213 Miles From Shea

In an alternate timeline, today is the pivotal day of the Mets season. A doubleheader against the Braves. A battle for the division. A four game series where two of the games will be televised nationally. Alas we don’t live in that universe. Here the Mets lost to the Braves 7-0 last night, leaving 14 runners on base throughout the night. The Mets collected seven hits and nine walks yesterday, can they repeat that today but actually get runners to score?

Denyi Reyes gets the first start for the Mets this afternoon returning to the majors for the first time since the start of May. Over six games and 7 1/3 innings for the Mets, Reyes allowed five runs from eight hits leading to a 6.14 ERA, 5.85 FIP, 1.500 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. What his season stats hide is all of the damage was done by the Braves. Reyes held opponents scoreless in his first 6 1/3 Mets innings. In one outing against the Braves, they hit two homers and scored five runs against him in one inning, a game the Mets lost 9-8. In Syracuse this season he has pitched in 15 games, including 13 starts, with a 5.77 ERA. Things have been better of late. He has a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings in his last two starts. The Braves have the following career numbers against Denyi:

• Ronald Acuña Jr. 1-1
• Michael Harris II 1-1
• Sean Murphy 1-1, HR
• Matt Olson 1-1
• Kevin Pillar 1-1, HR
• Ozzie Albies 0-1, K
• Vaughn Grissom 0-1
• Austin Riley 0-1

The Braves are countering Denyi Reyes with an Allan Winans spot start. Winans has had one major league outing this season back on July 22nd. He pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing two runs from five hits and a walk. He’s pitched in 20 games, starting 15 times in AAA ball this year posting a 2.79 ERA and 1.027 WHIP over 113 innings innings. This is his first time facing the Mets.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. How deep into the game can Reyes go? The most pitches Reyes has thrown in a minor league game is 70, which he did his last time out. Generally he throws into the mid-50’s. The Mets bullpen was saved last night by Jimmy Yacabonis who tossed 3 2/3 innings. With the second game tonight and another game tomorrow night the Mets are going to need deep performances by starting pitchers this afternoon.
2. Why pitch to Alonso when you can pitch to Vogelbach? Alonso went 0-for-1 last night with three walks. Behind him was Daniel Vogelbach who went 0-for-5 at the plate with four strikeouts. Just a tough day in the office yesterday for Vogelbach. With the Mets playing two games today, we have a higher chance of seeing some more creative lineups. Hopefully Buck will create some space so Alonso will see more hittable pitches.
3. Will someone else play out of position? Jeff McNeil played centerfield for the first time in his career last night after DJ Stewart came in for Brandon Nimmo. Will we see anyone else today expand their horizons and try something new?

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets are fresh off of a winning series for the first time since the trade deadline as they welcome the Braves to New York for a four game series. There’s a doubleheader tomorrow due to a rainout way earlier in the season when the Mets were not exactly healthy yet. That created this massive four game series after the trade deadline, possibly a battle for the division. Anyway, the Mets are ten games below .500 now and the Braves are 31 games above.

Tylor Megill makes his second start since returning to the major leagues last Saturday. It definitely wasn’t a good start against the strong Baltimore lineup last week as he allowed five runs on nine hits including two homers over 4 2/3 innings. Over 16 starts this season he has a 5.45 ERA, 5.24 FIP, 1.684 WHIP and a 76 ERA+. Megill started against the Braves back in May where he allowed three runs from four hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. The Braves have the following career numbers against him:

• Austin Riley 3-16, HR, 7 K
• Ozzie Albies 4-15, HR, 4 K
• Matt Olson 1-5, K, 2 BB
• Ronald Acuña Jr. 1-5, 3 K, BB
• Eddie Rosario 1-4, 2B, K, BB
• Orlando Arcia 1-3, 2B
• Sean Murphy 2-2, BB
• Travis d’Arnaud 1-3, 2B, K
• Marcell Ozuna 1-3
• Kevin Pillar 0-2

Charlie Morton has made 22 starts totaling 123 2/3 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.439 WHIP and a 117 ERA+. In his last four starts though he has pitched 19 2/3 innings, allowing 16 runs from 22 hits and 15 walks leading to a 7.32 ERA and 6.26 FIP. He’s also allowed eight runs over 10 innings in two starts (four runs in each) against the Mets this season. Between Megill and Morton’s numbers, this could potentially be a long night at Citi Field. The Mets have the following stats against Charlie:

• Francisco Lindor 6-40, 3 2B, R, 11 K, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 4-20, 7 K, 2 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 5-16, 2B 2 HR, 7 K, 5 BB
• Pete Alonso 6-21, 2B, 4 K, BB
• Jeff McNeil 5-20, 2 HR, 7 K, BB
• Omar Narváez 5-16, 2B, HR, 3 K, BB
• DJ Stewart 0-2, K, 2 BB
• Abraham Almonte 1-2, K, 2 BB
• Francisco Álvarez 2-4, HR
• Rafael Ortega 1-1, 2B, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Pete Alonso hit his fourth homer in three games on Wednesday night becoming the first Met to have at least four seasons of 35 homers of more. He is still on pace to finish with 50 homers for the season and if he can keep this hot streak going through this weekend with four games, potentially we could be talking about Alonso breaking the Mets record for homers in a season (the record he set in his rookie year). This is potentially the most exciting story to follow for the the Mets right now.
2. Trevor Gott. Gott has quietly been putting up solid numbers over his last eight outings since July 23rd. Over that stretch he has pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing five hits and three walks while striking out eight. He hasn’t allowed any runs during that time and his FIP is a 2.72. In his first seven games as a Met (July 6th through the 22nd) he allowed seven runs, six earned, over 4 2/3 innings (11.57 ERA and 5.62 FIP).
3. Adam Ottavino. Adam had a rough outing on Wednesday. He came into the game with a two run lead and promptly allowed a solo homer, a hit, a walk and a balk. He was then removed from the inning without recording any outs. he also had a blown save in a game the Mets eventually lost on August 1st. It would be nice to see Ottavino in some chances this weekend to rebuild some positive momentum.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets got a quick start last night thanks to Pete Alonso. Then the bats fell silent and the Cubs were able to claw back until they eventually beat the Mets 3-2. The Cubs win with the Brewers loss meant they were able to pull within 1.5 games of first place. The Mets loss coupled with the Nationals win last night means there are only 1.5 games separating the bottom two teams in the NL East. You can look at this like a win-win for the Mets. Either they win the ball game today and win the series or they lose and get closer to that protected draft pick.

David Peterson makes his second start since returning to the Mets rotation. He allowed only one hit and three walks in three innings of work with no runs against the mighty Orioles lineup. He still needs to stretch his arm out and he made strides last Friday with that as well. Peterson tossed 52 pitches in his outing. As a reliever he was mostly landing in the mid-20’s. Peterson has a 5.65 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.607 WHIP and a 73 ERA+ over 65 1/3 innings this season. However since being called back to the majors at the end of June he has pitched 26 1/3 innings over 10 games with a 2.05 ERA and 3.76 FIP. The Cubs have the following career numbers against him:

• Dansby Swanson 3-15, 2B, 5 K, 2 BB
• Patrick Wisdom 0-3, 2 K, 2 BB
• Ian Happ 1-6, 4 K
• Yan Gomes 2-6, 2B
• Christopher Morel 0-2, 2 BB
• Jeimer Candelario 1-5, K
• Seiya Suzuki 0-1, 2 BB
• Nico Hoerner 2-2
• Mike Tauchman 0-2, K
• Cody Bellinger 0-2

