The Mets go for the sweep this afternoon at Citi Field!
The Mets struck first on Saturday but the Nationals roared back, taking a 4-2 lead that held until the ninth inning. The Mets tied the game in the ninth and then took the lead on a Francisco Lindor single, getting Jefry Yan his first career win. So far in this series the Mets have been able to keep the Nationals high-powered offense mostly in check. Just do it one more time!
Christian Scott has made 17 starts totaling 78 1/3 innings with a 3.45 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.302 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. His last two starts have been a lot more human for Scott who has allowed seven runs over nine innings from 13 hits and three walks while striking out 13 batters. In his one start against the Nationals this season he allowed three runs from four hits and three walks over four innings. The Nationals have the following career stats against Scott:
- CJ Abrams 0-5, 3 K
- Brady House 1-2
- Daylen Lile 0-1, BB, K
- Keibert Ruiz 0-3
- Jose Tena 1-2, 2B
- Jorbit Vivas 0-1, BB
- Jacob Young 0-2
Jake Irvin has made 14 starts this season totaling 65 1/3 innings with a 5.79 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 1.316 WHIP and a 73 ERA+. Irvin led the league in earned runs (114) and home runs (38) last season with an identical ERA+. This season his WHIP, FIP and HR/9 have each taken a step back towards his career numbers. He’s made three starts over the last couple of weeks since returning from the injured list. In those starts he has allowed 12 earned runs from 10 hits, including four home runs, over 13 2/3 innings (7.90 ERA, 7.25 FIP). In his one start against the Mets this season he allowed three runs, two earned over four innings from six hits and a walk. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Francisco Alvarez 2-14, 7 K
- Gabriel Arias 1-4, 2B, K
- Brett Baty 2-10, 2 HR, BB, K
- Carson Benge 1-2
- Bo Bichette 1-4, BB, K
- A.J. Ewing 0-2, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 8-23, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 K
- Marcus Semien 0-4, BB, K
- Luis Torrens 3-9, 2 2B, 3 K
- Jared Young 0-2, BB
Three Things To Watch For:
- Carson Benge 18 game on-base streak! Benge extended his on-base streak to 18 games on Saturday going 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks! During the streak Carson Benge has slashed .358/.434/.567 with seven of his 24 hits going for extra bases. He has now pushed his OPS to 1.001 over this stretch and has raised his season OPS from .713 to .757 over the last few weeks. He now has a 2.5 bWAR and a 111 OPS+. This current stretch for Benge is starting to push his name into the Rookie of the Year conversation!
- A tired Nationals Bullpen. The Nationals bullpen was set up to have a difficult weekend with Brad Lord starting on Saturday. His longest outings this season had mostly been between two and three innings. The Mets knocked him out before the end of the first inning yesterday, forcing Will Dion to to take on the bulk of the reliever work, and he did a solid job tossing more than four innings. But the Nationals had to use everyone in their bullpen except for Trevor Williams over the last couple of days. Jake Irvin has struggled recently and is still coming back from a significant injured that sidelined him for almost two months. The Mets bats successfully worked seven walks yesterday. Hopefully the Mets can be as patient today, make Jake work and then get to this tired bullpen.
- Gabriel Arias. August has been rough for Arias. As a Met he has gone for 0-for-5 over two games and only one start. Overall in August he has gone 0-for-13 at the plate. In the final four games he played in July (7/24-7/29), Arias went 6-for-15 with a double and a walk. Unfortunately for Arias, he is on a roster with several players (Luis Robert Jr, Jorge Polanco) that the Mets need to give at bats to in an effort to get going.
Let’s Go Mets!
