The Mets try to stretch their winning streak to three games tonight as they take on the Padres for the second game of the series. Last night the Mets took the lead early and never looked back, beating the Padres 5-0. The Mets did this behind strong starting pitching from Christian Scott, and power hitting from Jared Young and Luis Torrens. The Padres have now lost six games in a row. Keep pouring it on Mets!
Nolan McLean makes his 13th start of the season today. Over 66 1/3 innings McLean has a 4.21 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.116 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. McLean had two terrible starts in a row in mid-May, allowing 16 runs, 13 earned over nine innings. His last time out was a step in the right direction allowing one run on two hits over five innings against the Marlins. He did walk five batters and struck out only two, which is very unlike McLean. This is his first start against the Padres and no one on the Padres has faced McLean in a major league game.
The Mets face an old friend tonight, Griffin Canning. Canning made 16 starts for the Mets last year totaling 76 1/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.376 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. Canning ruptured his Achilles last season with the Mets and returned to the field this May for the Padres. He’s had a rough go of it, pitching 27 2/3 innings over six starts with a 7.16 ERA, 5.60 FIP, 1.554 WHIP and a 57 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed exactly three runs in each start (tossing between 5 and 6 2/3 innings), which is better than what was happening before. The Mets have the following career stats against Canning:
- Bo Bichette 1-5, K
- MJ Melendez 3-4, 3B, HR, BB, K
- Marcus Semien 9-30, 2B, 2 HR, BB, 6 K
- Juan Soto 2-3, HR
- Mark Vientos 0-5, 4 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Bo Bichette. Bichette has had back-to-back good games for the Mets going 6-for-8 with a double and a triple. On Wednesday he went 4-for-4 with four singles, driving in three runs. Last night he drove in one run with two extra-base hits. He’s managed to push him self over the .600 line for OPS. Let’s hope this mini-hot streak continues!
- We have to keep talking about Jared Young. Young had another big night for the Mets yesterday going 2-for-4 with a home run. It was second two-hit game in a row and his third extra-base hit in four games. Young has a .944 OPS and a 165 OPS+. Juan Soto has a 159 OPS+. Jared Young the x-factor?
- Marcus Semien. Semien had a rough night going 0-for-4 with a strikeout and one GIDP. His OPS for the season dropped below .600 and he was the only hitter in the Mets lineup yesterday he finished game with an OPS below .600. In his last three games he has gone 0-for-12. In the three games before his hitless streak, Semien went 5-for-9 with a double, two home runs and two walks. He also has solid numbers against Canning. Hopefully he can break out of his slump tonight!
Let’s Go Mets!
