213 Miles From Shea

Happy David Wright Day!

The Mets are retiring David Wright’s #5 today and inducting him into the Mets Hall of Fame. The fourth captain in Mets history defined a generation of Mets baseball with his trademark slick fielding, timely hitting and excellent leadership. If you’re going to the game today, have a wonderful time! Hope you are able to make new memories while celebrating one of the truly greatest Mets players of all time.

After the ceremony the Mets will try to get back in the win column. The Mets came out strong Friday night. Sean Manaea was dealing, Juan Soto was slugging and the Mets got a hit with runners in scoring position. As soon as the Mets went to the bullpen things fell apart and the Mets lost 8-4. Let’s bounce back!

Clay Holmes has tossed 103 1/3 innings over 19 starts with a 3.31 ERA, 4.23 FIP, 1.258 WHIP and a 115 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a solid start where he allowed two runs over five innings against the Royals. Being a reliever in the American League for the last couple of years, the Reds have barely faced Holmes recently. Holmes faced the Reds once last season striking out all three hitters he faced in his one inning of relief. The Reds have the following career numbers against him:

• Will Benson 0-2
• Santiago Espinal 0-1, K
• Jake Fraley 1-1
• Austin Hays 2-8, 2B, 2 K
• Gavin Lux 1-2
• Noelvi Marte 0-1, K
• Matt McLain 0-1
• Spencer Steer 1-2, K
• Tyler Stephenson 0-2, K
• Brent Suter 0-2, K

Nick Martinez is finally, primarily, a starting pitcher. He debuted with the Rangers as a starter back in 2014 and slowly was moved into the bullpen over his four years with Texas. He then played four seasons in Japan, coming back to America in 2022. Since then he’s been slowly moved back to the rotation.

This season he has pitched in 21 games, 19 starts, totaling 111 innings with a 4.78 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.207 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. July is a good microcosm of his season. His last start was solid, allowing only two runs over 5 1/3 innings. His start before that was terrible, allowing 10 runs over five innings. Before that he allowed four runs from nine hits over 6 2/3 innings. He’s just been inconsistent in the rotation oscillating from excellent starts (one run over eight innings on June 27th) to terrible starts. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-4, HR, BB
• Brett Baty 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 2-6, 2B
• Jeff McNeil 0-3
• Brandon Nimmo 2-6, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Juan Soto 1-1, HR
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, 2 2B, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. There are going to be a lot of eyes on the leader of the 2025 Mets today. For a while now Lindor has essentially been the assumed captain of the Mets. Official MLB accounts accidentally released a video for the David Wright celebrations that seemed to suggest that Lindor will be named named the captain soon. Whether or not that is true, the Mets need Francisco to be Francisco today. He’s gone 0-for-10 over his last two games. Before that that though he was on a mini-hot streak hitting .333/.438/.630 over seven games with two doubles and two home runs.
2. Juan Soto. Soto picked up right where he left off before the All-Star break, by hitting another tank. Soto has now homered in three of his last four games and has 24 on the season. He’s now at 4.0 bWAR for the season while still leading the league with 77 walks. The Mets broadcast noted that after his three strikeout game before the All-Star break, 2025 is the first season since 2019 that Soto has more strikeouts than walks. He struck out two more times yesterday and now has struck out 80 times this season.
3. Brooks Raley. The Mets activated Brooks Raley before Friday night’s game. Raley was traded to the Mets before the 2023 season and pitched in 74 games with a 2.48 ERA from 2023 to 2024. He needed Tommy John surgery after eight games in 2024. Raley has not allowed run in any of eight rehab games, scattering seven hits over nine innings. The Mets bullpen could use a boost and hopefully Raley can provide it.

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets baseball is back!

The Mets are half a game out of first place and 13 games above .500 to start the second half. After stumbling in the second half of June, the Mets have been better of late. Heading into the All-Star break the Mets got Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga back from injury, the best start we’ve seen from Frankie Montas. Plus saw signs that Mark Vientos was turning things around.

