213 Miles From Shea

The Mets finally face the Nationals again! In spring training the same five teams play each other constantly due to geography, so the Mets played the Nationals what felt like every other day. Then the two teams met up near the end of April for a three game series in DC that the Mets won two of three games.

Now the two teams meet with a third of the season done. The Mets have established themselves as the top team in the division with a four game lead over the Phillies. The Nationals, surprisingly, are in third with a two game lead over the Braves. While they are five games below .500, they are only seven games out of the wild card and have played .500 ball in their last ten games. The Mets are about to play four divisional series in their next five series – it’s time to cement this divisional lead!

Griffin Canning has pitched 59 innings (12 games) with a 2.90 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. Canning’s last two starts in May were weird. He had a 2 2/3 inning start that was cut short by 90+ minute rain delay. His next start was moved up six hours to avoid rain. He was back to his old self his last time on the mound holding the Dodgers to no runs and only three hits over six innings. He faced the Nationals at the end of April and held them scoreless over five innings, scattering four hits and three walks. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Canning:

• CJ Abrams 1-5, K
• Josh Bell 1-1, BB
• Alex Call 3-8
• Luis García Jr. 0-7, BB, 2 K
• Nathianiel Lowe 3-15, 2 HR, 4 K
• Amed Rosario 2-3, 3B
• Keibert Ruiz 3-7
• José Tena 1-4, BB K
• James Wood 2-5, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Jacob Young 1-4, 2B, K

MacKenzie Gore has stepped into the ace roll for the Nationals. Over 13 starts, 75 1/3 innings, Gore has a 2.87 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 1.142 WHIP and a 137 ERA+. All career bests. He also leads the league with 108 strikeouts and 12.9 K/9. In his last three starts he has allowed only one run over 19 innings while striking out 24 batters. The Mets hit Gore well last season, scoring 11 times off 15 hits and eight walks over 14 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Gore:

• Pete Alonso 2-15, HR, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 BB, 2 K
• Brett Baty 0-1, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-14, 2 BB, K
• Starling Marte 4-8, K
• Jeff McNeil 7-10, 2 BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 4-14, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 2-9, 5 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-9, 4 K
• Luis Torrens 1-4, 2B, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Live from New York, It’s the Juan Soto trade! Juan Soto, MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams were all part of the same blockbuster trade. Juan Soto is coming off a game where he reached based six times (for the first time in his career!). The performance was enough to raise his OBP from .372 to .384 and his OPS from .800 to .820. MacKenzie Gore is following his breakout year with an All-Star year. CJ Abrams is doing the same, going from a career high 110 OPS+ in 2024 to 123 OPS+ this year. Robert Hassell III, who was in that trade, made his major league debut a couple of weeks ago (although off to a rougher start). As long as these four players are in the National League East, playing for these two teams, their names will forever be linked.
2. Pete Alonso Watch. Alonso is coming off of a huge game where he went 3-for-6 at the plate with two home runs and four RBI’s. He now has 17 homers on the year and is sitting at 243 career home runs, nine away from Strawberry’s franchise leading 252. Alonso is still leading the league with RBI’s at 61. Since May 25th Alonso has played in 14 games hitting .333/.406/.825 (1.231 OPS) with eight home runs.
3. Jeff McNeil. McNeil is sixth on the team with six home runs, despite only playing 35 games. He has a 1.1 bWAR already. For context, he had a 1.6 bWAR over 129 games over all of last season. In his last two games he has gone 4-for-8 at the plate with four runs scored, a double and three home runs. Could McNeil be the x-factor for the Mets this season?

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets fans! We made it! The Mets wind down their end their seven game west coast road trip this afternoon, looking to sweep the season series against the Rockies. Lindor has been a key player in both games so far this weekend. Friday night Francisco Lindor came off the bench to hit a go-ahead double in the top of the ninth inning. Saturday Lindor went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases – his pinky toe is still broken by the way. Go for the sweep today Mets!

