The Mets look to extend their winning streak to five games tonight! The Padres had four hits in the first inning on Monday night but didn’t score any runs thanks to Carson Benge’s arm. Benge tossed out two runners at the plate to prevent any runs from scoring. A.J. Ewing would join Benge later in the game and the Mets were able to squeak by with a score of 2-1.
The Mets have now won 10 of their 13 games. The Padres came into last night’s game winning eight of their last 10. It’s two teams on hot streaks, let’s go!
Zac Thornton has made eight starts so far this season totaling 45 1/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.103 WHIP and a 147 ERA+. His numbers have returned to Earth a bit in his last four starts allowing 10 runs, nine earned over 22 innings with a 3.68 ERA, 4.85 FIP. He’s allowed exactly three earned runs in three of his last four starts. No one on the Padres roster has faced Thornton before in a Major League game.
Robbie Ray came over from the Giants at the trade deadline a few weeks ago. Overall this season Ray has pitched 131 2/3 innings with a 3.28 ERA, 4.55 FIP, 1.329 WHIP and a 122 ERA+. Since joining the Padres he has made two starts allowing six runs over nine innings from nine hits and eight walks. Ray last faced the Mets back in the first week of April where he allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings from three hits and three walks. The Mets have the following career stats against Ray:
- Francisco Alvarez 2-4, K
- Brett Baty 1-3
- Bo Bichette 3-11, 3 2B, 4 K
- Francisco Lindor 1-9, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
- Cristian Pache 2-12, 2B, HR, 6 K
- Jorge Polanco 1-9, K, BB
- Luis Robert Jr. 1-11, HR, BB, 4 K
- Marcus Semien 2-13, 2B, 4 K
- Luis Torrens 3-14, 2B, 5 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Don’t run on the Mets! The Mets nailed out three Padres runners at home plate Monday night. Carson Benge’s arm strength is in the 98th percentile and A.J. Ewing is in the 92nd percentile according to Baseball Savant. It will be interesting to see tonight if the Padres remain aggressive on the base paths, or if they switch it up.
- Christopher Morel. The Mets called up Christopher Morel before Monday night’s game, cutting Gabriel Arias. Morel signed with the Mets on July 1st after being released by the Marlins in June. Before being released, Morel was hitting .162/.219/.206. Morel has had three disappointing seasons from 2024 until now, putting up an 80, 89 and 22 OPS+. In his first two seasons with the Cubs he had a 104 and 122 OPS+. Morel has been tearing the cover off the ball in Syracuse, hitting .321/.382/.716 over the last month with hitting 12 homers in 31 games.
- Kodai Senga and close games. The Mets have won three one-run games in a row, improving their season record to 14-20 in one-run games. Senga locked down the save on Sunday with a clean inning where he struck out two batters on a total of 11 batters. It was his second time pitching in three games, making him unavailable for the save situation last night. In Senga’s last five games he has allowed only one hit, two walks and has seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings.
Let’s Go Mets!