The Mets bats will face off against the Professor tonight, Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks has a made 14 starts totaling 81 1/3 innings with a 3.98 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 1.107 WHIP and a 115 ERA+. Kendricks ended July with a three game stretch where he allowed six earned runs, seven total, over 19 1/3 innings (2.79 ERA, 2.60 FIP) before hitting a wall his last time out allowing seven runs over four innings. His first start of the season this year was against the Mets and the Mets were able to tag him for five runs, three earned, over 4 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Omar Narváez 1-17, 3 K, 2 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 5-13, 2B, 5 K
• Francisco Lindor 2-13, 3 K
• Pete Alonso 1-5, K, 2 BB
• Jeff McNeil 3-5, HR, K, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-3, K
• Francisco Álvarez 0-2
• Danny Mendick 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso provided all of the Mets offense last night with a two-run homer, his 34th of the season. It was his third homer in his last two games and is now only 16 away from 50 homers. At his current pace, he has a good chance to get to that magic number. If he gets hot though, he has a remote chance of breaking his single-season record of 53 (which is also the Mets record).
2. The Bullpen. Drew Smith struggled yesterday and allowed the winning run. That being said, the bullpen only allowed one run. It’s the only run they’ve allowed in the last two games. The only members of the pen that weren’t used yesterday were Brooks Raley, Jimmy Yacabonis and Grant Hartwig. Raley tossed 28 pitches on Monday though (Yacabonis threw eight). Only Grant Hartwig is completely rested for today’s game.
3. Kyle Hendricks sneaky peripheral stats. Kyle Hendricks has a very interesting Baseball Savant percentile ranking page. He’s inducing a lot of weak contact this year despite a slow fastball and a low strikeout percentage. The Mets right now generate most of their runs from hitting the ball hard. Should be interesting to see how this plays out tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had a week’s worth of offense last night as the battled the Cubs the and rain in Queens. Led by Pete Alonso, the Mets (and the sky) opened the floodgates, beating Chicago 11-2. Will the Mets make the Cubs regret not selling at the deadline? Will the Cubs help the Mets get a protected, top-six draft pick?

The silver lining for Carrasco in his last start was he pitched into the seventh inning. If he stayed in the dugout for the seventh he would have finished the day with a quality start, allowing three runs over six innings. Alas, he ended the day with six runs over six innings. Over his last four starts he has allowed 21 earned runs. On the season he has a 6.60 ERA, 6.00 FIP, 1.638 WHIP and a 63 ERA+. One of Carrasco’s better starts this season was against the Cubs though, allowing one run over 6 2/3 innings from five hits. The Cubs have the following career numbers against him:

• Jeimer Candelario 6-15, 2B, 3 K, 2 BB
• Dansby Swanson 2-13, 2B, HR, 4 K, BB
• Ian Happ 3-11, 2B, 3 K
• Yan Gomes 2-5
• Seiya Suzuki 2-5, 2 K, BB
• Patrick Wisdom 0-4, BB
• Tucker Barnhart 2-8, K
• Nico Hoerner 3-6
• Christopher Morel 0-4, K, BB
• Mike Tauchman 0-3, K
• Cody Bellinger 1-3, 2B

The Mets bats will try to keep last night’s vibes going against Jameson Taillon. Taillon is in the first year of a four-year deal he signed with the Cubs after a couple off effective years in the Bronx. Over 19 starts, 94 innings, this season he has a 5.36 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 1.404 WHIP and an 85 ERA+. With the exception of his WHIP, those are all career worsts for Jameson. That being said, he’s gone on a run the same time the Cubs have gone on a run. In his last five games (30 1/3 innings) he has allowed only seven runs from 25 hits and 10 walks leading to a 2.08 ERA and 3.60 FIP. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Daniel Vogelbach 1-3, HR
• DJ Stewart 0-2, K, BB
• Omar Narváez 0-1, 2 BB
• Rafael Ortega 1-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-4

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete’s quest for 50 homers. Pete Alonso had a monster night at the plate going 3-for-4 with two homers, bringing him to 33 on the year. When you account for time missed due to injury, Pete is hitting about ten homers a month. The two homers last night put him back on schedule to get the remaining 17 before the end of the season.
2. Danny Mendick is doing alright. Before the season, Mendick was seen as a crucial bench piece for the Mets. When he finished his injury rehab in late June, the season was already slipping away from the Mets. In 34 trips to the plate he is hitting .212/.235/.364 but things have changed recently. In his 24 plate appearances since July 26th, he is hitting .292/.292/.500. This is boosted by his 2-for-4 game last night where he hit his first homer as Met. As things stand, Mendick is with the team until 2026, so this is something to monitor for the rest of the season.
3. Francisco Lindor. The narrative around Lindor in certain parts of the internet continues to puzzle me. I feel like we are living in alternate universes when people criticize Lindor’s season. Lindor continued his amazing 2023 campaign, the one where he has a 121 OPS+ and a 4.5 WAR (Baseball Reference) last night with a 3-for-4 night at the plate. This was coupled with Alonso’s big night so Lindor scored three times. In Lindor’s last four games he has gone 8-for-14 at the plate with two doubles and two walks (.625 OBP).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and the Cubs are on two different trajectories for the rest of the 2023 season. The Mets saw the writing on the wall and traded away aging stars and expiring contracts at the trade deadline. Since then the Mets have lost every game. The Cubs made a push in the standings at the deadline, held onto their stars (possibly increasing the Mets return in trades) and have continued to play well. They are only four games over five hundred, but currently are tied with the Reds for a Wild Card spot and only 1.5 games back from the division lead. Can the Mets play spoilers this week? Will the Cubs use the Mets on their way to push for the division title?

