The Mets look to build on their solid series opener Friday night as they take on the Nationals for game two this afternoon! Robert Stock kept the Mets in the game last night allowing only one run over 4 1/3 innings. Lindor came through with a big home run in sixth inning and Kodai Senga pitched another scoreless inning in the ninth inning earning his second save of the season. The Mets are now only 5.5 games behind the Nationals for fourth in the NL East. Let’s keep climbing out of the cellar!
Sean Manaea has pitched in 25 games this season and has made 11 starts totaling 104 2/3 innings. He has a 4.13 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.318 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. He is coming off of a brilliant start where he allowed only one run over seven innings against the Pirates while striking out 11 batters. In his last four starts he has a 2.16 ERA and a 3.56 FIP over 25 innings. Manaea’s one outing against the Nationals this season was a doozy, allowing six runs from seven hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings of relief. The Nationals have the following career stats against him:
- CJ Abrams 5-14, 2B, 4 K
- Andres Chaparro 1-5, BB, 2 K
- Dylan Crews 0-7, 2 K
- Brady House 3-4, 2B, HR, BB
- Daylen Lile 1-5. 2 K
- Nasim Nuñez 2-3, HR< 2 BB
- Keibert Ruiz 4-11
- Jose Tena 1-3, K
- Jacob Young 2-8, 2B, BB, 4 K
The Nationals are trying Brad Lord out in the rotation! Lord has pitched in 29 games this season totaling 61 2/3 innings, including two starts. He has a 3.79 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.184 WHIP and a 112 ERA+. He made a start back on July 1, holding the Red Sox scoreless over 2 1/3 innings. His second start came last week where he held the Reds to one over 2 2/3 innings. Lord has made two extended relief appearances against the Mets this year allowing only one run off of three hits over 5 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Lord:
- Francisco Alvarez 1-3, HR
- Gabriel Arias 0-2
- Brett Baty 1-5, HR
- Carson Benge 2-2
- Bo Bichette 0-3
- A.J. Ewing 0-1, K
- Francisco Lindor 3-4, BB
- Marcus Semien 0-3
- Luis Torrens 0-4
Three Things To Watch For:
- Carson Benge On-Base Streak. Benge went 1-for-4 Friday night, extending his on-base streak to 17 games. During this streak Benge is hitting .354/.417/.523 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and five walks. In 2024 Francisco reached base safely in 35 consecutive games in a single season. Jon Olerud has the franchise record, reaching base safely in 47 consecutive games between 1998 and 1999. Benge’s current streak at 17 is impressive, and also shows how amazing of a feat Lindor and Olerud accomplished.
- Francisco Lindor. Lindor still has a real chance to reach 20 home runs this season. His homer last night was his second in four games and his sixth since 7/27 when he hit two in one game. Starting from his two homer game, Lindor is hitting .288/.382/.621 (1.003 OPS). His season OPS has gone from .686 to .768 over this stretch!
- Kodai Senga. Will Senga pitch in back-to-back games? The Mets are not in a playoff race right now, there’s no reason to push people past their limits. If the Mets though are thinking about Senga as a high-leverage reliever in the future, we will need to see him go on back-to-back days eventually. His last two outings (2 IP, H, BB, 3 K) have been in save situations, separated by four days.
Let’s Go Mets!
