213 Miles From Shea

The Mets are currently on their longest losing streak since 2004. They still have to lose two more games to tie that streak, three more to break it.

Or the Mets could end all of that talk with a win this afternoon in Chicago. Yesterday the Mets were able to rack up hits (14) but only converted that into four runs while the Mets pitching imploded in a 12-4 loss. Things are starting to look bleak. Freddy Peralta has a tall order today to save the Mets get them back in the win column.

Over four starts and 21 innings, Peralta has a 3.86 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.143 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. Peralta is coming off of a solid start against the Athletics where he allowed one run on a solo home run over six innings while striking out six (a game that the Mets eventually lost 1-0). So far this season Peralta has alternated between weak start and strong start, so he’ll be looking for two consecutive strong starts for the first time in 2026 today.

Peralta faced the Cubs four times in 2025 and two of the starts were great and two of the starts were terrible. In the two great starts he held the Cubs scoreless over 12 innings. In the other two starts he allowed eight runs over nine innings. He had one good start and one bad start in Chicago, so it’s not a road thing either. The Cubs have the following career numbers against him:

• Miguel Amaya 1-7, 2 K
• Moises Ballesteros 1-2, 2B
• Alex Bregman 2-5, BB, K
• Michael Busch 3-20, 3 HR, 5 BB, 9 K
• Michael Conforto 3-10, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Pete Crow-Armstrong 6-15, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Ian Happ 4-37, 3 HR, 6 BB, 15 K
• Nico Hoerner 6-33, 3 2B, HR, 2 BB, 7 K
• Carson Kelly 2-15, BB, 7 K
• Scott Kingery 1-1
• Matt Shaw 1-6, 2 BB, 2 K
• Seiya Suzuki 3-28, HR, 4 BB, 15 K
• Dansby Swanson 2-25, HR< 2 BB, 12 K

Jameson Taillon has a 4.86 ERA, 6.28 FIP, 1.260 WHIP and a 77 ERA+ over three starts and 16 2/3 innings this season. Last year he pitched 129 2/3 innings over 23 starts with a 3.68 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 1.057 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. The Mets hit him hard last last May scoring six runs, five earned over four innings from nine hits including four home runs. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 K
• Brett Baty 2-2, HR
• Bo Bichette 9-24, 4 2B, 6 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-16, HR, 5 K
• MJ Melendez 3-5, 2 2B, BB, K
• Tommy Pham 9-29, 5 2B, 2 BB, 9 K
• Jorge Polanco 6-9, 2 2B, HR< K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-11, HR, 5 K
• Marcus Semien 3-17, 2B, 2 HR
• Tyrone Taylor 2-12, 2B, 4 K
• Luis Torrens 0-3, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-5, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. On paper vs recent performance. Today is an ideal matchup on paper for the Mets. As a team they are slashing .293/.308/.557 against Taillon with seven home runs. Taillon’s FIP is well above his already moderately high ERA. The Mets also crushed Taillon last season. But the Mets have been spiraling recently. Everything points toward a get right game for the Mets today, but only if they can seize it.
2. Francisco Lindor. Lindor has six hits in his last five games including a double and a home run. He’s also been getting his hits in bunches, coming in pairs (three games going 2-for-4 and two games going 0-for-4). He’s batting .300 with a .500 SLG over this stretch raising his season line from .167/.296/.250 to .200/.297/.313.
3. Power outage. The Mets have hit 14 home runs this season, which ties them for 27 in the league. Last season the Mets were fifth in the league and the year before they were sixth. They are without one of the major power hitters in Juan Soto and lost a lot of homeruns with Pete Alonso leaving the team, but the Mets should not be this low compared to the rest of the league. An eventual return to the mean should see the Mets shoot up to at least mid league (the Orioles and Brewers are tied with 18 homers for 16th in the league).

Let’s Go Mets!

It has been a bad week and a half for the Mets. They enter play today last place in the NL East, five games out of first place with a 7-12 record and on an eight game losing streak. The Mets desperately need to snap their streak. They are facing a Cubs team this weekend that is also in last place, but are 9-9, only 1.5 games out of first place. The Cubs are looking to extend their winning streak to three games this afternoon. Can the Mets let this losing streak blow away in the wind today?