The Mets to got a quality start yesterday and Kodai Senga looks to keep that momentum going tonight. Over 20 starts (110 2/3 innings), Senga has a 3.25 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 1.292 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. Since June 28th Senga has made six starts totaling 34 innings with a 2.65 ERA, 2.73 FIP. At the start of the year he was struggling with homers and walks. During this current stretch he has allowed only two homers (last one on July 15th) and has walked only 11 batters (44 before this). When he faced the Cubs earlier this year he allowed three runs from six hits and five walks over five innings. The Cubs have the following career numbers against him:

• Jeimer Candelario 0-5, 3 K
• Seiya Suzuki 1-2, 2B, BB
• Nico Hoerner 0-2, K, BB
• Ian Happ 1-3, 2 K
• Dansby Swanson 1-3, 2B
• Mike Tachman 2-3, K
• Christopher Morel 1-3, K
• Tucker Barnhart 0-1, BB

Drew Smyly has pitched 112 2/3 innings over 22 games (20 starts) with a 4.71 ERA, 4.93 FIP, 1.349 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. He’s allowed at least four earned runs in four of his last five outings. Over that stretch he has allowed a total of 20 runs, 19 earned, over 22 2/3 innings (7.54 ERA, 6.57 FIP). If you look a little bit farther back, to his last seven games he has allowed 30 runs from 40 hits and ten homers (8.40 ERA, 6.56 FIP). Before this stretch that started on June 28th, he had a 3.38 ERA. Smyly had an average outing against the Mets back in May where he allowed two runs over five innings, he’ll gladly take an outing like that again tonight. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Starling Marte 4-17, 2 2B, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 5-17, 2B, 3 K, 2 BB
• Brandon Nimmo 5-13, 2 2B, 3 K, BB
• Pete Alonso 4-12, 2B, 2 HR, 3 K, 2 BB
• Jeff McNeil 0-5, K, 2 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 2-8
• Mark Vientos 0-4, 3 K
• Brett Baty 0-2
• Omar Narváez 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Mets Offense? The Mets offense essentially disappeared this weekend collecting only four hits yesterday. They’ve scored three runs in their last two games. Yesterday was particularly frustrating because even though the Mets only had four hits, they did work six walks but couldn’t do anything with that. Plus, they actually got a quality start from a starting pitcher. Hopefully the Mets can change this part of their story tonight against a struggling Drew Smyly.
2. Brett Baty. Baty had a pretty terrible Saturday night striking out three times. Yesterday he went 0-for-2 at the plate, working two walks and recording zero strikeouts. Being patient at the plate and working walks, especially after a frustrating three-strikeout game is a sign of resilience and growth for the Mets third basemen of the future.
3. What’s the vibe at Citi Field? The Mets are returning home for the first time tonight since the trade deadline. It’s also a Monday night after a rainy day in New York. What are the vibes going to be like? Is it going to be mostly empty? Apathetic? How will the players feed off of the crowd?

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets are on the brink of being swept for two consecutive series this afternoon as they take on the Orioles. After a terrible showing in Kansas City, the Mets have struggled to find footing in Baltimore the last two days in front of sellout crowds. The Orioles have acted like the 2023 Orioles so far this weekend – they’ve racked up hits, drove in runners and their bullpen has shut the door behind them. Can the Mets make a little magic today?

