213 Miles From Shea

Sometimes you beat a team 18-1 and then you lose the next game 3-2. It’s not ideal, but it happens. And then you remember that every game is super important right now if the Mets want a shot at making the playoff’s.

That’s where the Mets are right now. Losing last night didn’t help their case at all. The Mets still need to be in the mindset of winning every night, which they’ll try do this afternoon in Buffalo. Also the Jets are playing Buffalo too. 2020 is weird.

David Peterson will pitch in his 8th game tonight. So far in 31.2 innings he has a 4.26 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 1.358 WHIP and 102 ERA+. He’s coming off of hsi worst start of the season, where he allowed 5 runs over 2.0 innings against the Phillies, in a game the Mets eventually lost 9-8 (this was the come back game but then the Phillies just squeezed ahead at the end). He has never faced the Jays before but thanks to some deadline deals he has faced one player – Jonathan Villar – who is 0-3 against Peterson.

The Mets draw one of the big off-season acquisitions for the Blue Jays – Hyun Jin Ryu. Ryu has pitched 48.0 innings over 9 starts with a 3.19 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.146 WHIP, 143 ERA+. He was the second best pitcher in the National League last year behind Jacob deGrom and his numbers were quite good. In 182.2 innings Ryu had a 2.32 ERA (league leading), 3.10 FIP, 1.007 WHIP, and a 179 ERA+ (league leading). An interesting development for him this season, his BB/9 has jumped from a league leading 1.2 to 2.6. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Brandon Nimmo 2-3, K
• Robinson Cano 1-4, BB
• Jeff McNeil 1-6, 2B
• Pete Alonso 1-6, 2B
• Wilson Ramos 1-4, 2 K
• Amed Rosario 2-12, 3 K
• Todd Frazier 1-15, 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
• Michael Conforto 1-9, 4 K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets made up for years of not providing deGrom with run support last night as they trounced the Blue Jays 18-1. It was the type of night that ended up being good for everyone’s stats. Conforto had his ninth homer of the season, Dominic Smith hit a grand slam, Ramos went 3-5 with two doubles and a homer, the Mets in total had 19 hits. Jacob lowered his ERA to 1.67. Ramirez got three shutout innings of relief in and gave the rest of the bullpen the night off. Just a good night for the Mets.

Now the Mets are only 3 games below .500 as they continue to push for a late post-season berth. It’s still an uphill battle as the Mets are 2.5 games behind the Phillies for the second NL East berth and 2 games out of the wild card.

Seth Lugo will look to keep the momentum going today. In 12 games, 3 starts, and 22.0 innings this year he has a 2.05 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 1.000 WHIP and 213 ERA+. As a starter he has pitched 11.2 innings with a 1.54 ERA. During that time opponents have hit .190/.261/.333/.594 against him. In his last outing, he reached 81 pitches and 5.0 innings as he continues to stretch out. Several members of the Blue Jays have faced him before:

• Travis Shaw 1-4, HR, K
• Randal Grichuk 1-4, 2B, K
• Joe Panik 2-7, BB
• Jonathan Villar 0-3, K
• Derek Fisher 0-2, 2 K

The Mets draw Robbie Ray, long time pitcher of the Diamondbacks who was traded to the Blue Jays at the deadline. On the season, Robbie has pitched in 9 games and made 8 starts, totaling 38.1 innings with a 7.51 ERA, 7.36 FIP, 1.983 WHIP and a 59 ERA+. As a Blue Jay – his time has been mixed. In debut was good, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned over 3.1 innings. Then he allowed 4 runs over 4.0 innings his next time out. The Mets have the following numbers against Ray:

• Pete Alonso 0-1, K
• Robinson Cano 5-9, HR, 2 K
• Michael Conforto 0-2, 2 K
• J.D. Davis 1-1
• Todd Frazier 1-4, HR, K
• Jake Marisnick 0-3, 2 K,
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, HR, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets travel to Toronto Buffalo tonight as they take on the Buffalo Toronto Blue Jays! Just as a quick recap – Canada has taken the global pandemic much more seriously than the United States and it logistically it was going to be impossible to have the Blue Jays play in Toronto. The Blue Jays went through several different plans of splitting time time at other major league stadiums and ultimately had to settle with playing their games at their AAA site in Buffalo – which seemed like the best plan anyway compared to the Blue Jays going to their Spring Training site or any other city. But I digress.