Kodai Senga’s last start was one to forget. Senga allowed seven runs from eight hits and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. This ballooned his season ERA from 3.09 to 7.07. Senga allowed two home runs, the first two that he allowed this season. His season FIP though is a respectable 3.80. Senga did not face the Cubs last season and the Cubs have the following career numbers against him:

• Alex Bregman 1-3, 2B
• Michael Conforto 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
• Ian Happ 2-6, 2 K
• Nico Hoerner 1-5, BB, 3 K
• Carson Kelly 0-3, 2 K
• Seiya Suzuki 1-2, BB
• Dansby Swanson 1-6, 2B, 2 K

Edward Cabrera is off to a good start in 2026. Over three starts he has tossed 16 2/3 innings with a 1.62 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 1.140 WHIP and a 231 ERA+. His last start though was quite average. He allowed three runs from eight hits and three walks over five innings while striking out four. Cabrera had two very different starts against the Mets last season. In Queens he allowed six runs, five earned, from eight hits and a walk over four innings including three homers. His last start of the season was against the Mets in Chicago, and he held the Mets scoreless over five innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-4, 2 K
• Brett Baty 2-2
• Francisco Lindor 3-18, HR, 6 BB, 4 K
• MJ Melendez 0-1, BB
• Tommy Pham 0-2, K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-2, 2B, K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-7, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 3-7, HR, BB, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. MJ Melendez. Before Wednesday’s game the Mets announced that Jared Young needs meniscus surgery and could be out for two months. MJ Melendez was called up and had a great first game going 2-for-4 with two doubles. Melendez struggled in 23 games with the Royals last season slashing .083/.154/.167 with a -10 OPS+. He was doing alright in Syracuse before getting called up going 11-for-51 with three doubles, a triple and a home run (.216/.286/.431). The Mets need any spark they can get right now!
2. Please stop striking out. The Mets have had several games in a row where they were barely getting hits. Wednesday the Mets were struggling to get the bat on the ball. The team had 14 total strikeouts including two strikeout days from Lindor, Robert Jr., Baty, Melendez and Pham. Just a really bad night. Will the Mets change their approach at the plate this afternoon?
3. An old friend. Michael Conforto burst on the scene for the 2015 Mets with a 130 OPS+. He hit two home runs in game four of the World Series. After a couple of solid years in San Francisco (100 OPS+, 115 OPS+) he is trying to rebound after a hard year with the Dodgers where he hit .199/.305/.333 (81 OPS+) over 138 games. This season he has played in 12 games and has come off the bench as a pinch hitter three games in a row. He is 6-for-22 with two doubles and six walks (.273/.429/.364, 136 OPS+). Here’s hoping he has a successful year – just not against the Mets.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets tailspin continues for another day. The Mets lost 2-1 last night after starting the night with a 1-0 lead thanks to a lead off home run from Francisco Lindor. The Mets now risk being swept for a second consecutive series in a row and have one of the toughest matchups imaginable tonight facing Shohei Ohtani.

Looking ahead, the Mets have the day off tomorrow as they travel to Chicago for a day game on Friday. It would be wonderful if the Mets can lock in a win and a happy plane ride to the Windy City.

Clay Holmes has a 1.50 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.111 WHIP and a 264 ERA+ over his first three starts of the season. He is coming off of a strong start where he allowed only one run against the Athletics over 5 1/3 innings. The Dodgers have the following career stats against Holmes:

• Alex Call 1-1
• Santiago Espinal 0-1, K
• Freddie Freeman 0-4, BB
• Teoscar Hernández 2-9, 2 BB, 4 K
• Max Muncy 1-4, BB, 3 K
• Shohei Ohtani 0-2, 3 BB, K
• Ady Pages 0-2
• Miguel Rojas 0-3, 2 K
• Will Smith 0-3
• Kyle Tucker 2-8, HR, K

Shohei Ohtani is off to a Shohei Ohtani like start this season. he has allowed one unearned run this season over 12 innings while striking out eight batters. Last season the Dodgers eased Ohtani back into pitching, having him make 14 starts during the regular season, but limiting him to only 47 innings. In that stretch he had a 2.87 ERA, 1.90 FIP, 1.043 WHIP and a 142 ERA+. Very few Mets have faced Ohtani in a major league game as a pitcher:

• Bo Bichette 2-5, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-8, 6 K
• Marcus Semien 4-20, 2 BB, 6 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor pretty much did every thing he could last night to spark the Mets offense. He went 2-for-4 leading the game off of with his first home run and later in the game got his second stolen base of the season. It was his second multi-hit game in two days. It feels like Lindor is starting to breakout of his slump!
2. Austin Warren. The Mets placed Joey Gerber on the injured list with a blister before yesterday’s game and called up Austin Warren. Warren was great in a small sample of work for the Mets in 2025 allowing only one run on five hits and four walks over 9 1/3 innings (0.96 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 0.964 WHIP). He has pitched 7 1/3 innings over six games in Syracuse this season with a 1.23 ERA. Warren tossed six different pitches last year with the Mets, mostly relying on his mid-90’s sinker and mid-80’s sweeper.
3. Jackie Robinson Day. Today marks the 79th anniversary of Jackie Robinson making his major league debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color barrier. The Mets and Dodgers will be taking part of a pregame reflection at Dodger Stadium and members of his family are scheduled to be at the stadium tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

If the Mets are falling apart in the middle of the night, and no one is around to see it, are they really falling apart?

The Mets offense continued it’s lackluster stretch on Monday, losing to the Dodgers 4-0 and mustering only three hits. This is on the heels of Sunday’s 1-0 loss where the Mets recorded only four hits. The Mets are practically free falling right now. The Mets are still one good game at the plate from snapping out of it though. Things don’t get any easier for the Mets tonight as they take on one of the aces of the Dodgers staff.

The Mets need their rising ace now more than ever! Nolan McLean has a 2.70 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 0.840 WHIP and a 148 ERA+ over three starts and 16 2/3 innings this season. He’s coming off his longest start of the season where he pitched 6 1/3 innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs from three hits (with both runs scoring after he left the game). This will be McLean’s first start against the Dodgers and no one on the Dodgers has faced McLean in a Major League game before.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has made three starts this season with a 2.50 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 0.889 WHIP and a 159 ERA+. He is currently leading the league with a 1.0 BB/9 which is way below his career average of 2.7 BB/9. He is coming off of his best start of the season where he allowed one run from five hits over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-2
• Bo Bichette 1-3, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-6, 2 K
• Tommy Pham 0-3, K
• Marcus Semien 1-3, K
• Mark Vientos 1-3, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Flipped fWAR. Going into the season, the Mets were projected to be 7th in the league in fWAR with 28.6 from batting and 14.8 from pitching. Currently they are 17th in the league with 0.8 batting fWAR and 2.5 pitching fWAR. This matches what we’ve seen on the field. With a few notable exceptions, the pitching has pretty much done its job, keeping the Mets in every game. The hitting has just vanished. A team that is projected to have a 28.6 batting fWAR will eventually regress to their projected mean at some point, hopefully that starts tonight!
2. Is it luck or skill? The Mets are slumping right now which highlights the luck part of baseball. This is not an excuse for how the Mets have played over the last week or so. The Mets had three hits last night. Two of them had an xBA of above .880 and one of them had an xBA of .280. The Mets put four balls in play that turned into outs between an xBA of .530 and .620. The Mets had seven batted balls with an exit velocity of above 100 mph, and only of them was a hit.
3. Different Pitch Mix. Yamamoto throws six pitches and early on this season, he seems to utilizing them slightly differently. He’s effectively flipped his cutter and curveball usage, using his cutter 19.4% of the time and his curveball 13.6% this season. Last season he used his curveball 17.6% of the time and his cutter 11.2%. He’s also changed his four seamer usage. Last season he was throwing it over a third of the time and now it’s less than a quarter. Something to keep an eye on tonight!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head to California hoping to leave the bad vibes in New York. The Mets have lost five games in a row and were just swept by the Sacramento Athletics. On Saturday the Mets finally started to hit, but the pitching fell apart. The pitching was nearly flawless on Sunday, but the hitting disappeared and the Mets lost 1-0. Over the last several days the Mets have shaken up the roster, bringing in Craig Kimbrel, Joey Gerber and Tommy Pham. Let’s hope something clicks this afternoon!

