213 Miles From Shea

The Mets stay in New York but travel to the Bronx tonight to start the first leg of this year’s Subway Series. The Mets rae coming off back to back series wins including two rubber game wins, meaning they got one more in the last week than they had all season. They also get the DH tonight, so finally they have a reliable way to get both Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso on the field at the same time.

Starting for the Mets is Jason Vargas who is coming off a complete game shutout. He is 2-3 over 10 games and 9 starts this season tossing 45.1 innings with a 3.57 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.346 WHIP and 112 ERA+. In his last three starts he has tossed 21.0 innings with a 0.86 ERA and in his last 7 starts he has pitched 39.0 innings with a 1.85 ERA. He missed the Yankees last year but in 2017 he allowed 9 runs over 10.0 innings in starts against them. The Yankees have the following numbers against Jason:

• Kendrys Morales 6-28, 2 HR, BB, 7 K
• Aaron Hicks 4-14, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Cameron Maybin 4-7, BB
• Gary Sanchez 0-5, BB, 3 K
• DJ LeMahieu 0-3, K

The Mets bats will look to keep their homer streak alive tonight against Masahiro Tanaka who is 3-5 over 13 starts and 76.1 innings this year posting a 3.42 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 1.192 WHIP and 130 ERA+. Tanaka is coming off of his worst back to back starts all season where he has allowed a combined 9 runs, 8 earned over 12.0 innings from 15 hits and 4 walks. Before that he was on a tear allowing 2 runs over 19.0 innings with opponents batting .183 against him. He had one start against the Mets last year and it was a good one where he allowed 1 run off 1 hit and a walk in 5.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Carlos Gomez 4-12, 2B, HR, BB, 5 K
• Todd Frazier 1-10, BB, 2 K
• Michael Conforto 1-7, 2B, 3 K
• Wilson Ramos 1-6, 2 K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 3-5
• Amed Rosario 0-1, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets will try to do something they’ve done only twice so far this year – win the rubber game. The Mets jumped out early against the Rockies last night only to see the Rockies tie the game not to long later. Then in the 7th and 8th the Mets got a couple of insurance runs (thanks to a tremendous homer from Pete Alonso) and the bullpen held on!

Noah Syndergaard is 3-4 over 13 games and 82.0 innings with a 4.83 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.268 WHIP and 82 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed 6 runs over 12.2 innings, a 4.26 ERA as he settles into being “average” instead of his swings from being terrible to amazing. He was good in one start against the Rockies last year allowing 2 runs off 6 hits and 4 walks in 6.0 innings of work. The Rockies have the following batting lines against him:

• Daniel Murphy 6-21, 3 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Ian Desmond 3-10, HR, BB, 5 K
• Charlie Blackmon 2-8, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Nolan Arenado 1-4, HR, 2 BB
• David Dahl 4-6, 2 2B
• Mark Reynolds 1-6, 2 K
• Trevor Story 0-3

The Mets bats look to heat up today against Jeff Hoffman who is making his 5th start of the season. In his first 4 he has allowed 17 runs over 21.0 innings leading to a 7.29 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 1.476 WHIP and 70 ERA+. He was only in 6 games last year but faced the Mets twice as a reliever on back to back days. In his second outing against the Mets he allowed 2 hits and recorded two outs. In his first outing he allowed 2 hits, was tagged for a total of 5 runs as he also walked 3 batters and recorded only 1 out. The Mets have the following lines in limited plate appearances against Hoffman:

• Michael Conforto 1-4, 3 BB, K
• Todd Frazier 1-1, 2 BB
• Amed Rosario 0-4, K
• Dominic Smith 1-1

Let’s Go Mets!

Hopefully the Mets offense got sleep last night because they looked exhausted yesterday. The only bright spot came on a mammoth solo shot by Michael Conforto while the Mets booth was eating dumplings in the upper deck. Jacob deGrom put together a gutsy type outing where he didn’t have his best stuff but kept the Rockies to only two runs. The bullpen struggled and there was even a benches clearing incident with Ian Desmond getting hit. A surprising amount of excitement in a game that featured only 1 run by the Mets.

