213 Miles From Shea

The Mets go for their fifth series win in a row tonight as they attempt to extend their winning streak to four games. Last night was just an excellent night all around for the Mets. Joey Lucchesi returned to major league baseball for the first time in nearly two years and had one of the best starts of his career (and arguably the best start by any Met this season) holding the Giants scoreless over seven innings while striking out nine batters. Pete Alonso continued his current tear with his major league leading 10th homer of the season.

Tonight David Peterson gets an important start. With Scherzer out on suspension and Justin Verlander still about two weeks away, the Mets need David Peterson to show that same brilliance he has at various points in his career.

On the season David Peterson has made four starts pitching 20 2/3 innings with a 6.10 ERA, 5.52 FIP, 1.645 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. This season Peterson has been alternating between good starts and not-so-good starts. His last time out he allowed six runs from three homers over six innings against the Dodgers. Before that he kept the Padres to only two runs over 5 2/3 innings. Peterson made a solid start in San Francisco last year holding the Giants to two runs from three hits (one homer) in six innings of work while striking out six. The Giants have the following career numbers against him:

• Thairo Estrada 1-4, 2 K
• Wilmer Flores 0-2
• Darin Ruf 0-2, BB
• Mike Yastrzemski 0-3, K
• Joey Bart 1-2, K
• Brandon Crawford 1-2, HR

Wins and losses as a stat are imperfect, and because they are imperfect they can tell you something about luck. Logan Webb has been fairly unlucky on top of not being his normal self this season. He’s 0-4 in four starts over 23 2/3 innings with a 4.94 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.225 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. In all four starts he has allowed four runs, and in three of those starts the four runs have been earned. Webb had two different starts against the Mets last season. In New York he allowed three runs from three walks and six hits over 3 2/3 innings. In San Francisco he lasted five innings, allowing two runs from from five hits and a walk. The Mets have the following numbers against Webb:

• Eduardo Escobar 4-13, 2B, 4 K
• Mark Canha 4-9, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-8, BB, 3 K
• Pete Alonso 1-8, HR, BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 3-8, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-6, 2B, BB
• Francisco Lindor 2-4, 2B, K
• Tommy Pham 0-5, K
• Tomás Nido 1-4
• Daniel Vogelbach 1-3
• Luis Guillorme 1-1, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Logan Webb and homers: Logan Webb’s major weakness this year has been homers. He’s allowed five of them through four starts this season. That’s an early season 1.9 HR/9 inning rate, compared to his career stat of 0.7 HR/9. The Mets on this away trip have been home run happy (mainly Pete Alonso). Can the Mets exploit this today?
2. David Peterson and homers: Peterson is going through something similar. He’s giving up homers at a rate of 2.2 HR/9 where he is normally at 1.2 HR/9. The difference is three of the five homers that Peterson gave up all happened in the same game where Webb has allowed two homers in the same start twice already. Peterson’s H/9 is also way up this season to 11.3, his previous career high was 8.6 H/9.
3. A rested back of the bullpen: Thanks to the Mets bats the Mets have been able to give David Robertson and Adam Ottavino the last two days off. Brooks Raley has been a big part of this pitching on back to back days, and only throwing 20 pitches in the process.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets took the series Openers against the San Francisco Mets Giants last night thanks to their bats! Pete Alonso hit a major league leading 9th homer of the year. It was Pete’s 155th of his career, passing Dave Kingman on the all-time list. Overall the Mets had 13 hits on the night with Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo collecting three hits each.

Carlos Carrasco was the originally scheduled pitcher for tonight. He landed on the IL earlier in the week due to bone spurs so tonight we’ll finally see the return of Joey Luccchesi and his majestic churve pitch!

Joey last pitched for the Mets in 2021 where he tossed 38 1/3 innings over 11 games with a 4.46 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.174 WHIP, and a 90 ERA+. In his last five starts for the Mets he tossed 22 2/3 innings with a 1.19 ERA and 2.99 FIP. The churve was in! Lucchesi was even pitching into the 6th inning at this point! But then Joey had a major UCL tear and needed Tommy John. In eight rehab games last year he tossed 12 2/3 innings with a 2.13 ERA. In three games in Syracuse this year he’s pitched 15 2/3 innings with a 2.30 ERA and 1.149 WHIP. As a former Padre, there are a few Giants who have seen Lucchesi before:

• Brandon Crawford 1-8, BB, 3 K
• Wilmer Flores 1-6, K
• Austin Slater 1-6, HR, 3 K
• Michael Conforto 2-2
• Joc Pederson 0-1

