213 Miles From Shea

For the first time in team history the Mets have won the first six consecutive series to start a season. Today the Mets will go for their first sweep of the season as they finish their series with the Cardinals.

The series so far has had tremendous pitching from both sides as the Mets were able to cobble together three runs yesterday to beat the Cardinals 3-0. The third run was the most controversial – Starling Marte was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. It was the third time a Mets batter was hit by a pitch on the night and the 18th time this season. It also directly followed a scary moment when Alonso got plucked on the head…again.

Carlos Carrasco is on the mound today for the Mets, looking to keep the good times going. In three starts this season he has tossed 18 1/3 innings allowing three runs from nine hits and two walks while striking out 20 batters. He has a 1.47 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 0.600 WHIP and a 255 ERA+. His last start was tremendous as he pitched 7 2/3 innings allowing only two runs from four hits against a strong San Francisco Giants lineup. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against Carrasco:

• Albert Pujols 1-11, BB, 2 K
• Corey Dickerson 0-10, 4 K
• Yadier Molina 2-5, K
• Paul DeJong 0-3, 2 K
• Tommy Edman 0-3, K
• Paul Goldschmidt 2-3, 2B
• Harrison Bader 0-2
• Tyler O’Neill 0-2, K

The Mets will say good bye to the Cardinals today while saying hello to our old friend Steven Matz. Matz was linked to the Mets in rumors this off-season before he eventually signed with the Cardinals. He’s made three starts tossing 13.2 innings allowing eight runs from 19 hits and three walks while striking out 17. That puts his K/9 at 11.2 so far which is fairly above his career mark at 8.6. His season numbers though hide more of the story. In reality Matz just had a really bad first game of the season where he allowed seven runs in three innings to the Pirates. Since then he has allowed only one run over 10 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Matz:

• Starling Marte 1-12, 4 K
• Eduardo Escobar 3-6, HR, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-6, 2 2B, K
• Pete Alonso 1-3, HR
• Mark Canha 1-2
• J.D. Davis 0-2, BB, K
• Travis Jankowski 0-2, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, BB, K
• Dominic Smith 0-3, K
• Luis Guillorme 1-2
• James McCann 0-2

Let’s Go Mets!

The 2022 Mets are not your recent Mets clubs.

If you’ve followed the Mets during deGrom’s time, you’ve experienced a dominating pitching performance by a Mets ace and the bats not coming through for them. There was a moment last night where they could have been true – Scherzer tossed seven shutout innings and the Mets immediately gave up two runs in the bottom of the 8th. But, the 2022 Mets are different. The Mets scored five runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead and win the game.

The Mets will now ride the late momentum from last night into their game tonight with the Cardinals. If the Mets win tonight they will secure their sixth straight series win to start the season.

Chris Bassitt will take the mound for the Mets tonight. In his first three starts to the season he has pitched 18 innings allowing six runs from 13 hits and four walks while striking out 20. He has a 3.00 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 0.944 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. He’s coming off of his worst start of the season where he allowed five runs over six innings to the Giants. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Albert Pujols 5-12, 2B, HR
• Nolan Arenado 1-2
• Paul DeJong 1-2, 2B
• Paul Goldschmidt 0-1, BB
• Yadier Molina 1-2

The Mets bats draw Jordan Hicks who has pitched in three games and started one this season. Over his seven innings, he has allowed one run and three hits while walking four and striking out eight. His last time out was his first start of the season (4/21) where he pitched three innings, allowing one run, against the Marlins. In his first game this season he tossed 27 pitches, then 35, followed by 46 his last time out so he is getting stretched out. Last season he pitched in ten games as a reliever for the Cardinals and allowed six runs in ten innings of work. He injured his elbow in early May before the Cardinals faced the Mets and didn’t pitch for the rest of the season. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Starling Marte 2-7
• Pete Alonso 1-1
• J.D. Davis 0-1
• Francisco Lindor 0-1, K
• James McCann 0-1
• Jeff McNeil 0-1
• Brandon Nimmo 1-1

Let’s Go Mets!

