Things continue to get worse for the Mets. The Mets were down most of Saturday night and tried to stage a late comeback, but ultimately failed in extra innings against the Angels. Ronny Mauricio fractured his thumb sliding into first base leaving the Mets without a short stop again.
The Mets can still win the series with a win this afternoon but the team is hurting. Yesterday they had to start a lineup with Austin Slader and Andy Ibáñez. The Mets are starting to run out of healthy options.
The Mets are going to need another stellar performance from Clay Holmes this afternoon. Over six starts Holmes has pitched 36 innings with a 1.75 ERA (league leading), 3.84 FIP, 0.972 WHIP and a 230 ERA+ (league leading). He is coming off of a start where he held the Nationals scoreless over six innings, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out six. The Angels have the following career numbers against him:
- Travis d’Arnaud 0-1
- Adam Frazier 0-6, K
- Josh Loew 0-5, BB, 2 K
- Yoan Moncada 0-1, BB
- Zach Neto 0-2, K
- Nolan Schanuel 0-1, K
- Jorge Soler 1-2, 2B, K
- Brent Suter 0-2, K
- Mike Trout 0-3, BB, K
Jack Kochanowicz if off to a great start for the Angels this season. Over 35 innings (six starts) he has a 3.09 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.200 WHIP and a 140 ERA+. He’s coming off of an average start where he allowed three runs, two earned, over six innings in a game the Angels eventually lost. The only members of the Mets who have seen Kochanowicz in a Major League game are Bo Bichette (1-for-3) and Marcus Semien (6-for-13, 2 BB).
Three Things To Watch For:
- Marcus Semien. For a second straight game, Marcus Semien has execellent career numbers against the opponent’s starting pitcher. Semien went 1-for-4 with a run scored yesterday. With the way he has been hitting this season (.562 OPS, 60 OPS+), any hits recorded are a positive development. As the Mets lineup gets weaker and weaker by injury, they need Marcus Semien to step up.
- Short. The Mets have a giant question mark at short now. If the Mets are trying to make the best lineup they could, Brett Baty should be a third, Mark Vientos at first and Bo Bichette should play shortstop. For the foreseeable future we are going to see a lot of Bichette and Vidal Bruján. Bruján played 24 games in Syracuse this season and is hitting .241/.304/.313 with three doubles and a home run. He also has five stolen bases.
- Hope you like grounders. The Mets defensive alignment today is incredibly important with Holmes on the mound. Hitters are hitting grounders 58.1% of the time against Holmes, which is in the 94th percentile. This is slightly higher than last year were he had a 55.9% rate.
Let’s Go Mets!