The Mets look to continue their hit parade tonight against Anthony DeSclafani. Anthony is off to a strong start this season allowing four runs, only three earned, over 19 innings and three starts. He has a 1.42 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 0.632 WHIP (league leading) and a 313 ERA+. This is because Anthony has not walked a single batter this year. He faced the Mets once last year and allowed five runs from nine hits and a walk over five innings. He injured his ankle after that game that kept him out until June, and eventually needed surgery which knocked him out for the rest of the season. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Starling Marte 3-23, 2 BB, 6 K
• Eduardo Escobar 2-13, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
• Francisco Lindor 8-15, 2B, 3 HR, K
• Tommy Pham 4-11, BB, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 3-10, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 2-9, 2 2B, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-8, 2 K
• Tim Locastro 0-3
• Mark Canha 2-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The return of the churve! Joey Lucchesi throws a pitch that is not quite a changeup and not quite a curveball. The somewhere in-between pitch, the churve, is his specialty. When he’s mowing down a lineup, it’s probably because his churve is working. Here’s an interesting article about it, how he throws it differently to different batters how inconsistent the metrics of the pitch are. Specifically take a look at how the spin of the ball is dramatically different from 2019 to 2020.
2. Walks or No Walks? Anthony DeSclafani has not allowed any walks in the majors this year. The Mets are the number two teams in walks, taking 96 free passes this season (one behind the Dodgers, and nine ahead of the Orioles). One of these two trends will continue tonight.
3. Mets Stat Leaders: Pete Alonso is leading the league in homers and tied for fourth with 17 runs scored. Brandon Nimmo is tied for fourth in the league with 15 walks and second in the league with an absurd .488 OBP. Francisco Lindor is tied for fourth in doubles with eight. The Mets offense has started to come alive this road trip and is picking up the starting pitching struggles.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head into San Francisco winners of their last four series including the Padres and the Dodgers. Yesterday was just a strange day for the Mets. Without getting too into it, Max Scherzer was ejected for rosin before the fourth inning, leaving the Mets with six innings to go and a tied game. The Mets bullpen did an excellent job limiting the Dodgers offense and the Mets bats behind Brandon Nimmo’s 5-for-5 day at the plate got the Mets the lead and the win.

The Mets turn their attention to the Giants tonight as they start a four game set to close out their ten game road trip. Let’s keep the late-night coffee going for a few more days!

Kodai Senga makes his fourth start of the season and second west coast start tonight. Over his first three games and 16 innings of work he has a 3.38 ERA, 5.00 FIP, 1.438 WHIP and a 124 ERA+. The only knock in his game so far has been his control, working 10 walks but on the other hand he has 21 strikeouts already, good for a 2.10 K/BB ratio. The Athletics were able to take him deep twice in his last start, and tag Senga for four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Luckily the Mets bats decided to score 17 runs in that game so it didn’t matter.

The Mets bats will get a look at Sean Manaea. Manea pitched for the Athletics from 2016 to 2021. He was traded to the Padres in April of 2022 and this past off-season signed with the Giants. In three games and two starts this season he has pitched 11 1/3 innings with a 4.76 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.147 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. Manaea kicked off the season with a rough relief outing where he allowed three runs over two innings. He then had a great start against the Royals followed by a 3 1/3 inning outing against the Tigers. This is all to say it’s anyone guess which version of Manaea will pitch against the Mets tonight. Last year he held the Mets to two runs, one earned, over seven innings from three hits and three walks in San Diego. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Francisco Lindor 4-12, 2 2B, HR, K
• Eduardo Escobar 4-9, HR, BB, 2 K
• Tommy Pham 5-8, 2B< 2 HR< K
• Mark Canha 0-3
• Luis Guillorme 0-2, BB
• Jeff McNeil 2-3
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, BB, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. West New York Mets? San Francisco Mets? The Giants lineup is filled with familiar faces. Wilmer Flores has been with the Giants for years and has become a key hitter in their lineup. J.D. Davis has just flourished at San Francisco, hitting eight homers in 49 games last season and four already this season (he had four with the Mets last year in 66 games). Darin Ruf went back to the Giants after getting released by the Mets this year. Finally, there’s Michael Conforto. Conforto, the Mets All-Star had seven great years with the Mets and missed all of last season due to an injury while training. He’s coming off of a game where he had go-ahead homer in extra-innings, while injured, to snap the Giants losing streak.
2. The road team is the rested team. Last week the Mets had an off-day before the start of their series with the Athletics. The Athletics had to fly across the country and immediately play the Mets. The Giants are doing the same exact thing, flying from an extra-inning game in Miami to take on the Mets in San Francisco. If the Mets score 17 runs tonight, there’s something to this!
3. Brandon Nimmo! Yesterday was the Brandon Nimmo game! He’s now hitting .349/.481/.476 on the season and .516/.571/.742 in his last seven games. His OBP is second in the national league and his OPS is now sixteenth. One interesting note, this is the first time in his career that his ground out to fly out ratio is below 1.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Dodgers were able to snap the Mets winning streak yesterday as the Mets offense fell silent. Now the Mets and Dodgers have a matinee rubber game matchup this afternoon. If the Mets win, they would clinch their fourth series victory in a row.

