ben Gamel’s first start. Ben Gamel will finally see significant playing time this afternoon since joining the Mets. Over nine major league seasons Gamel hit .252/.332/.384. He last saw regular playing time at the major league level in 2022 with the Pirates where he hit .232/.324/.369 with a 97 OPS+. Gamel was hitting well in Syracuse before getting called up (.314/.423/.539) with seven homers.
2. Bullpen Reinforcements. Tyler Jay was recalled to the major league squad before today’s game and Matt Festa was called up to possible make his Mets debut. Jay made his major league debut with the Mets earlier this season allowing one run from five hits and a walk over four innings of work. In Syracuse this season eh has a 2.00 ERA over 36 innings. Festa’s last full season was in 2022 with the Mariners where he had a 4.17 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.130 WHIP and an 89 ERA+ over 54 innings. Across multiple minor league organizations this season he has a 3.16 ERA, 1.245 WHIP over 31 1/3 innings.
3. Can Mendoza pick another three-hit second basemen? Jeff McNeil went 3-for-4 Friday night with a critical three-run home run that pulled the Mets far ahead of the Astros. He was passed over for the start yesterday for José Iglesias. Iglesias made Mendoza look like a genius and got three hits to start the game. McNeil is back in the lineup today, does he go off and make Mendoza look clairvoyant?

Let’s Go Mets!

The vibes are off the chart right now! The Mets beat the Astros in the series opener Friday night and are finally have the a winning record for the first time in a long time. José Iglesias sang his song on the diamond after the game and the rest of the team joined in. It’s a lot of fun to be a Mets player and a Mets fan right now! The Mets look to secure the series victory against the Astros this afternoon!

Over seven starts, 33 2/3 innings, Megill has a 4.81 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 1.426 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start against the Cubs where he allowed six runs from five hits and three walks over three innings, blowing up his ERA from 3.52 to 4.81. Megill is looking to bounce back from his start against the Astros in 2023 where he allowed five runs, four earned over 2 1/3 innings from four hits and four walks. The Astros have the following career numbers against him:

• José Altuve 0-1, BB
• Alex Bregman 2-2
• Yainer Diaz 0-2, K
• Mauricio Dubon 1-2, 2B
• Chase McCormick 0-0, BB
• Jeremy Pena 0-0, BB

The Mets bats look to keep the good vibes going against Framber Valdez. Valdez has pitched 80 2/3 innings over 13 games with a 3.68 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.202 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. He’s coming off of two good starts where he allowed three runs over 13 innings from eight hits and seven walks while striking out 12. Overall in June he has allowed two runs or less in four of five starts and has played a huge role in the Astros resurgence this month. He had a strong start against the Mets last season where he held the Mets to only two runs over eight innings from four hits and a walk while striking out nine. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-6, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-3, 2B, 2 K
• Harrison Bader 1-3, K
• Ben Gamel 0-1, BB
• Francisco Lindor 0-5, 2 BB
• J.D. Martinez 2-8, 2 BB, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-6, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-7, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 2-12, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can the Mets get a long outing from Tylor Megill? Jose Quintana had a short outing Friday night for the Mets, so the bullpen had to put a lot of work in. Megill pitched seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on May 28th. That was the only outing he lasted longer than five innings. His xERA is 4.46, so his outcomes have been a bit worse than his overall mechanics suggest. He also has highest BABIP in his career this season (.345 vs a career .316).
2. Jeff McNeil. Jeff had a huge night on Friday going 3-for-4 at the plate with a three run home run that broke the game open for the Mets. Whether McNeil leans more as a starter or more as a bench player, the Mets are way better when he looks more like vintage Jeff McNeil. I’m curious to see how Mendoza uses him after a night like Friday night.
3. Containing the Astros top of the lineup. Altuve, Alvarez and Diaz combined to go 8-for-14 last night with three doubles and a homer. The Mets were able to contain all of that production into only two runs. Part of that was keeping Alex Bregman hitless over five at bats and the Astros overall to 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. The Mets afternoon will be a lot less stressful if they can keep Altuve and crew off the base paths.

Let’s Go Mets!

Two of the hottest teams in baseball meet for a weekend clash in Queens!

The Mets have won 15 of their last 19 games and back at .500 for the first time since mid-May. Going into play today they are only one game out of the last wild card spot. The Houston Astros were similarly cast off at the beginning of June have won their last seven games in a row, returning to .500 and are 3.5 games out of the last American League wild card spot. Both teams need to win this weekend. Both teams were not expecting the other team to be hot going into this weekend. It’s Grimace vs whatever the Whataburger mascot is!

Jose Quintana has made 15 starts totaling 78 2/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA, 4.89 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and an 84 ERA+. In his last two starts though he has allowed only two runs, one earned, over 12 1/3 innings from six hits and three walks while striking out 14. Before June 15th the most amount of batters he struck out in one game was four. In his last two games he has struck out six then eight (that’s the Francisco Alvarez effect!). In his first 13 starts of the season opponents had a .811 OPS against him, in his last two starts it has been .479. The Astros have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• José Altuve 5-27, 8 K
• Yordan Alvarez 1-4, 2B
• Alex Bregman 1-2, K
• Jon Singleton 1-2, K

Ronel Blanco has been a massive bright spot for the Astros this season, even during their toughest days. Over 14 starts he has pitched 84 2/3 innings with a 2.34 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 0.969 WHIP and a 169 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed only two runs from seven hits and seven walks over 20 innings while striking out 20. Blanco’s two weaknesses this year have been walks (3.6 BB/9) and homers (1.1 HR/9) the reason that hasn’t hurt him though is he’s leading the league with a 5.1 H/9. The only player on the Mets who has faced Ronel in an official game is J.D. Martinez (0-for-2, BB).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez has been tremendous for pitchers this season, with most, if not all of them performing better with him behind the dish. Quintana’s numbers spike with Francisco calling the game. Further he’s just having a tremendous year with the bat. On Wednesday he went 3-for-3 with a double and a homer. In his last five games he has gone 8-for-14 with three doubles, three homers and is slashing .571/.714/.1.429 (2.143 OPS). Extend him already!
2. Francisco Lindor – Leadoff Double Machine. Lindor had a leadoff double again on Wednesday, and then followed that up with another double later in the game. Throughout the Mets hot streak, Lindor has been getting himself on base, and the Mets have followed through and brough him home to score. Lindor has now put himself in a position to eclipse his season high in doubles (44, currently has 23) and score more than 100 runs for a second straight season.
3. Harrison Bader is getting streaky again! Harrison Bader has two hits in three consecutive games now. Overall he has gone 6-for-12 with three doubles and two homers. With Marte injured and the Mets playing 17 games on consecutive days starting tonight, the Mets need Bader to ride this hot streak as long as he can.

Let’s Go Mets!