213 Miles From Shea

The Mets comeback fell short last night and margins for error in the final week got a bit smaller. It was a night of defensive miscues for the Mets. Mistakes in the second inning led to a 3-0 Nationals lead. The Mets came alive late scoring twice in the 8th and once in the 9th to tie the game, but left the bases loaded tempting fate with extra-innings. In the top of the 11th Daylen Lile hit a ball that hit the outfield wall at a sharp angle. Cedric Mullins didn’t handle it well, Lile ended up with a two-run inside the park home run (under 14 seconds around the bases) and the Mets went on to lose.

The Reds and Diamondbacks both won Saturday, and now the Mets have a one game lead. Things are getting a little hectic in this last week!

Sean Manaea will start this afternoon for the Mets with Clay Holmes as a possible candidate for the piggy-back start this afternoon. Over 12 games this season, Manaea has pitched 55 innings with a 5.40 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.200 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. Last week Holmes started first with Manaea coming out to relieve him. Manaea allowed only one run (solo homer) on four hits and no walks over five innings, it was the best he’s looked in a while. It’s also been a big week for Sean, he was on the paternity list just a couple of days ago! The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 3-12, 4 K
• Riley Adams 1-2, HR, K
• Josh Bell 4-8, 2B
• Andres Chaparro 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Dylan Crews 0-4, 2 K
• Paul DeJong 0-2, K
• Luis García Jr. 2-5, 2 K
• Brady House 2-2, 2B
• Daylen Lile 0-2
• Nasim Nuñez 0-1, BB
• James Wood 0-9, 3 K
• Jacob Young 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K

The Mets will look to get out to an early lead against Jake Irvin this afternoon. Over 31 starts and 168 2/3 innings, Irvin has a 5.76 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 1.435 WHIP and a 72 ERA+. Irvin is in the midst of a particularly tough stretch allowing 35 runs over his last seven games (32 2/3 innings) good for a 9.37 ERA and 7.03 FIP. This includes a start against the Mets where he allowed six runs from eight hits over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Irvin:

• Pete Alonso 2-18, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-14, 7 K
• Brett Baty 1-6, HR, BB
• Francisco Lindor 7-20, 3 2B, HR, 5 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-1
• Jeff McNeil 5-15, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 1-8, K
• Brandon Nimmo 7-20, 2 HR, 2 BB, K
• Jose Siri 0-2, K
• Juan Soto 2-8, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 0-5, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 2-15, HR, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Clay Holmes. Holmes may be used a reliever for the first time this season this afternoon. Holmes has pitched in 30 games with 155 innings, posting a 3.77 ERA, 4.19 FIP, 1.342 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. He allowed two runs from three hits off of two solo homers in his last start where he was relieved by Sean Manaea. Holmes last faced the Nationals all the way back in April keeping them scoreless over five innings.
2. Frustrations from last night. The Mets are at their best when they are playing loose. Saturday the Mets went 3-for-16 with RISP, leaving 13 batters on base. They had a lot of opportunities to win the game. Hopefully the Mets hitters can move beyond that and just hit Jake Irvin as they have hit him this season. For what it’s worth, the Nationals also struggled with RISP, going 1-for-12, leaving six runners on base.
3. Wild Card race. The Cubs and Reds will kick off at the same time as the Mets today, and the game will be on MLB Network if you want to frantically flip channels. Andrew Abbott (2.88 ERA) will take on Jameson Taillon (3.93 ERA). The Phillies and Ranger Suárez (2.84 ERA) will take on Eduardo Rodriguez (5.12 ERA) and Diamondbacks at 4:10. Also in the late window, The Giants will take on the Dodgers. The Giants lost again on Saturday and are now four games back and their window into this Wild Card race is closing quickly.

Let’s Go Mets!

Major League baseball heads into the final week or so of games and the Mets are still hanging on to the last Wild Card spot. The Mets went down 4-1 early Friday night but had an explosive inning where they re-took the lead and then piled on runs for the rest of night to win 12-6. The Padres, Mets, Diamondbacks, Reds and Giants are all in the race for the final two Wild Card spots and the Mets will be the first team out of the bunch to play this afternoon.