David Peterson is looking for a bounce back game. His last time out he allowed five runs from six hits and two walks over five innings against the Cardinals. It was his second consecutive start allowing at least five runs. In his first start of the season, he shutout the Pirates over 5 1/3 innings. Peterson had two solid starts against the Dodgers last season holding them to five runs over 14 2/3 innings. The Dodgers have the following career stats against him:

• Alex Call 2-9, 3 K
• Santiago Espinal 1-4
• Freddie Freeman 6-24, 2 HR, BB, 7 K
• Teoscar Hernández 3-13, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Max Muncy 2-7, HR, 2 K
• Shohei Ohtani 7-18, BB, 6 K
• Andy Pages 6-10, HR, K
• Miguel Rojas 7-18, 3 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
• Dalton Rushing 0-3, 2 K
• Will Smith 3-8, 2B, HR, BB

Justin Wrobleski will make his second start of the season tonight. So far he has started a game and finished a game, totaling nine innings of work with a 4.00 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.222 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. Last season Wrobleski was mostly a reliever, throwing 66 2/3 innings with a 4.32 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 1.230 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. No one on the Mets has faced Wrobleski in a major league game before.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Edwin Díaz. Díaz will return to Queens in July, and facing your former team at their ballpark is much different that facing your former team at your new ballpark. That being said, there will be some emotions tonight with Mets players seeing their friend and former teammate. Díaz has pitched in six games so far this season earning four saves with a 6.00 ERA, 4.48 FIP and 1.667 WHIP. His stats are being heavily impacted by his last time out where he allowed three runs from four hits and a walk including a home run.
2. Tommy Pham. Pham was a surprise force in the lineup for the Mets in 2023 putting up a 1.2 bWAR over 79 games hitting .268/.348/.472 with a 125 OPS+. He played in 120 games with the Pirates last year with a 1.0 bWAR slashing .245/.330/.370 with a 95 OPS+. With Soto on the IL the Mets need something to shake up the lineup and hopefully Pham can do that. He’s been playing St. Lucie since signing a minor league deal with the Mets hitting .167/.353/.250 over five games.
3. Joey Gerber. The Mets called up Gerber before yesterday’s game and did not need to use him as Sean Manaea took things over from Freddy Peralta and was able to close out the game. Last season Gerber pitched 4 1/3 innings for the Rays allowing one run off three hits. In the minors last year he had a 6.23 ERA over 43 1/3 innings. This season he has allowed four runs, three earned over five innings.

Let’s Go Mets!

The good news is the Mets scored runs yesterday! The bad news is they didn’t score enough. The Athletics jumped out to a 7-1 lead against the Mets on Saturday. Throughout the middle innings of the game the Mets started mount a comeback, bringing it all the way to 7-6. Then the Mets stumbled again and eventually lost 11-6. Now the Mets will attempt to avoid the sweep this afternoon and snap their four game losing streak.

Freddy Peralta is the first pitcher on the Mets to make four starts so far this season. Over his first three starts, 15 innings, he has a 4.80 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.133 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. He looked great on April 1st, holding the Cardinals to one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out seven. Last time out he allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks. Peralta had a strong start against the Athletics last season, holding them scoreless over five innings, scattering seven hits and a walk. The Athletics have the following career stats against Peralta:

• Lawrence Butler 1-3, K
• Shea Langeliers 0-3
• Jeff McNeil 0-7, 2 K
• Max Muncy 1-2, K
• Tyler Soderstrom 2-3
• Jacob Wilson 1-2

Aaron Civale has allowed three runs from six hits and two walks over 10 innings this season. Last season Civale pitched with the Brewers, White Sox and Cubs totaling 18 starts and 23 games overall. He pitched 102 innings with a 4.85 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.265 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. His last outing of the season was against the Mets where he allowed one run on two hits over three innings of relief. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 0-2, K
• Brett Baty 1-2, HR, K
• Bo Bichette 5-18, HR, 2 BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-5, 2B, K
• Jorge Polanco 3-18, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 6 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 5-17, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
• Marcus Semien 4-12, 2 2B, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 2-4, 2B, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Mark Vientos 0-3, K
• Jared Young 0-1, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Peralta’s weird outcomes. Peralta has a 51.4% groundball percentage this year, the highest in his career. His fly ball percentage is 24.%, by far the lowest in his career. His GB/FB ratio is 2.11, and it has only been above once (1.04) and that was back in 2023. Each of the last two seasons it was exactly 0.82. His xFIP is 2.58, which is the loest in his career by a long shot. But the actual results so far this season have been mixed. We’ll be looking today to see if he is still getting more grounders to flyballs.
2. Mets stolen base update. The Mets were incredibly successful at stealing bases last year, and a huge part of that was due to their first base coach Antoan Richardson. They ended last season fifth in the league. This year they are 14th with 10 stolen bases, but there’s only five stolen bases separating 6th to 14th. Carson Benge has been a huge part of the Mets total number, already stealing five bases this season. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto combined for 69 stolen bases and together they only have one so far this year. It feels like Lindor would steal less right now because of his hamate surgery, and who knows what Soto will do when he comes back from the injured list. Even with two of the more prolific base stealers on the team down, the Mets are still making it happen.
3. Bo Bichette. Bichette did everything he could for the Mets yesterday going 2-for-3 hitting a home run and walking twice. He now has a five game hitting streak and has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games. In his last 10 he is hitting .333/.391/.452 which is a lot better than his season line of .250/.300/.328.