Last night the Mets announced that Carlos Carrasco was heading to the 15-day IL and that Verlander’s rehab schedule sets him to return near the beginning of May. So the Mets still have two more weeks of surviving a rotation that is patched together. That means there is even more pressure tonight on Max Scherzer who has battled velocity issues and soreness so far this season. He skipped his last scheduled start (Sunday) to rest up and be 100% for tonight’s game. The Mets really need Max Scherzer to be Max Scherzer today.

Over three starts and 16 1/3 innings this season, Max has a 4.41 ERA, 6.07 FIP, 1.224 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. His last start was on April 10th against the Padres where he held their explosive lineup to one hit and no runs while walking three over five innings of work. He wasn’t classic Max in that start – he labored through the whole thing – but it was a great rebound from his previous start where he allowed back to back to back homers against the Brewers. His pitch count became an issue early on and he used his grit and expertise to make sure most of the full counts batters got into turned into outs and not walks. Tonight will be Max’s first start against the Dodgers since he was a Dodger back in 2021. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against him:

• Freddie Freeman 11-47, 4 2B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 12 K
• Miguel Rojas 9-35, 3 2B, HR, 3 BB, 5 K
• David Peralta 6-20, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 5 K
• Jason Heyward 5-17, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Max Muncy 4-13, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
• Chris Taylor 2-12, 2B, 3B, BB, 7 K
• Mookie Betts 1-5, 2B, BB

Noah Syndgergaard will finally face the New York Mets! Syndergaard signed with the Angels before the 2022 season. Last season when the Mets and Angels matched up in Anaheim, the Angels manager gave Syndergaard two extra days of rest, moving him out of the series against the Mets. He then got traded to the Phillies in the middle of the season and got an extra day of rest again when the Phillies and Mets matched up. In the background of all of this was a bit of messy separation of the former Mets star and the organization.

Syndergaard has made three starts and pitched 16 innings with a 5.63 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.250 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. The numbers are a bit deceptive though. Syndergaard had a great start against the Diamondbacks to start the season, then a terrible start against the Diamondbacks the second time around. Last time out he gave the exact definition of a quality start – six innings, three runs – against the Chicago Cubs. The Mets have the following career numbers against Syndergaard:

• Tommy Pham 4-10, 2B, 2 K
• Starling Marte 0-8, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Both of the Mets top prospects will start at the same time! Brett Baty and Francisco Álvarez should both get starts today. They both played in last night’s game, getting pinch hits. Álvarez has had a lot of time on the bench since he was called up. Despite Nido’s hot spring, he’s been cold since the season started so it’s been frustrating to see Álvarez not get reps out in the field. I know this isn’t the reason why the Mets did this, but at least the first game both Baty and Álvarez will play in happens during the afternoon and not in the middle of the night for the Mets fan base.
2. Mookie at shortstop? Dave Roberts told reporters before yesterday’s game that he was thinking about using Mookie at short tonight. Mookie has been taking reps for a few days now at short. The last time Betts has played shortstop was in 2012 for the Lowell Spinners.
3. Jeff McNeil: Jeff McNeil has quietly rebounding from his first week or so of the season. He’s hitting .254/.382/.349 overall which isn’t tremendous, but the .382 is good for the second highest on the team behind Brandon Nimmo and ahead of Pete Alonso. He is still quite a bit behind his career batting average (.305) and his current 104 OPS+ is low Jeff, but this could all be due to his slow start to the season. In his last 10 games his stat line improves to .281/.452/.438.

Let’s Go Mets!

Late last night while New York was sleeping, the Mets and Dodgers played an action-packed back and forth affair with the Mets coming out on top and securing their fifth win in a row. Baty made his 2023 debut and made an impact with a late RBI. Vogelbach had three RBI’s including a two run homer.

Now the Mets have a chance tonight to take the series and win their sixth game in a row with Tylor Megill taking on longstanding Dodgers’ ace – Clayton Kershaw.