Tonight the first place New York Mets take on the first place St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets are coming off five consecutive series wins, including taking three of four games from the San Francisco Giants. Now the Mets get their second tough test of the young season.

The five consecutive series wins for the Mets ties the record for the club set by the 2018 team. Anecdotally, the Mets have felt in the games they’ve lost this year, clawing back leads and creating moments late in the game.

Max Scherzer will make his fourth start of the season today. In his first three starts he has tossed 18 innings allowing five runs from 9 hits and seven walks while striking out 23. He has a 2.50 ERA, 2.59 FIP, 0.889 WHIP and a 150 ERA+. In two starts against the Cardinals last year he pitched 14 innings and allowed only one unearned run from ten hits and a walk while striking out 22. The Cardinals have the following numbers against Max:

• Paul Goldschmidt 5-32, BB, 16 K
• Yadier Molina 1-17, 2B, 4 K
• Albert Pujols 1-12, 2B, 3 BB, 3 K
• Paul DeJong 4-13, 2B, BB, 5 K
• Corey Dickerson 5-12, HR, K
• Nolan Arenado 2-10, BB, 5 K
• Harrison Bader 2-10, 2B, 4 K
• Tommy Edman 4-9, 2B, HR, 2 K
• Dylan Carlson 0-7, 4 K

The Mets bats will get a look at Miles Mikolas tonight. In his first three starts he has allowed three runs from 13 hits and three walks over 15 1/3 innings. This equates to a 1.76 ERA, 2.17 FIP, 1.043 WHIP and a 231 ERA+. Mikolas made nine starts last season, totaling 44 2/3 innings, with a 4.23 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.209 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. Mikolas did not faced the Mets last season, and the Mets players have the following career numbers against him:

• Starling Marte 5-32, 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
• Robinson Canó 2-6
• Eduardo Escobar 0-6, 2 K
• Travis Jankowski 0-6
• Pete Alonso 0-4
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, BB, K
• J.D. Davis 0-3
• Jeff McNeil 1-2, BB
• Dominic Smith 0-1, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Diamondbacks play a rubber game today to close out the series after the Mets dropped the bullpen game last night. The Mets will be looking their fifth consecutive series win to start the season. The Diamondbacks will be looking to split the season series with the Mets.

Tylor Megill has made three starts and pitched 16 1/3 innings this season. Over that stretch he has allowed four runs from 13 hits and two walks while striking out 15 leading to a 2.20 ERA, 2.36 FIP, 0.918 WHIP and a 170 ERA+. Megill labored through his last start, giving up four runs early but still pushed through to give the Mets six innings (which they desperately needed since it was the first game of a doubleheader). This will be Tylor’s first start against the Diamondbacks in his career and he has not faced anyone on the Diamondback’s roster in a major league game before.

The Mets draw Madison Bumgarner who is pitching in his third season for the Diamondbacks. The long time San Francisco Giant is having a bit of a resurgence this season. So far, over three starts, he has tossed 13.0 innings allowing four runs, only two earned, from eight hits and a ten walks while striking out nine. He has a 1.38 ERA, 4.96 FIP, 1.385 WHIP and 286 ERA+. His WHIP and FIP suggest that his ERA is quite below his expected performance and getting walks are the Mets thing, so it’s interesting to see how this will all play out today.

Last season he made 26 starts and pitched 146 1/3 innings with a 4.67 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.182 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. Bumgarner faced the Mets one last season and allowed five runs from eight hits over two innings. He revealed after that game that he was experiencing discomfort and he didn’t make another start until July 16th. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Eduardo Escobar 4-17, 2B, HR, BB, 4 K
• Mark Canha, 2-14, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 5 K
• Starling Marte 1-12, K
• J.D. Davis 2-9, BB
• Jeff McNeil 4-10, 2B, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 3-8, HR, K
• Robinson Canó 1-6, 2B, 2 K
• Travis Jankowski 0-5, K
• James McCann 2-5, HR
• Francisco Lindor 1-2

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for the series win this evening in Arizona!

The Mets almost fell apart last night – with almost being the key word. The Diamondbacks staged a late comeback, tied the game in the 9th and forced the game to extra innings but the Mets were able to score in the 10th and lock down their 11th win of the season.