The Reds are in 4th in NL Central, but have a winning record. If the season ended today the Brewers, Mets and Padres would each get a wild card spot, with the Mets 2.5 games ahead of the Padres and the Reds 2.5 games back of the Padres. This is a big series for the Reds who are trying to collapse the Wild Card standings a bit heading into the trade deadline.

Sean Manaea makes his first start at Citi Field this afternoon. Manaea looked excellent in his outing of the season right before the All-Star break pitching 3 1/3 innings allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven. At one point he struck out five batters in a row. Manaea had two different starts against the Reds in 2024. In his first start (April) he held them to one run and three hits over five innings. In September he allowed four runs from three hits including two home runs over 6 2/3 innings. The Reds have the following career numbers against him:

• Will Benson 0-1
• Elly De La Cruz 2-5, HR, K
• Santiago Espinal 0-3, 2 K
• Jake Fraley 0-4, 3 BB
• TJ Friedl 2-5, HR, 2 K
• Austin Hays 2-6, HR, 2 K
• Connor Joe 0-8, BB, K
• Matt McLain 0-1, BB
• Spencer Steer 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Tyler Stephenson 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Jose Trevino 1-8, 2B, 2 K

The Mets bats will get the second half started against Nick Lodolo who is having a career year. Over 19 starts, 106 2/3 innings, Lodolo has a 3.38 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 1.106 WHIP and a 132 ERA+. Lodolo is coming off of a strong start where he shutout the Marlins over six innings while striking out four batters. In his last five games he has a 2.28 ERA and a 4.35 FIP. His rise FIP can be attributed to the home runs he’s been allowing of late. He’s allowed eight home runs over his last seven starts. The Mets have the following career numbers against Lodolo:

• Pete Alonso 0-2, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 0-2, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-1, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Getting Plunked. Surprise, surprise – the Mets are leading the league in getting hit by pitches. Mets batters have been plunked 57 times this season. This isn’t new as the Mets were 3rd in the league in 2024 (92 times), 2nd in 2023 (107), and 1st in 2022 (112). Tonight they are facing Nick Lodolo who is leading the league with 11 hit batters. He also led the league in 2022 (19). Let’s put 11 hit batsmen in perspective. The Reds as a team have hit 39 batters. Anyway, the Mets need to stay safe at the plate tonight.
2. Pete Alonso. The countdown is on for Pete Alonso! Alonso is sitting at 247 home runs, five runs back from Strawberry’s franchise leading 252 career home runs. Pete has had more home run success on the road this season hitting 13 bombs with a .553 SLG compared to 8 home runs and a .509 SLG at home (50 away games vs 47 home games). Pete is having a phenomenal season so far, leading the league in doubles (26) and he has already accumulated 3.0 bWAR (2.6 last season). He’s coming off a huge All-Star game where he smacked a three-run home run.
3. Mark Vientos. Vientos was starting to put things together right before the All-Star break. In his last five games he has gone 7-for-19 at the plate (.368/.368/.579) with two doubles, a triple and three RBI’s. This mini-hot streak has raised his season slash line from .210/.272/.341 to .223/.280/.361. Under the hood, Vientos has had an average exit velocity of 90.9 mph (67th percentile) and is hitting the ball hard 48% of the time (79th percentile). While the rest of his Baseball Savant page is blue, these are the signs that he’s starting to turn his 2025 around!
4. BONUS. This is for fans heading to Citi Field this weekend. The Wok n’ Roll stand behind centerfield has a rotating egg roll for each opponent this season. They’re bringing out the knock-off Skyline (or Gold Star, I’m not weighing in on this debate) this weekend. The roll, which they advertised in April, has chili and spaghetti in it.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for a sweep this afternoon to end the first half of the season!

Juan Soto hit a two-run home run Saturday and that was pretty much all the Mets needed as they held on and beat the Royals 3-1. Carlos Mendoza went all out, pushing Edwin Díaz to get get a six out save. Today the Mets should be able to give most of the bullpen the day off as Clay Holmes will be followed by Sean Manaea’s 2025 debut!