The Mets are coming off an improbable comeback win against the Orioles. After being down early (and down often), the Mets slugged their way back into the game and played some of their best defense in recent memory. Now the Mets are 4 games under .500 in a rapidly concluding season. Can they pull this off?

Jacob deGrom will take the mound tonight. Over 8 starts and 48.0 innings he has a 1.69 ERA (league leading), 2.03 FIP, 0.875 WHIP, 256 ERA+ and a 13.1 K/9 rate (league leading). In his last four starts he has pitched 26.0 innings with a 1.04 ERA and opponents have hit .160/.210/.266/.476 against him. The Blue Jays have the following numbers against Jacob:

• Randal Grichuk 3-8, 2B, 2 HR, BB, 3 K
• Travis Shaw 3-8, 2B, 3 BB, 3 K
• Joe Panik 3-19, 2B, 3 BB, 5 K
• Jonathan Villar 2-12, 2B, BB, 6 K
• Caleb Joseph 0-3, 2 K

The Mets bats will try to keep their momentum against Chase Anderson who is in his first season with the Jays after four years with the Brewers. This year in 23.2 innings and 6 starts he has a 4.94 ERA, 4.91 FIP, 1.437 WHIP and 92 ERA+. He started against the Mets last April allowing 2 runs and 5 hits over 4.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Brandon Nimmo 2-4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Robinson Cano 2-4, 2B
• Michael Conforto 2-11, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-3, 2B
• Amed Rosario 1-3
• Pete Alonso 0-2, BB, K
• Todd Frazier 1-12, BB, 4 K

Let’s Go Mets!

After losing a heart breaker on Sunday, the Mets followed up with losing a laugher of a game last night. Wacha had a terrible night and the Mets ended up losing 11-2. It is worth noting that in the last two game set with the Orioles, the Mets lost the first game before using the second game to jump start a mini run. Here’s hoping the same thing happens tonight.

The Mets will be sending out Rick Porcello who has made 8 starts and pitched 39.0 innings with a 5.54 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 1.462 WHIP and 77 ERA+. He’s coming off of one of his better starts of the season, allowing 2 runs over 6.0 innings against the Phillies. It was also his first start where he tossed 100 pitches this season. Rick struggled against the Orioles last year, allowing 10 runs from 21 hits over 15.0 innings. The Orioles have the following numbers against him:

• Cedric Mullins 0-0, BB
• Chance Sisco 3-8, 2B, 4 K
• Renato Nunez 2-10, HR, BB, 3 K
• Chris Davis 13-56, 2B, 4 HR, 2 BB, 16 K
• Rio Ruiz 2-7, BB, K
• Jose Iglesias 1-5, 2B
• Pedro Severino 1-5, K
• DJ Stewart 0-2

Jorge Lopez is slated to start for the Orioles tonight. He’s pitched in 5 games and has made two starts this year, totaling to 18.2 innings with a 4.82 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.179 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. His last two outings have been as a starter, he’s allowed 6 runs in 9.2 innings. The Mets have limited chances against Lopez with Conforto and Rosario each going 1-1 against him and Nimmo picking up a walk.

Let’s Go Mets!

If the Mets miss the playoffs by one game – games like the one yesterday are going to hurt. The Mets were down 6-0 and some how managed to score 7 unanswered runs late in the game. The Phillies were able to scratch one back and then scored two in the 10th to win the ball game.