Wins are imperfect stat in baseball, however Tylor Megill could make me a believer again. He is 3-0 over his first three starts of the year where he has allowed four runs from 12 hits in 16 innings leading to a 2.25 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 1.188 WHIP and a 188 ERA+. Megill has only pitched one quality start in those three starts (six shutout innings against the Marlins on April 7th). The next step for Megill will be to consistently make it through the sixth inning. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Megill:

• Freddie Freeman 4-8, 3 K
• Max Muncy 2-3, 2B
• David Peralta 0-3, K
• Miguel Rojas 1-3, K
• Will Smith 0-2, K
• Chris Taylor 1-2, K

Clayton Kershaw stands between the Mets and a series victory tonight. Over his first three starts and 18 innings this season he has a 3.50 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 1.111 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. His first start this season was his best, allowing one run over six innings. Since then he has allowed seven runs, six earned, over 12 innings of work. In his one start against the Mets last season he allowed only one run from one hit and three walks over five innings while striking out six Mets. The Mets have the following career numbers against Kershaw:

• Eduardo Escobar 4-22, 2 HR, BB, 5 K
• Starling Marte 4-19, BB, 7 K
• Tommy Pham 1-14, BB, 5 K
• Mark Canha 3-10, BB, 3 K
• Pete Alonso 1-4, 2 BB
• Francisco Lindor 1-5, K
• Jeff McNeil 0-5
• Brandon Nimmo 0-5, 3 K
• Tomás Nido 1-3, K

Three Things To Watch:

1. Brandon Nimmo’s Glove! Brandon Nimmo has played hero the last two games for the Mets. On Sunday he made multiple, game saving catches to keep the Mets in the game. Yesterday he ran down a ball in the gap in the ninth inning. It feels like centuries ago that Mets fans were having debates about whether the Mets could really trust Nimmo in center.
2. The bats are heating up! Yesterday the Mets collected 14 hits, including three players getting three hits each. Nimmo, Alonso and McNeil each went 3-5 at the plate (McNeil even collected three doubles!). Similar to this past weekend with walks, the goal is to actually score runs. Yesterday the Mets were able to convert 14 hits and three walks into eight runs. This is the way!
3. It had to be Freddie Freeman. Freddie Freeman gave the Dodgers the early lead last night with a solo homer. In 195 games against the Mets, Freeman is .302/.386/.492 hitter with 28 homers. Surprisingly, this matches his career OBP exactly and is slightly less than his career slugging (.508). That being said, it always feels like Freeman is the greatest hitter on Earth when he plays the Mets.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to five games this evening as they take on Dustin May and the Dodgers! Brandon Nimmo played hero yesterday with game saving catch in the 9th inning, allowing the Mets get the sweep against the Athletics. Now they head to Los Angeles and take on one of the best pitchers in the league.

Brett Baty finally joins the major league squad. He had a terrific spring and honestly deserved to break camp with the Mets. Over the past couple of weeks he has destroyed the ball in Syracuse and forced the Mets hand. It is not the greatest thing for the Mets fan base to have Baty’s 2023 debut after 10 PM local time but that’s a small price to pay to get his bat on the major league roster.

David Peterson becomes the first Met in 2023 to start four games tonight. Over his first three games and 14 2/3 innings of work he has a 4.91 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.841 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. Peterson had a poor start on April 5th against the Brewers where he allowed five runs from five hits over four innings. In his other 10 2/3 innings, he has allowed only three runs while striking out 11 batters. Peterson made one start against the Dodgers las year where he allowed four runs, only one earned, over 3 2/3 innings from two hits and four walks while striking out six. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Freddie Freeman 3-12, BB, 5 K
• Miguel Rojas 5-9, 2 2B, HR
• J.D. Martinez 0-6, 2 K
• Austin Barnes 0-1, BB, K
• Mookie Betts 1-2, 2B
• Chris Taylor 0-2, K

The Mets bats will get a look at Dustin May tonight who is off to a good start for the Dodgers this year. Over his first three starts and 18 1/3 innings, May has allowed three runs from seven hits and seven walks while striking out 12 batters. This is good for early season 1.47 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 0.764 WHIP and a 312 ERA+. He leads the league in H/9 at 3.4 and has not allowed any homers this season. The Mets have the following career numbers against May:

• Tommy Pham 2-7, BB, K
• Mark Canha 2-5
• Eduardo Escobar 1-2
• Tim Locastro 1-1
• Brandon Nimmo 0-1, K
• Daniel Vogelbach 0-1, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brett Baty: In nine games and 42 plate appearances for Syracuse this season, Baty hit .400/.500/.866 with two doubles and five homers. His average exit velocity was 100.4 mph. In his final four games last year before his injury, he was just starting to get hot, going for 4-for-14 with a homer and only two strikeouts compared to going 3-for-24 with six strikeouts in his previous seven games. With Baty and Álvarez both in the major leagues – the future of the New York Mets is here!
2. Mets are hitting homers now! The Mets offense was severely lacking power early this season. During this four game winning streak the Mets have hit eight homers including three from Alonso and three from Lindor. With the exception of Lindor’s grand slam on Friday night, the Mets have mostly been hitting solo shots. The next step for the Mets is to take advantage of the walks they are working and start to score runs in bunches.
3. Robertson is on a roll! Most likely we won’t see Robertson today, but he deserves a shoutout somewhere in this article. Robertson has tossed 8 1/3 innings for the Mets this season allowing no runs on four hits and nothing else while striking out nine batters. He’s played a larger part in securing the last two Mets wins.

Let’s Go Mets!

For a second Sunday in a row, the New York Mets go for a sweep this afternoon! The Mets had 17 walks and 17 runs on Friday Night to beat the Athletics by 11 runs. Yesterday afternoon the Mets had a comeback win and just squeaked out a 3-2 victory. Yesterday’s close game featured two starters with ERA’s above 11 and they both were able to settle down and create a pretty good pitching matchup. That’s baseball!

Today was supposed to be Max Scherzer day. However he was scratched from today’s start with “lingering soreness”. Max had imaging done and it doesn’t appear that he is dealing with anything too serious. He said he didn’t want to be selfish and pitch today if he’s not 100% healthy. As of right now, Max will now slot into Wednesday’s start, giving the Mets that extra day of rest for starters in the middle of the road trip that they were looking. To be completely honest, this whole situation isn’t too confidence inducing.

José Butto will make his 2023 debut today in Scherzer’s absence. In two starts for Syracuse this season, Butto has allowed two runs from six hits and five walks over 9 2/3 innings (1.86 ERA). He made his major league debut last year pitching only one game and it was a doozy. In four innings he allowed seven runs from nine hits and two walks against the Phillies in Philly. Overall, Butto has pitched in the Mets minor league system for six seasons now with a 3.40 ERA over 104 games and 460 innings. The Mets do not have too many starting pitching prospects in Syracuse – today is a great opportunity for Butto to shine and make some noise.

The Mets bats will try to find their Friday version of themselves tonight against JP Sears. In his first two starts of the season Sears has allowed six runs from 11 hits and two walks over 9 2/3 innings (5.59 ERA). Both starts this season he has allowed exactly three runs, but he allowed eight hits in his first start and only three in his second (but two of those three hits were homers). The Mets saw Sears at the end of last season and were able score six runs from eight hits and two walks against him over 3 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against JP:

• Mark Canha 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 2-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, BB, K
• Pete Alonso 1-2
• Eduardo Escobar 2-2
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Tomás Nido 0-2, K
• Tommy Pham 0-1, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete continues his hot start! Pete Alonso hit his seventh homer of the season yesterday. He is now tied with Devers for the league leading (each time we write this segment, Pete is sharing the league lead with someone new). The Mets as a team have only 15 homers, good for 19th in the league. If Pete hits a homer before another member of the Mets, Pete will once again hold 50% of the team’s homers. Absurd for multiple reasons.
2. Brandon Nimmo is walking and hitting now! Before this road trip Nimmo was walking all over opponents, but he wasn’t collecting a ton of hits. Nimmo went 2-for-4 at the plate yesterday, collecting his fourth double of the year and his 8th RBI. Over his last three games he is now 7-for-13 with two walks (.539/.625/.769). He’s second in league for walks with 14. He’s now 8th in the league with a .468 OPS. He’s been one of the most consistent and important parts of this Mets offense this season.
3. Is this the last game the Mets will play at the Oakland Coliseum? This year marks the first season that every major league team plays every major league team. I am assuming right now if the Athletics and Mets play their series in Oakland this year, that means next year preference will be given for the Mets to host the series. The Athletics lease on the Coliseum is ending at the end of next season. Right now the organization is being operated as a real life version of “Major League”. They want out of Oakland. This could mean they move to another part of the Bay Area or another city entirely. They could also stay in Oakland and build a new stadium. There’s a non-zero chance that the Mets are playing their last game at the Oakland Coliseum this afternoon.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets finally had a breakout day for the offense! The Mets worked 17 walks last night and scored 17 runs as they took the series opener from the Oakland Athletics. The 17-6 win was enough to flip the Mets run differential all the way to a +10 on the season.

Francisco Lindor had the most memorable night at the plate hitting a grand slam in the second and getting three more RBI’s on a double later in the game. The Mets have struggled all season to get the big hit and Lindor essentially did that twice for the Mets as the Athletics were starting to assemble a comeback before the 5th inning.

