213 Miles From Shea

The Mets win streak was snapped last night but they can still take the series tonight as they face probably the toughest pitcher on the Rays staff, Chris Archer. Syndergaard had a rough night yesterday laboring through 4 innings, allowing 5 runs and the Mets just couldn’t recover. The offense kept it close early, but after scoring 4 runs in the first 2 innings, the Rays just shut down the bats.

Colon gets the nod for the Amazin’s today. He is 10-10 over 21 starts with a 4.72 ERA while tossing 127.1 innings. For the second time in three outings, he tossed 8.0 innings, allowing 1 ER continuing his season of being fantastic or terrible. The last time he faced the Rays was back in 2012 where he allowed 3 ER over 5.0 innings. The Rays have the following numbers against Colon:

• Sizemore 3-16
• Cabrera 1-14, 2B
• Longoria 4-11, 2 2B
• Jaso 0-8
• Nava 2-8
• Rivera 1-3, HR

The Mets bats will get a look at Chris Archer who is having a career year going 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA over 148.2 innings  over 23 starts. Since his blow up start right before the All-Star game where he allowed 9 ER over 6.0 innings, he has allowed 7 runs, 5 earned in 27.0 innings over 4 games, 1.67 ERA. This will be his first time facing the Mets, but a few Mets have seen him:

• Cespedes 2-6, 2B
• K Johnson 1-4, 2B
• Granderson 0-3

Lets Go Mets!

Last night was a fun one as the Mets stretched their win streak to 7. The Mets were down most of the game but were able to tie it off of a solo shot from Uribe in the 7th. Then the Rays hit another homer so the Mets were down again, but Murphy hit a solo shot in the 8th to tie it again. But the Rays hit another solo homer so the Mets needed some 9th inning magic, and they did it! There’s something about this team right now!

Noah Syndergaard gets the nod today. He’s 6-5 over 15 starts and 94.2 innings with a 2.66 ERA and 100 K’s. In his last 7 games he has tossed 50.0 innings with 52 K’s and a 1.44 ERA including back to back starts where he pitched 8.0 innings and recorded 9 K’s. Syndergaard has never faced the Rays before but he has faced Grady Sizemore in a major league game who is 2-3 with one strikeout.

The Mets bats will draw Nate Karns who is 6-5 over 21 games with a 3.37 ERA recording 120.1 innings in what is first true taste of the majors. Since allowing 7 ER over 6.0 innings right before the All-Star break, he has a 1.65 ERA over 16.1 innings and three starts coming into today’s game. He has never faced the Mets before but he has faced Yoenis Cespedes who is 1-3 with a homer against him.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to keep the winning streak going tonight as they head into St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Yesterday the Mets were off and the Nationals won, so they pulled within 1.5 games back of first place. In Mets-land though, David Wright continued to take BP and balls in the field and Terry went to go see Mets working through their rehab. It is important to remember that even though the Rays don’t have the most amazing record right now, they are very much still in a race for a playoff spot, although they are on the outskirts right now.

Jacob deGrom is 10-6 over 20 starts and 133.1 innings with a 2.09 ERA with 135 strikeouts. In his last 13 starts, he is 7-2 over 91.2 innings with 98 K’s and an 1.47 ERA. This will be Jacob’s first time facing the Rays but he has faced two players on their roster before. Sizemore is 2-9 against him while Asdrubal Cabrera is 0-2.

It will be a battle of the Jakes tonight as Jake Odorizzi takes the mound for the Rays. He was 6-6 over 17 starts and 103.2 innings with a 2.86 ERA in what is by far his best season in the majors. Since the All-Star break Jake has made 4 starts pitching 21.1 innings with 19 K’s and a 5.06 ERA. Only one start has been better than average in the stretch. Odorizzi has never faced the Mets before but a few Mets have faced him:

• Cespedes 3-9, HR
• K Johnson 0-4
• Granderson 0-0, BB

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets look to shut the door on the Marlins on their way out of Miami tonight by capping off the series with a win and a sweep. In the first game of the series, the Mets steamrolled the Marlins. Last night, the Mets had great pitching from Jon Niese and some late hitting with two outs to bring the final score to 5-1.