The Mets rotation turns over for the first time since the trade deadline with José Quintana returning to the mound today. Over his first three starts of the season he has allowed seven runs, eight earned, over 17 2/3 innings which has translated to a 3.57 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 1.302 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Each of his three starts have been quality starts. He’s also given up exactly six hits and zero homers in each start. The Orioles have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• James McCann 3-18, 3B, 4 K, 2 BB
• Adam Frazier 3-16, 2 K
• Ramón Urías 1-2
• Anthony Santander 0-1, K
• Austin Hays 1-1, 2B
• Ryan Mountcastle 1-1, 2B

The Mets bats will try to get something going today against Kyle Bradish who has really stepped up in his second year. Over 20 starts and 111 innings he has a 3.32 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.117 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. He’s coming off of a start where he allowed three runs over seven innings and he’s allowed eight runs over 13 2/3 in his last two starts. Before his last two starts he allowed eight runs total in his previous seven starts (44 1/3 innings), a 1.62 ERA. The only Met on the roster who has seen Bradish in an official game is Rafael Ortega, who is 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can Quintana give the bullpen a bit of a rest today. All of the relief pitching yesterday was handled by Bickford and Hartwig, the latter working for two consecutive days. Everyone in the Mets bullpen outside of Adam Ottavino and Raley has pitched this weekend. Quintana could help the pen and the overall morale of the team if he can pitch deep and get the Mets in a position where they need Ottavino and Raley. This of course means the Mets need to…
2. Score runs and avoid striking out. The Mets bats have done the pitching no favors this week. The Mets had seven hits last night and a walk but turned that into only three runs. They had 11 strikeouts with Nimmo, Marte and Baty all having multiple strikeouts.
3. Jeff McNeil. Jeff McNeil had a strong start to the week where he went 5-for-14 scoring three runs and hitting a triple. He then went silent for back to back games going 0-for-8 at the plate. Last night he was the Mets offense going 2-for-4 with a homer, finally ticking over 100 hits on the season.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets descent continued last night. The Orioles won 10-3 and now the Mets are on a four game losing streak. If they lose tonight, the Mets will be ten games below .500. There are only 3.5 games separating the Nationals and the Mets at the bottom of the NL East.

David Peterson was a bright spot for the Mets last night as he had a solid return to the Mets starting rotation. Now Tylor Megill looks to do the same tonight!

Tylor Megill has made 15 starts (71 1/3 innings) with the Mets this year posting a 5.17 ERA, 5.09 FIP, 1.668 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. Things have been rough for Megill since he was sent down to the minors. He’s allowed 24 runs over five starts, with only start in that stretch being a quality start. His last one was a bit better, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings. He has a tough first start back in the majors though against the Orioles. The only Oriole who has faced Megill in an official game is Adam Frazier who is 2-for-3 with a double.

The Mets bats will see a sort-of familiar face in Kyle Gibson tonight. The long-time Minnesota Twin spent part of the 2021 season and all of last year with the Phillies. This year he has pitched 133 innings with a 4.53 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.308 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. He’s currently leading the league in hits allowed at 132. Gibson has much better recently posting a 3.00 ERA. 2.82 FIP over his last three starts. In those 18 innings he has allowed only 15 hits while striking out 18 batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Lindor 18, 51, 2 2B, 8 K, 6 BB
• Pete Alonso 0-14, 5 K, 3 BB
• Omar Narváez 5-20, 2B, K, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 4-15, 2B, HR, 2 K, 3 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 6-11, 2B, HR, K, 2 BB
• Jeff McNeil 5-16, 2 2B, HR< 2 K
• Starling Marte 5-10, 2B, 2 K, BB
• Rafael Ortega 1-8, 2B, K
• DJ Stewart 0-3, K
• Brett Baty 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Returning Mets! Last night we saw the return of Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte to the lineup. Nimmo had a very Nimmo night going 0-for-1 but working two walks. Starling Marte went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. If the Mets are going to have any hope of winning ballgames for the rest of the season, they’re going to need both players to stay healthy and get consistent.
2. Francisco Lindor is the Mets offense right now. While the rest of the Mets bats have been struggling lately, Lindor has been raking. In his last six games he has gone 9-for-22 at the plate with two doubles and three homers. He’s having one of the best seasons by a shortstop in Mets history (again).
3. Tylor Megill’s moment. The rest of the season feels like an almost two month audition for Tylor Megill. Right now the Mets have three openings in their rotation next season. Megill has been great at times. He’s been terrible at times. The Mets are going to need to send him out every five days now. This is his moment to gain some momentum and fight for a rotation spot next year.
4. Bonus! Me! I’ve been writing a Mets blog since 2007, 213 Miles From Shea, because I raised outside of Baltimore, 213 miles from Shea Stadium. I now live only 20ish miles from Citi Field, but I almost always take advantage of a Mets / Orioles series in Baltimore to see my hometown. Baltimore is important to me and it’s part of the reason that I had to purchase a Buck Showalter Mets shirsey. So if you see someone wearing a Mets Showalter shirsey at the game tonight, it’s probably me! Please say hello!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets got swept by the last place Royals yesterday and now head to Baltimore to take on the first place Orioles. The Orioles have a +62 run differential on the season and are currently two games above the Rays for first place. If you haven’t checked in on the AL East recently, the division is bonkers. Top to bottom is separated by 10 games and the last place Yankees are five games above .500 themselves. No one in the division has a negative run differential. Keeping the division close, every team has gone either 5-5 or 6-4 in their last 10 games. Can the Mets play spoiler here?