Nolan McLean has made six starts with the Mets totaling 37 2/3 innings with a 1.19 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 0.982 WHIP and a 342 ERA+. He’s coming off of an excellent start against the Rangers where he shut them out for six innings, scattering five hits and two walks while striking out seven. In his last three starts he has walked seven batters (2-3 per start). It’s been the only blight on a sparkling start to his career where he has allowed only one home run and has a K/9 above 9. Tonight will be his first of many career starts against the Washington Nationals.

Cade Cavalli has pitched 39 2/3 innings over eight starts with a 4.76 ERA, 4.84 FIP, 1.462 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. Since returning from Tommy John surgery in August, Cavalli has had starts ranging from brilliant to dreadful. In his third start back he held the Phillies scoreless over seven innings. In his fifth start he allowed eight runs, seven earned, over 2 2/3 against the Yankees. He has a 4.20 ERA over three starts and 15 innings so far in September. No hitter currently on the Mets has faced Cavalli in a major league game.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor is heating up. Stretch run Lindor is back! Friday night Lindor went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and four runs scored. He now has a hit in eight straight games going 11-for-30 slashing .367/.472/.533 with two doubles, a home run and two stolen bases while scoring 12 runs. Lindor now has a 126 OPS+, his second highest OPS+ as a Met. Bring us to October Lindor!
2. Let’s Admire Soto’s Stats. Juan Soto went 2-for-3 Friday night with a home run, two walks and a stolen base. Soto now has a career high for home runs (42), is only six stolen bases from a 40-40 season, and is five walks away from breaking the Mets franchise record for walks in a single season. He has 6.2 bWAR, the third highest in his career and currently leads the league in walks (121) and OBP (.397).
3. Wild Card Race: On Friday the Reds won while the Diamondbacks and Giants both lost. The Reds are still two games behind the Mets for the third Wild Card spot while the Diamondbacks fell to three back and the Giants four back. The Padres also lost so now the Mets are three games behind them. Tonight the Reds and Littell take on Assad and Cubs and the Padres take on the White Sox. The Phillies will try to get Aaron Nola (6.44 ERA) right against the Diamondbacks. At the end of the night the Giants will try to beat Glasnow and the Dodgers. All the Mets need to do though is just keep winning.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets still control their own destiny!

The Mets bats are slugging the ball again as they come off a series win against the Padres thanks to a home run barrage. At the start of 2025 the Mets feasted on poorly performing teams, we are going to need that version of the Mets again as they take on a Nationals team that is hungry to play spoiler. Tonight will be a battle of the rookies as Brandon Sproat on the Mets takes on Andrew Alvarez.

Brandon Sproat has allowed three runs from nine hits over his first 12 innings (two starts) while striking out 10 batters. He’s coming off of a tremendous start against the Rangers where he shut them out over six innings, allowing six hits and walking no one. Walks caused him headaches in his first major league start (four over six innings), so it was nice to see him move beyond that. He’s going to face the Nationals a lot of his career, tonight is a great time to make a first impression.

Andrew Alvarez has a 1.15 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 0.830 WHIP and a 368 ERA+ over three starts and 15 2/3 innings. He’s coming off of his best start in his major league career where he shutout the Pirates over six innings, scattering three hits. In the start before that the Cubs scored two runs over 4 2/3 innings from three hits and three walks. Over his first three starts he has used a low-90’s fastball about a third of time mixing in a low-80’s curve and low-80’s slider. He has also sprinkled in a mid-80’s changeup and low-90’s sinker.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso has been on fire this week. Thursday was his fourth consecutive game with a home run. In his last five games he has gone 8-for-19 with four home runs and seven RBI’s (.421/.455/1.053). In his last 15 games he has slashed .305/.338/.661. Pete carried the team at the start of the 2025 and is looking to push the Mets over the finish line at the end.
2. Is Juan Soto walking here? Juan Soto is prolific and working walks. He’s lead the league in walks in four of the last five season and is currently leading the league with 119 walks, only six walks away from Jon Olerud’s 1999 Mets single season record of 125 walks. In his last nine games though he has walked only once. He has a season OBP of around .400 and his OBP over the last nine games is .300. Obviously this is just one part of his game (he has five extra-base hits over the last nine games with a .579 SLG, or 50 points higher than his season average).
3. Wild Card race. The Mets enter play today with a two game lead over the Diamondbacks and Reds for the last Wild Card Spot, and a three game lead over the Giants. By the time you read this, the Reds and the Cubs will have already wrapped up their early afternoon game. The Diamondbacks are hosting Taijuan Walker and Phillies tonight at 9:40. The Giants and Robbie Ray face Clayton Kershaw and his last home, regular season start of his career.