Yesterday was a redemption day for the Mets offense. Here’s hoping today is redemption day for Carlos Carrasco. The first two starts of the year have been tough for Carrasco. He has allowed 11 runs from 10 hits and seven walks. In previous years, Carrasco has struggled when he allows homers, and he’s already allowed three this year. His troubles this year seem to be related to a drop in velocity. The Athletics have the following career numbers against Carlos:

• Jesús Aguilar 5-13, 2 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Tony Kemp 3-7, HR, BB
• JJ Bleday 1-5, HR< 2 BB
• Aledmys Díaz 0-2, K
• Jace Peterson 0-2, BB, K

The Mets bats will get a look at Shintaro Fujinami, making his third start of his major league career. Fujinami struck out four batters over two scoreless innings in his first start. Since then he has tossed 4 2/3 innings allowing 13 runs from eight hits and seven walks. The 29-year old pitched in Japan for 10 years before this season, posting a career 3.17 ERA over 252 games and 1302 1/3 innings.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Athletics Overworked Bullpen: Going into today’s game, the Athletics have the least effective, in terms of ERA, starting rotation in the majors. Their last day off was 4/6 and they don’t have another day off scheduled until 4/20. The Mets were able to knock Kaprielian out before the end of the fourth inning yesterday, further exasperating the bullpen. Can the Mets do it again and take advantage of the bullpen?
2. Work those counts! The Mets worked 17 walks last night and now have 76 on the season, good for 1st in the league. While last night was extreme, the Mets have been working walks all season. Last night was the first time the Mets fully capitalized on the free passes.
3. Possums. Gary revealed last night that the Mets broadcast booth is not actually in the visiting TV booth this series. Wayne Randazzo discovered during his first broadcast of the year that there is a possum living in the visiting TV booth. When the SNY crew tried to set up for this series they found some possum droppings and decided to go to another booth. Today is the first WPIX game of the year so first, we’ll look to see if the “new” visiting booth has signage more centered than last night. Second, a camera man still had to operate out of the possum booth. Here’s hoping he can coexist with our new fury friend for the rest of the weekend.

The Mets head to California for a long ten-game road trip with the Mets playing in Oakland, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This is on the heels of a three game series against the San Diego Padres – the Mets are definitely getting quality time with Californian teams!

After getting swept by the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Mets have responded with winning back to back series against the Marlins and the Padres. They head into Oakland to face a squad that has been struggling so far this season with a 3-10 record.

Kodai Senga makes his third start of the season this evening for the Mets. He has an early season 1.59 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.059 WHIP and a 276 ERA+. Both of his starts so far have been against the Marlins who have recorded exactly one run from three hits and three walks in each start. Senga’s second start against the same roster gave us the first peak into a major question – how fast can teams adjust to him? The Marlins struck out less in the second start but still produced the same outcome.

James Kaprielian takes the mound for the third time this season as well. Over his first two games he has allowed 12 runs over 9 1/3 innings leading to a 11.17 ERA, 8.67 FIP, 1.966 WHIP and a 40 ERA+. His first start was at home against the Guardians who tagged him for five runs on seven hits. His last start was in Tampa against the surging Rays who got him for seven runs from seven hits including three homers over 4 2/3 innings. The only Met on the roster who has faced James is Tommy Pham who went 0-2 with two strikeouts.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Starling Marte finally returns to Oakland. Starling Marte was traded from the Marlins to the Athletics at the 2021 deadline. Marte should have turned to his brief home at the end of last season when the Mets played a three game set in Oakland at the end of September, but Marte missed the last month of the regular season with an injury. Over 32 games Marte has hit .328/.359/.515 in Oakland. The Mets would love to see some of that this weekend.
2. Old Friends! The Mets will be reunited with a couple of old friends this weekend. Trevor May signed a deal with the Athletics this off-season. The emoji posting reliever has pitched in six games and 4 2/3 innings so far this season with a 9.64 ERA. Jeurys Familia signed a deal with the Diamondbacks in February and was cut in late March. Oakland picked up the former Mets closer. In six games and 5 1/3 innings this year he has allowed four runs but only two earned.
3. Pete Alonso shares the league lead in homers. Pete Alonso and Ryan Mountcastle (Orioles) have each hit six homers this season. The Mets as a team have only hit 12 homers, so Pete still has half of the teams homers. Lindor is the only other player on the Mets roster who has hit more than one homer this season.

Let’s Go Mets!

