213 Miles From Shea

A win this afternoon will mean the Mets will have at least a shot of splitting the series tomorrow. A loss means the Dodgers will go for the rare season sweep tomorrow.

Mets took a tough loss yesterday 3-2 against the Dodgers and they look to bounce back today. The game was punctuated by a terrible strikeout call in the 8th inning, the first inning the Mets got anything going, when McNeil was called out on an inside pitch with two runners on. He lost his cool and was tossed. The Mets could only scratch one run in that inning. Hopefully the Mets come back angry today.

Rich Hill will pitch in his 6th game for the Mets today. Over 21.2 innings he has a 4.98 ERA, 4.60 FIP, 1.385 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. He had a short outing his last time out, allowing 2 runs from 6 hits over 3.2 innings against the Giants, in a game the Mets ultimately lost 7-5. Not too many members of the current Dodgers roster have seen Hill in a major league, which is surprising given how long Hill has been pitching:

• AJ Pollock 3-18, 3 HR, 2 K
• Albert Pujols 2-11, HR, BB, K
• Chris Taylor 1-3, 2 K
• Trea Turner 1-5, 2 K

I remember being very excited the day before the trade deadline when it looked like Max Scherzer was going to the Padres. I naively thought that was it for facing him this season – the Mets are already done with the Padres! When it got announced he was heading to the Dodgers I thought, fine, we’ll face him most one more time, not realizing how the Dodgers games were placed in the Mets schedule.

Anyway that’s all to say the Mets are facing Max Scherzer again. Suprisingly they have only faced him this year since the deadline. On the season he has pitched 22 games and 127.1 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 0.895 WHIP (league leading) and a 145 ERA+. In three starts as a Dodger he has pitched 16.1 innings with a 2.20 ERA, 1.70 FIP, 0.918 WHIP and a 181 ERA+. His last start was against the Mets and he allowed 2 runs from 4 hits and 2 walks over 6.0 innings while striking out 6. The Mets have the following numbers against Max:

• Kevin Pillar 3-8, 2 HR, 4 K
• Michael Conforto 12-37, 2B, 4 BB, 15 K
• Chance Sisco 2-8, HR, 3 K
• Jonathan Villar 8-22, 8 K
• Brandon Nimmo 5-26, 2B, HR, 7 BB, 14 K
• J.D. Davis 4-15, 2B, 6 K
• Pete Alonso 4-18, 2 2B, BB, 9 K
• Jeff McNeil 4-19, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Brandon Drury 1-8, BB, 3 K
• Dominic Smith 0-14, 2 BB, 6 K
• Travis Blankenhorn 0-1, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had an opportunity to steal a game from the Dodgers yesterday. The Dodgers for the second straight game had to go with an opener/bullpen game model and yesterday they used their entire bullpen. But the Mets couldn’t get through the bullpen, scattering 6 hits and scoring only 1 run in a 4-1 loss. Now the the Mets have to face the big pitchers again in the Dodgers rotation.

It is last weekend all over again for the New York Mets as they face Walker Buehler tonight. In 24 games and 154.2 innings this year, Buehler has a 2.09 ERA (league leading), 3.13 FIP, 0.938 WHIP and a 187 ERA+. In his last five starts he has pitched 33.1 innings allowing 4 runs (1.09 ERA) from 21 hits plus 13 walks and striking out absurd 40 batters. The Mets helped his numbers in his last start – only managing a run on 4 hits while striking out 10 times over 7.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Walker:

• Pete Alonso 2-8, 2 HR
• Jonathan Villar 2-4, 2 BB, 2 K
• Dominic Smith 3-6, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-5, BB
• Michael Conforto 1-7, BB, 3 K
• Kevin Pillar 2-6, BB, K
• J.D. Davis 2-7, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-4, BB, K
• Brandon Drury 0-3
• Chance Sisco 0-2, K
• Travis Blankenhorn 0-1, K

The Mets will send out Carlos Carrasco tonight who has a 10.32 ERA in his first 4 starts as a Met (11.1 IP, 13 ER, 18 H, 3 BB, 12 K, 7.59 FIP, 1.853 WHIP, 40 ERA+). His last start against the Dodgers was his worst start of the season where he allowed 6 runs from 6 hits over 2.0 innings. The home run ball absolutely killed him, allowing 3 homers in that outing. Carrasco showed us who he normally is in his first two starts of the season, and hopefully his performance tonight is closer to that version. The Dodgers have the following numbers against him:

• Will Smith 1-1, HR
• Cody Bellinger 1-1, 2B
• Justin Turner 1-2, HR, BB
• Trea Turner 4-5, 2 2B
• Max Muncy 1-5, K
• Billy McKinney 1-7, 4 K
• Albert Pujols 1-11, BB, 2 K
• Chris Taylor 0-1, K
• Corey Seager 0-2, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets finally won a game yesterday!

It was another chaotic day in Metsville – Steve Cohen made comments about the Mets hitting (specifically their lack of hitting) which turned on the outrage machine in all directions among Mets fans. And for a while, it looked like the same old Mets – they got a great start from Tylor Megill but the offense wasn’t doing anything! The Mets finally took a 2-1 lead in the 11th but the Giants tied the game immediately. The Mets broke out in the top half of the 12th and eventually won 6-2.

Yesterday’s win was much needed but the Mets really blew through their bullpen. Castro, May, Díaz, Familia and Reed all got work yesterday. Díaz will almost definitely be unavailable today since he tossed two scoreless innings yesterday.

So a lot will fall on Taijuan Walker today. Over 22 starts and 117.2 innings this year, Walker has a 3.75 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.181 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. He’s coming off of his best start in a while where he held the Dodgers to 1 run from 2 hits over 6.2 innings. The Mets need that exact performance again from Walker (against the same team). The Dodgers have the following numbers against Walker:

• Will Smith 1-3, HR, K
• Corey Seager 5-16, 2B, HR, 4 K
• Max Muncy 1-5, HR, 2 K
• Cody Bellinger 3-12, HR, 3 K
• Albert Pujols 3-13, HR, 2 K
• Trea Turner 2-10, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Justin Turner 2-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Billy McKinney 0-1, BB, K
• Chris Taylor 1-9, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• AJ Pollock 0-6, 2 K

The Dodgers have their own pitching issues today. Dave Roberts, after last night’s game, was committing to a bullpen game today without a planned bulk pitcher. Yesterday the Dodgers used Bruihl as a starter, going 1.2 innings and followed him with Mitch White in the bulk role, who took that title to heart and pitched 7.1 innings. On the 17th the bullpen needed to provide 4.1 innings which was pitched by Knebel, Bickford, Treinen and Jansen. In that game the bullpen allowed only 2 hits and 1 run. If the Mets can get to the Dodgers bullpen early today they can cause a stress effect on the starters for the rest of the weekend (assuming they force Roberts to use a ton of pitchers, and get those pitchers to put a lot of work in). After last weekend against the Dodgers, the Mets need every advantage they can get.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets slide continued yesterday and now the Mets find themselves under .500 for the first time in a while. Marcus Stroman gave the Mets a good start allowing 3 runs over 7.0 innings, only the second time since late June that he pitched beyond the 6th inning. The Mets bats though couldn’t provide any help though. The Mets scattered 8 hits throughout the night, getting close to tying the game in the 8th inning after a 2-run shot by Pete Alonso. Now the Mets will try to avoid the sweep and return to .500 in a late afternoon matinee.

Tylor Megill plays savior today for the New York Mets. In his first 10 starts and 50.0 innings thrown of his career he has a 3.42 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 1.160 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. August hasn’t been the greatest month for Tylor – over three starts and 14.2 innings he’s allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, from 17 hits and 2 walks. He’s also been battling moments this month, individual innings where the wheels have fallen off but then he rebounds and strings together several good innings in a row. This will be his first career start against the Giants.

