The Mets look to complete the sweep of the Rangers this afternoon! The Mets took the lead first Wednesday night thanks to a Juan Soto home run. The Rangers eventually tied it before Marcus Semien put the Mets ahead again with a solo shot of his own. Then Brett Baty dropped the hammer with a grand slam.
The Rangers are in a race for the AL West title. Both they and the Astros lost yesterday and both teams are now two games below. 500 leaving the door still ever so open for the Seattle Mariners who are four games back. Meanwhile the Mets are still 1.5 games back behind the Nationals, trying to get out of the cellar by the end of the season.
Zac Thornton ends a terrific rookie year today. Over 14 games this season Thornton pitched 79 1/3 innings with a 3.40 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 1.147 WHIP and a 120 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only four runs from 10 hits over 13 innings. The main blemish on his game has been home runs. He’s allowed home runs in eight of his last ten starts and has allowed a total of six home runs in September alone. This will be his first time facing the Rangers and no one on the Rangers has faced Thornton before in a Major League game.
The Mets drafted Kumar Rocker in 2021 and did not reach a deal due to his medicals. He was drafted by the Rangers the following year, made his debut in 2024 and is finish a full major league season. Over 29 games, 26 starts, he has pitched 143 innings with a 4.47 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.420 WHIP and an 86 ERA+. He’s coming off back-to-back solid if not short starts where he has allowed two runs from five hits over 8 1/3 innings. The only hitter on the Mets who has faced Rocker before is Christopher Morel (1-for-2).
Three Things To Watch For:
- Juan Soto. It’s nice having Soto on the Mets. Soto went 1-for-2 Wednesday hitting his 27th home run of the season and also picking up three walks. It was his second home run in five games and puts him in a position to possibly reach 30 home runs before the end of the season. Getting on base four times Wednesday night raised his OBP to .394, just barely behind last year’s league leading .396.
- Keep them guessing. Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager each struck out three times on Tuesday night. They each struck out two times Wednesday night. Together, they have gone 0-for-15 with ten strikeouts and a sacrifice fly.
- Milestones. Nothing has really changed in the last week. Carson Benge is still only one home run away from a 20-20 season. Francisco Lindor is still sitting at 299 career home runs.
Let’s Go Mets!