Steven Matz looks to push the Mets back in the right direction. He is 4-4 over 11 games and 56.2 innings with a 3.97 ERA (same as last year), 4.93 FIP, 1.376 WHIP, and a 101 ERA+. After back to back strong starts giving up 3 over 12.0 innings, Matz struggled his last time out allowing 5 runs over 6.0 innings against the Diamondbacks. Against the Rockies last year he allowed 6 runs off 11 hits and 2 walks in 11.2 innings while striking out 11. The Rockies have the following stats against Matz:

• Charlie Blackmon 8-13, 2 2B, BB, K
• Nolan Arenado 5-14, 2B, 4 HR, 2 K
• Daniel Muprhy 5-12, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Mark Reynolds 4-12, 3 2B, 2 K
• Trevor Story 4-10, 2 2B, BB, 4 K
• Ian Desmond 1-5, 2 BB
• Noel Cuevas 1-5

The Mets will get a look at Jon Gray today who is 5-4 over 12 games and 72.1 innings with a 4.11 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.286 WHIP and 124 ERA+. He is coming off of his best start of the season where he held the Blue Jays scoreless over 6.2 innings and in his last three starts he has posted a 2.37 ERA over 19.0 innings lowering his season ERA from 4.72 to 4.11. He’s been streaky this year as he had another stretch of three games in April where he posted a 0.92 ERA over 19.2 innings. His ERA in his other 6 games then is quite high. The last time he faced the Mets was in 2017 and it was a disaster of a start as he allowed 8 runs from 9 hits and 3 walks in 2.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 1-7, BB, 3 K
• Wilson Ramos 0-4, BB
• Adeiny Hechavarria 1-4
• Robinson Cano 1-1, 2B, BB
• J.D. Davis 0-1

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets now enter a tough stretch of 28 straight games where as of right now, their opponents are at, or above, .500. Yesterday the Mets were able to fight off the Giants to take just their 2nd rubber game of the year thanks in part to a lucky fly ball homer from Todd Frazier and a solid showing from the bullpen behind an average Wheeler. The team is only 2 two games below .500 now and have exactly 100 games left in the season.

And tonight they look to Jacob deGrom to set the tempo for those next 100 games. Jacob is 3-5 over 12 games and 69.2 innings with a 3.49 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 1.148 WHIP and 115 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed 4 runs over 17.2 innings (2.04 ERA) off 14 hits and 5 walks while striking out 17. He had a great start against the Rockies last season holding them to 2 runs, 1 earned over 8.0 innings from 5 hits and a walk while striking out 7. The Rockies have the following numbers against him:

• Charlie Blackmon 2019, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Ian Desmond 6-19, HR, BB, 7 K
• Daniel Murphy 4-19, 3B, 4 K
• Nolan Arenado 2-17, 2B, 4 K
• Mark Reynolds 0-15, 3 K
• Trevor Story 1-10, BB, 4 K

Antonio Senzatela is 4-4 over 10 games and 54.0 innings with a 5.33 ERA, 5.49 FIP, 1.593 WHIP and 95 ERA+. He has turned around those numbers in his last two starts allowing 3 runs over 12.0 innings from 13 hits and 5 walks. He last faced the Mets in a relief outing back in 2017 where he held them scoreless over 3.0 innings and to only 1 hit. The Mets have the following numbers in limited exposure to Antonio:

• Robinson Cano 0-3
• Michael Conforto 0-1, K
• Jacob deGrom 0-1, K
• Amed Rosario 0-1

Let’s Go Mets!

If you told me that Jason Vargas would throw a complete game shutout last night at the start of the season, I would have laughed. Jason Vargas had his second straight great start for the Mets, now allowing 1 run in his last 16 innings of work and last night he went the distance against the Giants. For a while as a Met he would be done after 4.0 innings, so he essentially threw two games worth of innings in one start. This was everything the Mets needed, and now they can turn to Wheeler to finish the job and take the series today.

Zack Wheeler is 5-3 over 12 games and 77.0 innings with a 4.68 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.286 WHIP and 86 ERA+. In his last three starts he has been pretty average, allowing 10 runs over 21.1 innings, a 4.22 ERA while striking out 23. He’s being hurt by the long ball recently allowing 5 in those starts, compared to 9 on the season. He was good against the Giants last year allowing 2 runs over 14.0 innings while striking out 19. The Giants have the following numbers against him:

• Brandon Belt 4-12, 2B, 3 BB, 4 K
• Buster Posey 2-11, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Crawford 3-8, 2 BB, 2 K
• Joe Panik 1-9, 2B, K
• Evan Longoria 2-6, 2B, K
• Kevin Pillar 1-5

The Mets get another rookie on the mound today. Today they face Shaun Anderson making his 5th major league start. In his first 4 he has pitched 22.0 innings with a 4.09 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.318 WHIP and 104 ERA+. He’s coming off his best start of his career where he allowed 2 runs off of 5 hits in 7.0 innings, lowering his ERA from a 4.80 to a 4.09 against the Orioles (one of the worst offenses but one of the best hitter parks so maybe it’s a wash?). Before getting called up he had a 4.11 ERA over 35.0 innings and 7 starts in Sacramento.

