213 Miles From Shea

The Mets have a little slide going on right now. The Mets have scored only eight runs in their last five games, so it’s not surprising that they are 1-4 in those games. Today the Mets have Nolan McLean going today and the bats are facing an opener in Bennett Sousa. This feels likes the type of game to snap a losing streak and get the bats going again.

Nolan McLean has made 26 starts for the Mets this season pitching 148 2/3 innings with a 3.21 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.143 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed only two runs over 18 innings from eight eight hits and 10 walks while striking out 12 batters. In his last outing he scattered four walks and a hit, putting up six scoreless innings. The only players on the Astros who have faced McLean in a Major League game are Nick Allen (0-for-2, K) and Daulton Varsho (1-for-3, 2B, 2 K).

Bennett Sousa has pitched in 22 games this season totaling 18 2/3 innings with a 6.27 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.821 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. This afternoon will be Sousa’s first opener of the season. Sousa has only pitched beyond one inning twice this season, most recently on Tuesday where he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees. The most pitches he has thrown in an outing is 28, which he did on Wednesday against the Yankees where he allowed four runs on five hits and a walk while recording only one out. A few Mets have seen Sousa in a Major League game:

• Bo Bichette 0-0, BB
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-1
• Marcus Semien 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Bulk work for Astros. The Astros have two options in the bullpen for bulk work this afternoon. Cristian Javier has pitched 12 games this season, including eight starts, totaling 40 1/3 innings with a 6.47 ERA, 5.34 FIP, 1.661 WHIP and an 65 ERA+. August was rough Javier. He had a 5.68 ERA allowing 12 runs in 19 innings spread over four starts. If it’s not Javier, it’s going to be Imai. In 18 games, 15 starts, Imai has pitched 67 2/3 innings with a 5.32 ERA, 4.49 FIP, 1.463 WHIP and a 79 ERA+. He’s been used only in relief this month allowed two runs over nine innings spread over three games. He hasn’t pitched since the 20th.
2. Free Swinging Mets. The Mets have only eight hits while racking up 25 strikeouts in their last two games. Friday night five different players (Ewing, Lindor, Benge, Robert Jr., and Baty) had at least two strikeouts. That’s a 25:4 K/BB ratio. If the Mets bats are going to turn it around this afternoon they are going to need to reign in their swings a bit.
3. Keeping the ball in the park. Even though the Mets lost Friday night, they didn’t allow the Houston Astros to hit the ball out of the park. The Astros are tied with the Cubs and White Sox for third in the league with home runs (179). It’s the third weekend in a row that the Mets are facing one of the top-three power hitting teams. The Mets started off the season slow with home runs but are now 10th in the league with 163.

Let’s Go Mets!

For the first time since the trade deadline the Mets have dropped two series in a row. Last weekend the Mets lost two games in the bottom of the ninth against the White Sox. After an extra-inning win on Tuesday, the Brewers put eight runs against the Mets two games in a row, taking the series.

Now the Mets welcome the .500 Astros to Citi Field. The Mets are running out of time if they want to finish the season with a .500 record as they currently sit with a 60-74 record.

Christian Scott makes his 20th start of the season tonight! Over his first 19 starts he has pitched 89 1/3 innings with a 3.73 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. August has been rough for Scott who has allowed 14 runs over 20 innings spread across four starts (6.30 ERA, 4.38 FIP). The Astros have the following career stats against Scott:

• Isaac Paredes 1-2, BB
• LaMonte Wade Jr. 0-3, K
• Christian Walker 0-2

Hunter Brown has made 14 starts this season totaling 74 1/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. His results over four starts and 21 2/3 innings have matched his season numbers (3.74 ERA) even if the underlying metric show slight signs for concern (13 BB, 4 HR, 5.35 FIP). The Mets have the following career stats against Hunter Brown:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-1, BB
• Brett Baty 1-5, 2 K
• Bo Bichette 1-8, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-6, 2 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 5-12, 2B, HR, 7 K
• Marcus Semien 12-25, 2B, BB, 6 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Carson Benge. Benge is coming off of a rough game against the Wiz, going 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts. He’s been incredibly hot of late, sitting on 17 doubles, 16 home runs and 19 stolen bases for the season. He should reach 20 in each category with normal playing time for the rest of the season. He (and A.J. Ewing) are two of the more exciting players on the Mets and reasons to watch the team as the season starts to wind down.
2. Exit Velocity. Hitters have struggled to hit Christian Scott hard this year, leading to his success. He’s in the 83rd percentile in average exit velocity (87.1 mph) and the 79th percentile in hard-hit% (34.2%). Scott just doesn’t generate a ton of ground balls (32.9%) which is in the 7th percentile for the league.
3. Bullpen is rested for the weekend. Xzavion Curry and Austin Warren fought through the end of the game last night, giving everyone else the night off. Jefry Yan pitched on back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, so he’s probably unavailable tonight. Everyone else hasn’t pitched for a few days. Núñez, Senga and Duarte all haven’t pitched since Sunday.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Brewers took the lead early and never looked back last night as they routed the Mets 8-1. For a second straight game the Mets struggled with runners in scoring position. In their last two games the Mets have gone 2-for-16 with RISP leaving 20 runners on base. The Mets will try to overcome these recent hitting challenges in the most difficult way possible by facing off against Misiorowski tonight!

Sean Manaea has pitched in 27 games including 13 starts totaling 117 innings with a 4.31 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.308 WHIP and a 94 ERA+. He’s allowed four earned runs in back to back starts, mainly due to the five home runs he’s allowed. Even with his recent struggles, Manaea has pitched at least six innings in six consecutive starts with a 3.38 ERA (4.96 FIP). The Brewers have the following career stats against him:

• Jackson Chourio 2-6, HR, K
• William Contreras 4-11, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Sal Frelick 1-4, K
• Garrett Mitchell 1-1, 2B
• Joey Ortiz 1-6
• Gary Sánchez 3-10, 2 2B, BB, 2 K
• Brice Turang 5-5, 2 2B
• Andrew Vaughn 2-8, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Christian Yelich 0-6, 3 K

Jacob Misiorowski is having a hell of a season. He has made 24 starts, throwing 145 innings with a 1.68 ERA, 2.14 FIP, 0.759 WHIP and a 247 ERA+ (all league leading). He’s also leading the league in strikeouts (216), H/9 (4.8), K/9 (13.4) and K/BB (6.55). In his last two starts he has allowed one run from nine hits over 12 innings while striking out 12 batters. He had a short, but good, start against the Mets in July where he allowed one unearned run from four hits and a walk over four innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Misiorowski:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-1
• Brett Baty 0-3, BB, K
• Bo Bichette 1-1, BB
• A.J. Ewing 0-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-4, HR
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-2, 2 K
• Jared Young 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. A.J. Ewing. During a 10 game stretch starting on August 8, A.J. Ewing slashed .081/.227/.108 with one double, stolen base and seven walks while striking out 15 times over 44 trips to the plate. He’s starting to heat up again, albeit slowly, in his last six games going 5-for-25 at the plate with five stolen bases (.200/.231/.200). He’s now collected exactly one hit in his last four consecutive games and is only two stolen bases away from 30 in his rookie season!
2. Brice Turang. Brice Turang is a perfect 5-for-5 against Sean Manaea in his career. Wednesday night he went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and two walks. Turang currently has 5.4 bWAR this season and seems destined to surpass his career best 5.5 bWAR he put up last season.
3. Nate Lavender. There’s a chance we see Lavender tonight despite pitching two innings on Tuesday because he only tossed 20 pitches in that outing. Lavender has been outstanding since being called up, allowing only one hit and no runs in 9 2/3 innings while striking out 11 batters.

Let’s Go Mets!

Francisco Lindor made a game saving catch in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday night. The Brewers had already tied the game at this point and had the bases loaded with two outs. David Hamilton hit a ball that should have at least sent one run home but Lindor made a leaping catch to the end the inning. In the bottom of the tenth, the Mets had the bases loaded and they won the game on an errant throw home. Over the weekend the Mets lost twice on walk-off home runs, so the universe returned the balance of things a bit last night. Now Robert Stock has a chance to lock down the series with a win tonight!

Robert Stock is making his fifth start this season. He has a pitched 16 2/3 innings over his first four starts with a 5.40 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 1.680 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. His 16 2/3 innings is the most in the majors since his rookie season in 2018 (39 2/3 innings, 32 relief outings). The Mets have kept him limited to 4 1/3 innings in his last two outings and it’s been a winning strategy. He allowed a total of two runs, only one earned, from five hits and six walks over 8 2/3 innings while striking out 11 batters. The only batter on the Brewers who has faced him in a Major League game is Christian Yelich (0-for-1, BB, K).