Winning always makes everything better, including what I’m about to tell you – happy first bullpen game of the season! The Mets will play their first bullpen game of the season tonight due to the double-header at the start of the week. Personally, I am still scarred from all of the bullpen games last year but the circumstances surrounding last year are quite different than this year. After the game yesterday, Buck Showalter said everyone is available for tonight’s game except Trevor May.

Trevor Williams will start things off for the Mets tonight. This season he has tossed 1 2/3 innings allowing four hits and two unearned runs while striking out one batter. Last year he pitched in 23 games between the Cubs and the Mets and made 15 starts with 91 innings of work. He posted a 4.35 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.495 WHIP and a 96 ERA+. As a Met only he pitched in 10 games, making three starts (32 1/3 innings) with a 3.06 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 1.423 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. Williams last start as a Cub last year was against the Diamondbacks where he allowed no runs from five hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. The Diamondbacks have the following numbers against Williams:

• David Peralta 5-16, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 K
• Nick Ahmed 1-9, HR, 3 K
• Ketel Marte 2-8, 3B
• Carson Kelly 0-6, 2 K
• Christian Walker 1-4, 2B, 2 K
• Luke Weaver 1-4, K
• Pavin Smith 1-3, 2B

The Mets bats draw Humberto Castellanos, making his second start of the season and pitching in his fourth game. So far this season he has allowed one earned run from three hits and a walk over eight innings of work while striking out seven. His only start was last weekend against the Mets where he held the Mets to one hit over four innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Humberto:

• Pete Alonso 0-2
• Mark Canha 0-2, 2 K
• Eduardo Escobar 0-1, BB
• Travis Jankowski 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 0-2
• Starling Marte 0-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Dominic Smith 0-2
• Luis Guillorme 0-0, BB
• James McCann 1-1

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head on their first road trip to a different time zone tonight as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Deja vu? The Mets just won two of three games against the Diamondbacks last weekend. At the conclusion of this weekend’s series the two teams won’t matchup again for the rest of the regular season .

Since the two teams last played, the Mets went on to win three of four games from Diamondback’s divisional rival, the Giants. It was a statement series for the Mets who now have baseball’s best record and got there by beating one of baseball’s best teams. The Diamondbacks split a four-game series with Nationals this past week.

David Peterson will make second start and pitch in his third game this season tonight. So far he has allowed no runs from six hits and four walks while striking out seven in 8 1/3 innings of work. This includes a start against the Diamondbacks where he tossed 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. His outing last time against the Diamondbacks was a significant improvement over his two games last year against them where pitched two innings between both starts allowing eight earned runs. The Diamondbacks have the following numbers against Peterson:

• Carson Kelly 1-2, 2B, 3 BB, K
• Christian Walker 2-4, BB
• Pavin Smith 2-3, BB, K
• Ketel Marte 1-3, HR, K
• Nick Ahmed 0-1, BB, K
• Sergio Alcantara 0-1, BB
• Yonny Hernandez 0-2, K
• Cooper Hummel 0-2
• Jake McCarthy 0-2

The Mets bats draw Zac Gallen again who has only pitched against the Mets this season. In his only start last weekend he allowed two hits and a walk with no runs in four innings of work. The Diamondbacks would score three runs late in that game and the Mets would come close but could not overcome to win. The Mets have the following numbers against Zac Gallen:

• Pete Alonso 1-9, 2 BB, 5 K
• Jeff McNeil 2-11, 3 K
• Robinson Canó 3-8, 2B, 2 K
• Dominic Smith 0-5, 2 BB, K
• Mark Canha 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-5
• James McCann 0-5, 3 K
• Tomas Nido 1-3, BB, K
• Travis Jankowski 1-3, 3B, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, BB, K
• Eduardo Escobar 0-2, K
• Starling Marte 0-1, BB

Francisco Lindor has been off to a hot start, adding three hits including a homerun yesterday. He now has four homers on the season and through 62 PA’s he’s hitting .308/.419/.615 (career line .279/.344/.480). Lindor is also leading the league in runs scored at 12. We love to see it!