Let’s Go Mets!

There is a lot on the line this afternoon at Citi Field. The Mets can take the series with a win, protect their very small lead in the Wild Card race and help Jonah Tong get back on the winning track. Wednesday night was just not the night for the Mets. The bats continued hit homers for a second straight game, but a rough start by David Peterson, punctuated by a Manny Machado grand slam, constantly kept the Mets playing from behind. We are heading towards the end of the season, we just have to win a few more ball games!

Jonah Tong’s season numbers (8.49 ERA, 6.06 FIP, 1.714 WHIP, 49 ERA+) are heavily impacted by his last start. Last week Tong allowed six runs from four hits and three walks while recording only two outs. On a positive note, Over his two starts at home, he hasn’t allowed any home runs. All three homers he allowed were in the homer-friendly Reds stadium. We’ve seen Tong flash brilliance on the mound this season, and we absolutely need that brilliance tonight.

Randy Vásquez has a 3.72 ERA, 4.94 FIP, 1.346 WHIP and a 116 ERA+ over 123 1/3 innings. He’s allowed only two runs over 12 innings in his last two starts while striking out 12 batters, but both starts were against the Rockies. Vásquez was actually sent down to the minors after his August 15th start, but was recalled at the start of the September to fill for Nestor Cortes. The Mets have the following career stats against Vásquez :

• Cedric Mullins 0-3, 2 K
• Jose Siri 0-3, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-3, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Soto was just inches away Wednesday night from reaching a season high in home runs and being a hero again for the Mets. He now has 41 homers, as many as he had last season with the Yankees. We’ll take a big day from Juan Soto today!
2. Pete Alonso. The Mets cleanup hitter and all-time home run leader has been on a tear recently, hitting home runs in three consecutive games going 5-for-12 in those games. He now has a 142 OPS+, the third highest in his career and is slashing .270/.344/.520 (career .252/.340/.515).
3. Wild Card race. The Giants came back and beat the Diamondbacks yesterday, keeping the Diamondbacks 1.5 games behind the Mets. The Reds and Giants are both two games back. The Reds will send out Hunter Greene against a Cubs team that just clinched a playoff spot yesterday and may have a bit of hangover for today’s game. The Giants will send out Logan Webb to take on Yamamoto and the Dodgers in what should be a good late night game.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets still control their own destiny! The Mets had a massive first inning to start of Tuesday night’s game, scoring five times and putting the entire pitching staff in a strong position to just maintain the lead. The vibes get better with each consecutive win, let’s stretch it to a three game streak tonight!

David Peterson has tossed 162 1/3 innings over 28 games with a 3.77 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.324 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. The last three starts haven’t been that great for Peterson, he’s allowed 15 runs over 12 1/3 innings. In his last two starts he’s allowed seven runs over 10 1/3. The Padres have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Luis Arráez  1-6, BB
• Jake Cronenworth 2-7, BB, K
• Elías Díaz 1-3, HR, BB
• Jose Iglesias 1-5, K
• Bryce Johnson 0-2, 2 BB
• Ramon Laureano 1-5
• Manny Machado 2-10, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Jackson Merrill 1-3
• Ryan O’Hearn 0-1, K
• Fernando Tatís Jr. 1-3