Dustin May was traded from the Cardinals to the Brewers at the trade deadline. He has made 24 starts this season totaling 124 innings with a 4.57 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 1.298 WHIP and an 86 ERA+. In three starts with the Brewers he has pitched 15 innings with a 6.00 ERA, 5.02 FIP, 1.400 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. His stats as a Brewer are being heavily impacted by his last start against the Mariners where he allowed seven runs over two innings (three runs over 11 innings in his other two starts). May shutout the Mets over six innings earlier this season and the Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 2-4, K
• Brett Baty 2-7, 3 K
• Carson Benge 0-3, K
• Bo Bichette 0-3
• A.J. Ewing 2-2, 2B
• Francisco Lindor 1-5, HR
• Cristian Pache 1-1
• Marcus Semien 0-5, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Eric Wagaman 1-2, BB
• Jared Young 0-6, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor was the hero Tuesday night for the Mets with a solo home run and a game saving catch! In his last two games, Lindor has gone 4-for-8 at the plate with a double, a home run, a walk and two runs scored. He is now sitting at 13 home runs for the season and has a small chance of reaching 20 for the season. If Lindor gets real hot and hits eight more homers, he will reach 300 for his career this season.
2. Carson Benge. The Mets were not able to take advantage of Carson Benge’s Tuesday night. Benge went 3-for-4 at the plate with a a walk. It was the second time in three games that he had at least three hits and his third consecutive game with at least two hits. In his last five games he has gone 11-for-21 with a double, two home runs and a stolen base while slashing .524/.545/.857. He now has a 116 OPS+. He is still four home runs and one stolen base away from a 20-20 season.
3. Luis Robert Jr. Robert Jr. had a memorable weekend against his former team and rode that momentum into the opener with the Brewers on Tuesday going 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk. In his last six games he has gone 7-for-18 with a double and four home runs, slashing .389/.522/1.111. He has raised his season slash line from .214/.287/.346 to .232/.313/.424. That’s a 100 point jump for his OPS!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets were *this close* to sweeping the White Sox over the weekend. Instead they dropped series with the White Sox hitting walk-off home runs on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Now the return home to take on the Brewers.

Zac Thornton has made nine starts this season totaling 50 1/3 innings with a 3.04 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 1.152 WHIP and a 134 ERA+. In is last two starts he has allowed six runs over 11 innings from 14 hits and two walks while striking out nine batters. Taking a step back, he’s allowed at least three runs in four of his last five starts, and has allowed five home runs over that stretch. Thornton had an excellent start against the Brewers back in July holding them scoreless over six innings. The Brewers have the following career numbers against him:

• Jackson Chourio 1-3, K
• William Contreras 0-1, BB
• Luis Lara 0-2
• Garrett Mitchell 0-2
• Joey Ortiz 1-2
• Cooper Pratt 1-2
• Gary Sánchez 0-2, K
• Brice Turang 0-3
• Andrew Vaughn 0-2

Kyle Harrison should eclipse 100 innings pitched for the second time in his career tonight. This season he has made 20 starts totaling 98 1/3 innings with a 2.84 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.108 WHIP and a 146 ERA+. In his last start he held the Mariners scoreless over five innings but he allowed at least three earned runs in three of the four starts before that. The Mets have the following career stats against Harrison:

• Francisco Lindor 1-3, 2B, K
• Christopher Morel 0-3, K
• Cristian Pache 2-3, K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-3
• Eric Wagaman 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Luis Robert Jr. against other teams. Luis Robert Jr. became the latest example of wanting to torch your former team this past weekend. He went 4-for-10 with a double, two home runs, and three walks against the White Sox. His batting average (.225), on-base percentage (.306)and slugging (.405) are all now the highest they been since 2023. It would be great if he could ride this hot streak all the way through the end of the season.
2. Carson Benge is on another hot streak. He’s at it again! Carson Benge is on a four game hitting streak where he has gone 8-for-17 with a double, two home runs and four runs scored. He now has a 3.0 bWAR on the season to go with a 114 OPS+. Benge is only four home runs and one stolen base away from a 20-20 season in his rookie year.
3. Get Alvarez going! Francisco Alvarez has had a rough go of it at the plate recently. In his last 10 games he has only two hits and four walks. He’s slashing .061/.162/.091 over the stretch which has dropped his season line from .257/.344/.442 to .235/.324/.403.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to take the series from the first place White Sox this afternoon in Chicago! The White Sox won the series opener Friday night on a walk-off home run, slowly erasing a 4-0 Mets lead throughout the night. The Mets roared back on Saturday recording ten runs on 16 hits including five home runs. Now Nolan McLean looks to lock down the series win!