Let’s Go Mets!

On Tuesday the Mets swept the Giants in a single-admission doubleheader.

Yesterday the Giants struck back with a 5-2 win. The Giants struck early and were able to hold the lead despite the Mets mounting a couple of come back attempts late in the game.

Carlos Carrasco will look to lead the Mets back into the win column tonight. In his first two starts of the season he has allowed one run on five hits and two walks in 10 2/3 innings, leading to a small-sample size 0.84 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 0.656 WHIP and a 459 ERA+. One of his best starts last season was against the Giants. Carrasco held them to two runs from three hits and no walks over seven winnings while striking out 5. The Giants have the following numbers against him:

• Brandon Crawford 1-11, 2B, 2 K
• Curt Casali 1-7, 2B, K
• Brandon Belt 0-5, BB, 4 K
• Wilmer Flores 0-3
• Tommy La Stella 1-3, 2B
• Joc Pederson 1-3, HR, K
• Mike Yatrzemski 0-2, K

The Mets bats draw long time Reds pitcher Anthony DeSclafani with his second season with the Giants. Over two starts this season he has allowed four runs from 13 hits and a walk over 8 1/3 innings leading to a 4.32 ERA, 1.63 FIP, 1.680 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. Last season for the Giants he made 31 starts and pitched 167 2/3 innings with a 3.17 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.091 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. This includes two complete game shutouts. Last year he only tossed 1.1 innings against the Mets before he had to leave the game with an injury, he returned to the mound 11 days later. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Starling Marte 3-23, 2 BB, 6 K
• Eduardo Escobar 1-11, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 5-12, 2B, 2 HR, K
• Pete Alonso 2-7, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-6, 2B, 2 K
• Travis Jankowski 1-6, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-5

Let’s Go Mets!

The Giants and Mets return to action tonight after the Mets swept the double header yesterday! The Mets took the first two games of the highly anticipated series behind resilience in the first game and a strong start by Scherzer in the second game. The Mets are now the only team in baseball with 9 wins and have the highest run differential in baseball at +29.

The Dodgers also last night, so the NL West got even tighter. The Padres, Dodgers and Rockies each have 8 wins on the season and the Giants are only one game out of first place with seven. The Giants have one of their big off-season signings, Carlos Rodón, on the mound tonight and he’ll look to reverse the course for the Giants.

Carlos Rodón has made two strong starts with his new club. Over 12 innings he has allowed only two runs from five hits and four walks while striking out an astounding 21 batters. He has a small-sample size 1.50 ERA, 0.80 FIP (league leading), 0.750 WHIP and 261 ERA+. He was an All-Star last season for the White Sox where he pitched 132 2/3 innings over 24 starts with a 2.37 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 0.957 WHIP and an 181 ERA+. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Francisco Lindor 10-32, 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Eduardo Escobar 5-20, 2B, 2 BB, 7 K
• James McCann 2-11, HR, BB, 3 K
• Robinson Canó 2-7, HR, 2 BB
• Mark Canha 2-7, 2 HR, K
• J.D. Davis 0-3, K
• Starling Marte 1-2

The Mets will counter with Chris Bassitt who is making his third start of the season. Over his first two games and 12 innings he has allowed one run from five hits and three walks while striking out 14. He has a small-sample size 0.75 ERA (league leading), 2.80 FIP, 0.667 WHIP and an ERA+ that barely makes sense at 511. Bassitt didn’t pitch against the Giants last season and the Giants have the following numbers against him:

• Tommy La Stella 3-12, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Evan Longoria 1-8, 3 K
• Brandon Belt 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Crawford 3-6, 2B, HR, BB
• Joey Bart 1-3, K
• Curt Casali 1-2, 2B, BB
• Wilmer Flores 0-3, K
• Darin Ruf 1-3, K
• Mike Yastrzemski 0-3, 3 K
• Mauricio Dubon 0-2

Let’s Go Mets!

MLB released their updated Power Rankings yesterday. The Mets jumped from 12 in the league to 5. The Giants jumped from 9 in the league to 7. I don’t put a ton of stock into rankings like this however, this is a good barometer for excitement around an early season matchup between the Giants and the Mets.

