The Mets and Phillies are playing through weather that should be in a science fiction movie. Smoke from wild fires. Extreme thunderstorms. It’s a lot to handle. The Mets beat the Phillies Thursday night and had a scheduled off-day yesterday, which ended up being for the best. The smokey conditions were bad at first pitch on Thursday but continued to get worse as the night progressed.
The Mets survived the Phillies and the weather in the first game of the series, hopefully they can do it again!
Sean Manaea has pitched in 20 games this season totaling 75 innings with a 4.56 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.320 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. His last six games have all been starts where he has pitched 32 innings with a 3.94 ERA, 4.35 FIP. In his last start he pitched seven innings for the first time this season allowing three runs, two earned from six hits including two home runs. He last pitched against the Phillies mid-June allowing three runs, two earned over 5 1/3 innings while striking out five. The Phillies have the following career stats agaisnt him:
- Alec Bohm 6-18, 2B, HR, 3 K
- Justin Crawford 0-2, K
- Bryce Harper 7-21, 2 2B, HR, BB, 4 K
- Dereck Hill 2-5, 2B
- Brandon Marsh 0-6, BB, 4 K
- J.T. Realmuto 1-14, BB
- Kyle Schwarber 3-16, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
- Edmundo Sosa 7-16, 2 2B, 2 3B, HR, 4 K
- Bryson Stott 5-11, HR, 2 BB, K
- Garrett Stubbs 1-2
- Trea Turner 7-21, HR, BB, 6 K
Jesús Luzardo has made 19 starts this season totaling 110 1/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.224 WHIP and a 128 ERA+. He is in the midst of a career year and was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career. Luzardo has been on fire recently allowing only three earned runs in his last four starts (24 2/3 innings) leading to a 1.09 ERA, 1.15 FIP while striking out 39 batters. This includes a start against the Mets where he held the Mets to one run over 5 innings, scattering four hits and three walks. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Francisco Alvarez 0-8, K
- Brett Baty 1-4, BB
- Carson Benge 1-3, K
- Bo Bichette 3-5, HR, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 7-28, 2 BB, 4 K
- Jorge Polanco 1-2
- Marcus Semien 1-6, 2 K
- Juan Soto 7-21, 2B, HR, 7 BB, 3 K
- Tyrone Taylor 5-11, 2B, K
- Luis Torrens 2-10, HR, 2 K
- Eric Wagaman 4-13, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Marcus Semien. Semien was scheduled to be in the lineup today and Andy Green said Semien will have a lot of playing time moving forward. Semien landed on the injured list in June due to a grade 3 hip flexor strain. This injury usually takes 4-6 six weeks to heal but he’s back already. Semien is hitting .214/.271/.341 this season with a 70 OPS+ and a -0.6 bWAR. Before landing on the IL Semien went 1-for-19 with a walk in his last five games.
- Brett Baty. With Semien back, the Mets will need to get more creative about how they incorporate Brett Baty. Baty has played in the outfield, second and third and as the veterans start to get healthy (Semien, Polanco, Luis Robert Jr.), there are less at bats to go around. Baty went 2-for-4 Thursday night with a home run. It was the second time in four games that Baty had multiple hits in a game including a home run.
- Hug Watch. It’s been reported over the last couple of days that almost everyone except Benge, Ewing, Scott, McLean and Soto. It sounds like the Mets are going to have a disorienting couple of weeks heading into the deadline. There are still several players who the Mets would like to raise the value of in the next couple of days, which could dictate playing time. Tyrone Taylor falls into this category as does Luis Robert Jr., whenever he is activated. As of writing, there are no concrete, specific rumors involving the Mets heading into this afternoon’s game.
Let’s Go Mets!