The Mets draw Anthony DeSclafani in the series finale. Anthony signed as a free agent with the Giants this off-season after a long (2015-2020) stretch the Reds. Like many other players on the Giants, he’s having a career year this season. In 23 starts and 131.1 innings, he has a 3.29 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.081 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. He’s also tossed two complete game shutouts. The last 5 games he’s been more human, allowing 17 runs, 16 earned, over 24.0 innings (6.00 ERA). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Jonathan Villar 2-6, BB, K
• Michael Conforto 1-7, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-5, 2B, 2 K
• Kevin Pillar 1-5, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 1-6, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-4, 2 K
• Brandon Drury 0-3, K
• J.D. Davis 0-2, 2 K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets slide continued late last night and now the Mets need to win tonight or face a losing season record. Last night the Mets actually got to Gausman and scored 3 runs over 5.0 innings, not an easy feat. But the Mets pitching couldn’t keep it together and eventually the Mets lost 7-5. Things do not get easier for the Mets tonight as the face Logan Webb who is having a career year.

Logan Webb has pitched in 17 games, 16 starts, over 85.0 innings with a 2.96 ERA, 3.23 FIP, 1.141 WHIP and a 141 ERA+. In his previous two seasons his ERA was north of 5 and his ERA+ was between 80 and 82. Since May 17th he has made 9 starts (47.0 innings) posting a 1.53 ERA. He’s allowed 1 ER over his last two starts and 12.0 innings thrown. The only player on the Mets roster who has faced Webb is Kevin Pillar who is 1-5 with a stolen base against him.

Marcus Stroman takes the mound for the Mets tonight. Over 24 starts and 132.1 innings he has a 2.79 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.126 WHIP with a 144 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only 3 runs over 10.1 innings from 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 13 batters. Since June 27th, Stroman has pitched beyond the 6th inning only once (an 8 inning gem on July 21st). That being said, he’s looked a lot better in his two most recent starts and the Mets can use every possible bit of positive news right now. The Giants have the following numbers against Stroman:

• Alex Dickerson 1-3, HR
• Wilmer Flores 1-2, K
• Kris Bryant 2-6, 2B, 2 K
• Evan Longoria 9-33, 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 7 K
• Curt Casali 2-6, 2 K
• Brandon Crawford 1-3, K
• Buster Posey 1-3
• Tommy La Stella 1-5, BB
• Donovan Solano 0-1, BB

Let’s Go Mets!

Not a great weekend for the New York Mets. Between Wednesday and Thursday last week the Mets won three games. Between Friday and Yesterday they lost three games. On Friday night the Mets made a strong come back effort that fell short in the 10th inning. On Saturday the Mets pitching kept them in the entire game but the bats couldn’t get it done in the 10th inning. Last night the team just fell apart – and the reward – a cross country overnight flight to play the Giants in San Francisco.

Rich Hill gets the start for the Mets tonight. Overall this year he has pitched in 23 games (22 starts + 1 suspended game start), totaling 113.1 innings with a 4.05 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 1.191 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. As a Met he has tossed 18.0 innings with a 5.00 ERA, 5.12 FIP, 1.333 WHIP and a 82 ERA+. His last time out he allowed 3 runs (+ 1 inherited runner) in 3.0 innings against the Nationals, a game the Mets came back to win 8-7. The Giants have the following numbers against Hill:

• Donovan Solano 2-3
• Brandon Belt 6-15, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 2 K
• Buster Posey 10-20, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Wilmer Flores 4-12, 2 2B, HR, 5 K
• Kris Bryant 2-8, HR, 5 K
• Brandon Crawford 6-18, 5 BB, 4 K
• Evan Longoria 4-17, 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
• Mike Yastrezemski 1-5, 3 K
• Curt Casali 0-5, BB, 2 K
• Austin Slater 0-1

The Mets bats will get a look at All-Star Kevin Gausman tonight. This is the third game in a row the Mets will hit against an NL All-Star. Tough Break. Anyway over 23 starts and 137.1 innings he has a 2.29 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 0.968 WHIP, and a 182 ERA+. So far in August he has pitched 11.0 innings over two games allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, from 8 hits and 4 walks while striking out 13. Before that he had slightly human stretch for two games where he allowed 9 runs over 8.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Kevin:

• Jeff McNeil 4-6, 2B
• Kevin Pillar 14-39, 2B, 2 BB, 10 K
• Michael Conforto 2-8, BB, 3 K
• James McCann 2-10, BB, K
• Pete Alonso 0-2, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-5, BB, K
• Brandon Drury 0-2

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets try to avoid being swept tonight as they take on the Dodgers in the Sunday night game. The Mets have lost both games this weekend in extras. On Friday they came back and tied the game but couldn’t respond to the Dodgers in the 10th. Last night they couldn’t extend their lead beyond 1-0 and eventually fell 2-1 in the 10th. The still have an incredibly tough schedule ahead for the next week and a half so a win tonight is critical.