Tylor Megill has pitched 59 2/3 innings over 12 games with a 3.77 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 1.307 WHIP and a 100 ERA+. Megill had a rough stretch at the end of April through the middle of May where he allowed 15 earned runs over 18 2/3 innings spread over four games. He then had two solid back-to-back starts against the Red Sox and White Sox holding them to three runs over 10 1/3 innings while striking out 16 batters. The Dodgers got the of Megill his last time out, allowing four runs from four hits and a walk over six innings. Which Megill will we get today? The Rockies have the following numbers against Megill:

• Orlando Arcia 2-11, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Brenton Doyle 1-2, K
• Thairo Estrada 2-5, HR, K
• Tyler Freeman 0-3, K
• Sam Hilliard 0-2, K
• Keston Hiura 0-2, 2 K
• Ryan McMahon 2-4, 2B, BB, K

The Mets bats will get a look at rookie Chase Dollander, who didn’t face the Mets during last weekend’s series in Queens. Dollander has 41 2/3 innings over nine starts with a 6.26 ERA, 5.97 FIP, 1.440 WHIP and a73 ERA+. He’s coming off of a short start in Miami where he walked three batters and allowed two runs over three innings. It was his first start since returning from the injured list and the Rockies kept him to about 60 pitches. The Rockies top prospect has a high-90’s fastball that he uses more than half the time. He then mixes in a high-70’s curveball, high-80’s cutter and changeup. According to Statcast he has also tossed a slider four times this season (0.5% of the time).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Paul Blackburn. Paul Blackburn made a spot start for the Mets on Monday to give the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest. He was spectacular, holding the Dodgers scoreless over five innings, scattering three hits and a walk. With the off-day tomorrow, he’ll be in the bullpen for at least this week. Today makes a lot sense for Blackburn to get a solid chunk of work. Hitters are slashing .196/.278/.371 the first time they face Megill. This jumps to .253/.346/.319 the second time. It would be interesting to see a Megill+Blackburn start combo!
2. Ronny Mauricio. Mauricio has started to come around in his last two games! Mauricio started off his call-up going 0-for-8 with three strikeouts. In his last two games he has gone 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. Don’t let Mauricio get hot!
3. Production from the second lineup spot. The Mets have been trying different players in the second lineup spot based on matchups. Since Tuesday the second spot has gone 9-for-20 with eight runs scored. It’s difficult to determine if Nimmo and Marte are both getting hot right now, or if they are both benefiting from the Mets putting them in a position to succeed (or some combination of the two). Here are their batting lines from the second spot in the lineup:

• Tuesday: Marte 1-4, 2 R, K
• Wednesday: Nimmo 1-3, 2 R, K, SB
• Thursday: Marte 3-4, 2 R, BB, 2B, HR
• Friday: Marte 2-5, R, 3 K
• Saturday: Nimmo 2-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB

Let’s Go Mets!

How lucky are we? We have Francisco Lindor on our team!

Lindor started Friday night’s game on the bench, still healing up from a broken pinky toe after getting hit by a pitch a few days ago. Lindor has insisted that he was going to play through it and he did so in spectacular fashion. With the game tied in the ninth inning, Lindor came off the bench and ripped a two-run double to give the Mets lead.

Momentum was building behind the Rockies. Fresh off a three-game winning streak, they kept the Mets frustrated at the plate the entire night (2-for-15 with runners in scoring position, 12 runners left on). Lindor flipped the script and now the Mets go for the series victory today in Denver!

Clay Holmes has pitched 67 1/3 innings this season with a 3.07 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.158 WHIP and a 124 ERA+. Holmes passed a major milestone in his last start. By eclipsing 63 2/3 innings, he has now pitched more innings since becoming an All-Star relievers for the Yankees in 2022. Holmes will most likely today move to his highest inning mark in the majors for a single season (70 innings). Holmes pitched against the Rockies last weekend, tossing seven innings (a season high) allowing three runs from three hits, including two home runs. Home runs have been the only blight on Holmes recently, allowing seven in his last five starts. The Rockies have the following career numbers against him:

• Orlando Arcia 2-6, HR, BB, K
• Jordan Beck 0-3
• Brenton Doyle 0-3, K
• Thairo Estrada 0-1
• Kyle Farmer 1-2
• Tyler Freeman 1-2, HR
• Sam Hilliard 1-3
• Keston Hiura 1-5
• Ryan McMahon 0-3 2 BB

