213 Miles From Shea

For the first time in forever, the Mets are not playing a first place club! The San Francisco Giants come to town tonight with a record worse than the Mets, sitting in fourth place in the NL West. The Mets are still 14 games below .500 after winning the series against the Rays earlier this week. They are only three games back from fourth place in the NL East. It’s a weekend series with two teams ready to move on from 2026!

Nolan Mclean looks to have a strong last month of the season as he builds his case for Rookie of the Year. Over 27 games he has pitched 155 2/3 innings with a 3.06 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.124 WHIP and a 133 ERA+. He’s been on fire lately, allowing only three runs, two earned, in his last four starts totaling 25 innings (0.72 ERA, 4.14 FIP). The only blemish lately has been walks. He’s walked 13 batters in his last 25 innings. His second start of the season was against the Giants where he allowed two runs, one earned, from one hit and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. The only players left of the Giants roster who have faced him before are Rafael Devers (0-for-2, K) and Jung Hoo Lee (0-for-2).

The Mets bats will get a look at Matt Wilkinson. Wilkinson was traded by the Guardians in May this season for Patrick Bailey. Over his first three career starts, Wilkinson has pitched 11 2/3 innings with a 4.63 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 1.114 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. He’s coming off of his most complete start of the season, where he pitched six innings allowing only two runs from two hits and two walks while striking out three.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Nick Morabito encore! Morabito was still looking for his first Major League hit going into Wednesday’s game. About mid-way through the game Mark Vientos pinch hit for Brett Baty. Nick Morabito then ran the bases and stayed in the game for Vientos. In Morabito’s next at-bat he crushed a bases clearing double for his first career hit. He then got another hit later! With his elusive first hit out of the way, hopefully the hits will flow this weekend!
2. 20-20 Season. Time is ticking for Carson Benge to get a 20-20 season in his rookie season. he is four home runs and one stolen base away, which has been true for the last week or so. He is coming off of a good game at the plate where he collected two hits and a walk.
3. Bo Bichette hitting doubles. Bo Bichette has gone 6-for-15 in his last four games with two walks and three doubles. He now has 24 doubles on the season. While it hasn’t been the best season for Bichette, he’s been a much better hitter lately than earlier in the season.

Let’s Go Mets!

Francisco Lindor led off Tuesday night’s game with a home run against former Met Freddy Peralta. It instantly felt like it was going to be that kind of night for Peralta, except the Mets would be the ones having the fun. Instead Peralta settled down and delivered a great start while the Mets bats struggled for the rest of the night. The Rays won easily 6-2.

The Mets still have a chance to take the series against the Rays though! All they have to do is win behind Justin Hagenman in his 2026 debut!

Justin Hagenman is making a spot start to give the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest. Last season Hagenman pitched in nine games for the Mets totaling 23 2/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.099 WHIP and a 90 ERA+. Hagenman landed on the injured list during spring training with a fractured rib and has been sidelined until a few weeks ago when he started a rehab journey throughout the minor leagues from St. Lucie to Binghamton to Syracuse. Over three starts he has pitched 9 1/3 innings allowing five runs but only three earned. Cedric Mullins is the only hitter on the Rays to face Hagenman before (1-for-2, K).

Griffin Jax, the former closer for the Twins, is getting the start for the Rays tonight. Jax has pitched in 29 games this season including 18 starts totaling 91 2/3 innings with a 3.63 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.211 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed six runs, only three earned, over 16 2/3 innings while striking out 23 batters (1.62 ERA, 1.83 FIP). The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 0-1
• Bo Bichette 2-9, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 2-2, 2B
• Christopher Morel 1-2, 3B
• Cristian Pache 0-1
• Marcus Semien 0-7, 2 K
• Juan Soto 0-2, BB, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, HR, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Searching for a hit. Nick Morabito is still searching for his first major league hit. He was hit by a pitch for the second time in his career last night, in his first at-bat back with the Mets no less. In his second at bat he hit a ground out with an 88.7 exit velocity and an elite swing speed of 75.9 mph. Things will click eventually for Morabito, hopefully its today!
2. Searching for 20 home runs. Juan Soto currently leads the Mets with 22 home runs. There is a fairly solid chance that Carson Benge and Francisco Lindor can join him by the end of the season. Benge is only four home runs away from 20, and one stolen base away from a 20-20 season. Francisco Lindor has now homered twice in the last three games, bringing him to 15 for the season. One hot week could push him over the edge!
3. Nate Lavender. Lavender last pitched on Monday where he needed only nine pitches to record two outs. So far in his first 11 games (11 innings) he hasn’t allowed any runs while scattering four hits and two walks while striking out 12 batters. The only blight recently is that three of the four hits he’s allowed has been in his last 1 1/3 innings of work.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to take the series against the first place Rays tonight! Monday was an odd day in Mets land. A few hours before the game it was announced that the Orioles actually claimed Luis Robert Jr. and that Nick Morabito would replace him on the Mets roster. The Mets also activated Mark Vientos before the game after his sizzling hot rehab assignment in Syracuse. Vientos kept the hitting streak going with a two-run bomb in the seventh. Kodai Senga closed things down in the ninth for his fifth save of the season.