Carlos Carrasco makes his 4th start with the Mets tonight. In his first 3 starts he’s allowed 7 runs over 9.1 innings from 12 hits and 2 walks. His season stat line is being overly influenced by his last start where he allowed 4 runs over 1.0+ innings to the Nationals. In that game, Carlos had a difficult first inning and he allowed a leadoff hit in the second before the game was suspended by rain. Rich Hill allowed that runner to score the next day, making Carrasco’s line even worse. Before that start he allowed only 3 runs over 8.1 innings. The Dodgers have the following numbers against Carrasco:

• Trea Turner 2-3, 2B
• Billy McKinney 1-6, 3 K
• Albert Pujols 1-11, BB, 2 K
• Justin Turner 0-1
• Max Muncy 0-3, K

The Mets bats get to face old foe today in Max Scherzer. Scherzer was almost traded to the Padres at the deadline, which would have prevented the Mets from facing him again in the regular season. As a Dodger he’s allowed 2 runs over 10.1 innings from 8 hits and a walk. On the season he has made 21 starts and pitched 121.1 innings with a 2.67 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 0.890 WHIP (league leading) and a 146 ERA+. Due to the covid outbreak on the Nationals at the start of the year and weather, he actually hasn’t faced the Mets yet this year. In three starts against the Mets last year he allowed 5 runs over 13.0 innings, a 3.46 ERA. The Mets have the following career numbers against Max:

• Kevin Pillar 3-8, 2 HR, 4 K
• Michael Conforto 12-35, 2B, 4 HR, 3 BB, 15 K
• J.D. Davis 4-12, 2B, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 4-24, 2B, HR, 6 BB, 14 K
• Jeff McNeil 4-16, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Jonathan Villar 6-19, 7 K
• Pete Alonso 3-15, 2B, BB, 8 K
• Brandon Drury 1-8, BB, 3 K
• Dominic Smith 0-11, 2 BB, 5 K
• James McCann 0-4, 3 K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets showed fight last night but came up short in a 6-5 loss to the Dodgers. After falling behind early, the Mets fought back late and tied the game at 4-4. The Dodgers went ahead 6-4 in the 10th and the Mets were able to scratch only one run back. It was a strong effort for the Mets who received bad news again yesterday with deGrom shut down an additional two weeks and Báez landing on the IL.

The Mets will send out Taijuan Walker today who has pitched 111.0 innings this year with a 3.89 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.207 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. After a lot of struggles since the All-Star break he had an average start his last time out, which is good in comparison to his 4 previous starts. Last time out he allowed 3 runs over 6.0 innings. He allowed 2 runs early but then bounced back and kept the Mets in the game (but the bats just couldn’t get anything going to support Taijuan). The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Walker:

• Max Muncy 1-3, HR, 2 K
• Cody Bellinger 3-10, HR, 3 K
• Trea Turner 2-7, 2B, BB, K
• Corey Seager 4-13, HR, 3 K
• Albert Pujols 3-13, HR, 2 K
• Justin Turner 2-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Chris Taylor 1-7, 2B, BB, 3 K
• AJ Pollock 0-3

The Mets bats have a tall order today as they take on Walker Buehler. This season he has made 23 starts and pitched 147.2 innings with a 2.13 ERA (league leading), 3.12 FIP, 0.935 WHIP and a 186 ERA+. In his last four starts he has allowed only 3 runs over 26.1 innings (1.03 ERA) despite allowing 17 hits and 10 walks. The Mets have the following numbers against Walker:

• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, 3B
• Pete Alonso 2-5, 2 HR
• Albert Almora Jr. 1-3, HR
• Dominic Smith 2-3, K
• Kevin Pillar 2-6, BB, K
• Jonathan Villar 0-3, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• J.D. Davis 1-4, 2 K
• Michael Conforto 0-4, BB, K
• Brandon Drury 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

What a huge difference 26 hours can make! Going into Wednesday, the Mets had won only 3 of their last 12 games. In Tuesday’s game they were down 3-1 before the game got suspended. Since then, in a 26 hour period started 4:10 on Wednesday, the Mets racked up three wins in a sweep of the Washington Nationals. The Mets are now 0.5 games out of first place and back to 4 games above .500.

