The Mets leave a soggy New York for the last week of the baseball season. First up, a series in Arlington, Texas. The American League in 2026 is weird. When the Mets played the Astros a few weeks ago, the Astros were in first place despite hovering around .500. Now the Mets play the Rangers who are in first place in their division, but have a .500 record. The Astros are one game back with an elimination number of 6. The Mariners are five games back with an elimination number of 2. The Mets can play spoiler this week!
Sean Manaea has pitched in 31 games making 17 starts totaling 138 2/3 innings with a 4.74 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.320 WHIP and an 87 ERA+. Manaea had a rough stretch from mid-August to early September, putting up a 7.22 ERA, 5.71 FIP over 28 2/3 innings. He bounced back in his last start allowing only two runs over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six. The Rangers have the following career stats against him:
- Jake Burger 3-8, 2B, 2 HR, K
- Elias Diaz 2-13, HR, K
- Ezequiel Duran 0-2, K
- Danny Jansen 1-1, 2B, BB
- Wyatt Langford 0-1
- Nicky Lopez 2-7, K
- Brandon Nimmo 2-7, 2B, BB, 3 K
- Corey Seager 3-9, HR, 2 K
The Mets bats will face an old foe in MacKenzie Gore. Gore was traded by the Padres to the Nationals in 2022 for Juan Soto and played four seasons with the Nationals, including an All-Star nomination in 2025. He was traded to the Rangers before the start of this season. He’s already made 32 starts totaling 165 2/3 innings with a 4.67 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.352 WHIP and an 83 ERA+. His last three starts have been rough, allowing 12 runs over 11 innings from 15 hits and nine walks. The Mets have the following career stats against Gore:
- Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 BB, 2 K
- Brett Baty 1-3, BB, 2 K
- Bo Bichette 0-5
- Francisco Lindor 5-20, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
- Ronny Mauricio 0-2, K
- Christopher Morel 1-3
- Cristian Pache 1-10, 2B, 4 K
- Marcus Semien 1-3
- Juan Soto 3-15, HR, 7 K
- Luis Torrens 1-6, 2B, 3 K
- Mark Vientos 3-9, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Reunions. The Mets and Rangers swapped Brandon Nimmo and Marcus Semien in an old-school, one-for-one trade before the start of the 2026 season. Nimmo has slashed .260/.325/.407 with 14 home runs and a 1.4 bWAR. Overall a slight drop from his 2025 numbers where slashed .262/.324/.436 hitting 25 home runs and a 2.8 bWAR. His OPS+ has been mostly comparable going from 114 to 112. Marcus Semien had a much larger drop off, going from a 93 OPS+ to 75 and a 3.2 bWAR down to a 0.3 bWAR. But trading Brandon Nimmo gave the Mets the space to call up Carson Benge and eventually A.J. Ewing. Nimmo and Semien were both beloved players in their respective franchises, and hopefully Semien gets warm welcome back tonight.
- Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez has been quietly putting together a solid season. He’s gone 4-for-8 in his last two games. He has 16 home runs, the second most in his career. For a chunk of the season he wasn’t showing his power as often and he’s ending this season with a .399 SLG, the lowest in his career and a 98 OPS+, the second lowest. There’s generally an OPS+ penalty at the catcher position, but Alvarez has a lot to be proud of this season.
- Milestones. We are in the final stretch! Francisco Lindor is still sitting at 299 home runs, not hitting one since September 12th. Carson Benge is still one home run away from a 20-20 season.
Let’s Go Mets!