Let’s Go Mets!

Oof.

That’s all I could think of looking at last night’s box score. The Mets pitching was able to keep the game close (1-0) most of the game but the offense struggled to get anything going. Ultimately the Athletics beat the Mets 4-0 to take the series opener.

We have seen the Mets get into collectively slumps like this before. We’ve seen the 2026 Mets get into a s lump like this in the first week of the season! We have also seen the 2026 Mets find their bats, especially during last weekend’s four game winning streak. Can they bring that magic home?

Kodai Senga has allowed four runs on nine hits and five walks this season while striking out 16 batters in 11 2/3 innings. Obviously a small-sample size, but his 12.3 K/9 is quite a bit higher than his career 10.2 rate. One of Senga’s best starts last season was against the Athletics, holding them scoreless over seven innings. The Athletics have the following career numbers agaisnt him:

• Lawrence Butler 2-3, 2B
• Shea Langeliers 1-5, HR, K
• Max Muncy 1-2, K
• Tyler Soderstrom 0-2, BB
• Jacob Wilson 0-3

In two starts this season Jacob Lopez has allowed six runs from nine hits and 10 walks over 8 1/3 innings. He has allowed exactly three runs and five walks in each start this season. Last season he pitched 92 2/3 innings with a 4.08 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.273 WHIP and a 106 ERA+. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Brett Baty 0-1, K
• Bo Bichette 2-7, 2 2B, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-1
• Jorge Polanco 1-1, BB
• Marcus Semien 2-4, 2 BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mets Bats. The Mets bats have not scored a run in 17 innings. According to DiComo, they have gone 38 consecutive innings without scoring more than one run. It’s really hard to win ballgames if you aren’t scoring. The longer streak of no multi-run innings confirms what we are feeling – the Mets are squandering chances with RISP. Jacob Lopez has struggled with his location so far this season, don’t give him free strikes, work the count, get on base and get a big inning.
2. Carson Benge. Benge’s numbers are odd this season. He has a .125 BA, .222 OBP and 31 wRC+. His xBA is an ice cold .168. But his BABIP is .153, he has a Hard-hit% in the 40’s (64th percentile) and he’s hitting the launch angle sweet-spot 40% of the time (81st percentile). He had a scorching groundout yesterday with a .620 xBA. On Wednesday he had a lineout with an xBA of .660. It feels like we are on the precipice of things falling into place for Benge.
3. Power Outage. The Mets and the Athletics enter play today tied for 22nd in the league with 10 home runs on the season. This is a massive departure for both teams from last year. The Mets had 224 home runs, good for 5th in the league and the Athletics had 219, or 7th in the league. The Mets are without their best hitter, lost one of their best power hitters in free agency and Lindor hasn’t found his stride yet. On the Athletics, Shea Langeliers is tied for the league lead with five home runs, the rest of the team has the other five.

Let’s Go Mets!

It’s been a weird two games for the Mets. Wednesday the Mets just lacked a spark, allowing five runs in the first two innings and eventually losing 7-2 after scoring two runs late in the game. Thursday the Mets got on the scoreboard early thanks to a Luis Robert Jr. solo shot, but couldn’t pile on. Things fell apart late and the Mets lost 7-1. The vibes were good during the four game winning streak and now the vibes are down again.

It’s the start of the season though, and as quickly as things can look bad, they can turn around in an instant. Hopefully tonight is the night!