Nolan McLean has made 25 starts totaling 142 2/3 innings this season with a 3.34 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.157 WHIP and a 122 ERA+. He’s also leading the league with 14 hit batters. In his last two starts he has pitched 12 innings allowing two runs on seven hits and six walks while striking out six batters. In his last nine starts he has a 2.19 ERA (3.49 FIP) striking out 56 batters in 53 1/3 innings. The only hitter on the White Sox to officially face Nolan McLean is Jake Rogers (0-for-2, BB, K).

Sean Newcomb will open this afternoon’s game for the White Sox. Over 47 games this season he has pitched 70 innings with a 2.44 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 1.100 WHIP and a 172 ERA+. He has pitched as an opener three times this season, including twice in his last three games, allowing no runs over 6 1/3 innings. In his last eight games he has pitched 12 1/3 innings allowing two unearned runs and nothing else. Newcomb can probably pitch between two and three innings depending on how well the Mets hitters do against him. The Mets have the following career stats on Newcomb:

• Brett Baty 0-1
• Bo Bichette 2-7, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-1, HR, BB
• Christopher Morel 2-3
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-3, K
• Marcus Semien 2-8, 2 HR, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Erick Fedde. Fedde is in line for the bulk work this afternoon behind Newcomb. This season Fedde has pitched in 27 games including 12 starts totaling 114 1/3 innings with a 4.33 ERA, 5.33 FIP, 1.399 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. Home runs has been a problem for Fedde this season. Hitters are hitting 1.7 HR/9, the highest rate since 2020 (career 1.4). He’s coming off of a great relief outing where he held the Cubs scoreless for 4 2/3 innings scattering three hits and two walks. Bo Bichette has gone 6-for-11 with four doubles and two strikeouts against Fedde.
2. Luis Robert Jr. All it took for Robert Jr. was to face his old club. In two games against the White Sox he has gone 3-for-8 with a double and two home runs. How now has three home runs in his last four games played and his best SLG% (.404) since 2023. Here’s hoping the momentum continues after this weekend.
3. Luis Torrens. Torrens has been on another level for the last few weeks. He came off of the bench last night and smacked his third home run in four games played. Since the trade deadline Torrens has played in ten games going 11-for-25 at the plate with six home runs, slashing .440/.517/1.160. The Mets are 7-3 in the last 10 games that Torrens has had a plate appearance.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to rebound after losing to the first place White Sox Friday night. The Mets took a 4-0 lead scoring in the second, fourth and fifth inning last night but then the White Sox came roaring back. They scored four runs in the sixth and then won the game with a walk-off home run off Jefry Yan in the ninth inning.

The Nationals also lost Friday night so the Mets are still only 2.5 games back of fourth place. They can’t climb out of the cellar this weekend, but they can close the gap further with a win tonight!

Christian Scott has made 18 starts totaling 84 2/3 innings this season with a 3.51 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 1.287 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. August has been a bit rough for Scott who has allowed at least three runs in each of his last three starts (5.87 ERA, 2.89 FIP over 15 1/3 innings). Scott has been striking out hitters a healthy clip, posting an 11.2 K/9 this season, already eclipsing 100+ strikeouts. Over his first eight starts in 2024 he had a 7.4 K/9. The only member who has faced Christian Scott before is Brenton Doyle (1-for-2).