And if there was one game to watch this series, for the matchup on paper, it’s tonight’s! Two aces – Logan Webb and Max Scherzer – will go head to head for the nightcap of a single admission double header.

Max Scherzer has allowed four runs from eight hits and four walks over 11 innings in two starts this year leading to an early season 3.27 ERA, 3.28 FIP, 1.091 WHIP and 126 ERA+. He has also struck out 13 batters, a 10.6 K/9, which is right around his career mark at 10.7. Shockingly, despite being traded to the Dodgers last year Scherzer only faced the Giants once and that was while he was still with the Nationals. Max threw 12 pitches against the Giants on June 11th before he left the game with a groin injury (he then skipped one start and threw five innings on June 22nd). The Giants have the following numbers against Scherzer:

• Evan Longoria 2-19, HR, 2 BB, 7 K
• Joc Pederson 2-16, 2B, 3 BB, 7 K
• Wilmer Flores 0-17, BB, 8 K
• Brandon Crawford 6-15, 3 2B, 2 HR, BB, 7 K
• Brandon Belt 3-12, 2B, 3B, K
• Tommy La Stella 4-10, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 2 K
• Darin Ruf 2-9, 2B

Logan Webb will make his third start of the year for the Giants this evening. Over his first two games he has tossed 14 innings allowing two runs from nine hits and a walk while striking out 10. He has a small-sample size 1.29 ERA, 1.88 FIP, 0.714 WHIP and 305 ERA+. In his one start against the Mets last year he allowed two runs from seven hits and a walk while pitching 7 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Mark Canha 3-7, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Eduardo Escobar 1-9, 3 K
• Pete Alonso 1-4, HR, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-4, K
• J.D. Davis 1-3, K
• Starling Marte 2-3
• Jeff McNeil 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets demonstrated in another, subtle, way that it’s a new era. The Mets called off last night’s game at 3 PM, hours before the game arrived. In more recent years the Mets have made announcements like that fairly late. Maybe it’s because it was the first game of a three game set. Whatever the reason, it was appreciated to know hours beforehand.

There are five teams in baseball with at least seven wins so far. Four of those teams are in the NL West, the odd team out is our very own New York Mets. (Technically the Padres are also the odd team out here too, the Mets and Rockies are each 7-3, the Giants 7-2 and the Dodgers 8-2. The Padres have somehow played 12 games already and are 7-5). There are also only three teams with a run differential over +20: the Dodgers, the Giants and the New York Mets. The Dodgers lead the pack with a +30, followed by the Mets at +26 and the Giants at +23.

Tonight the Mets will start a four game set with the Giants in one of the marquee matchups on the young season. The Mets enter the series coming off of their third consecutive series win. The Giants come to New York after sweeping the Guardians in Cleveland.

Tylor Megill takes the mound for the Mets tonight. In his first two starts this season and 10 1/3 innings of work he has allowed zero runs from six hits and zero walks while striking out 11. Megill made two, very different, starts against the Giants. In San Francisco he allowed only one run from five hits and two walks over six innings. In the very next start back in New York, he allowed seven runs from 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings. The Giants have the following numbers against Megill:

• Brandon Belt 3-5, 2 HR, BB, K
• LaMonte Wade Jr. 3-6, 2B, HR
• Brandon Crawford 0-5, 2 K
• Tommy La Stella 1-5, K
• Joc Pederson 0-4, BB, K
• Mike Yastrzemski 1-3, HR, BB
• Wilmer Flores 2-3, 2B, K

The Mets bats will get their first look at the veteran Alex Cobb tonight who is pitching in his first season with the Giants. In his first start this year he allowed two runs from four hits and two walks over five innings while striking out 10. Last season he made 18 starts for the Angels and pitched 93 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 1.264 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. The Mets have the following numbers on Alex Cobb:

• Robinson Canó 10-28, 2B, 4 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Eduardo Escobar 3-11, HR, BB, 4 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-8, 3 K
• Mark Canha 1-6, 2 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, 3 K
• James McCann 0-2

Let’s Go Mets!