But, the next thirteen games are going to be brutal for the Mets. The Mets play only the Dodgers and the Giants (home and away) for the next two weeks. The Mets season will be on the line. The Dodgers come to town after taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies. They almost came back and swept the Phillies.

Tylor Megill gets the start for the Mets tonight. In his first 9 starts and 45.0 innings he has logged 3.20 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 1.133 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough stretch of games where he allowed 9 runs, 8 earned, over 9.2 innings. In both starts, there was only 1 inning that killed his line. On August 2nd, he allowed a grand slam in the first inning. On August 7th, he held the Phillies scoreless until the 5th inning. This will be his first game against the Dodgers.

The Mets bats came alive over the last two days and they’ll look to keep it going against Julio Urias. In 23 starts and 134.2 innings he has a 3.41 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.077 WHIP and a 115 ERA+. He’s on a bit of a hot streak right now, allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, over 22.2 innings in his last four starts (1.59 ERA). Julio was mostly a bullpen pitcher the last time Mets saw him in 2019 and they have the following career numbers against him:

• Dominic Smith 1-1, HR
• Michael Conforto 1-1, 2B
• Pete Alonso 1-1
• Javier Báez 3-8, HR, K
• Kevin Pillar 1-8
• Jonathan Villar 0-5, BB, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, K

Let’s Go Mets!

Nothing is ever easy for the New York Mets in 2021 – especially the weather. The Mets play a double header today because they couldn’t fit both games in yesterday. At least this time the Mets had a plan on what to do as early as Tuesday – when the Mets saw that they would most likely play at least one double header this week, they made plans to call up Trevor Williams to get some extended work. This is an improvement over having “TBA” on the probable pitchers page for days at a time.

Trevor Williams was acquired by the Mets in the Javier Báez trade at the deadline. Williams won’t be a free agent until 2023. His best year in the majors was back in 2018 where he started 31 games and pitched 170.2 innings with a 3.11 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.178 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. For the Cubs this year he pitched in 13 games, 12 starts, tossing 58.2 innings with a 5.06 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.534 WHIP and a 81 ERA+. Against the Nationals this year he allowed 2 runs from 5 hits over 4.2 innings. Before being traded, he shutout the Diamondbacks over 6.1 innings and he has now continued that success in Syracuse. In 2 starts and 12.0 innings, he’s allowed only 3 runs from 9 hits while striking out 10. The Nationals have the following numbers against him:

• Josh Bell 1-2, HR
• Ryan Zimmerman 1-5, HR, BB
• Gerarado Parra 1-4, BB, K
• Juan Soto 1-8, 2 BB, 2 K
• Andrew Stevenson 0-2, K
• Victor Robles 0-3, K

Erick Fedde gets the start for the Nationals in game 1. Fedde has made 18 starts and pitched 87.1 innings this year with a 5.15 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 1.408 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. Fedde has had a rough go of it his last three starts, pitching 15.1 innings allowing 12 runs, 11 earned from 20 hits and 3 walks (6.46 ERA, 4 HR).

Fedde has faced the Mets twice this year, his first start was similar to many of his starts, allowing 3 runs over 5.0 innings from 4 hits and 2 walks. His second time against the Mets he was lights out. He held the Mets to 2 hits and 4 walks while allowing no runs in 7.0 innings. In that start (June 18th) he lowered his season ERA to its lowest value at 3.33 (his ERA has been 7.75 since that start). The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Javier Báez 1-1, 2 BB
• Jeff McNeil 5-8, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Michael Conforto 4-9, HR, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 1-7, 2B, K
• J.D. Davis 1-4, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-13, 2 BB, 3 K
• Dominic Smith 1-13, BB, 2 K
• Kevin Pillar 0-2, K
• Brandon Drury 0-1
• Jonathan Villar 0-6, 2 K
• Tomas Nido 0-7, 3 K

Let’s Go Mets!