Tonight is the most anticipated game of the series as the Mets will go up against former Met, Freddy Peralta!

Sean Manaea has pitched in 28 games including 14 starts with 122 2/3 innings pitched. He has a 4.55 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. His last three starts have been rough, allowing 14 earned runs over 18 innings from 19 hits and five walks including six home runs (7.00 ERA, 7.03 FIP). He’s also faced three of the toughest lineups in his last three starts between the Nationals, White Sox and Brewers. The Rays have the following career stats against him:

• Jonny DeLuca 0-2, K
• Yandy Diaz 2-8, 2 HR, 2 BB, K
• Nick Fortes 3-4, 2 HR
• Liam Hicks 0-2, K
• Jorge Mateo 0-6, 2 K
• Cedric Mullins 0-3, K

Freddy Peralta was supposed to be the veteran ace of the Mets staff this season. He has struggled over 27 starts this season, showing moments of his old self, but ultimately putting a 5.11 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.411 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. As a Ray he has made five starts totaling 27 1/3 innings with a 5.60 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 1.134 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. Three of the five starts Peralta has made as a Ray have been at hitter friendly stadiums (Rockies, Athletics, Orioles). He’s coming off one of his best starts of the season, holding the Tigers scoreless over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 K
• Brett Baty 0-3, K
• Bo Bichette 1-5, HR< K
• Francisco Lindor 1-11, HR, 3 BB, 5 K
• Christopher Morel 2-11, 2B, 5 BB, 7 K
• Marcus Semien 1-7, K
• Juan Soto 1-12, HR, 5 BB, K
• Luis Torrens 1-2
• Mark Vientos 1-4, 3 K
• Jared Young 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Nick Morabito. With Luis Robert Jr. gone there is a pathway for Nick Morabito to get significant playing time before the end of the season. Morabito had a short callup earlier this season where he went 0-for-11 in his first five games including nine strikeouts. In 114 games in Syracuse this season Morabito slashed .254/.355/.388 with 13 home runs and 42 stolen bases. An outfield of Morabito, Benge and Ewing has a potential for 100+ stolen bases over a full regular season.
2. First Base. The Mets have to figure out first base for next season. Jorge Polanco was supposed to be the stopgap measure until Ryan Clifford was ready but Polanco has battled injuries all season and Clifford has struggled so much in Syracuse. Jared Young has turned into a hit machine. Brett Baty is trying to become a super-utility player. Then there’s Mark Vientos. Vientos was having a terrible year before his injury and it looked like his time with the Mets was up. He hit five home runs in five games with Syracuse while rehabbing and had a great first game last night. Vientos, Young and Baty’s timeshare will be a storyline for the last month of the season.
3. Emotions. Do players get a performance bump when they play their old team? Anecdotally, it sure seems like it. For Freddy Peralta, facing the Mets tonight could be a way for him to exorcise the challenges he’s faced this season by eviscerating a lineup that sometimes played poor defense behind him and a bullpen that sometimes let games go. The reverse can happen as well. For the Mets hitters, tonight is an opportunity to get back at a pitcher who frequently put the Mets in a hole to start the game that they constantly had to dig their way out of. Peralta and Mets did seem to genuinely like each other, from spring through the trade. If there’s no bad blood, is there no performance bump? We’ll find out!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head down the St. Petersburg today to face a first place team again! In their last series the Mets have had to play the first place White Sox, then the first place Brewers and yesterday they wrapped up a series against the first place Astros.

The AL East has been fascinating this year with the Red Sox surging since mid-May. The top three teams in the AL East are each, at least, 12 games above .500, which explains some of the other lackluster records of AL first place teams we’ve seen this month. The Rays are trying to continue their reign as the top American League team. The Mets are trying to climb out of the cellar. It’s baseball, back at the Trop!