If the Mets are going to make a run, they need to let yesterday roll off their backs as the Orioles come to town to take on Michael Wacha, who struggled in his last start against the Orioles. Wacha pitched 3.0 innings, allowing 2 runs from 4 hits. The Mets eventually won the game thanks to a David Peterson relief outing and an offense that found themselves. In 5 starts this year, he has posted a 7.20 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.750 WHIP and 60 ERA+ over 20.0 innings. The Orioles have the following numbers against Wacha:

• Pedro Severino 1-2, 3B
• Pat Valaika 1-1
• Andrew Velazquez 0-0, BB
• Ryan Mountcastle 1-2
• Jose Iglesias 3-9, K
• Renato Nunez 0-2, K

The Mets bats draw John Means who is in the midst of a rough year. Over 6 starts and 20.0 innings he has an 8.10 ERA, 8.05 FIP, 1.400 WHIP and 57 ERA+. He’s giving up 3.6 homers per nine innings. His last start was against the Mets and it was both a good news / bad news start. On the bad news side, he allowed 4 runs from 8 hits, including two homers. On the good news side, he pitched 5.1 innings, beating his longest mark of 4.2 innings from August 4th. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 2-3, 2B, HR
• Wilson Ramos 2-2
• Pete Alonso 1-3, HR
• J.D. Davis 2-3
• Jeff McNeil 0-3
• Todd Frazier 0-3
• Robinson Cano 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets put themselves in the position they needed to be in today and now they have one more step – beat Zack Wheeler in the midst of a career year and take three of the four games in the series. The Mets, off back to back wins and four wins of their last five now find themselves only 1.5 games behind the Phillies for the second automatic playoff berth in the division.

The Mets are also coming of a crucial, and interesting, game yesterday. By defeating the Phillies 14-1, the Mets have erased their run differential, putting it at +1 on the season, giving them an expected win loss record of 21-20. The first place Braves are the only other team in the division with a positive run differential.

David Peterson gets the start today for the Mets, his last outing being relief for Michael Wacha. On the season he has pitched 29.2 innings with a 3.03 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.213 WHIP and 141 ERA+. In his last outing he pitched 4.0 scoreless innings, holding the Orioles to 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1 (in a hitters ballpark like Camden Yards, against a team that can hit). It was a good bounce back from his start against the Yankees where he allowed 3 runs over 4.0 innings. This will be David’s first career start against the Phillies.

The Mets draw Zack Wheeler today who is off to a career year. In 7 starts and 45.0 innings, Wheeler has a 2.20 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.067 WHIP and 214 ERA+. For comparison, his career numbers are: 3.68 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 1.282 WHIP and 104 ERA+. Wheeler is coming off of a 6.2 inning shutout performance against the Nationals and has steadily decreased his ERA each start from August 11th, where it hit a season high of 2.89. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed 2 runs over 7.0 innings in Philly. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Robinson Cano 2-3, 2B
• Luis Guillorme 1-2, BB
• Robinson Chirinos 1-6, HR, 2 K
• Wilson Ramos 5-17, 2B, K
• J.D. Davis 1-3
• Dominic Smith 1-3, K
• Jake Marisnick 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Todd Frazier 0-2, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
• Michael Conforto 0-3, 2 K

Let’s Go Mets!

It’s deGrom day! If the Mets are going to make a run, it may come down to today. The Mets won behind Seth Lugo, doubles and a solid bullpen performance last night, and have now won 3 of their last 4 games. In order to get back in the playoff picture, the Mets are going to need to sustain a run through the weekend which comes down to winning this afternoon. Will the Mets fall back to 5 games below .500? Will they climb to only three?

Jacob deGrom is the person you want on the mound any day. In 7 starts this season he has a 1.76 ERA, 1.93 FIP (league leading), 0.902 WHIP and 242 ERA+. He’s also leading the league in strikeouts per nine innings at 12.7. His last start was an odd one and deGrom was hard on himself after the game, but he allowed 4 runs, only 1 earned, in 6.0 innings in a game the Mets eventually lost 5-3. He has not faced the Phillies this season and last year he only faced the Phillies once – allowing 2 runs from 3 hits in 7.0 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against Jacob:

• Andrew Knapp 2-6, 2B, 3B, BB, 3 K
• Bryce Harper 10-34, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 12 K
• Rhys Hoskins 3-13, 2B, 4 BB, 4 K
• Andrew McCutchen 4-17, BB, 6 K
• Neil Walker 4-22, 3 BB, 5 K
• Jean Segura 3-15, 3 K
• Didi Gregorius 3-15, 3 K
• J.T. Realmuto 4-25, 2B, 9 K
• Jay Bruce 0-6, 2 K