The White Sox acquired Luis Castillo from the Mariners at the trade deadline this season. Overall this season Castillo has pitched 115 1/3 innings with a 4.99 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.370 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. In three starts with the White Sox he has pitched 15 2/3 innings with a 4.60 ERA, 4.30 FIP, 1.213 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. But those numbers are hiding small-sample results. In two of those starts, Castillo has allowed nine runs, eight earned, over 8 2/3 innings. In the other start he shutout the Reds over seven innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Castillo:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, K
• Bo Bichette 7-20, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 8-15, 3 2B, 2 HR, K
• Christopher Morel 2-11, 2B, BB
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-6, K
• Marcus Semien 5-21, HR, BB, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 2-4, K
• Eric Wagaman 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Bo Bichette. Bo Bichette is closing in on a career high for walks. He is sitting at 36 this season in only 128 games played. He has had 40 walks twice, and 41 walks once. Bichette’s game has been getting hits, he led the league in hits in 2021 and 2022. He is still digging himself out of the whole he his cold start put him in. Even with getting walks at a comparatively high rate, his OBP is still the second lowest in his career.
2. Keep the ball in the park! The White Sox hit three massive home runs last night with two in the sixth and the walk off in the ninth. Amazing, Murakami didn’t hit any of those home runs. The long ball has been part of their success as a team this season, hitting 171, good for third in the league behind the Nationals (183) and Yankees (176). The Mets are currently tied for 10th with 156.
3. Kodai Senga. Senga allowed a run his last time out on two hits and a walk, but still locked down his fourth save, all in consecutive appearances. Senga has pitched in six games in August allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters (1.50 ERA, 2.75 FIP).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to keep the good times going in Chicago! The Mets are fresh off of a series win against the Padres and have won 11 of their last 15 games. They are now only 2.5 games back of the Nationals for fourth place in the division. The White Sox are sitting on top of the AL Central, five games above .500. They have gone .500 in their last 10 games. It’s a battle of the Seans tonight!

Sean Manaea has pitched in 26 games this season totaling 111 innings with a 4.22 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 1.315 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. He got hit a bit more in his last start, allowing four runs over 6 1/3 innings in a game the Mets won 5-4. In his last five starts he has pitched 31 2/3 innings with a 2.87 ERA, 4.14 FIP while striking out 32 batters. He also pitched at least six innings in each of those five starts. The White Sox have the following career stats against him:

• Andrew Benintendi 4-12, 2 BB, K
• Brenton Doyle 0-7, BB, 3 K
• Randal Grichuk 6-19, 2B, 3B, 2 BB, K
• Jake Rogers 0-3, 2 K
• Miguel Vargas 1-10, 3 K

Sean Burke has pitched in 25 games including 21 starts totaling 140 innings with a 3.15 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.107 WHIP and a 134 ERA+. He is also leading the league with 10 wild pitches. Similar to Manaea, Burke is coming off of a start where he allowed four runs over 4 1/3 innings. That bad start ended a streak of good starts where he had a 1.47 ERA (2.20 FIP) over seven games (43 innings). The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Bo Bichette 2-3, 2B
• Christopher Morel 0-2, 2 K
• Marcus Semien 0-2
• Eric Wagaman 1-1, 2B, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Reunions Everywhere. Luis Robert Jr. returns to Rate Field for the first time since the trade that brought him to the Mets. He’s had a difficult year with the Mets, but since returning from the injured list he’s been showing some pop. Luisangel Acuña will face the Mets for the first time since that trade. Acuña is currently hitting .237/.269/.538 with a 53 OPS+. Huascar Brazobán had a 2.56 ERA over 52 2/3 innings with the Mets. Since being traded to the White Sox he has a 5.63 ERA over eight innings.
2. Contain Murakami. Munetaka Murakami has been hitting bombs this year for the White Sox. He has 29 home runs in 92 games. He’s slashing .227/.363/.530 with 69 walks, 132 K’s and a 149 OPS+. In his last two games he has gone 0-for-9 so he’s due to hit a homer.
3. Carson Benge. Benge is coming off of a game where he went 2-for-4 with his 15th home run of the season. He is only five home runs and two stolen bases away from a 20/20 season in his rookie season. Benge has been a true bright spot on this team and is just building a portfolio right now for a possible Rookie of the Year award.

Let’s Go Mets!

Fielding has been the story of this series. On Monday night Carson Benge tossed out two runners at the plate in the same inning. Later in the game A.J. Ewing nailed a runner out oat the plate. The Mets ended up winning 2-1. Tuesday night the Padres beat the Mets 5-2 with Fernando Tatís Jr. robbing Francisco Lindor of a grand slam. It’s been an exciting series so far and the Mets have a chance to take the series today!

Robert Stock makes his fourth start of the season today. Over his first three starts he has allowed 10 runs, nine earned, over 12 1/3 innings. His second start is skewing his season data. In that start he allowed eight runs over three innings against the Pirates. In his other two starts he allowed only one earned run over 9 1/3 innings. The only batter on the Padres who has faced Robert Stock before is Manny Machado (0-for-2).