The Mets draw rookie Carson Palmquist for a second consecutive weekend. Over four starts in his major league career, Palmquist has pitched 18 innings, allowing 18 runs, 17 earned from 23 hits and 10 walks while striking out 14 (8.50 ERA, 6.23 FIP, 1.833 WHIP, 55 ERA+). Last Sunday against the Mets he allowed four runs from four hits, including two homers over 4 2/3 innings. Despite this, Palmquist did strike out eight Mets batters. The Mets have the following stats against Palmquist:

• Luisangel Acuña 0-2, K
• Pete Alonso 1-2, HR, K
• Brett Baty 0-2, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, HR, K
• Starling Marte 0-2, BB, K
• Juan Soto 0-1, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 1-2, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto & Pete Alonso. It’s not a surprise that Pete Alonso is leading the majors in RBI – he’s hitting behind Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and whomever Carlos Mendoza plugs into the two-hole. Alonso’s two RBI’s Friday night brought him to 57 on the year. He has 14 RBI’s in June alone (six games). Juan Soto had a huge night at the plate, getting on base four times and scoring twice, bringing him to 42 runs on the year (tied with Francisco Lindor for 13th in MLB). Let them cook at the plate all weekend!
2. Starling Marte. Marte had a huge day at the plate on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk and two runs scored. Friday night he piled on going 2-for-5 with a run scored. As injuries on the Mets have mounted (Jesse Winker, Mark Vientos), the Mets needed someone to step up and Marte has been sizzling.
3. Clay Holmes and ground balls. Holmes has an interesting Baseball Savant page. His pitching run values, is mostly in the red, but vast majority of his statcast data is in the blue, in the 56th percentile or less. Where he is excelling though is groundballs. He’s getting them 55.8% of the time, which is in the 92nd percentile. We are seeing the effect of hitters hitting him hard (45.3% of the time) in his home run data. As long as he keeps the ball on the ground today, he’ll be fine.

Let’s Go Mets!

What a difference a half a week makes for the Colorado Rockies. Last weekend the Mets swept the Rockies in Queens. The Rockies ended the series with a 9-50 record. Since then the Rockies swept the Marlins, increasing their season win total by 33% (12-50). The Mets are coming off of an ugly loss against the Dodgers were a series of mistakes cost them the game in an otherwise good series for the Mets. Will the Rockies take advantage of a dazed Mets team? Will the Mets just pick up where they left off last weekend?

We are going to see in real time what happens to pitch movement in altitude. The last time Senga pitched was last Saturday against the Rockies in Queens where he allowed two runs from two hits and two walks over 6 1/7 innings while striking out seven. He’s facing the same exact team, only a week later, but now at altitude. Senga is in the midst of a fantastic season where he has pitched 62 innings with a 1.60 ERA (league leading), 3.21 FIP, 1.177 WHIP and a 239 ERA+ (league leading). The Rockies got a solo homerun off Senga at the start of the game, which has been a rare occurrence for Senga this season. He is allowing a league leading 0.4 HR/9, which is less than half the rate from his rookie season. The Rockies have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Orlando Arcia 0-4, 2 K
• Jordan Beck 0-3, 2 K
• Brenton Doyle 0-2, 2 K
• Thairo Estrada 1-5, BB
• Kyle Farmer 0-2
• Hunter Goodman 0-3, K
• Sam Hilliard 0-2, K
• Ryan McMahon 0-5, BB, K
• Mickey Moniak 0-5, 3 K
• Jacob Stallings 0-5, BB, 3 K
• Ezequiel Tovar 1-5, HR, BB

Antonio Senzatela will try to rebound from his last start, which was also against the Mets. He allowed seven runs, including two home runs, over four innings from eight hits and two walks. Over 12 starts, 58 innings, Senzatela has a 7.14 ERA, 5.14 FIP, 1.983 WHIP and a 65 ERA+. He’s allowed a league worst 98 hits this season. The Mets have the following career stats against Senzatela:

• Pete Alonso 5-14, 2B, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-3, K
• Brett Baty 1-3, 3B, BB
• Francisco Lindor 5-15, HR, BB, 4 K
• Starling Marte 7-13, 2B, HR
• Jeff McNeil 2-13, HR
• Brandon Nimmo 4-11, 3 HR< 3 K
• Juan Soto 2-4, 2 HR, 2 BB
• Tyrone Taylor 4-7, K
• Luis Torrens 2-4, BB, K
• Jared Young 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso is red hot. Alonso is coming off of a scorching series in LA. Over his last three games (he went hitless in the opener), Alonso has gone 7-for-13 with a double, three home runs and nine RBI’s. Since he ended his homerun drought on May 25th, Alonso has slashed .326/.396/.814 over 11 games with six home runs and 17 RBI’s. He is now sitting at 241 career home runs, just 11 behind Strawberry’s franchise leading 252 homers.
2. Francisco Lindor’s toe. As of writing Lindor is considered day-to-day with a broken pinky toe. The injury occurred off of Gonsolin slider a couple days ago and Lindor has said it’s all about managing pain. We’ll keep an eye on when and if Lindor plays this weekend. Does he start? Does he come off the bench? Do the Mets manage his innings? If there ever was a series to give Lindor a rest, its this one right here.
3. Starling Marte. Marte has quietly put together a nice extended hot streak over the last couple of weeks. In his last 14 games, Marte has gone 11-for-38 at the plate with two doubles, two home runs, four walks and nine runs scored (.355/.459/.613). His OBP over the last two weeks is 100 points higher than his season mark.

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets fans, we made it! Today’s game is the first game this series that is happening at a more convenient time on the East Coast. This is also a crucial getaway day for the Mets who have about 25 hours after this game ends to get to Colorado and get adjusted to the altitude before playing the suddenly hot Colorado Rockies.

The Mets have a chance to take a second consecutive series against the Dodgers today before leaving LA. After splitting the first two games in LA, the Mets had a solid victory Wednesday night behind Pete Alonso’s two home runs while the rest of us slept. The Mets already have the season series victory, let’s make a statement now!

David Peterson has pitched 63 2/3 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 3.31 FIP, 1.257 WHIP and a 141 ERA+. In his last four starts he has pitched 25 1/3 innings with a 2.13 ERA, 3.19 FIP while striking out 23 batters. Peterson’s start against the Dodgers back on May 24th was one of his best starts of the season where he pitched 7 2/3 innings holding the Dodgers to two runs from five hits and two walks while striking out seven. The Dodgers have the the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Mookie Betts 4-14, 2 2B, BB, K
• Michael Conforto 1-3, K
• Tommy Edman 2-4, BB, K
• Freddie Freeman 6-24, 2 HR, BB, 7 K
• Kiké Hernández 5-11, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Teoscar Hernández 3-10, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
• Max Muncy 2-7, HR, 2 K
• Shohei Ohtani 5-14, BB, 4 K
• Andy Pages 5-7, HR, K
• Miguel Rojas 7-16, 3 2B, HR, BB K
• Dalton Rushing 0-3, 2 K
• Will Smith 2-5, 2B, HR, BB

Landon Knack has a 4.58 ERA, 4.91 FIP, 1.358 WHIP and an 85 ERA+ over 35 1/3 innings this season. Before facing the Mets he allowed nine earned runs over 9 2/3 innings. The defense failed him against the Mets on May 25th, with the Mets scoring three runs, only one earned, over six innings. His last time out he allowed only one earned run over six innings against the Yankees. Knack does have a home run problem though. He has now allowed six homers in his last four starts. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-4, HR
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2
• Brett Baty 0-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, BB, K
• Starling Marte 1-2
• Jeff McNeil 1-3, 2B, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-1, K
• Juan Soto 0-5, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-2, 2B, BB
• Luis Torrens 0-3, K
• Jared Young 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. The offense ran through Pete Alonso Wednesday night, going 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and five RBI’s. The two home runs bring him to 240 as a Met, 12 behind Strawberry’s franchise record of 252. Since May 25th, when Landon Knack started against the Mets, Alonso has gone 11-for-39 at the plate with three doubles and five home runs slashing (.282/.348/.744). Alonso currently leads the league with 19 doubles and 53 RBI’s. It’s June 5th and he already has a 2.2 bWAR (2.6 at the end of 2024). Knack is struggling with home runs right now. Alonso made him pay two weeks ago and is on a hot streak right now.
2. Juan Soto. Soto broke his five game streak with extra-base hits on Wednesday night but still managed to get on base three times with three walks, bringing him to 48 on the season. He is now third in the majors, two behind Rafael Devers for first. Alonso was able to bring Soto home on one of his homers Wednesday night, which is exactly what was happening during one Alonso’s April hot streak. Soto has scored 40 times this season, tied for 14th in the league.
3. Some relief for the relievers. The Mets bullpen was on overdrive the with back-to-back extra-inning games Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday night Castillo and Stanek were able to close out the game for the Mets, giving everyone else a much needed day of rest. Edwin Díaz now has had two consecutive days off and after pitching three of four games before that. Díaz is in the 100th percentile this season in xBA (.155), 95th in xERA (2.31) and 99th in Whiff% (39.8%).