Harvey gets the not tonight in a ballpark where he has struggled throughout his career. On the year he is 9-7 over 20 starts and 133.0 innings with a 2.91 ERA. In his last four starts he has logged 28.2 innings with 25 K’s and a 2.20 ERA and he is coming off an outing where he held the Nationals to 1 ER over 7.2 innings. He has faced the Marlins twice this year, the first time he allowed 4 ER over 6.0 innings and in the second outing he allowed 4 ER over 8 innings. The Marlins have the following numbers against Harvey:

• Hechavarria 3-13
• Prado 3-12
• Yelich 2-9
• Gordon 2-7
• Dietrich 1-6
• Realmuto 1-6
• Bour 1-4, HR

The Mets bats will look to keep it going against David Phelps. Phelps is 4-7 over 21 games, 17 stats with a 3.93 ERA and 105.1 innings of work. In his last three starts he is 0-2 over 16.2 innings with a 4.32 ERA. He has faced the Mets three times this year, picking up no decisions each time with a 2.70 ERA over 16.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against David:

• Duda 1-8
• K Johnson 1-7, 3B
• Murphy 4-9, 2B
• Cespedes 0-7
• Granderson 1-7
• Lagares 0-7
• Tejada 1-7
• Flores 2-5, HR

Let’s Go Mets!

Sunday was fun. Monday was fun. Fun is fun!
The Mets rolled into Miami very, very early Monday morning in a virtual tie for first place with the Nationals and quickly erased any concerns that traveling all night would cause them to show up flat. Colon looked like a different pitcher compared to the one that pitched last Wednesday as he held the Marlins to one run over 8.0 innings. Conforto, now able to bat 8 in the lineup, kicked things off for the offense with a 3-run bomb and Cespedes had a breakout Mets game with three doubles and 4 RBIs as the Mets routed the Marlins 12-1.

Jon Niese looks to keep the good times going, he’s 5-9 over 121.1 innings over 20 starts with a 3.63 ERA this season. In his last start he held the Padres to 1 ER over 6.0 innings with 6 K’s, but we all know what eventually happened in that start. It was a good bounce back from his previous start where he allowed 6 ER over 3.0 innings. His one start against the Marlins this year was a forgettable one where he allowed 4 ER, 5 total, over 4.0 innings but it was also during that awful stretch he had in May. The Marlins have the following numbers against Niese:

• Prado 7-35, 4 2B, 3B
• McGehee 3-15, 2B
• Solano 6-16, 3 2B
• Hechavarria 4-14, 3B
• Yelich 5-12, 2B
• Gordon 4-7, 3B
• Dietrich 1-6, 3 K

The Mets bats will look to keep it going against Brad Hand who is 1-2 over 27 games, 3 starts over 45.2 innings with a 5.12 ERA. Hand has spent most of his time as a reliever this season and probably won’t see an extreme amount of pitches this outing. He had a string of starts between May 27 and June 8 where he allowed 8 ER over 11.2 innings, which is heavily influenced by a game where he allowed 6 ER over 0.2 innings (so outside of that he was great). He appeared against the Mets three games in a row in April totaling 3.2 innings allowing 2 earned runs, all of which was given up in a 0.2 inning outing his firs time against the Mets. The Mets have the following numbers against Hand:

• Duda 5-14, 2 2B, HR
• Tejada 0-7
• Lagares 3-9
• Murphy 1-9
• Granderson 2-8, 2B
• d’Arnaud 1-4

Lets Go Mets!

What a difference a few days make. Things were trending negatively at the end of last week with the Padres heading into this past weekend’s huge series with the Nationals. If the Nationals swept the Mets, it would have made the rest of the month difficult for the Amazins’ putting them 6 back. However the Mets brought it Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a walk-off homer from Flores, a huge day from Duda, and a 3-HR inning last night and now the Mets are in a virtual tie for first place. Citi-Field was rocking and things feel good right now. Tonight will be difficult for the Mets with a late travel night and playing in an environment that is practically the opposite Citi Field this weekend.

