Game Preview: Cubs vs Mets

The Mets fell short of the sweep, but still took the series from the Padres yesterday and now welcome the Cubs to Citi Field. The Mets got strong starting pitching yesterday from Joey Lucchesi but between a short bullpen and a short bench, the Mets fell apart after allowing a grand slam to Fernando Tatis Jr. That being said, Lucchesi’s start was confidence inducing as the Mets head into a stretch with multiple double headers.

The low point for the Mets this season came against the Cubs as the Cubs swept the Mets in three games in Wrigley, leading to a Mets slide that took them under .500 before building up to where they are now.

Speaking building up – that’s the goal tonight for David Peterson. Let’s build some confidence back for the pitcher that carried the Mets rotation in 2020. Peterson has pitched in 11 games and 47.0 innings this year with a 6.32 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.511 WHIP and a 61 ERA+. His last two starts have been disastrous, allowing 9 earned runs over 3.0 innings from 11 hits and 4 walks. His last start against the Cubs wasn’t great either as he allowed 6 runs, 3 earned, over 3.1 innings from 4 hits and 2 walks. The Cubs have the following numbers against Peterson:

The Mets bats get another look at Jake Arrieta. In 12 starts and 58.0 innings this year, he has a 4.97 ERA, 5.31 FIP, 1.448 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. He’s coming of off a strong start where he held the Padres to 1 run from 4 hits and a walk over 5.0 innings. Before that he allowed 18 runs, 14 earned, over 15.2 innings (8.04 ERA) in four games. He faced the Mets in April, allowing 1 run over 5. innings, which lowered his season ERA to 2.86. April 30th is when the seasons started to unravel a bit for Jake. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Padres vs Mets

Happy Sunday Mets Fans! The Mets go for a sweep today!

Marcus Stroman shut down the Padres over 6.1 innings, allowing 1 run yesterday and the bullpen played great behind him as the Mets clinched both the series and season victories over the Padres. Lindor got things going for the Mets early with a two run homer in the first inning. After Tatis hit a homer in the bottom of the 6th, Villar smacked one right back in the next frame and the Mets never looked back.

Joey Lucchesi starts the game off for the Mets today. He has pitched in 9 games and made 6 starts this year, totaling 28.0 innings, posting a 5.79 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.214 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. His last time out was also against the Padres, his former team, and he held them to 1 run over 4.2 innings from 4 hits and no walks. This was the deepest Joey got into a game this year and it was the second most amount of pitches he had thrown (67, most 70). In his last three starts he has allowed 2 runs over 12.1 innings, a 1.46 ERA. The Padres have the following numbers against him:

The Mets bats will get another look at Chris Paddack, the starting pitcher who as a rookie tried to start a rivalry with Pete Alonso. In 11 starts and 52.2 innings pitched this season, Chris has a 4.27 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.177 WHIP and an 86 ERA+. He had an average start against the Mets last week, where the Mets tagged him for 3 earned runs over 6.0 innings from 6 hits and a walk, including a homer. In his last two starts Chris has allowed 8 runs over 10.1 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Chris:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Padres vs Mets

The Mets will go for the series and season win against the Padres today!

What a roller coaster of a game last night! Jacob deGrom dominated the Padres lineup over 6.0 innings, recording 10 strikeouts and had the biggest hit of the night driving home two runs. Jacob officially has more RBI on the season (5) than earn runs (4). But there is also fear – deGrom left the game early with right flexor tendonitis, which he down played after the game. Still, it was all encompassing for the last three innings of the game.

What a matchup in Flushing today! Marcus Stroman looks to continue his strong season against Joe Musgrove who is having a career season! Should be another game with a lot of energy in the ballpark.