The Mets bats will look to keep the good times going against Nick Pivetta. Over 171 1/3 innings Pivetta has a 2.73 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 0.953 WHIP (league leading) and a 158 ERA+. He’s having a great September allowing only two runs on 11 hits over 13 innings while striking out 13 batters. The Mets missed Pivetta the last time they faced the Padres and have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-7, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 0-1, BB, K
• Starling Marte 5-9, HR, K
• Jeff McNeil 5-10, 2 2B, HR, BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 10-31, 2 2B, 2 HR, BB, 12 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-0, 4 BB, 2 K
• Jose Siri 2-6, HR
• Juan Soto 4-15, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Finally getting hits with RISP. Over the last two games before Tuesday the Mets have gone 2-for-19 with RISP. Tuesday the Mets went 4-for-7 with RISP, which fueled things like their massive first inning rally. The Mets also slugged four home runs on the night, which is what the offense was doing that one magical week at the end of July. Let’s keep it going tonight!
2. 30-30. Francisco Lindor is getting closer to his second 30-30 season. He already has 30 stolen bases and hit his 27th home run of the season last night. More importantly for the Mets, he is slowly heating back up again after going four games without a hit in the heart of the Mets losing streak. He now has a five game hitting streak and has reached base safely six times over the last two games. Juan Soto may be the best hitter on the Mets, but the Mets follow the way that Lindor goes.
3. Wild Card. The Diamondbacks won their fourth game in a row on Tuesday and stay 1.5 games behind the Mets for the third wild card spot. The Mets and Diamondbacks tied their season series, so a tie in the final standings would result in a second tiebreaker needed. The Giants and Reds enter play today three games back. The Reds played an early game against the Cardinals this afternoon with Brady Singer (3.94 ERA) taking on Pallante (5.34 ERA) in a game that should be wrapped up by the time you read this. The Giants send out Justin Verlander (3.94 ERA) against Pfaadt (5.31 ERA) in a game that will end right around the start of the Mets game tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

It’s another critical series at Citi Field!

The Mets are trying to hold onto the third Wild Card spot. On Sunday they finally snapped their eight game losing streak thanks to an extra-inning walk-off homer from Pete Alonso. Heading into play today the Diamondbacks are 1.5 games back, the Reds 2.0 and the Giants 2.0. The Padres have a five game lead for the second Wild Card spot. Both the Mets and Padres have the power to make the race look quite different by the end of this series.

Clay Holmes has pitched 151 innings over 29 starts this season with a 3.75 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.351 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a rough start where he allowed four runs over four innings. He’s allowed 11 runs, eight earned, over his last 13 2/3 innings spread over three starts. In San Diego back in July he allowed four runs, two earned from eight hits pitching only 3 2/3 innings against the Padres. In the second half of the year Holmes has largely lost his ability to go deep into games. The Mets are going to possibly try something new today by Sean Manaea relieve him tonight. The Padres have the following career numbers against Holmes:

• Luis Arráez 3-5, 3B, 2 BB
• Jake Cronenworth 0-3, K
• Elías Díaz 0-0, BB
• Freddy Fermin 1-3
• Jose Iglesias 1-4, K
• Ramon Laureano 2-6, 2B, K
• Manny Machado 3-5
• Jackson Merrill 0-4, K
• Ryan O’Hearn 2-5, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Gavin Sheets 1-3, HR, K
• Fernando Tatís 2-5

Michael King has pitched 62 2/3 innings over 12 starts with a 2.87 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.069 WHIP and a 151 ERA+. King recently missed about a month dealing with left knee inflammation. In his return he allowed two runs over five innings scattering three hits and a walk. He has actually only pitched in two games since mid-May. How far do the Padres push King tonight? The Mets have the following career stats against King:

• Pete Alonso 2-8, 2B, 4 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-3
• Brett Baty 0-1
• Francisco Lindor 1-6, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-6
• Cedric Mullins 3-12, 2 2 B, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-6, BB, 3 K
• Jose Siri 0-1
• Juan Soto 0-0, BB
• Mark Vientos 0-2, BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Sean Manaea. There have been reports this week that Sean Manaea would join the bullpen. These reports started before Sunday’s game, and since Manaea wasn’t used, we’ll probably see him in today’s game. Like many veteran Mets pitchers, Manaea has struggled to go deep into games recently. Over 50 innings this season, Manaea has a 5.76 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.240 WHIP and a 71 ERA+, a large departure from last season (114 ERA+). Batters have a .703 OPS the first time they see Manaea in a game, the second time that number jumps to .811 and by the third time it’s an alarming 1.071.
2. Hitting with RISP. On Sunday the Mets got the big hit, a three-run homer in the 10th inning by Pete Alonso. Most of the afternoon the Mets were chasing the same ghosts that were haunting them for the better part of two weeks. The Mets went 1-for-9 with RISP, following a game where they went 1-for-10. Let’s see if Alonso’s big knock takes some of the pressure off of the Mets at the plate tonight.
3. Wild Card race. The Reds take on the Cardinals tonight with Andrew Abbott (2.79 ERA) taking on Michael McGreevy (4.44 ERA). The more important series is happening in Arizona with the Giants taking on the Diamondbacks. As of writing this morning, the Giants have not announced a starter for this game. These are must win games for both teams. The Mets have the tiebreaker with the Giants and a tie between the Diamondbacks and the Mets would result in needing a second tiebreaker (3-3 this season).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Dodgers did the Mets a solid last night beating the Giants. Despite losing their 8th straight game on Saturday the Mets wake up this morning still in control of their own destiny. With a day off tomorrow and a series against the Padres looming on Tuesday, the Mets need to get a win this afternoon and salvage something from this series against the Rangers.

The Nolan LcLean magic ran out in his last start. It wasn’t his fault, he was great! He allowed only one run, scattering seven hits while striking out five over 5 1/3 in Philly. The Mets just couldn’t back him up and ended up losing the game 1-0 (McLean should talk to deGrom in other dugout at some point this weekend). Anyway McLean has been the pitcher the Mets need. Over his first five career games he has pitched 31 2/3 innings with a 1.42 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 0.947 WHIP and a 288 ERA+. The Mets are going to need another classic McLean start this afternoon.

Jacob Latz has pitched 74 1/3 innings this season over 29 games, including six starts, with a 2.91 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.238 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. He’s been fantastic in the rotation in September allowing only two runs on eight hits over 11 innings. He’s been more effective as a starting pitcher with a 2.73 ERA, 1.079 WHIP over 29 2/3 innings compared to a 3.02 ERA, 1.343 WHIP over 44 2/3 innings. Only two players on the Mets have faced Latz in a major league game:

• Cedric Mullins 0-5, 2 K
• Jose Siri 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Hitting with runners in scoring position. Friday night the Mets brough both runners in scoring position home on sacrifice flies, making a rare situation where the team went 0-0 with RISP but converted 100% of their chances into runs. It also wasn’t enough. Saturday was the more textbook frustrating scenario with the Mets going 1-for-10 with RISP, spoiling the 11 hits they had as a team. It is just demoralizing at this point and the Mets need to figure this out against the Rangers this afternoon.
2. Juan Soto. Soto continues to be the best hitter in the Mets lineup. Saturday he went 2-for-5 with his 40th home run of the season. He still leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.398) and is now only two home runs away from a career high.
3. Wild Card race. The Giants and Reds both lost yesterday, and sit 0.5 and 1.5 games behind the Mets. The Diamondbacks are only 2.0 games behind the Mets now too. The Dodgers and Giants have another fantastic pitching matchup this afternoon with Tyler Glasnow (3.21 ERA) against Robbie Ray (3.32 ERA). The Reds have Nick Lodolo (3.10 ERA) trying avoid being swept by the Athletics this afternoon. Former Met Nabil Crismatt (3.24 ERA) on the Diamondbacks goes up against the Twins. The Mets just need to win.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets could possibly lose a play off spot today. The slide has reached that point.

Friday night the Mets welcomed Jacob deGrom back to Citi Field but before he could even take the mound the Mets just absolutely imploded with Jonah Tong allowing six runs in the first inning. deGrom then retired the Mets in just six pitches in the bottom of the first. The Mets would cut the Rangers lead to just three runs but couldn’t muster anything more than that. Entering today’s slate of games the San Francisco Giants are just a half game back of the Mets. Today is a must win game.

Brandon Sproat makes his second major league start this afternoon after allowing three runs from three hits and four walks over six innings while striking out seven in a solid debut last weekend. Sproat had allowed only one run through the first five innings of work, with the additional two runs coming in his last inning. The Mets have been desperate for their pitchers to get through five innings, so finishing the sixth inning was a major accomplishment. Now the Mets will need Sproat to effectively save their season. No pressure!