Clay Holmes has allowed only two runs over 12 2/3 innings from seven hits and five walks while striking out nine batters. He has an early season 1.42 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 0.947 WHIP and a 261 ERA+. Grounders have been his flex this season. So far he has a 65.7% groundball rate, good for the 95th percentile in baseball and has paired it with a 33.7% chase rate, 74th percentile. The Athletics have the following career numbers against Holmes:

• Lawrence Butler 0-1, K
• Andy Ibáñez 2-4
• Shea Langeliers 1-2, BB
• Jeff McNeil 1-4, K
• Brent Rooker 0-1, K
• Tyler Soderstrom 0-0, BB
• Austin Wynns 0-1, K

The Mets traded J.T. Ginn with Adam Oller to the Athletics for Chris Bassitt in 2022. Bassitt was a workhorse on the Mets, leading them to one of their best regular seasons in franchise history. Ginn would make his major league debut in 2024 and ended up starting 16 games for the Athletics in 2025. Last season he totaled 90 1/3 innings over 23 total games with a 5.08 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 1.392 WHIP and an 85 ERA+. His 2025 debut came against the Mets where he held them to one run over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six in Sacramento. This season he has allowed four runs from six hits and two walks over seven innings spread over two starts. The Mets have the following career numbers against Ginn:

• Brett Baty 1-2
• Francisco Lindor 1-2, BB
• Jorge Polanco 0-2, K
• Luis Robert Jr. 2-3
• Marcus Semien 0-6, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The return of Jeff McNeil. Jeff McNeil was drafted by the Mets in 2013 and made his major league debut in 2018, putting up a 3.0 bWAR in his rookie year. He would go on to become a two-time all-star and led the league in hitting one season over eight years with the Mets. The Mets broke apart their old core this off-season, and that included trading Jeff McNeil. He is currently hitting .258/.343/.290 over 35 PA’s with the Athletics this season. Jeff McNeil’s competitive nature was a major hallmark of his Mets career and if anyone is going to get a “bump” of adrenaline facing his old team, it’s probably McNeil.
2. Get off to a hot start! Yesterday the Mets got off to a hot start with a solo homer by Luis Robert Jr., and then collectively did nothing. The Mets need a game where they start scoring runs early, and keep scoring runs throughout the game to breakout of their current funk. Ginn has a 6.14 ERA in the first inning. He then settles down until about the 5th inning.
3. Pile on the Athletics. The Athletics are currently 24th in the majors with a .645 OPS. For context, the Mets are 12th with a .682 OPS. Last season the Mets were 6th (.753) and the Athletics were 8th (.749). They’re struggling too!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Diamondbacks play the rubber game this evening in Queens! The Mets had a comeback win on Tuesday to stretch their winning streak to four games but just couldn’t put anything together in yesterday in a 7-2 loss. David Peterson allowed five runs in the first two innings and the Mets batters struggled early to get a runner to second base. Eventually the Mets would score a couple of runs but at that point the game felt too far out of reach.

There’s nothing like a Nolan McLean day to get back on track! Tonight is a rematch of the WBC Finale with McLean facing off against Eduardo Rodríguez. Should be a fun one tonight!

Over two starts this season Nolan McLean has allowed four runs, three earned over 10 1/3 innings from five hits and four walks while striking out 12 batters. In his last start he took a perfect game into the sixth inning, allowing two runs, one earned, over 5 1/3 innings. This will be his first major league start against the Diamondbacks and no one on the Diamondbacks roster have faced him in a major league game previously.

Eduardo Rodríguez is off to a hot start this season allowing one unearned run and nothing else from eight hits and three walks over 12 innings. Last season he pitched 154 1/3 innings over 29 starts with a 5.02 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.542 WHIP and an 86 ERA+. The Mets really hit him hard last April, scoring eight runs off of nine hits in four innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Rodríguez:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-6, K
• Bo Bichette 5-13, 2B, 2 HR, BB, 4 K
• Francisco Lindor 5-22, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Jorge Polanco 4-17, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 2-11, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• Marcus Semien 6=25, 2B, 3 BB, 9 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-2, 2B
• Luis Torrens 1-3, K
• Mark Vientos 0-5, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Rodríguez has made adjustments. From 2015 to 2025, Rodríguez primarily tossed fastballs. From 2023 to 2025 over 40% of his pitches were fastball. Least season he threw them 46.6% of the time, the highest amount since 2017. He’s been different this year. Over two starts this season he is primarily using his change up (34.9% usage) and it has a .177 xBA. Let’s see if that trend continues this afternoon and if the Mets attack him differently than they did last season.
2. Bo Bichette, at bat leader? Heading into games today Bo Bichette (2-for-4 yesterday) is currently leading the league in at bats (54). This is more of a reflection of how infrequently he walks (only twice so far this season, which isn’t that far off of his normal pace). If you cut out the first three games of the season, Bichette is hitting .275/.310/.325 going 11-for-40 with two doubles. We are starting to see normal Bichette, and as he starts to hit for more power, we’ll see his OPS+ go from 47 to where it normally is (120’s).
3. Contain Corbin Carroll please. Carroll had a great day at the plate yesterday going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, two RBI’s and a run scored. He was the engine of the Diamondbacks offense either driving players home or getting in a position to score himself.