The Mets bats draw Aaron Nola who is having a resurgent season this year. Over 7 starts and 44.0 innings with a 2.45 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 0.865 WHIP (league leading), and a 192 ERA+. He’s coming off his strongest start of the season where he shutout the Nationals over 8.0 innings with 9 strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.45. His start against the Mets this year is the only other time he shut out his opponent. The Mets have the following numbers against Nola:

• J.D. Davis 2-6, 2 BB, 3 K
• Wilson Ramos 5-16, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Robinson Cano 3-11, 2B, BB
• Pete Alonso 3-14, HR, BB, 5 K
• Dominic Smith 4-21, 2 2B, HR, 9 K
• Jeff McNeil 5-19, 6 K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-16, 8 BB, 7 K
• Michael Conforto 5-32, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 12 K
• Amed Rosario 5-29, 9 K
• Todd Frazier 0-17, 2 BB, 4 K

Let’s Go Mets!

Coming off one of the more emotionally charged days in the history of the Mets, one reliever had a bad day and the whole game fell apart. The Mets were able to fight back from being down two runs early after one of the more well-rounded and longer Porcello starts of the season. Hughes struggled though, allowing 3 runs in 1.1 innings and the Mets couldn’t recover from that, wiping away their momentum from the last few days.

So the Mets will look to Seth Lugo to help them get back on the right track. On the season Lugo has pitched 17.0 innings with a 2.12 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 0.941 WHIP and a 203 ERA+. As a starter he has allowed 1 run over 6.2 innings across two starts while striking out 12 batters. He has stretched his arm out from 39 pitches in his first start to 60 pitches in his last one. He faced the Phillies earlier this season. In his first game against them, he didn’t do so well and allowed 1 run off 3 hits in 0.1 innings. Next time he shut them out over his inning of work. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Neil Walker 2-3, 2B
• Jean Segura 4-9, 2B, 3 K
• Andrew McCutchen 1-3, BB
• Bryce Harper 5-16, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Roman Quinn 2-6, 2 K
• J.T. Realmuto 4-14, 2B
• Didi Gregorius 1-5
• Rhys Hoskins 0-11, BB, 8 K

The Mets bats will get a look at Spencer Howard who has will be making his 5th big league start today. Over his first 4 he has pitched 16.2 innings with a 5.40 ERA, 6.50 FIP, 1.860 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. He’s been much better over his last two starts, allowing 3 runs over 8.2 innings, which lowered his ERA from 7.88 to 5.40. His second start was against the Mets where he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned from 7 hits, including two homers in 3.1 innings. Robinson Cano and Dominic Smith were the two Mets that homered against him and the only Mets who recorded an extra base hit against Spencer. Guillorme, Rosario, Gimenez, Ramos and Conforto each recorded a single hit while Nimmo and Alonso went hitless (although Nimmo drew a walk).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets invite the Phillies to Queens for a weekend series as the Mets look to build off two straight wins tonight. Yesterday the Mets wrapped up their Yankees series with a win in extra innings. That means in 6 games against the Yankees this year, the Mets won three times in comeback fashion and lost twice in extra innings. The Mets won this time by scoring 5 runs from the 8th inning through the 10th, including a walk off homer from Pete Alonso. In something that can only be said in 2020 – the Mets beat the Yankees twice this season with walk-off homers but once in Queens and once in the Bronx.

From the pitching perspective the Mets weren’t great yesterday. Gsellman was only able to record 5 outs before leaving, meaning the Mets needed outings from Shreve, Familia, Castro, Wilson and Diaz. Shreve, Familia and Diaz, three of the more reliable pitchers in the pen right now, didn’t allow any runs but each pitched two innings as the Mets continue to have a bullpen usage crunch.