Marcus Stroman has made 12 starts and pitched 71.0 innings this season with a 2.41 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.070 WHIP and a 161 ERA+. (These are all better than his career averages) He locked down the series split in San Diego his last time out, allowing an unearned run, nothing earned, from 4 hits and 4 walks over 6.2 innings. He also matched his season high in pitches at 98. The Padres have the following numbers against Stroman:

The Mets bats will get another chance to figure out Joe Musgrove who in 12 games, 11 starts, has tossed 65.2 innings with a 2.33 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 0.838 WHIP and a 158 ERA+. The Mets cracked the code against him in his last start, scoring 3 runs over 5.0 innings from 8 hits and a walk. The game went pretty much how his numbers suggested it would – the Mets hit two homers and he struck out a bunch of batters. Leading up to that game, Joe allowed 1 run over 21.2 innings over 4 games. The Mets have the following numbers against Musgrove:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Padres vs Mets

The Mets kick off an intense stretch of games today that includes seven straight games against the Padres and Cubs, 3 double-headers in 7 days and 3 games in 3 straight days in 3 cities. The easy part of June is over.

The Mets head into this stretch 6 games above .500, with a 3.5 game lead in the division and a +17 run differential. The latter is due to an insane bounce back game against the Orioles on Wednesday night where the Mets hit 7 homers and beat the Orioles 14-1. McKinney continued his legendary rise on the Mets with two homers, Pete Alonso had a tremendous 3-hit game with his 10th homer of the season, Pillar hit two homers and Mason Williams had his first of the season. Taijuan Walker continued his All-Star resume, lowering his ERA to 2.07 on the season.

The Mets looks to start their dense stretch of games on the right foot with Jacob deGrom on the mound. Jacob has made 9 starts totaling 58.0 innings with a 0.62 ERA, 1.03 FIP, 0.569 WHIP and a 624 ERA+. He has a career high K/9 at 14.4 and K/BB at 11.63 (his next highest K/BB was 5.85 in 2018). At some point, his numbers become so good that they are difficult to comprehend. His last start was against the Padres where he allowed no runs from 3 hits and a walk over 7.0 innings while striking out 11 batters. The Padres have the following numbers against Jacob:

The Mets bats will get another look at Blake Snell. In 12 starts and 54.0 innings with a 4.83 ERA, 3.95 FIP, 1.426 WHIP and a 76 ERA+. At the end of May Snell was in a rough spot. He had allowed 12 runs over 6.2 innings in two starts, blowing his ERA from 3.79 to 5.55. Then he faced the Mets. He held the Mets to 1 hit and a walk in 7.0 innings in his last start while striking out 10. The Padres won that game 2-0. The Mets hope things will go differently today and have the following numbers against Snell:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Mets @ Orioles

The thing about the Orioles is they still can hit. Pitching is sometimes a struggle for them. The former was on display last night at the Orioles beat the Mets 10-3 and the Mets lineup, after getting a 2-0 lead in the first, couldn’t stay in the game. Little hits followed by big hits crushed the Mets as they allowed 16 hits to the Orioles, with Peterson allowing 8 in 2.2 innings.

On the positive side of things – Pete Alonso had a good night, hitting two homers and collecting all 3 RBI’s for the Mets.

The Mets will try to bounce back tonight behind Taijuan Walker. Walker has made 10 starts and pitched 54.0 innings this year with a 2.17 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 1.056 WHIP and a 179 ERA+. He’s coming off of his second worst start of the season where he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned, over 5.0 innings from 7 hits and 4 walks against the Padres. Before that he had a four start streak where he allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, over 22.0 innings. This includes a start against the Orioles where he allowed 1 run off 4 hits and 3 walks in 7.0 innings of work. The Orioles have the following numbers against Walker:

The Mets get another Harvey Day! In 12 starts and 51.2 innings this year Harvey has a 6.62 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.606 WHIP and a 65 ERA+. He’s coming off of one one of his better starts, allowing 1 run in only 3.0 innings from 2 hits and a walk against the Twins – possibly a change of strategy? In his four previous starts he allowed 24 runs, 23 earned, over 13.2 innings. This includes a 4.2 inning start against the Mets where he allowed 7 earned runs. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Mets @ Orioles

The Mets are coming in hot after splitting their four game set in San Diego. After dropping the first two games, the Mets bats and pitching carried them Saturday and Sunday picking up two wins against a tough opponent. Francisco Lindor and James McCann are finally heating up and it couldn’t come at a better time – a month that the Mets (in recent history) have struggled and while so many starting players are still injured. Coming off an off-day, the Mets will now play two against the Orioles before another off-day and then a gauntlet for the rest of the month.