Let’s Go Mets!

What a series so far! Monday night the Mets had an extra-inning win. Tuesday night the Dodgers had an extra-inning win. The four game series is tied at 1-1 and the Mets currently lead the season series at 3-2.

This particular seven game series with the Dodgers is the first time I can recall that all seven games had some sort of national broadcast. The three game series in Queens were true national broadcasts (Apple TV+, FOX, ESPN). The four games in LA have been also available on MLB Network and TBS, in addition to the local broadcasts for the both clubs. The Mets and Dodgers have made the series worth it so far, with three extra-inning games in the five games so far.

Griffin Canning has a 3.23 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.396 WHIP and a 118 ERA+ over 53 innings so far this season. His last start was a rough one, allowing five runs, three earned, over three innings from four hits and four walks against the White Sox. This was the game the Mets moved up significantly in order to avoid rain and both starting pitchers really struggled with command. His start before that against the Dodgers has a massive asterisk over it. He was charged with three runs from one hit and four walks over 2 2/3 innings, but it started to rain heavily during the inning where the Dodgers scored the bulk of their runs against him, and it was the pitcher who relieved him 90+ minutes later, inheriting a 3-1 count that allowed the runs to score. No one will be happier than Griffin Canning for a normal weather night tonight. Anyway the Dodgers have the following career numbers against Canning:

• Mookie Betts 3-8, 2B, HR, 2 BB, K
• Michael Conforto 1-1
• Tommy Edman 1-5, HR, BB, K
• Freddie Freeman 1-6, HR, BB, 2 K
• Kiké Hernández 1-4, 2B, BB
• Teoscar Hernández 4-10, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Max Muncy 0-9, 3 BB, 5 K
• Shohei Ohtani 0-4, BB, K
• Andy Pages 1-2
• Miguel Rojas 0-2, BB
• Will Smith 2-5, 2B, BB

Tony Gonsolin has pitched 31 innings over six games with a 5.23 ERA, 6.01 FIP, 1.452 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. The last three starts have been rough for Gonsolin, allowing 13 earned runs over 15 innings including a start against the Mets where he allowed four runs from seven hits and four walks over five innings. His last start was incredibly rough, allowing four home runs against the Yankees (leading to five runs) over six innings. In addition to his home run troubles, he’s walked 11 batters over his last 15 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-7, 4 K
• Francisco Alvarez 0-2
• Brett Baty 1-2, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-3, 2 BB
• Starling Marte 1-9, BB
• Jeff McNeil 0-6, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-5, HR, K
• Juan Soto 6-15, 2 2B, 3B, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 3-6, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, 2 K
• Jared Young 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Soto has a five game extra-base streak going on right now. Over his last five games he has gone 6-for-18 at the plate with two doubles, three home runs, three walks and has scored five times (.333/.455/.944). Juan Soto’s results are starting to match the under-the-hood Statcast numbers he’s had all season. Eventually the narratives around Juan Soto will start to melt away too.
2. Ronny Mauricio. You can’t really keep a roster move under wraps when one of the players has to travel across the country. It was announced by reporters fairly early in the day yesterday that Mauricio was on his way to Los Angeles to fill in for Mark Vientos. Tuesday night he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. In his 2023 rookie season he slashed .248/.296/.347 with a 78 OPS+. In nine games with Syracuse before getting called up, he was slashing .515/.564/.818 with three home runs and four stolen bases.
3. José Castillo. The Mets bullpen has been in high use over the first two games of this series, with Castillo getting the night off on Tuesday there’s a good chance we’ll see him tonight. Castillo allowed eight runs on 10 hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks. Since joining the Mets he has allowed one unearned run from three hits and three walks over four innings while striking out six batters. the walks are still concerning, but in a limited sample, he’s having more success with the Mets. Part of that may be how the Mets are using him. He pitched in five games with the Diamondbacks leading to 6 1/3 innings. With the Mets he has also pitched in five games, but only four innings.