Clay Holmes gets the start today, looking to end the first half of the season on a high note! Over 18 starts (98 1/3 innings) he has a 3.29 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.261 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. Holmes is coming off of a rough start against the Orioles where he allowed five runs over five innings from seven hits. Before that start, Holmes allowed only eight runs over 26 innings spread over five games (2.77 ERA). The Royals hit him well in 2024, scoring three runs off of five hits over 1 2/3 innings against Holmes. The Royals have the following career numbers against him:

• Freddy Fermín 0-1
• Maikel García 2-7, 2B, 2 K
• Jonathan India 1-3, 2 K
• Kyle Isbel 3-5
• Luke Maile 0-0, BB
• Vinnie Pasquantino 0-3, K
• Salvador Perez 2-5, HR
• Bobby Witt Jr. 0-6, BB, K

The Mets bats will close out the first half against rookie Noah Cameron. Cameron is off to a fine start to his major league career posting a 2.56 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 0.963 WHIP and a 160 ERA+ over 11 starts (63 1/3 innings). He’s been great in July allowing only two runs over 11 2/3 innings while striking out 12 batters. He was more human in the month of June allowing 13 runs over 20 innings stretched over four starts, mostly due to allowing four home runs. The Royals will need Cameron to go deep in today’s game after yesterday’s surprise bullpen game with Michael Lorenzen being a late start due to illness. Cameron can provide that length, going seven innings in his last start and going at least six innings in six of 11 starts this season.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Sean Manaea’s 2025 Debut. Manaea has been sidelined since spring training with an oblique injury followed by an elbow injury while rehabbing. Manaea was the ace of the Mets staff for stretches in 2024, especially when he dropped his arm slot and changed his delivery. Over 32 starts (181 2/3 innings) Manaea had a 3.47 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. In his last rehab start he allowed three runs from four hits over 3 2/3 innings getting up to 73 pitches. The Mets are counting on Holmes and Manaea to carry the pitching staff today.
2. Make this man an All-Star already. Juan Soto continued being Juan Soto on Saturday, going 1-for-4 with a two-run home run. It was his second straight game with a home run and his third straight game with an RBI. Soto has a 4.1 bWAR, a league leading 77 walks and is tied in 7th in the league with a .915 OPS this season. His 163 OPS+ is the fourth highest in his career. Hopefully the league makes this snub right today.
3. The Mets are stealing more bases. Francisco Lindor stole his 15th base of the season on Saturday. Earlier this week Juan Soto stole his 11th base, just putting him one shy of his single-season best 12 stolen bases in a single season. As a team the Mets have 74 stolen bases, tied with the Marlins for 11th in MLB. The Mets were 16th in the league in 2024, 13th in 2023 and 23rd in 2022. Something to keep an eye on as we head into the second half.

Let’s Go Mets!

I’ll admit it, I thought Friday night’s game was over when Bobby Witt Jr. hit a homerun in the seventh inning. The Mets were holding onto a 1-0 lead going into the sixth inning. At that point it felt like the Mets were going to fall apart at the plate, just like on Thursday.

The Mets got the bases loaded in the 8th inning and Mark Vientos came through for the Mets with a bases clearing double. At that point it was like something was lifted from the Mets team and they started swinging again how they were earlier in the season. They put up four more runs in the 9th inning thanks to back-to-back homers by Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. Now the Mets look to keep that momentum going this afternoon and take the series from the Royals!

Frankie Montas has allowed 10 runs over 14 2/3 innings over three starts (6.14 ERA, 5.81 FIP, 1.295 WHIP, 64 ERA+). Last week against the Yankees he allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings, better than his previous start where he allowed six runs over four innings. Home runs have been an issue for Montas this season, allowing four so far. Luckily, Kauffman Stadium is one of the more difficult stadiums in the league for home runs (the caveat being that Montas allowed two home runs at PNC, which is even lower on the list than Kauffman). The Royals have the following career numbers against Montas:

• Kyle Isbel 1-4, 2B, BB
• Luke Maile 1-3, K
• Salvador Perez 3-14, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Bobby Witt Jr. 1-4, 2 K