I finally got to a Mets game for the first time in 2023 this week. Since 2018 I’ve had a pretty established routine when going to a game. First, I show up way too early and end up walking around Corona Park for a while. Then I head to EBBS/Mikkeller for a beer (and read!). Finally, I go into Citi Field way too early, walk around the concourse and pick up a beer at the Empire State Craft stand.

Yesterday my routine took a major hit – the Empire State Craft stand is gone! I made a more methodic lap around the concourse, and several other concourses, to see if it moved. Years ago Keith’s Burgers (RIP) were moved and that also threw a wrench in my routine. A craft beer from New York pairs amazingly with a Keith Burger. Anyway, using Keith’s Burgers as precedent, I thought there was a chance the Empire State Craft stand was moved.

Alas, I could not find it. This blog post is an imperfect history of craft beer at Citi Field, a eulogy to my favorite stand at the ballpark, and a quick review of beer options currently at Citi Field.

Big Apple Brews and the Early Days of Beer at Citi Field

Citi Field opened in 2009. I was a sophomore at college at the time, so purchasing a beer at the ballpark was not a concept I was really aware of. Plus I still lived 213 miles away from Citi Field at the time (the name of this blog!). This is to say my understanding of beer at Citi at this point is quite limited. There were two major beer hubs, one located in the outfield by Shake Shack. Another on the promenade behind home plate. These “Big Apple Brews” stands are still standing today and over the years have been rebranded for Coors Light and Vizzy.

Back in the early days of Citi Field, you could get all of the well known beers at these stands. The vibe was like a bar that advertises how many taps they have, but all of their taps are macro beers. You still go to this bar because you want something besides Bud Light and Miller Lite, but deep down you know the beer selection is nothing special. That was Big Apple Brews! In addition to Bud Light and the 1,563 variations of Bud Light-ritas, you could get Shocktop, Stella, Kirin, Becks, Rolling Rock, Kona, Landshark, etc. I could be biased from fond memories, but the beer selection at Big Apple Brews was still larger than the beer and seltzer offerings at the iterations that are still standing today.

I moved to Newark in summer of 2011 to teach and I’ve been in the area ever since. Which means since then I’ve been going to a ton of Mets games, looking to increase the amount of beers logged on untappd. Around 2012/2013 (I’m not sure on exact year, remember this is an imperfect history!) an Empire State Craft stand opened up on the Promenade, next to the gift store. It was a substantial stand with a huge can selection and draft beer. Back then you could get Oyster Bay on tap. Southern Tier was still sold at Citi! Craft beer was heading toward it’s golden years at Citi Field.

Golden Age of Beer at Citi Field

Eventually the Empire State Craft stand closed on the upper deck (this happened around the years where more and more concessions would just be closed on the upper deck due to attendance). The stand opened on the main concourse next to Keith’s Burgers near where the Amazin’ Deli stands today. It is also entirely possible this stand always existed and I missed it. Personally I switched from buying tickets in the Promenade to sitting with The 7 Line in the Big Apple Reserve.

Early Empire State Craft was just amazing. Here are the different breweries that I had between 2016 and 2019:

• Cooperstown Brewing
• Rockaway Brewing
• Newburgh Brewing
• LIC Beer Project
• Mikkeller NYC (more on this in a moment)
• Flagship Brewing
• Blue Point
• Ithaca Beer Company
• Sixpoint Brewing
• Five Boroughs Brewing Company
• Oyster Bay Brewing Company
• Braven Brewing

Just an astonishing list of New York Brewers. Brooklyn Brewing was also at the ballpark during this time, but generally just had their normal stuff available. When I went to Citi Field this week in 2023, I didn’t see any of the beers above (it’s very possible I just missed Sixpoint though).

If your goal at Citi Field between 2016 and 2019 was to drink a beer you’ve never had before, it was going to happen! Almost all of it came through this one stand.

Another major event happened in 2018, cementing 2018-19 as the peak of the Golden Age of Beer at Citi Field: Mikkeller NYC.

Mikkeller opened up a New York arm of it’s international beer company, using the large space underneath Citi Field as a brewery. Their flagship beers, available all over the ballpark when they first opened, included Henry Hops and Say Hey Sally. Mikkeller NYC just made banger after banger of great beers. Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Post No Pils (great play on New York’s ubiquitous Post No Bills)
• Ergonomic Park Bench
• Queens Riot
• Lawn Daze
• United We Cheers
• I’ve Grown Up A Lot Since Before Dinner
• Shall We Hop A Beer
• Queensfisher
• Subway Mosaic IPA
• People Power

In addition to having a large selection of their own beers, Mikkeller NYC carried Mikkeller beers from their San Diego and Copenhagen arms. They also had a rotating list of beers from other NYC brewers. This is why Mikkeller had 60 taps! It seems silly now with EBBS. Back when the space was Mikkeller, they generally had 40-45 taps with different beers operating on game day. This truly was the peak of craft beer at Citi Field.