David Peterson returns to the rotation tonight for the Mets. He’s pitched 62 1/3 innings over 17 games including 11 starts with a 5.92 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.620 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. Peterson has had a bit of resurgence coming out of the bullpen. In his six games relieving he has pitched eight innings with a 2.25 ERA while striking out eight batters. In 11 games as a starter he had a 6.46 ERA over 54 1/3 innings. The Orioles have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Anthony Santander 0-3, K, BB
• Ryan Mountcastle 0-3, K
• Ryan McKenna 0-1

The Mets bats will try to find themselves against Dean Kremer tonight. Over 22 starts (119 2/3 innings), Kremer has a 4.66 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.337 WHIP and a 90 ERA+. July was a mixed bag for Kremer. Overall he had a 3.45 ERA over five games, striking out 29 batters over 28 2/3 innings. This is good compared to his season numbers! He had two rough starts that are weighing heavily on the numbers, one where he allowed five runs over 4 2/3, and another where he allowed three runs over four innings. His other three starts were excellent. This will be Kremer’s first time facing the Mets and anyone on the Mets roster.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Buck’s Return. This is Buck Showalter’s return to Baltimore. Buck is loved in Charm City. When the Mets first brought him on my phone was blowing up from Orioles fans I grew up with telling me how excited they were that he was managing again. My Mom who is a huge Orioles and Mets fan has been talking about for weeks how excited she is to see him. This is a big deal for Baltimore!
2. Have you seen the walls though? The Mets lasted played in Camden Yards in 2021. After that season the Orioles moved the left field fence back about 30 feet. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s weird. It resembles like an old stadium maker video game and the Orioles just deleted the first part of the section. Not only is the outfield larger because of this but the fence is considerably higher (the Orioles used to have a low fence in left).
3. Can the offense string some hits together today? The Mets were shutout on Wednesday and lost 9-2 yesterday. In yesterday’s game they had only five hits, with Pete Alonso collecting two of them. Their two runs were both from Francisco Lindor’s 22nd homer of the season. Brandon Nimmo’s absence coupled with the trade Pham/Canha trade has hurt the lineup’s length. Hopefully the Mets can return to basics today, string hits together and score runs.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to salvage the series against the Royals this afternoon and avoid the sweep on getaway day. The Mets offense couldn’t score any runs last night despite Jeff McNeil’s big 3-for-5 day at the plate. It was also the second game in a row that Brandon Nimmo rested due to tightness in his quad. Before the game he said he was missing that last 10 percent to be ready to go. There is zero reason for Brandon Nimmo to rush back right now.

Carlos Carrasco takes the mound tonight and he looks to rebound from his last start where he allowed eight runs, six earned, over 2 1/3 innings against the Nationals. In his last three starts he has allowed 17 runs, 15 earned, over 9 1/3 innings of work (14.46 ERA, 4.66 FIP). Amazingly, he has allowed that many runs, but only one homerun, despite allowing 12 homers in his other 12 starts. Overall on the season, over 15 starts (70 1/3 innings), Carrasco has a 6.40 ERA, 5.77 FIP, 1.649 WHIP and a 64 ERA+.