Let’s Go Mets!

Madison Bumgarner through a masterpiece of a game against the Mets in the 2016 Wild Card game. For a while last night it felt like the Mets would lose in a similar fashion but in the 6th inning Pete Alonso and Wilson Ramos both went deep and the Mets actually had the lead!

And then things went down hill. Callaway pulled Syndergaard from the game and the bullpen immediately allowed the tying run to score. Then the bullpen exploded in the 10th inning and the Mets lost 9-3. Depressing.

You know what the Mets need? A Jason Vargas day! Except this time, I’m not sure if I’m joking about it. Vargas is 1-3 over 9 games and 8 starts pitching 36.1 innings with a 4.46 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 1.514 WHIP and 90 ERA+. Since April 19th he has started 6 games tossing 30.0 innings with a 2.40 ERA and an opponents batting average of .213. Since coming back from injury he has pitched 12.0 innings over two games, the most innings per start stretch of the season. The Giants have the following numbers against him:

• Evan Longoria 7-28, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Buster Posey 6-14, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Belt 3-12, 2B, 4 K
• Pablo Sandoval 3-11, BB, 5 K
• Brandon Crawford 1-9, K
• Kevin Pillar 2-8, HR, 2 K
• Joe Panik 1-5, 2B, K

The Mets bats draw Tyler Beede pitching in his 5th game and 3rd start this season. SO far he has allowed 12 runs, 11 earned over 12.2 innings leading to a 7.82 ERA, 5.59 FIP, 2.368 WHIP and 55 ERA+. His stats are heavily influenced by his first start and first bullpen session this year where he allowed 10 runs, 9 earned over 4.1 innings. Since then he has allowed 2 runs over 8.1 innings, including a start last week against the Marlins where he held them to 1 run over 6.0 innings. This will be his first start against the Mets and he hasn’t faced any Mets in a major league game.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had a disappointing road trip where they went 2-5 and may have possibly been able to pull off an opposite record of 5-2 if more things went their way but through bullpen mishaps, bad starts, etc the Mets were a 2-5 team over the last week. Now they come home to face the Giants, a team they shoud be able to beat on paper and maybe start moving closer to the .500 line.

More importantly, tonight Ron Darling returns to the SNY booth. Ron announced yesterday that his cancer has stabalized and he has been cleared to return to work. Ron, we are relieved to hear this and are so happy you’re back!

Noah Syndergaard is 3-4 over 12 games and 75.1 innings with a 4.90 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.274 WHIP and 82 ERA+. The entire month of May Syndergaard has flip flopped between being terrible or great with his last start, 3 runs over 6.0 innings, being his first just average start. Overall in May he dropped his ERA from a season high of 6.35 to 4.90, hitting his lowest mark of 4.50 on May 19th. Last year against the Giants he allowed 3 runs over 15.0 innings while striking out 17. The Giants have the following numbers against him:

• Brandon belt 0-14, 4 BB, 5 K
• Joe Panik 4-16, 3 K
• Brandon Crawford 2-12, 2 BB, 3 K
• Buster Posey 3-12, K
• Evan Longoria 3-10, 5 K
• Kevin pillar 0-4, K

The Mets draw madison Bumgarner for the series opener. On the season he is 3-5 over 12 games and 74.0 innings with a 4.01 ERA, a career high, 3.59 FIP, 1.189 WHIP and 104 ERA+. He has gotten into a bit of a grove in his last two starts tossing 12.0 innings allowing 4 runs off 12 hits and 10 K’s. His one start against the Mets last year was very good, holding the Mets to 1 run over 8.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Madison:

• Carlos Gomez 4-18, 3 BB, 3 K
• Wilson Ramos 5-18, 2 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Todd Frazier 6-15, 2B, 2 HR, 3 K
• Michael Conforto 0-6, 5 K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 2-6, 2B, K
• Amed Rosario 0-4, K
• Aaron Altherr 2-4, HR
• Robinson Cano 1-3, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

The last time the Mets had an off-day was May 13th. Tomorrow, June 3rd is an off-day and this team needs it as they travel across the country back to New York to face the Giants. The only thing standing in their way between that day off for their arms is the Diamondbacks offense one more time.