Let’s Go Mets!

The vibes are cold, but good heading into this afternoon’s Mets game! For a second straight day the Mets will play a few hours earlier than originally scheduled due to the cold temperatures in the area today. The cold couldn’t stop the Mets yesterday who had a comeback win, eventually beating the Diamondbacks in extra innings. It was the Mets fourth win and second comeback win in a row. This was also the Mets third extra-inning game this season. Hopefully the Mets can extend their winning streak to five in regulation today!

David Peterson has a 4.66 ERA over 9 2/3 innings, but that hides how different his two starts have been. In his first start of the season he held the Pirates scoreless over 5 1/3 innings, scattering six hits and two walks. Last time out against the Giants he allowed six runs, five earned over 4 1/3 innings from nine hits and two walks. Peterson faced the Diamondbacks in back-to-back starts last season. In Queens he allowed only one run over five and then on the road he allowed four runs, two earned, over six innings. The Diamondbacks have the following numbers against Peterson:

• Nolan Arenado 2-3
• Luken Baker 0-3, 2 K
• Jorge Barrosa 1-3, 2B, K
• Corbin Carroll 2-9, 3 K
• Ketel Marte 2-10, 2B, HR, 4 K
• James McCann 0-0, BB
• Gabriel Moreno 1-2
• Geraldo Perdomo 2-8, 2B, 3 BB, K
• Tim Tawa 0-2
• Ildemaro Vargas 4-12, 2 2B, K

Ryne Nelson has allowed 11 runs but only six earned over his first 9 1/3 innings this season. He’s also had to face two tough lineups to start the season. The Dodgers tagged him for four runs over 4 2/3 innings hitting two home runs and walking three times. The Braves then got him for seven runs, only two earned, over 4 2/3 innings also allowing two home runs. He was great at Citi Field last season holding the Mets hitless over four innings. Then in his next start he allowed two runs from three hits and four walks over 4 1/3. The Mets have the following career numbers against Nelson:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-8, HR, 4 K
• Brett Baty 0-1, BB, K
• Bo Bichette 1-5, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 4-10, 2 3B, HR, 3 K
• Ronny Mauricio 1-2, HR
• Jorge Polanco 0-2, 2 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-5, HR, 2 K
• Marcus Semien 1-5, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-4, 3B, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Mark Vientos 2-6

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Does Nelson make adjustments? Over two starts this season, Nelson has a 110 Stuff+ on his fastball and 114 on his slider. He’s used his fastball 53.4% of the time and he’s been hit around with a .286 BA and a staggering .517 xBA. He actually used his fastball more last season (61.9%) with a .244 xBA. His slider though has been another story. He’s used it 22.1% of time, up from last year’s 14.3%, and it hasn’t been hit at all (.147 xBA).
2. He has sunshine on a cold day. As Francisco Lindor goes, the Mets go. Lindor went 2-for-5 yesterday and scored twice. It was Lindor’s third multi-hit game of the season (he actually only has hits in four games!). It was the third time this season that Lindor scored more than one run. The Mets need their table setter today!
3. Sean Manaea Day? Manaea last pitched for the Mets on April 4/2, which was also Peterson’s last start. Manaea gave the Mets bullpen some much needed relief going 3 2/3 innings allowing one run on four hits and two walks. On the season he has allowed one run over five innings. The underlying stuff is still fairly alarming, despite the on field success. Manaea’s four seamer is averaging 89.6 mph and he’s using it half as much as he did last season (60.5% to 34%). He’s not getting whiffs (23.8%, 41st percentile) and hitters are making solid contact against him (11th percentile for average exit velocity, 38th for Hard-hit%).

Let’s Go Mets!