The Mets batters will try to keep Friday night’s vibes going against Michael Lorenzen. Over 18 starts (99 2/3 innings) Lorenzen has a 4.61 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.304 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. Lorenzen is coming off of a strong start against the Diamondbacks holding them scoreless over seven innings. Before that he allowed seven runs over 10 1/3 innings from 14 hits and three home runs. Lorenzen faced the Mets last year as a member of the Rangers before he was traded to the Royals. He allowed three runs from four hits including two home runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career stats against Lorenzen:

• Pete Alonso 2-11, 2 BB, K
• Brett Baty 0-3
• Francisco Lindor 3-15, K
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-8, 3 BB
• Brandon Nimmo 2-13, 2B, HR, K
• Juan Soto 1-10, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-0, BB
• Mark Vientos 2-2, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos. Mark Vientos has had a rough season so far, especially compared to 2024. Over 64 games this year he has slashed .217/.275/.350 with an 80 OPS+. This is all down from a .266/.322/.516 and a 136 OPS+ over 111 games last season. Friday night’s bases clearing double felt like a release. Over the last three games he has two multi-hit games and two doubles – let’s hope this is the start of a Vientos hot streak!
2. Francisco Lindor. Francisco Lindor is on a six game hitting streak going 8-for-23 with nine runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and four walks (.464 OBP!). He also has eight RBI’s over the stretch. Lindor continues to be heart of the Mets’ Fab Four and the offense as a whole. His next homerun will be his 20th of the season, reaching that mark for a fifth consecutive season and the eighth time in his career.
3. Edwin Díaz. Díaz has gotten a few days off in a row, last pitching on Tuesday, so he’s ready to go if needed. The three-time All-Star is in the midst of another excellent season for the Mets posting a 1.75 ERA, 220 ERA+ over 36 games this season. He’s on pace right now to surpass 250 saves at some point this season (currently at 243 saves).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to end the first half of the season on a strong note against the Royals. After beating the Brewers and Yankees in consecutive series, the Mets dropped a doubleheader (and the series) to the Orioles yesterday. Right now it feels like the Mets are bit depleted. But there’s good news for the Mets! Tonight they get Kodai Senga back! Sunday they get Sean Manaea back!

Kodai Senga returns to the Mets tonight! Senga was having a tremendous season for the Mets, pitching 73 2/3 innings over 13 starts with a 1.47 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 1.113 WHIP and a 261 ERA+. He injured his hamstring in early June and was diagnosed with a grade 1 hamstring strain. He allowed four runs, three earned over 3 2/3 in his rehab start last week. The Royals have the following career stats against him:

• Maikel Garcia 3-4
• Jonathan India 2-3, 2B, K
• Kyle Isbel 2-3
• Salvador Perez 1-3, 2B, 2 K
• Bobby Witt Jr. 2-3

The Mets batters will face off against one-time friend Michael Wacha tonight. Wacha had a 6.62 ERA over eight games and 34 innings for the 2020 New York Mets. He’s become a very consistent pitcher over the last four years, consisting putting up an ERA in the 3’s. This season he has pitched 101 innings over 18 starts with a 3.83 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.287 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough stretch where he he has allowed 12 earned runs over his last three starts (15 IP, 7.20 ERA, 4.55 FIP). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

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

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Hitting with RISP. The Mets have just struggled with RISP this season. Yesterday the Mets went a combined 2-for-19 with RISP. Although the bullpen couldn’t finish the first game or keep the Mets in the second game, the bats just gave the team nothing to work with leaving 14 runners on base. Having at least one inning with a crooked number will go a long way for moral and setting the tone this weekend.
2. The Bullpen. The Mets used five relievers yesterday. That number is low because newly named All-Star David Peterson pitched seven innings. Waddell and Hagenman on bulk duty were able to complete five innings in the second game. The bullpen yesterday just didn’t get the job done, and it’s safe to assume they may have extra work with Kodai still ramping up to full strength today.
3. Juan Soto. Soto stole his 11th base of the season yesterday. He’s now only one stolen base away from matching his career high of 12 stolen bases set in 2019 and 2023. Soto still currently leads the league with 75 walks (five ahead of Devers) and is ninth in OPS at .901. Sounds like an All-Star to me.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Orioles are making things just slightly tougher for the Mets tonight, scheduling a split doubleheader rather than a day/afternoon doubleheader on a getaway day for the Mets. After tonight’s game the Mets will need to speed out of Baltimore and head to Kansas City. The Mets are getting reinforcements in Kansas City with Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea rejoining the rotation. Both pitchers though will probably be on pitch counts, so the Mets need to be careful tonight with their bulk pitchers, even though this game is a bullpen game.