Michael King has made 25 starts totaling 142 1/3 innings this season with a 3.41 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.187 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. In his last four starts he has allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, over 23 innings (4.30 ERA, 5.56 FIP). The Mets tagged him for four runs over six innings with two home runs earlier this season. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 0-5, K
• Brett Baty 2-5, HR, K
• Carson Benge 0-3, K
• Bo Bichette 7-24, 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 8 K
• A.J. Ewing 0-3, K
• Francisco Lindor 3-8, 2 HR, 2 K
• Christopher Morel 0-1, BB, K
• Cristian Pache 0-1, BB
• Jorge Polanco 1-6, 2 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-3, 2B
• Marcus Semien 3-11, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 2-2, 2B, HR
• Jared Young 2-3, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. All or Nothing. Both of the runs the Mets scored last night came on solo home runs. The Mets ended up going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine runners on base. The Padres scored five runs and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position leaving eight runners on base. They hit three home runs last night.
2. Bo Bichette. Bichette racked up two more hits Tuesday night. In his last 15 games he has gone 21-for-59 slashing .356/.415/.576. Earlier this week his OPS finally crossed over .700 and is now sitting at .704. In his last three games he has six hits and a walk. In that same stretch he hasn’t scored any runs and has only one RBI. The Mets offense, except for the long ball, has cooled a bit, squandering this recent Bichette hot streak.
3. Nate Lavender. Lavender pitched 2/3 of an inning in the first game of the series, facing two batters, recording two outs in only two pitches. Over six games this season he has pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six batters (0.00 ERA, 1.96 FIP). He has a 1.42 xERA with a .091 xBA and an astounding (small-sample size) 33.3% K rate.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to five games tonight! The Padres had four hits in the first inning on Monday night but didn’t score any runs thanks to Carson Benge’s arm. Benge tossed out two runners at the plate to prevent any runs from scoring. A.J. Ewing would join Benge later in the game and the Mets were able to squeak by with a score of 2-1.

The Mets have now won 10 of their 13 games. The Padres came into last night’s game winning eight of their last 10. It’s two teams on hot streaks, let’s go!

Zac Thornton has made eight starts so far this season totaling 45 1/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.103 WHIP and a 147 ERA+. His numbers have returned to Earth a bit in his last four starts allowing 10 runs, nine earned over 22 innings with a 3.68 ERA, 4.85 FIP. He’s allowed exactly three earned runs in three of his last four starts. No one on the Padres roster has faced Thornton before in a Major League game.

Robbie Ray came over from the Giants at the trade deadline a few weeks ago. Overall this season Ray has pitched 131 2/3 innings with a 3.28 ERA, 4.55 FIP, 1.329 WHIP and a 122 ERA+. Since joining the Padres he has made two starts allowing six runs over nine innings from nine hits and eight walks. Ray last faced the Mets back in the first week of April where he allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings from three hits and three walks. The Mets have the following career stats against Ray:

• Francisco Alvarez 2-4, K
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Bo Bichette 3-11, 3 2B, 4 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-9, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
• Cristian Pache 2-12, 2B, HR, 6 K
• Jorge Polanco 1-9, K, BB
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-11, HR, BB, 4 K
• Marcus Semien 2-13, 2B, 4 K
• Luis Torrens 3-14, 2B, 5 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Don’t run on the Mets! The Mets nailed out three Padres runners at home plate Monday night. Carson Benge’s arm strength is in the 98th percentile and A.J. Ewing is in the 92nd percentile according to Baseball Savant. It will be interesting to see tonight if the Padres remain aggressive on the base paths, or if they switch it up.
2. Christopher Morel. The Mets called up Christopher Morel before Monday night’s game, cutting Gabriel Arias. Morel signed with the Mets on July 1st after being released by the Marlins in June. Before being released, Morel was hitting .162/.219/.206. Morel has had three disappointing seasons from 2024 until now, putting up an 80, 89 and 22 OPS+. In his first two seasons with the Cubs he had a 104 and 122 OPS+. Morel has been tearing the cover off the ball in Syracuse, hitting .321/.382/.716 over the last month with hitting 12 homers in 31 games.
3. Kodai Senga and close games. The Mets have won three one-run games in a row, improving their season record to 14-20 in one-run games. Senga locked down the save on Sunday with a clean inning where he struck out two batters on a total of 11 batters. It was his second time pitching in three games, making him unavailable for the save situation last night. In Senga’s last five games he has allowed only one hit, two walks and has seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings.

Let’s Go Mets!