Steven Matz will try to give the bullpen their day off a bit early. He is 4-3 over 10 games and 50.2 innings this year with a 3.55 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 1.342 WHIP and 114 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed 3 runs over 12.0 innings despite allowing 14 hits and 5 walks (explaining the difference between his WHIP and his ERA) while striking out 13 batters. He faced the Diamondbacks twice last year allowing 5 runs over 10.2 innings from 12 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. The Diamondbacks have the following career lines against Matz:

• Nick Ahmed 3-5, 2B, 3B
• Ketel Marte 1-5
• David Peralta 0-5
• Jake Lamb 0-3, K
• Jarrod Dyson 0-1, BB

The Mets bats close out the series with 30 year old rookie Merrill Kelly. Kelly was originally in the Tampa Bay system with the SK Wyverns called about his availability and buying him out of his contract. Things didn’t work out for the KBO team then but later when Kelly was pitching in the Dominican Winter League, SK tried again and this time they convinced him to come over. In the KBO he posted a 3.86 ERA over 119 games and nearly 730 innings, quite a feat in a league known for homers and bat flipping. He signed a contract with the Diamondbacks this year and so far has been serviceable, going 4-6 over 11 games and 59.2 innings with a 4.83 ERA, 4.81 FIP, 1.508 WHIP and 94 ERA+. He is coming off two of roughest starts, allowing a total of 8 runs from 12 hits and 5 walks in 8.1 innings.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets still have a chance to come out winning more games than losing on this road trip, but it depends on winning tonight. Yesterday the Mets went up early, 3-0 and they seemed to be in cruise control and the Diamondbacks took the lead in the middle of the game by the score of 4-3. But these Mets showed fight, got two more runs and ended the game in the win column! Now Jacob deGrom will try to keep the good times rolling.

Jacob is 3-5 over 11 games and 63.0 innings with a 3.71 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.175 WHIP and 109 ERA+. He’s coming off an average start against the Dodgers where he held them to 2 runs over 5.0 innings despite allowing 7 hits and a walk and only striking out two but the bullpen couldn’t keep the game together behind him. Overall in May he allowed 13 runs, 12 earned over 37.0 innings, a 2.92 ERA with opponents batting .213 against him. If you take out his one bad start where he allowed 7 runs, 6 earned over 5.0 innings, he allowed 6 runs over 32.0 innings. Jacob faced the Diamondbacks once last year allowing 1 run over 7.0 innings from 6 hits and no walks while striking out 13. The D-backs have the following stats against him:

• Zack Greinke 2-5
• Alex Avila 2-6, 4 K
• Adam Jones 0-5, BB, K
• Jake Lamb 1-6, 2B, 3 K
• David Peralta 1-5, 2 K
• Jarrod Dyson 2-5

The Mets bats draw Zack Greinke who is having a resurgent year. He is 6-2 over 12 games and 77.2 innings with a 2.78 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 0.876 WHUP and 162 ERA+. His numbers are due in large part to his month of May where he started 5 games pitching 33.2 innings with a 2.14 ERA and an opponents batting average of .192. In his first 4 starts of the season he allowed 8 homers, since then he has allowed only 2. He missed the Mets completely last year and in 2017 had a lackluster start allowing 4 runs over 6.2 innings from 5 hits and 2 walks. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Todd Frazier 4-24, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 BB, 7 K
• Carlos Gomez 3-23, 2B, HR, BB, 10 K
• Michael Conforto 1-12, HR, 2 K
• Wilson Ramos 2-9, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 2-9, 2B, K
• Juan Lagers 1-8, HR, K
• Aaron Altherr 2-6, HR, 2 BB

Let’s Go Mets!

Jason Vargas got the deGrom treatment last night! He pitched incredibly well, pitching 7.0 innings for the first time in recent memory allowing 1 run off 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. The Mets gave him nothing though as the Mets lost 2-0 and the series 3-1 where they had a chance to win all 4 games. Now the Mets try to salvage the road trip with a three game series in Arizona.

Zack Wheeler is 4-3 over 11 games and 70.0 innings with a 4.63 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 1.314 WHIP and 86 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed 6 runs over 14.1 innings while striking out 14 and lowering his ERA from 4.85 to 4.63. He faced the Diamondbacks once last year allowing 2 runs over 6.0 innings from 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. The Diamondbacks have the following numbers against him:

• Adam Jones 2-5, BB
• Jake Lamb 3-6, HR
• Nick Ahmed 0-3
• David Peralta 1-3, 2B
• Alex Avila 0-2
• Jarrod Dyson 0-2

The Mets bats will try to find themselves after last night against Jon Duplantier who is making his first career start. So far in 5 games this season he has tossed 12.0 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.083 WHIP and 206 ERA+. Before jumping to the major league level this year, he started 6 games in Triple A tossing 17.0 innings with a 4.76 ERA. Last year he started 16 games in the minors (mostly at AA) with 74.0 innings of work and a 2.55 ERA.

Let’s Go Mets!