Justin Hagenman looks to get the bulk of the work in the night cap for the Mets. Over three games this season for the Mets, Hagenman has pitched 10 1/3 innings with a 4.35 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 0.968 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. His last time out was a bit of a rougher appearance, allowing four runs from three home runs against the Yankees over 4 1/3 innings. In previous six innings he allowed only one run while striking out five batters.

Mets batters will get their first look Tomoyuki Sugano, the long time NPB pitcher who made the jump to MLB this season. Sugano has pitched 93 1/3 innings over 17 starts this season with a 4.44 ERA, 5.25 FIP, 1.307 WHIP and an 87 ERA+. Sugano had a 3.04 ERA, 4.70 FIP through is first 12 starts this season. Since then he has pitched 22 1/3 innings over five games with an 8.87 ERA and a 6.98 FIP. He’s given up 13 runs from 19 hits and two walks over his last two starts.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso homerun watch. Alonso is nearing Strawberry’s franchise record of 252 home runs. Alonso is sitting at 247 home runs and he loves hitting bombs at Camden Yards with five of them so far over nine games. Maybe he’ll provide some fireworks for all the Mets fans who traveled down 95 today to catch the Mets playing two!
2. Sugano’s bizarre under the hood stats. Sugano has had an odd season so far getting positive results over his first 12 games and struggling over his last five. Part of the reason for the discrepancy is what’s happening per at bat. He’s in the 93rd percentile for walks (4.8%) which is very good! But he’s near the bottom of the league in striking out batters (3rd percentile, 14.4%). He’s only getting groundballs 42% of time (50th percentile) and while he’s preventing batters from getting hard contact against him (38.8% of time, 67th percentile), hitters are barreling the ball at a high rate (12%, 8th percentile).
3. Justin Hagenman and pitch selection. Hagenman has used his sinker 32.1% of time this season, mixing in a cutter, changeup and a slider to round out his pitch mix. He’s getting groundouts around 42% of the time, which is slightly below the 50th percentile mark for the league. His sinker has also been his most hit able pitch so far over 10 1/3 innings, with a xBA of .299 and xSLG of .826. Some of this is noise from his last outing against the Yankees. Let’s see if the Mets pitching lab has him doing slightly different things today!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets went from losing 14 of 17 to games to winning 5 of their last 6! Tuesday night the Mets had a come from behind victory where they scored four runs off two, two-run home runs in the 8th inning before taking the lead in the 10th inning.

Several hours after the Mets victory, Patrick Bailey, the catcher of the San Francisco Giants, hit a walk-off three-run inside-the-park home run against Phillies. The Mets enter play today a half game behind the Phillies, but with two games to play due to the rain in Baltimore on Wednesday.

David Peterson has pitched 102 innings over 17 games this season with a 3.18 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.275 WHIP and a 120 ERA+. Peterson is coming off of a fantastic start against the Brewers where he held them to only one run over 6 2/3 innings from five hits and three walks. It was a massive step in regressing towards the mean after allowing 13 runs in his previous three starts. Peterson pitched 7 innings against the Orioles last season allowing three runs, two earned from six hits and a walk. The Orioles have the following career stats against him:

• Colton Cowser 1-3, 2 K
• Gunnar Henderson 0-5, 2 K
• Jackson Holliday 0-3, 2 K
• Ramon Laureano 0-2
• Cedric Mullins 2-4, 2B
• Ryan O’Hearn 0-1, K
• Tyler O’Neill 1-3, K
• Jacob Stallings 1-4, BB, K
• Ramón Urías 2-4, 2B, HR
• Jordan Westburg 0-0, BB

The Orioles have decided to change the pitching matchup, having Charlie Morton pitch in the first game this afternoon. The Thursday day game was always Morton’s scheduled start, but instead of facing the bullpen game the Mets were probably going to do in this spot, he now gets David Peterson.