So a lot falls to Rick Porcello today. Primarily, he needs to have a good day for himself. He also needs to have a good day for the Mets bullpen to catch a breather. In 7 starts and 33.0 innings this year he has a 6.00 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.576 WHIP and 71 ERA+. He’s coming off a quasi effective start against the Yankees where he allowed 2 runs over 5.0 innings in a game the Mets eventually lost. He faced the Phillies once this year in Philly where he allowed 4 runs off 10 hits and a homer in 6.0 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Alec Bohm 2-3, 2B
• Rhys Hoskins 4-11, 2B, 2 HR, K
• Phil Gosselin 1-2
• Jean Segura 5-16, 3B, HR, 5 K
• Jay Bruce 2-10, 2B, HR, 2 BB, K
• J.T. Realmuto 4-11, 2B, BB, K
• Andrew McCutchen 2-11, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Bryce Harper 3-14, HR, BB, 5 K
• Didi Gregorius 7-40, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 7 K
• Neil Walker 1-14, 5 K

The Mets bats draw Jake Arrieta who is trying to find himself this season. In 6 starts and 26.1 innings he has a 6.49 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 1.557 WHIP and 73 ERA+. He is coming off of his worst start of the season against the Braves where he allowed 7 runs in 1.1 innings, which raised his ERA from a 4.32 to a 6.49. Against the Mets in 4 games and 24.1 innings last year he allowed 17 runs, 15 earned (5.55 ERA) from 33 hits including 4 homers. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Dominic Smith 4-7, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, K
• Jeff McNeil 13-20, 2B, HR
• Wilson Ramos 5-13, HR, 2 BB
• Todd Frazier 9-31, 2B, 2 HR, 10 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-10, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• Michael Conforto 5-20, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 6 K
• Pete Alonso 4-13, 2B, 2 K
• Amed Rosario 3-15, HR, K
• Robinson Cano 6-31, 2 2B, 4 BB, 7 K
• Bill Hamilton 3-20, 2B, 5 BB, 7 K, 5 SB

Let’s Go Mets!

Last night the Mets lost a legend in Tom Seaver. The Franchise was such a presence on the mound that his Hall of Fame vote percentage is the third highest at 98.8%. He defined the 1969 Mets, the transformation from the lovable losers to the team that shocked the world. The Mets will (hopefully) do something today in remembrance.

The news is so jarring that its easy to forget that the Mets played a baseball game yesterday. The Mets finally stopped their 5 game slide behind a strong outing by David Peterson, who took over for Michael Wacha. Michael Conforto had himself a day at the plate going 4-5 with 5 RBI’s (two doubles and a homer).

We’ll see if the Mets bullpen strategy yesterday pays off today. Between both games in Baltimore, the usual bullpen guys only threw 3.0 innings (Wilson, Hughes and newcomer – Miguel Castro). With Robert Gsellman (and later Seth Lugo) still being stretched out, the Mets are going to need more use of their pen in the upcoming days. In 4 games and 8.2 innings this year, Gsellman has a 5.19 ERA, 5.34 FIP, 1.615 WHIP and 86 ERA+. In his four outings he has been steadily increasing his pitches thrown from 13 to 33 to 47 to 57. His last outing, against the Yankees, was his best yet, going 4.0 innings allowing 1 run off a solo shot in a game the Mets ultimately lost. The Yankees have the following numbers against Gsellman:

• Luke Voit 1-2, HR
• DJ LeMahieu 1-4, 3B
• Mike Tauchman 1-2
• Brett Gardner 1-7 2B, BB
• Gio Urshela 0-1, BB
• Gary Sanchez 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Aaron Hicks 0-7, BB, 3 K

The Mets will get another look at J.A. Happ who is probably very happy to face the Mets again. In 4 starts and 20.0 innings this season he has a 4.05 ERA, 6.15 FIP, 1.150 WHIP and 105 ERA+. After two terrible starts to the season, he has been great in his last two, pitching 13.0 innings of 1 run ball with 6 hits, 2 walks and 8 K’s. His last start was a 7.1 innings shutout performance against the Mets, in a game the Mets eventually won. The Mets have the following numbers against Happ:

• Robinson Chirinos 4-12, 2B, HR, BB, 6 K
• Luis Guillorme 1-2
• Todd Frazier 4-15, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Robinson Cano 9-34, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 2 BB, 5 K
• Wilson Ramos 3-8
• Pete Alonso 1-3, K
• Amed Rosario 1-4, K
• Billy Hamilton 2-12, 4 K
• Jake Marisnick 3-18, 6 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
• Michael Conforto 0-6, 2 K

Let’s Go Mets!