Only two players on the Royals roster have seen Carrasco in a major league game. Salvador Perez is 7-for-30 with nine strikeouts. Edward Olivares is 1-for-3 with a strikeout.

Brady Singer has pitched 113 2/3 innings over 21 starts this season with a 5.46 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.460 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only four runs over 11 innings (3.27 ERA, 1.18 FIP) while striking out 19 batters. This was a positive departure from his two previous starts before that where he allowed 10 runs from 20 hits over 13 innings (6.92 FIP, 4.66 ERA). Which Brady Singer will show up this afternoon to take on the Mets? The Mets have the following, limited career stats against him:

• Francisco Lindor 0-5, 3 K
• Danny Mendick 0-2
• DJ Stewart 2-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco is a free agent at the end of the season. Every start from here on out is an audition for any major league team. He started off the month of July looking spectacular with an eight inning shutout performance. In his last three starts there’s been a crazy 10 run difference between his ERA (14.46) and his FIP (4.66). Here’s hoping Carrasco can go on a bit of a run here to close out the season.
2. Danny Mendick. Mendick is arbitration eligible in 2024 and can be a free agent in 2026. He found his way to the Mets when the White Sox granted him free agency in November 2022. It is very possible Mendick is with the team next season. While I would personally rather see the Mets give more playing time to younger right now, Mendick has been getting a long look since the end of July. In his last three games he has gone 4-for-10 with a double. He only has five hits on the season so he’s done most of his damage this week. Is this the start of a hot streak?
3. Jeff McNeil. Jeff McNeil has had to fill in for Brandon Nimmo for the last couple of days at the start of the lineup and has responded with some great days at the plate. In his last three games, McNeil has gone 5-for-14 with a triple and scored three runs. His best day was yesterday where he slapped in three hits, bringing him to 99 on the season. Yesterday was the second game in a row where McNeil was exclusively in the outfield. With Luisangel looming in the system now, I am curious to see the share of games Jeff gets in the outfield compared to second going forward.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets will try to rebound tonight after a bizarre series opener with the Royals. The Mets and Royals went into extra innings last night, with the Mets scoring twice in the top of the tenth. The Royals were able to tie the game thanks a poor throw from Brett Baty. Then Josh Walker came into his first game since being recalled to the Mets. He had pitch-com issue that led to a walk-off balk (and a Royals Gatorade shower). Just a strange game. Anyway, the Mets have Kodai Senga on the mound tonight to help us forget all about yesterday.

Kodai Senga has pitched 19 games (105 innings) with a 3.17 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.238 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. He was much more like himself in his last start, holding the Nationals to one run over six innings. In the month of July he’s pitched 23 1/3 innings allowing only five earned runs (1.93 ERA, 3.06 FIP). This will be his first career start against the Royals.

The Mets were supposed to face Alec Marsh tonight, but Marsh pitched the sixth inning last night so the Royals are calling up Cole Ragans. In Cole’s only start with the Royals this season he allowed one run from four hits over five innings. He pitched 17 games out of the bullpen for the Rangers before joining the Royals where he allowed 17 runs, 16 earned, over 24 1/3 innings of work (5.92 ERA, 5.29 FIP, 1.397 WHIP, 74 ERA+). This will be Ragans’ first time facing the Mets.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Pete Alonso went 2-for-5 at the plate with his 31st homer of the season. One of the things to watch for the rest of the season is if he will get to 50 homers. Before his injury, he was hitting about 10 homers per month. He has about two months to go and 19 homers left.
2. Francisco Álvarez. Álvarez also went 2-for-5 at the plate last night hitting his 21st homer of the season. He is quickly rising through the historical ranks of young, prolific hitting catchers. He’s also now tied, again, with Francisco Lindor for homers on the team. His development is another reason to keep watching the Mets while they pivot for 2024 and beyond.
3. Will the defense improve? The Mets defense has been costing them games. Last night it was Álvarez and Baty who made their 10th and 8th error on the season respectively. The pressure for 2023 is off right now and for their development they should see an increase of time playing their positions so they can get more chances to improve. This is also an argument for why the Mets should call up Mauricio but that’s a conversation for another day.

Let’s Go Mets!