Let’s Go Mets!

While most of us slept, the Mets had a comeback win stretching their winning streak to four games!

Lindor started Monday night’s game off with a bang, hitting a leadoff home run. Even though the Dodgers came back in the 9th inning, those with faith knew the Mets had won 26 straight games when Lindor homered. The Mets scored two runs in the 10th, locking down the 27th consecutive win when Lindor homered.

A tired Mets team that used almost every member of the bullpen tonight will go for the season series victory tonight behind Tylor Megill!

Tylor Megill has a 3.52 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.360 WHIP and a 108 ERA+ over 53 2/3 innings. He had a fairly terrible stretch of games allowing 15 runs over four consecutive starts from the end of April to mid-May. In his last two starts he has allowed only three runs over 10 1/3 innings while striking out 16 batters. Megill had a fantastic regular season start against the Dodgers in 2024, holding them scoreless over seven innings, scattering three hits and a walk while striking out nine. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Megill:

• Mookie Betts 2-5, K
• Michael Conforto 0-1, BB
• Tommy Edman 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Freddie Freeman 6-16, 3 K
• Kiké Hernández 1-2, K
• Teoscar Hernández 2-10 2B, 3 K
• Max Muncy 4-5, 2B, HR, 3 BB
• Shohei Ohtani 1-6, HR, K
• Andy Pages 0-2, K
• Miguel Rojas 1-4, BB, K
• Will Smith 1-6, BB, K

The Mets will face Clayton Kershaw again tonight! Overall this season he has allowed six runs from 11 hits and six walks over 11 innings (4.91 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.545 WHIP and an 82 ERA+). On the game level, his season has been a bit weird. He had a rough first start against the Angels, allowing five runs over four innings. He looked great in two innings against the Mets, allowing no hits and one walk, but then the skies opened up and a 90+ minute rain delay prevented him from coming back up. His last start was his most complete, allowing only one run in five innings against the Guardians. The Mets have the following career numbers against Kershaw:

• Pete Alonso 1-8, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 2-8, BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 4-23, BB, 9 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-8
• Brandon Nimmo 0-9, 4 K
• Juan Soto 3-15, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-6, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 1-3, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. The Mets have now won 27 consecutive games where Lindor has homered. Francisco Lindor has homered four times in his last four games. His last four games have just been bonkers going 8-for-16 at the plate with four home runs, a stolen base, two walks and seven runs scored (.500/.556/1.260). Video game numbers!
2. Tylor Megill. Two weeks ago the Dodgers and the Mets played a game where basically the whole bullpen had to get involved. Last night was another one of those games. The Mets are going to need Megill to go deep into tonight’s game to give the bullpen some relief. The deepest Megill has gone in a game this season is 6 1/3 innings against the Nationals. The first time through an order Megill has been great with opposing hitters slashing .180/.263/.326 (.588 OPS) against him. Things start to blow up the second time through though (.268/.367/.329, .697 OPS). Opposing hitters get OBP at the highest clip his third time through the order (.375). It has been difficult to push Megill deep in games this season.
3. Reed Garrett. Good news for the Mets, Reed Garrett wasn’t used Monday night. Garrett is off to a strong start this season allowing only three runs, two earned, over 25 2/3 innings (0.70 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 1.130 WHIP and a 549 ERA+). His walk rate is about the same as last season and his strikeout rate is about the same. The difference is he’s keeping the ball in the park and allowing less hits. The under-the-hood numbers are a bit surprised by this development as hitters are barreling the ball a bit more often this year and have a better hard-hit%. Garrett is turning it all into outs. A depleted Mets bullpen is going to lean on Garrett tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets head west to start a four game series against the Dodgers. At stake is the season tie-breaker. If the Dodgers and Mets both end up as Wild Card teams, the tie-breaker will get the team that has it into a more favorable scenario.

Right now the Mets have a 2-1 season series lead. The Dodgers won the first game of the series after a 90+ minute rain delay in a game that went 13 innings depleting the bullpens of both teams. The Mets then picked up wins on the next two games, both nationally televised. A win today for the Mets would be their third in a row against the Dodgers and fourth in a row in the traditional sense.