While the Orioles had a terrible 14 game slide in May – it’s important to note that they are hitting. Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle have been on a tear recently.

David Peterson looks to rebound tonight, mostly on normal rest. His last time out he was pitching on 9 days of rest and was able to record only out while allowing 4 runs (a 5th, inherited runner, scored after he left) in a game the Mets eventually won 7-6. Giving up 5 runs over 0.1 outs is enough wreck your season stats and his ERA jumped from 4.91 to 5.89. Peterson missed the Orioles earlier in the season but he did face them last year – he allowed no runs from 2 hits and 2 walks over 4.0 innings. The Orioles have the following numbers against him:

The Mets bats will get their first look at Bruce Zimmermann tonight. Bruce has pitched in 10 games making 9 starts over 49.0 innings with a 4.96 ERA, 5.35 FIP, 1.531 WHIP and an 87 ERA+. He has been more effective in his last two starts, allowing 3 runs over 10.1 innings from 12 hits and 3 walks. He’s pitched about the same amount of innings at home and away, with a better ERA at home (4.21) vs away (5.79) but his homer count is another story. He’s allowed 7 homers at home, a hitters ballpark, vs 4 on the road. No Mets have faced Bruce Zimmermann in a major league game before.

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Mets @ Padres

The Mets have a chance at a series split today with the Padres, thanks to Jacob deGrom! Jake was great yesterday, holding the Padres to just 3 hits over 7 innings while striking out 11, dropping his ERA to 0.62. Lugo and Diaz came in and shut the door behind him.

Francisco Lindor remained hot with Peraza and Lindor getting the scoring started for the Mets hitting solo homers in the 5th inning. Overall, the Mets collected 13 hits including another 2 hit day for Lindor and a 2 hit day for both Pillar and Villar!

Marcus Stroman will close the series out for the Mets. He’s made 11 starts and thrown 64.1 innings this year with a 2.66 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.057 WHIP and a 146 ERA+. He’s coming off of a tough start in Arizona where he allowed 3 runs from 7 hits and no walks over 6.0 innings, in a game that included a heated moment between him and Josh Rojas. This is also his first start since the Arizona announcing crew made racist remarks about Stroman. Since then, the Arizona announcer is taking a leave of absence.

The Padres have the following numbers against Stroman:

The Mets bats draw Chris Paddack! You might remember him as the starting pitcher who tried to start stuff with Pete Alonso back in April of 2019 when they were both rookies. Over 10 starts and 46.2 innings this year, Chris has a 4.24 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.179 WHIP and a 87 ERA+. He’s coming off of his worst start in the month of May where he allowed 5 runs from 6 hits, a walk, and 3 homers against the Cubs over 4.2 innings. A game that raised his ERA from 3.61 to 4.24. Before that he had a stretch of 4 games in May where he allowed only 3 runs in 19.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Mets @ Padres

If the Mets lose two games in a row in the middle of the night, did they really lose? The Mets look to bounce back this weekend and split the series with the Padres, and the first step to doing that is winning today.

You can’t blame last night on the pitching – the arms did exactly what they had to do. Joey Lucchesi went 4.2 innings and allowed 1 run over 67 pitches. Drew Smith went 1.2 innings allowing a run. Together they saved the bulk of the Mets of bullpen from having to do a ton of work. Trevor May also had a good outing after a few rough ones.

