The Mets look to take the series against the first place Rays tonight! Monday was an odd day in Mets land. A few hours before the game it was announced that the Orioles actually claimed Luis Robert Jr. and that Nick Morabito would replace him on the Mets roster. The Mets also activated Mark Vientos before the game after his sizzling hot rehab assignment in Syracuse. Vientos kept the hitting streak going with a two-run bomb in the seventh. Kodai Senga closed things down in the ninth for his fifth save of the season.
Tonight is the most anticipated game of the series as the Mets will go up against former Met, Freddy Peralta!
Sean Manaea has pitched in 28 games including 14 starts with 122 2/3 innings pitched. He has a 4.55 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. His last three starts have been rough, allowing 14 earned runs over 18 innings from 19 hits and five walks including six home runs (7.00 ERA, 7.03 FIP). He’s also faced three of the toughest lineups in his last three starts between the Nationals, White Sox and Brewers. The Rays have the following career stats against him:
- Jonny DeLuca 0-2, K
- Yandy Diaz 2-8, 2 HR, 2 BB, K
- Nick Fortes 3-4, 2 HR
- Liam Hicks 0-2, K
- Jorge Mateo 0-6, 2 K
- Cedric Mullins 0-3, K
Freddy Peralta was supposed to be the veteran ace of the Mets staff this season. He has struggled over 27 starts this season, showing moments of his old self, but ultimately putting a 5.11 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.411 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. As a Ray he has made five starts totaling 27 1/3 innings with a 5.60 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 1.134 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. Three of the five starts Peralta has made as a Ray have been at hitter friendly stadiums (Rockies, Athletics, Orioles). He’s coming off one of his best starts of the season, holding the Tigers scoreless over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:
- Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 K
- Brett Baty 0-3, K
- Bo Bichette 1-5, HR< K
- Francisco Lindor 1-11, HR, 3 BB, 5 K
- Christopher Morel 2-11, 2B, 5 BB, 7 K
- Marcus Semien 1-7, K
- Juan Soto 1-12, HR, 5 BB, K
- Luis Torrens 1-2
- Mark Vientos 1-4, 3 K
- Jared Young 0-2, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Nick Morabito. With Luis Robert Jr. gone there is a pathway for Nick Morabito to get significant playing time before the end of the season. Morabito had a short callup earlier this season where he went 0-for-11 in his first five games including nine strikeouts. In 114 games in Syracuse this season Morabito slashed .254/.355/.388 with 13 home runs and 42 stolen bases. An outfield of Morabito, Benge and Ewing has a potential for 100+ stolen bases over a full regular season.
- First Base. The Mets have to figure out first base for next season. Jorge Polanco was supposed to be the stopgap measure until Ryan Clifford was ready but Polanco has battled injuries all season and Clifford has struggled so much in Syracuse. Jared Young has turned into a hit machine. Brett Baty is trying to become a super-utility player. Then there’s Mark Vientos. Vientos was having a terrible year before his injury and it looked like his time with the Mets was up. He hit five home runs in five games with Syracuse while rehabbing and had a great first game last night. Vientos, Young and Baty’s timeshare will be a storyline for the last month of the season.
- Emotions. Do players get a performance bump when they play their old team? Anecdotally, it sure seems like it. For Freddy Peralta, facing the Mets tonight could be a way for him to exorcise the challenges he’s faced this season by eviscerating a lineup that sometimes played poor defense behind him and a bullpen that sometimes let games go. The reverse can happen as well. For the Mets hitters, tonight is an opportunity to get back at a pitcher who frequently put the Mets in a hole to start the game that they constantly had to dig their way out of. Peralta and Mets did seem to genuinely like each other, from spring through the trade. If there’s no bad blood, is there no performance bump? We’ll find out!
Let’s Go Mets!