Paul Blackburn makes his 2025 debut this evening. The Mets acquired Blackburn in a trade at the the deadline last year from the Athletics. He had mixed success last season. In three starts for the Mets he allowed two runs or fewer. He allowed 12 runs in his other two starts, which overwhelm his season stats (5.18 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 1.562 WHIP, 76 ERA+ over 24 1/3 innings).

Blackburn is coming back from a terrifying injury. He got hit in the hand by a comebacker at the end of August, which initially sidelined him. While he was rehabbing from that injury it was discovered that actually had a spinal fluid leak and needed back surgery. He had a specific version of the surgery that would allow him to continue to pitch. He was actually ready to go in spring but had a different knee injury that sidelined him until now. Over seven starts in the minors he has pitched 29 1/3 innings with a 3.68 ERA and 1.091 WHIP. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 1-6, HR, K
• Tommy Edman 0-2
• Kiké Hernández 1-3, K
• Teoscar Hernández 0-3, BB
• Shohei Ohtani 4-9, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 3 K

The Mets bats will look to keep their power surge going against Dustin May tonight. Over 10 games, 55 2/3 innings, May has a 4.20 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.240 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. May missed the Mets a couple of weeks ago. Homeruns are the issue for May right now. He gave up at least one home run in every start in May (six homers in five starts) and the homers have essentially determined whether he had a quality or not start. He is hitting his stride with strikeouts, getting 25 strikeouts in his last three starts (16 innings). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-3
• Brett Baty 1-2
• Francisco Lindor 0-2
• Starling Marte 0-3
• Jeff McNeil 2-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 1-5, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-9, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Hope all the baseball pundits writing negative think pieces about Soto are ready, because he’s on a hot streak now. After going hitless in four straight games, he has three extra-base hits in his last three games. This past weekend he went 4-for-9 at the plate with a double, two home runs, two walks and four runs scored (.444/.583/1.222).
2. Homeruns. Power has been the Mets salvation the last three days. The Mets have hit eight homers. On Saturday the homers piled onto a big lead. On Sunday the Mets homered allowed the Mets to keep coming back each time the Rockies either took the lead or tied the game. May has allowed six home runs over his last five starts. The Mets have won the last 26 games in a row where Lindor has homered, and he homered three times over two games this past weekend.
3. Containing Shohei. Ohtani has seen Blackburn plenty back from their AL West days. Ohtani is having another Ohtani season with 22 home runs already (good for second in the league behind Cal Raleigh and in front of Aaron Judge). The Dodgers offense runs through Ohtani who has already scored 63 times (league leading, Judge is the next closest at 55). The Mets attacked Ohtani head one a couple of weeks ago and he went only 2-for-13 that weekend with a solo home run and two runs scored.

Let’s Go Mets!

Four teams enter play today tied for the best record in the National League – the Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and the Mets! The Mets go for the sweep against the Rockies this afternoon before heading out west to take on the first place Dodgers.

The Mets look to build on Saturday’s display of power where Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil all homered in their 8-2 win over the Rockies. Thanks to offense explosion all of the Mets best high leverage relievers were able to take the afternoon off. It’s a beautiful day to sweep the Rockies!

Clay Holmes has a 2.98 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.243 WHIP and a 129 ERA+ over 60 1/3 innings. He allowed only one run from four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his last start against the White Sox. Holmes broke two different streaks in his last start. He had a four start streak of going at least six innings. He also had a three start streak of allowing at least one home run. We’ll take the slightly shorter start if it means he kept the ball in park! The Rockies have the following career numbers against him:

• Orlando Arcia 1-4, BB, K
• Thairo Estrada 0-1
• Kyle Farmer 1-2
• Keston Hiura 1-3
• Ryan McMahon 0-0, 2 BB
• Jacob Stallings 0-1, K
• Ezequiel Tovar 1-1