Jacob deGrom will look to keep the strong pitching going for the Mets. In his 8 starts and 51.0 innings this year, he has a 0.71 ERA, 1.10 FIP, 0.569 WHIP and a 551 ERA+. Just unreal numbers. Since returning from the IL he has made two starts and tossed 11.0 innings allowing 1 run from 5 hits and no walks while striking out 17. The Padres have the following numbers against deGrom:

The Mets bats will try to wake up against Joe Musgrove tonight. Musgrove is off to a career start in 2021. In 11 games, 10 starts and 60.2 innings he has has a 2.08 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 0.758 WHIP and a 177 ERA+. He got off to a rough start in May, allowing 10 runs, 9 earned, over 10.0 innings. Since then he has allowed 1 run over 21.2 innings from 8 hits and 5 walks while striking out 25. The Mets have the following numbers against Joe:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Mets @ Padres

The Mets couldn’t complete the comeback last night and lost to the Padres 4-3, they look to rebound tonight with Joey Lucchesi on the mound taking on his old team.

Despite the loss, there were positive notes from last night – the Mets held the Padres to only 4 runs. Despite facing one of the best starting pitchers in a game, and a strong bullpen, the Mets were able to score runs – thanks to James McCann‘s 5th homer of the season. The Mets will look to build on top of that tonight in game 2 of the 4 game set.

Joey Lucchesi has pitched in 8 games and made 5 starts this year, totaling 23.1 innings with a 6.56 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 1.286 WHIP and a 59 ERA+. Since returning to the rotation, he has made two starts totaling 7.2 innings allowing only 1 run from 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 10. All of the walks came in his last start and really ate into his pitch count, 70 pitches over 3.2 innings. After the 8.2 inning bullpen game on Wednesday, and 3.0 innings of bullpen work last night, the Mets are hoping to get more innings out of a similar pitch count tonight.

The Mets bats will get a look at one of the new Padres this year – Blake Snell. Snell has made 11 starts over 47.0 innings this year with a 5.55 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.596 WHIP and an ERA+ of 66. His last two starts have been rough – allowing 12 runs over 6.2 innings from 10 hits, 6 walks and 3 homers. These two starts raised his ERA from 3.79 to 5.55. His last regular season start of 2020 was against the Mets where he allowed 3 runs over 5.2 innings from 6 hits and 3 walks including 2 homers. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Let’s Go Mets!

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Game Preview: Mets @ Padres

The Mets and June – a terrible combination, right? After the game on the 1st with two blown saves and a foul ball that wasn’t – life felt normal for June. Yesterday the Mets got off to a strong start, scoring 4 runs in the first, then the Diamondbacks responded with 5 runs in the bottom of the frame. June baseball right?

Not this time! The Mets bullpen held it down for 8.2 innings and the Mets offense scored a key, go-ahead run off Pete Alonso‘s bat in the top of the 9th as the Mets returned to .500 for the month!

And now the Mets head to San Diego to start a four game set. The Padres have been impressive this year. The Padres are sitting 11 games over .500 and have a positive run differential of 75 runs. All of this while losing their last four games.

The Mets will look to make it 5 straight losses for the Padres tonight with Taijuan Walker on the mound. Over his first 9 starts and 49.0 innings this year, Walker has a 1.84 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 0.939 WHIP and a 209 ERA+. His last start was his first off of the IL. He allowed no runs and two hits and a walk over 5.0 innings while striking out 8 batters, tying a season high mark for a third time. The Padres have the following numbers against Walker:

The Mets draw Yu Darvish for the series opener. Over 11 starts and 66.2 innings this year, he has a 2.16 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 0.930 WHIP and a 170 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start where he allowed 5 runs, 4 earned, over 5.0 innings from 4 hits, 3 walks and a homer against the Astros. The only other time this year where he has allowed more than 2 runs was Opening Day. In between these two bad starts, Darvish has pitched 9 games, 57.0 innings with a 1.26 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Yu:

Let’s Go Mets!

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