The Mets are not facing the Patrick Corbin you remember. He’s slightly better now. Over 27 games he has totaled 142 1/3 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and an 84 ERA+. He is not leading the league in hits, like he has in three of the last six seasons, and he is not leading the league in earned runs, something he has done in three of the last five seasons. He’s coming off a strong start allowing only one run over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 17-49, 3 2B, 5 HR, 10 BB, 12 K
• Francisco Alvarez 2-5, HR, 3 BB
• Brett Baty 1-2
• Francisco Lindor 13-44, 2 2B, 3 HR, 9 K
• Starling Marte 13-42, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 10 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2
• Jeff McNeil 10-37, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Cedric Mullins 3-10, 2B, K
• BrandoN Nimmo 12-43, 2 HR, 2 BB, 13 K
• Jose Siri 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Juan Soto 0-7, 2 BB, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 4-8, 3 2B, 3B, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Getting runners on base. The Mets worked 0 walks Friday night and mustered only five hits. They technically had zero at bats with runners in scoring position because each time they got someone over to third, they came in on a sacrifice fly. It’s great not to leave runners on third, but it’s not great to give yourself only two opportunities for this to happen. In the last two games played the Mets have only scored in two separate innings. Hopefully the Mets can flip this script tonight.
2. Juan Soto stat watch. Juan Soto has been one of the few bright spots on the Mets recently while everyone else has been withering away. He still leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.398). He is eight walks away from breaking John Olerud’s Mets franchise record set in 1999. He is only three home runs away from a career high. At the rate he is stealing bases, maybe (although unlikely) he can reach a 40-40 by the end of the season (needs one more homer and eight more bases).
3. Wild Card Picture. The Mets have the benefit of playing first today, and not having to worry about keeping up with anyone else live during the game. The Giants and Logan Webb (3.12 ERA) will take on Clayton Kershaw (3.27 ERA) and the Dodgers at 9:05. The Reds send out Hunter Greene (2.59 ERA) against Luis Severino (4.67 ERA) and the Athletics at 10:05. The Mets just need to win and hold on.

Let’s Go Mets!

Without the context of everything happening around the Mets for the last two months, tonight’s game should be an incredibly exciting game. Jacob deGrom returns to Citi Field to take on the Mets. The Mets send out Jonah Tong and are about to send out a trio of phenom prospects. The most exciting group of starting pitchers since deGrom et al. Both teams are in a playoff race. This should be must watch TV.

The Mets are just playing terribly right now. They have lost six games in a row and are one bad weekend away from losing their Wild Card spot. Thursday night the Mets looked great after the first inning but then fell apart again. They desperately need a win.

Jonah Tong will make his third start of his career tonight. In his first two starts he allowed eight runs, five earned over 11 innings scattering nine hits while striking out 12 batters. Tong cruised through his first start before running into trouble in the fifth inning from Marlins hitters and Mets fielding. The Reds just played a very Reds game in his last start. He allowed only three hits and all three of them were home runs, which matches almost exactly how the Great American Ball Park plays.

Jacob deGrom has pitched over 100 innings this season for the first time since 2019. Over 155 2/3 innings, spread over 27 starts deGrom has a 2.78 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 0.931 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. He’s coming off of a more human start against the Astros where he allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings, mostly due to two home runs. In the three starts before that he allowed only two runs over 15 innings while striking out 18 batters. The Mets have the following career stats against deGrom:

• Starling Marte 2-12, BB, 5 K
• Cedric Mullins 1-7, K
• Juan Soto 5-18, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 5 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Jacob deGrom. deGrom will make his first start against the Mets since leaving the Mets in 2022. The long time ace for the Mets ranks third in Mets career pitching bWAR (41.2, behind Gooden 41.6 and Seaver 76.1) and has the best career ERA (2.52, in front of Seaver 2.57). I personally thought I would have more feelings about his return, but I don’t. It’s a combination of how poorly the Mets have played recently and how long ago 2022 was. This is deGrom’s first really dominant year since signing that massive contract with the Rangers. If he returned one or two seasons after signing with the Rangers emotions would be stronger but the Mets have lived multiple different lives since he left.
2. Repeat last night’s start. The Mets had the perfect start to Thursday’s game. Lindor single. Soto single. Double steal. Multiple hits with runners in scoring position. Four runs scored. Shut down first inning on the field. But then the hitters were basically silent for the rest of the night. As the game got to the middle innings, where things fall apart for the Mets, they allowed six runs and just could not recover. The Mets need another fast start, but then need to sustain it throughout the game.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets are going to need some help tonight. The two most important games will start probably around when the Mets game ends. The Reds and Brady Singer will take on the struggling Athletics. Justin Verlander and the Giants will take on Yamamoto and the Dodgers. There’s a world where we wake up tomorrow and the Mets have a 2.5 game lead in the Wild Card race. There’s also a world where the Mets have a 0.5 game lead.

Let’s Go Mets!

There have been better weeks to be a Mets fan.

The Mets are on a five game losing streak right now and will try to avoid the four game sweep by the Phillies tonight. At this point the Mets are fighting to stay in the Wild Card race. The Mets hold on the second wild card spot has shrank to two games over the Reds and Giants. The Mets desperately need a win tonight.

David Peterson has made 27 starts this season totaling 157 1/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.316 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. He’s had a rough go of it over his last two starts allowing a total of 12 runs over 7 1/3 innings. In his two starts before that he allowed a total of three runs over over 13 2/3 innings. He had a solid start against Philly back in April holding them to only two runs over 5 1/3 innings. In June he faced them again and allowed five runs over four innings. The Phillies have the following career stats against him:

• Harrison Bader 0-2
• Nick Castellanos 7-17, 2 2B, 4 K
• Bryce Harper 9-24, 2B, HR, 4 BB, 6 K
• Otto Kemp 1-2, K
• Rafael Marchan 2-2
• Brandon Marsh 2-3, HR
• J.T. Realmuto 3-22, 2B, 4 BB, 4 K
• Kyle Schwarber 3-24, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 12 K
• Edmundo Sosa 5-7, HR
• Bryson Stott 0-3, BB, K
• Weston Wilson 3-8, 2 2B, 2 K

The Mets bats look to break out of their slump against Jesús Luzardo tonight. He has pitched 161 2/3 innings spread over 29 starts this season with a 4.01 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.293 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. He has allowed only two runs over 12 2/3 innings in his last two starts while striking out 15 batters. He faced the Mets in his start before that and the Mets were able to score four runs over four innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Luisangel Acuña 0-2, K
• Pete Alonso 4-27, HR, 12 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-5
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 6-24, 2 BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 4-16, BB, 3 K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-4, BB, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 5-14, 4 K
• Cedric Mullins 3-4, 2 BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 5-17, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Jose Siri 3-6, 2 2B, K
• Juan Soto 6-17, 2B, HR, 5 BB, 3 K
• Mark Vientos 1-12, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. A Positive Start. The Mets need a positive, fast start to the game to flip the script. Francisco Lindor has gone 0-for-15 in his last four games. Wednesday night, Soto tried to get something started in the first, getting on base and stealing a base, but the Mets couldn’t get him home. Then Clay Holmes pretty much immediately loaded the bases and allowed two runs to score. A Lindor hit, crooked number in the first inning, and a clean inning by David Peterson in the bottom of the frame tonight could go a long way to flipping the funk around the team.
2. 30-30? Nah. 40-40. Juan Soto, who currently leads the league in walks (118) and OBP (.401) has become one of the more prolific base stealers over the last month or so. Wednesday night he went 3-for-4 at the plate with his 31st stolen base and his 39th home run of the season. He is on pace to have a career high in home runs. If he goes on a little run right now (pun a little intended), he has a chance to push 40 stolen bases on the season.
3. Scoreboard Watching. I’ve personally have had some anxiety opening up the MLB schedule recently thanks the Mets recent slide. The Giants and the Reds are both off today, so the Mets have a chance to gain a half game on two teams chasing them. The Padres, who have also struggled recently, play the Rockies in San Diego tonight. McCade Brown of the Rockies (12.54 ERA, 3 G) takes on Randy Vásquez (3.91 ERA).

Let’s Go Mets!