Charlie Morton has pitched in 19 games, 13 starts this season totaling 77 1/3 innings with a 5.47 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.552 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. Morton got off to a rough start this season with a 10.36 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in his first six games. In his last four games he’s been much better totaling 21 1/3 innings with a 2.53 ERA, 2.29 FIP. Morton pitched against the Mets three times in 2024 as a member of the Braves with a 5.87 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Morton:

• Pete Alonso 7-32, 2 2B, 4 BB, 7 K
• Brett Baty 3-8, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Travis Jankowski 2-7, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 7-48, 3 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 13 K
• Jeff McNeil 7-30, 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 7 K
• Brandon Nimmo 7-30, HR, 6 BB, 13 K
• Juan Soto 8-12, 3 HR, 7 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-4, BB, K
• Mark Vientos 4-5, HR
• Jesse Winker 2-7, BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso has now gone 4-for-11 in his last three games played with three home runs and three walks (.364/.500/1.182). His homerun Tuesday night tied the game and was his 5th career home run in eight games played at Oriole Park (.323/.371/.903). Alonso now sits at 247 home runs as he inches ever closer to Strawberry’s franchise record 252 homers.
2. Juan Soto. Juan Soto responded to his All-Star snub Tuesday night with a very Juan Soto game at the plate going 3-for-5 getting the go ahead RBI in the 10th inning. It was second game in his last four with at least three hits and his fourth game in his last five getting on base at least twice. Now he gets to face Charlie Morton. He has a .789 OBP against Morton with a 1.417 SLG!
3. Get to the Orioles Bullpen again. The game plan on Tuesday was to knock Brandon Young out early and put the stress on the Orioles bullpen. Young ended up pitching the best start in his career (five starts) so far, but the Mets were still able to get the Orioles to use six relievers Tuesday, scoring five runs off of them. It was the second game in the last three where the Orioles needed to put in a lot of extra work. Everyone got extra rest with the rainout on Wednesday, but the Orioles will have to figure out a way to get their beleaguered bullpen through two games today. Hopefully the Mets can make that even tougher applying the pressure in game one. 

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets spent the second half of June spiraling but things are looking a bit better after the first week of July. The Mets ripped off a four game winning streak, taking a series from the Brewers and the Yankees. Now the Mets head to Baltimore hoping to start another winning streak.

The Orioles have been one of the more disappointing teams in 2025. They have a lot of young hitting talent but the pitching has completely fallen apart for them. But things have started to look better for the Orioles more recently. They are on a three game winning streak, winning six of their last four games and are only nine games under .500 (at one point they were 16 games under). Will they continue to soar or can the Mets send them back to the nest?

Clay Holmes has pitched 93 1/3 innings over 17 starts with a 2.99 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.243 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. He’s coming off back to back solid starts allowing only three runs over 10 1/3 innings against the Braves and the Brewers. In his last five starts he has a 2.77 ERA and a 5.62 FIP. The discrepancy comes from 16 walks over 26 innings and four home runs allowed. Over seven games and 6 1/3 innings against the Orioles last year he allowed seven runs but only three earned from eight hits and two walks while striking out eight. The Orioles have the following career numbers against him:

• Colton Cowser 1-4, 2 K
• Gunnar Henderson 1-2, BB
• Jackson Holliday 2-3, K
• Alex Jackson 0-1, BB
• Ramon Laureano 0-2
• Coby Mayo 2-3, 2B
• Cedric Mullins 1-7, HR, K
• Tyler O’Neill 2-7, BB, K
• Jacob Stallings 1-9, 2B, K
• Ramón Urías 3-11, 3 K
• Luis Vazquez 0-4, K
• Jordan Westburg 0-6, 3 K