Adjusting to a Post-2020 World

I struggle to say post-pandemic here because the Covid19 pandemic is still actively happening. The world is still shifting to find a new equilibrium. Everything that I’m about to say is incredibly inconsequential compared to what we have all lived through over the last three years.

Last season EBBS opened up under Citi Field. This paragraph is from what I learned talking to a bartender at EBBS in Brooklyn before the 2022 season. I didn’t take any notes, so please don’t consider this an official record. Remember this is an imperfect history of beer at Citi Field. Mikkeller International essentially sells their licensing to the smaller breweries outside of Copenhagen. That licensing, and arguments about who owns what, didn’t make sense for Mikkeller NYC anymore. A good chunk of the brewers (and some of the investors) rebranded as EBBS. EBBS beer started to appear at Citi Field in 2021 with a naming convention literally the opposite of Mikkeller. Rather than fun names, EBBS names their beer like “IPA No. 7”. EBBS has a tremendous brand identity. The beer is great, and the Brooklyn spot is a lot of fun.

EBBS reopening the Mikkeller spot in 2022 gave me a lot of hope for beer at Citi Field. 2021 was tough – options were dwindling in the ballpark and there was no place to hang out right before the game. I only went two games in 2022, so I can’t speak to the beer options as a whole in Citi Field. I struggled to find beer that I haven’t had before, but I chalked that up to years of having one new beer every time I went to a Mets game.

2023 – A New Beer Landscape at Citi Field

I have a general rule when I go to the ballpark. For my health and wallet, I try to only have two beers. One before the game at Mikkeller/EBBS, one at the game at Empire State.

Tuesday was the first game I went to in 2023, I had a fantastic craft beer from Garvies at the new K Korner bar before having a beer at EBBS. Then I had another beer at EBBS when my wife got off work. Three beers – I’m done. There was no way I could have another beer at the ballpark, so I didn’t even look for Empire State Craft. Plus, I knew I was going back on Wednesday so no pressure to look at the beer offerings at Citi Field.

When I got the stadium on Wednesday I realized that things have changed at Citi Field. Here are the big beer related changes I saw when going around the ballpark:

• Empire State Craft was gone!
• The Blue Point Stand by the ramp on the third base side was gone and replaced with a Montauk Stand*
• There was now a Coney Island Stand on the first base side*
• Dogfish Head got the naming rights for a bar (Excelsior level) and had draft offerings of Citrus Squall around the ballpark *

*I cannot say for certain if this change was 2023 or 2022

Further beer offerings in the ballpark had shifted:

• IN: More Montauk, More Dogfish Head, More Coney, Garvies joins the Citi Lineup
• OUT: Five Boroughs, Newburgh, Blue Point, LIC, Braven (all beers I saw in 2021, and I’m pretty sure I saw in 2022). Everything else from that list earlier was also out, but I hadn’t seen some of them for years

If you are looking for craft beer at Citi Field, there are plenty of amazing offering still available. Coney Island makes great beers. Garvies is a strong new comer to the ballpark. Montauk is always solid. Brooklyn’s Pop Art beer is fantastic. Craft Beer is still at Citi Field.

The beer selection at Citi Field just isn’t as eclectic as it once was. Smaller brewers like Queens have been missing for years. I was introduced to several New York breweries because of their offerings at Citi Field. I’m not sure what happened but I have a hunch. (This is wild speculation). I think the Mets have a different beverage provider contract this year, that is controlling which craft beers are allowed to be sold at the ballpark. EBBS is literally under the stadium, they should be available on the concourse at Citi Field.

Wishlist For Next Year

The Mets have also changed beer offerings in the middle of the season before. Here’s hoping that in May and June there are are more beers, new beers, available at Citi.

Citi Field is missing a craft beer bar at the ballpark. A place that gets several kegs of beer from local breweries and serves drafts. This could easily go in the Taste of NY corner of Citi Field that feels more an more neglected by the Mets over the last few years. It could be inside of a “van” in the Coke Corner. If they decide to make the “Amazin’ Deli” into a bar, it could go there.

The stadium itself has changed a lot over the last couple of years. Places that haven’t been utilized properly are starting to get new attractions. The Bud Light Landing is now a pretty cool standing bar. There is now a super expensive speak easy in the outfield. Because of these changes, I think we can assume that other areas of the stadium, like the Taste of NY corner, that haven’t been busy lately may get some upgrades in 2024 and beyond.