For the first time since the trade deadline the Mets have dropped two series in a row. Last weekend the Mets lost two games in the bottom of the ninth against the White Sox. After an extra-inning win on Tuesday, the Brewers put eight runs against the Mets two games in a row, taking the series.
Now the Mets welcome the .500 Astros to Citi Field. The Mets are running out of time if they want to finish the season with a .500 record as they currently sit with a 60-74 record.
Christian Scott makes his 20th start of the season tonight! Over his first 19 starts he has pitched 89 1/3 innings with a 3.73 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. August has been rough for Scott who has allowed 14 runs over 20 innings spread across four starts (6.30 ERA, 4.38 FIP). The Astros have the following career stats against Scott:
- Isaac Paredes 1-2, BB
- LaMonte Wade Jr. 0-3, K
- Christian Walker 0-2
Hunter Brown has made 14 starts this season totaling 74 1/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. His results over four starts and 21 2/3 innings have matched his season numbers (3.74 ERA) even if the underlying metric show slight signs for concern (13 BB, 4 HR, 5.35 FIP). The Mets have the following career stats against Hunter Brown:
- Francisco Alvarez 1-1, BB
- Brett Baty 1-5, 2 K
- Bo Bichette 1-8, BB, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 1-6, 2 K
- Luis Robert Jr. 5-12, 2B, HR, 7 K
- Marcus Semien 12-25, 2B, BB, 6 K
- Luis Torrens 0-2, 2 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Carson Benge. Benge is coming off of a rough game against the Wiz, going 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts. He’s been incredibly hot of late, sitting on 17 doubles, 16 home runs and 19 stolen bases for the season. He should reach 20 in each category with normal playing time for the rest of the season. He (and A.J. Ewing) are two of the more exciting players on the Mets and reasons to watch the team as the season starts to wind down.
- Exit Velocity. Hitters have struggled to hit Christian Scott hard this year, leading to his success. He’s in the 83rd percentile in average exit velocity (87.1 mph) and the 79th percentile in hard-hit% (34.2%). Scott just doesn’t generate a ton of ground balls (32.9%) which is in the 7th percentile for the league.
- Bullpen is rested for the weekend. Xzavion Curry and Austin Warren fought through the end of the game last night, giving everyone else the night off. Jefry Yan pitched on back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, so he’s probably unavailable tonight. Everyone else hasn’t pitched for a few days. Núñez, Senga and Duarte all haven’t pitched since Sunday.
Let’s Go Mets!