Rookie Carson Palmquist makes his fourth career start this afternoon. MLB Pipeline had him as the Rockies #8 Prospect heading into the season this year. Over his first three starts he has allowed 14 runs, 13 earned over 13 1/3 innings from 19 hits and eight walks. He’s also has had a tough draw of teams to start his career going against the Diamondbacks, Phillies and Cubs. His last start against the Cubs was pretty good, holding them to only two runs from three hits and three walks. According to MLB Pipeline, Palmquist has a low-90’s fastball with some movement and two different types of sliders.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Saturday was Lindor’s third multi-hit game in his last four games played. Saturday afternoon Lindor went 2-for-3 with two walks. Over the series he has gone 5-for-7, getting on base seven times and scoring five times. The Mets are hitting their stride when Lindor gets on base and the hitters behind him get him home.
2. Brandon Nimmo. We have a Nimmo hot streak everyone! Nimmo has a five game hit streak where he is going 8-for-19 with a double, home run, two walks and five runs scored (.421/.476/.632). He has raised his his on base percentage 20 points during this current run.
3. Groundballs. Clay Holmes is somehow getting even better at producing groundballs. Hitters are producing grounders up to 55.9% of the time against him, putting him in the 91st percentile. Hitters are still hitting the ball pretty hard (44.1% hard hit percentage, 7.6 barrel %) which does get Holmes into danger sometimes. Hopefully today’s defensive alignment matches Holmes’ grounder rate.

Let’s Go Mets!

Francisco Lindor welcomed the Rockies to Queens Friday night with fireworks! The Mets took the first game of the series behind Lindor’s two home runs. Actual thunder followed Lindor’s show. We’ve had quite a bit of rain in the area throughout the night, but as of writing the weather looks alright for today’s afternoon game.

The Mets end the month of May with their ace Kodai Senga on the mound. Over 55 2/3 innings, Senga has a 1.46 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 1.240 WHIP and a 264 ERA+. Senga had a particularly tough start on May 19th, where he allowed three runs over six innings against the Red Sox. It was a gutsy performance that could have completely fallen apart after allowing the runs early, but Senga kept the Mets in the game and lasted through the sixth. Last time out Senga held the high powered Dodgers lineup to only one run (a solo homer), scattering five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings. The Rockies have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Orlando Arcia 0-4, 2 K
• Thairo Estrada 0-2, BB
• Ryan McMahon 0-3
• Mickey Moniak 0-3, 3 K
• Jacob Stallings 0-5, BB, 3 K
• Ezequiel Tovar 0-2

The Mets bats will get a look at Antonio Senzatela this afternoon. Senzatela has played his entire career with the Rockies, making his debut in 2017. He’s had a rough few years tearing his ACL in August 2022, then needing Tommy John in 2023. Some how the injuries were spaced out in such a way that he never missed an entire season, but he made only 24 starts between 2022 and 2024.

This season he has pitched 54 innings over 11 games with a 6.50 ERA, 5.06 FIP, 1.944 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. He’s currently leading the league in hits allowed with 90. The Mets have the following career stats against Senzatela:

• Pete Alonso 4-11, 2B
• Brett Baty 0-1, BB
• Francisco Lindor 3-13, HR, 4 K
• Starling Marte 7-13, 2B, HR
• Jeff McNeil 2-11, HR
• Brandon Nimmo 2-8, 2 HR, 3 K
• Juan Soto 1-2, HR, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 3-5, K
• Luis Torrens 2-4, BB, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor had a huge night at the plate Friday night going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three runs scored. It was his second multi-hit game in three nights. Lindor is also tied Derek Jeter for the 4th most homeruns (260) by players who spent at least 60% of their time at shortstop. When Lindor is on fire good things generally happen to the Mets.
2. Juan Soto. Soto has mired in a mini-slump, going 0-for-14 with only two walks in four games. Friday night he went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. This lineup is designed for Soto to either get Lindor in or put Pete in a good position to get some RBI’s, even with Soto hitting in the three-spot now. Let’s hope Soto and Lindor run it back again today.
3. Chris Devenski. The Mets called up Chris Devenski before Friday’s game. Devenski pitched two innings against the Diamondbacks about a month ago, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out two. He’s been great for Syracuse this season, pitching 18 1/3 innings with a 1.96 ERA (13 K’s). The righty has a low-to-mid 90’s mph fastball, but he leans on his low-80’s changeup as his primary pitch. It will be interesting to compare his 2025 pitch selection to previous seasons. Has the Mets pitching lab changed anything?

Let’s Go Mets!