Robert Stock has made five starts for the Mets this season totaling 20 2/3 innings with a 7.40 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.935 WHIP and a 56 ERA+. His season stat line doesn’t tell the whole story. Stock has had two awful starts where he has allowed a combined 15 runs from 19 hits over seven innings. This includes his last start where he allowed seven runs over four innings. In his other three starts Stock has allowed three runs, only two earned over 13 2/3 innings. The only hitters on the Rays who have seen Stock in an official game before are Yandy Diaz (0-for-0, BB) and Liam Hicks (1-for-2).

Ian Seymour has pitched in 41 games this season making 11 starts totaling 107 innings of work. He has a 4.21 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.150 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. In his last three outings he has pitched 16 2/3 innings with a 4.86 ERA, 5.48 FIP. In those 16 2/3 innings he struck out 22 batters and allowed six home runs. The only Mets who have seen Seymour in a Major League game are Christopher Morel (0-for-1) and Luis Robert Jr. (0-for-1).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. What Could Have Been. This weekend Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette played two games together, making 28 on the season where all three were in the lineup at the same time. In the first inning Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto hit back-to-back solo shots. It’s hard to not wonder what could have been for the 2026 Mets if their two superstars were healthy the entire season.
2. A.J. Ewing. You know Ewing is on fire because he’s collecting multiple hits in a game. Ewing hasn’t had multi-hit game in his last 20 games played where he’s slashing .118/.212/.145. Sunday was just the fourth game in that 20 game stretch where Ewing was on base twice and he had his first extra-base hit since August 10th. Hopefully he can put together another good game tonight and start to break out of this slump he’s in.
3. Tropicana Rules. Earlier this week Xander Bogaerts hit a ball that left his bat at 108 mph with a 46 degree angle of elevation. This would have been a home run in 29 of 30 parks. It would have been a home run at Tropicana too if it wasn’t for the roof. Tropicana Field has four rings of catwalks, and this ball hit off of one of the two inner rings, because it went so high. Balls off the inner rings can be caught for an out, which is exactly what happened. You’ll never know what will happen in domed environment like the Trop!

Let’s Go Mets!

Saturday afternoon the Mets and Juan Soto surprised everyone. Soto was activated off the injured list four hours before the start of yesterday’s game without a clear signal that was going to happen. Soto put a lot of work in the last week and the Mets determined he was ready to go without any rehab games.

Nolan McLean though stole the show. He pitched seven innings allowing only one unearned run as the Mets went on to win the game 6-2. Now the Mets have an opportunity to win the series against the Astros this afternoon!

Zac Thornton has pitched 56 1/3 innings over 10 starts this season with a 2.88 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.154 WHIP and a 142 ERA+. Thornton has allowed between three and four runs in five of his ten starts. In is other five starts he has allowed between zero and one. His last time out he allowed only one run over six innings from seven hits against the Brewers. The Astros have one of the top offenses in the league, hitting 180 home runs already this season (4th in the league), so today will be another good test in Thornton’s development.

The Mets bats will get a look at rookie Ethan Pecko this afternoon. In his first two major league starts he has allowed seven runs from eight hits and seven walks over eight innings. He faced the Yankees in the Bronx earlier in the week who scored five runs and hit two home runs against him. Ethan Pecko is currently listed as the ninth best prospect in the Astros system. He throws a mid-90’s fastball that can be anywhere between 93 and 98. He mixes in a slider, cutter, curveball and changeup to round out his arsenal.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Juan Soto had a quiet return to the lineup yesterday going 1-for-4 with an RBI. His RBI yesterday was his 750th in his career. He still has a high .941 OPS on the season. If he qualified for the leader board he would be behind Yordan Alvarez (1.044) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (.944), but ahead of James Wood (.928). Soto’s next big milestone is 1000 career walks. He needs 31 before the end of the season which is not impossible but would be difficult to do with a month to go.
2. Jared Young. Young cooled off for four games, going 2-for-15 at the plate with a double. Then yesterday he went 3-for-4 with three RBI’s. Since August 5, Jared Young has slashed .338/.350/.532 over 21 games with 26 hits including six doubles, three triples and home run. I have no idea where Jared Young fits on the team next year, but he has shown throughout the season that he gets on base.
3. Marcus Semien. Semien has six hits in his last four games. Specifically, he has collected exactly two hits, three times in his last four games. He’s looked a lot better in August slashing .253/.330/.349 over 24 games raising his season line from .210/.266/.351 to .219/.279/.350. Nothing Earth shattering, but a positive regression to his career abilities.

Let’s Go Mets!

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!