Brandon Young makes his fifth start for the Orioles this evening. Over his first four major league starts (16 2/3 innings) Young has a 7.02 ERA, 4.83 FIP, 1.980 WHIP and a 56 ERA+. Since rejoining the Orioles he has allowed seven runs over eight innings spread over two starts from 11 hits and three walks. Young is coming off of a successful 2024 minor league campaign where he had a 3.57 ERA over 111 innings, but has not seen that level of success yet in the majors.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Starling Marte. Marte has been quietly putting together a solid season for the Mets. He’s on a three game hitting streak where he has at least two hits in each game (7-for-12, 2B, SB, 2 R). He already has a 0.7 bWAR matching his total from last season and a 115 OPS+, his best since 2022.
2. Pete Alonso and Camden Yards. Pete Alonso has played seven games in Baltimore hitting .296/.333/.852 with three doubles and four home runs. Now the Orioles have made a lot of changes to the outfield wall over the last couple of years. First they moved the left field walk, which was physically short (like a tall person could stand over it) back. Then they changed their mind and moved it forward a bit. That being said, Pete likes hitting in Baltimore as he currently chases the Mets franchise record for home runs (currently at 246, chasing Strawberry’s 252).
3. Get to the Orioles Bullpen. The Orioles had to use six relievers on Saturday and three pitchers on Sunday, including two pitchers on back-to-back days. Young has not gotten deep into a game this year and this is a great opportunity for the Mets to set the tone for the series and tire the Orioles out. The Orioles bullpen currently has a 4.50 ERA (25th in MLB).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for the sweep this afternoon against the Yankees!

The Mets had a massive 12-6 victory on Saturday extending their current winning streak to four games. For a second straight game the Mets hit three home runs and the bullpen was able to hold the Yankees offense off just enough to lock down the game. Now the Mets will try to do the improbable, get the win against the Yankees ace while pitching a bullpen game.

Chris Devenski gets the start for the Mets this afternoon. Devenski pitched Saturday facing two batters, allowing a hit and getting a groundout while throwing only five pitches. Over 5 1/3 innings this season he has a 3.38 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 0.938 WHIP and a 121 ERA+.

Devenski will be followed by Brandon Waddell who is slated to be the bulk guy this afternoon. Over 17 2/3 innings spread over seven games Waddell has a 2.55 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.132 WHIP and a 153 ERA+. If Waddell gets into a groove, he can go deep into this game. Earlier this season he pitched five innings of relief against the White Sox tossing 94 pitches. He’s gone over 60 pitches several times and his last two outings were each three innings.

The Mets bats will close their series against the Yankees against an old foe in Max Fried. Fried is off to a career start with the Yankees pitching 114 innings over 18 starts with a 2.13 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 0.939 WHIP and a 188 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start against the Blue Jays who tagged him for four runs over six innings, including two home runs. He was solid against the Mets in May, holding the Mets to only two runs over six innings from three hits and two walks while striking out eight. The Mets have the following career stats against Fried:

• Pete Alonso 10-39, 2B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 14 K
• Brett Baty 2-6, 3 K
• Travis Jankowski 0-0, BB
• Francisco Lindor 3-31, HR, 6 K
• Starling Marte 5-23, 3 2B, BB, 6 K
• Jeff McNeil 11-32, 3 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-29, 2 2B, 6 BB, 12 K
• Juan Soto 9-30, 2B, 5 BB, 11 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-7, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 1-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso had a massive day for the Mets on Saturday going 2-for-4 with three runs scored, five RBI’s and two home runs. Alonso was in a bit of a home run drought going 13 games without hitting one (.327 SLG over that stretch). He now has 20 on the season and 246 in his career as he continues his chase for the franchise record held by Strawberry (252). While we’ve been focusing on home runs for Pete Alonso, he already has 25 doubles this season which is the National League lead and only six less than he had in all of 2024. Before yesterday’s game where he hit two home runs, he already had a 2.9 bWAR, which is higher than his bWAR total for 2024 (2.6).
2. Brandon Nimmo. It doesn’t matter where Brandon Nimmo is hitting in the lineup right now. Saturday the Mets went with Marte in the lead off spot (which has worked now for two straight games) and Nimmo in the fifth spot. Nimmo responded with a 2-for-4 performance including a grand slam. It was his third home run in his last four games played and his second grand slam!
3. Managing the bullpen. Through injuries, a doubleheader last Wednesday and weird usage over the last couple of days, the Mets bullpen is tired. The Mets are going to relish the day off on Monday, which should also allow the Mets to push the pen a bit harder today. The Mets still needed four relievers on Saturday to get through the game, including Edwin Díaz who tossed 18 pitches. Díaz had to start warming up in the 8th because Stanek looked like he was about to collapse. There’s a good chance we’ll see Zach Pop who was signed before the start of Saturday’s game. Pop has allowed nine runs over 5 1/3 innings this season in the majors but had a 3.52 ERA over nine games (7 2/3 innings) in Tacoma.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to four games and win a second consecutive series this afternoon in Queens! The Mets beat the Yankees on Friday in an back-and-forth affair where the two New York teams put on their own fire work show hitting a combined seven home runs.

The pressure is on the Yankees right now who have aces pitching against the Mets for the rest of the weekend. Yesterday’s loss for the Yankees was their fifth in a row. The Blue Jays extended their winning streak and now have a two game lead in the AL East. Meanwhile the Phillies lost yesterday putting the Mets only a half a game back in the NL East.

Frankie Montas is looking to bounce back this afternoon for the Mets. In two starts this season he has allowed six runs from 10 hits and four walks over nine innings. All six of those runs happened in his last start in Pittsburgh, his start before that he shut Atlanta out over five innings. Montas, a former Yankee, pitched against the Yankees last season holding them to two runs over five innings in Yankee stadium, both runs scoring on home runs. The Yankees have the following career numbers against Montas:

• Cody Bellinger 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K
• Paul Goldschmidt 1-10, 2 BB, K
• Trent Grisham 1-3, 2B, BB, K
• Aaron Judge 2-10, 2B, 6 K
• DJ LeMahieu 0-4, 2 BB, K
• Ben Rice 1-3, HR, K
• Giancarlo Stanton 0-3, 2 K
• Anthony Volpe 0-2
• Austin Wells 1-2, HR

Carlos Rodón is having his best season with the Yankees and one of the better seasons of his career. Over 106 2/3 innings he has made 18 starts with a 2.95 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.003 WHIP and a 135 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only two runs over 11 innings. Before that though he allowed 11 runs over 16 innings spread across three starts, including five home runs. The Mets have the following career numbers against Rodón:

• Pete Alonso 1-8, 4 K
• Francisco Lindor 10-38, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 4 K
• Starling Marte 1-7, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 0-2
• Brandon Nimmo 2-6, BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 0-2, 4 BB
• Tyrone Taylor 2-4, HR
• Luis Torrens 1-3, HR, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 2-5, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. A battle of home runs. Rodón has allowed 13 home runs this season, putting him at about his career average for HR/9 innings. The Mets hit three home runs on Friday. The only damage Montas allowed in 2024 against the Yankees were two solo home runs, and the Yankees hit four home runs on Friday. This feels like another day for the ball to just fly out of the ballpark.
2. Juan Soto June is becoming Juan Soto July. Soto had a massive day at the plate on Friday going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and two runs scored. It was his second consecutive game with at least two hits and fourth consecutive game getting on base at least two times (.529 OBP over four games in July). Soto has a 3.7 bWAR and is still leading the league with 71 walks this season.
3. Let’s Get Brett Going! Baty had a fantastic day at the plate on Friday going 2-for-4 including his ninth home run of the season. It broke a four game hitless streak for Brett who had three doubles in two games before that. His next home run will set a career high for him a season. He’s only five RBI”s and five doubles away from career highs in those categories too.

Let’s Go Mets!