Bartolo Colon will look to forget about his last start tonight. On the season he is 9-10 over 20 starts and 119.2 innings with a 4.96 ERA. After tossing 8.0 innings against the Dodgers allowing only 1 ER, his last time out he allowed 6 ER over 10 hits and 2.1 innings vs the Padres. He is 2-1 over 3 starts and 20.2 innings against the Marlins this year with a 3.48 ERA. The Marlins have the following numbers against Colon:

• Suzuki 33-104, 3 2B, 3B, 3 HR
• Yelich 3-14, 2B
• Gordon 5-12
• Prado 3-10
• Hechavarria 3-9, 2 2B
• McGehee 3-7
• Solano 4-7

The Mets bats will get another look at Tom Koehler who is 8-7 over 20 games, 19 starts, and 117.0 innings with a 3.38 ERA. After tossing 7.0 scoreless innings against the Padres, in his last start he allowed 5 ER over 6.0 innings. He has not brought it against the Mets this year, but both starts were a while ago. Back in April the Mets tagged him for 7 ER over 3.1 innings and then in May the Mets had 5 ER over 3.1 innings. Here are the individual numbers against Tom:

• Duda 3-22, 2 2B
• Murphy 6-25, HR
• Tejada 7-20, 4 2B
• Lagares 6-23, 3B
• Granderson 2-13
• d’Arnaud 2-9
• Flores 2-8, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

This was a big weekend for the Mets. If they were swept by the Nationals, they would be 6 games out. If Nationals took the series, they would be 4 games out. If the Mets took the series, they would be 2 games out. If the Mets swept the Nationals, there would be a tie for first place. Last night the Mets took the series clinching at least a scenario where the Mets bring themselves closer to the Nationals in the division race, and putting themselves into a situation where they can end the night tied for first place. Last night deGrom worked hard, not having his best stuff but only allowing 2 ER. Lucas Duda put the team on his back hitting two solo homers and a RBI double as the Familia closed the back door for a 3-2 win. It was also Cespedes first game and even though the he didn’t get a hit, just being in the lineup forced some interesting manager decisions by the Nationals and really lengthened out the line up for the Mets.

Noah Syndergaard looks to keep it going tonight. He is 5-5 over 14 starts and 86.2 innings with a 2.70 ERA. In his last six starts he has recorded 42.0 innings with 43 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA including a 8.0 inning shutout in his last start, striking out 9 Padres. This stretch also included his first start against the Nationals where he held them to 1 ER over 5.0 innings of work, striking out 4, but walking 5 (a season high). The Nationals have the following numbers against Noah:

• Espinosa 0-3
• Harper 2-3
• Ramos 1-3
• Robinson 0-2
• Taylor 1-3
• Desmond 1-1
• Uggla 0-1
• Zimmermann 0-2

The Mets bats get a look at the familiar Jordan Zimmermann who is 8-6 over 21 starts and 128.1 innings with a 3.36 ERA this season. In his last 4 starts he has pitched 22.0 innings with a 4.91 ERA and 15 K’s. One of these starts was against the Mets where the Mets scored 3 ER against him over 7.0 innings and 6 strikeouts. The Mets have the following numbers against Jordan:

• Murphy 19-56, 5 2B, 3 HR
• Duda 7-35, 2 2B
• Lagares 7-26, 2 2B
• Tejada 7-23
• Granderson 4-20
• K Johnson 5-17
• Flores 4-16, 3B
• d’Arnaud 4-10, 2B
• Uribe 2-7

Let’s Go Mets!

In game two of the crucial weekend series, the Mets will be sending out Jacob deGrom, who is coming off an amazing start. On the season he is 10-6 with a 2.05 ERA over 19 starts and 127.1 innings with 128 strikeouts. In his last 12 starts he has tossed 85.2 innings with a 1.37 ERA and 91 strikeouts. As mentioned earlier, his last start was fantastic tossing 7.2 scoreless innings against the league leading ERA pitcher, Greinke. (Of course he didn’t pick up the win, because its the Mets). Anyway, he has faced the Nationals three times this year. First time he allowed 2 ER over 6.0 innings, then he allowed 5 ER over 5.1 innings and most recently he allowed 2 ER over 6.0 innings. The Nationals have the following numbers against Jacob:

• Harper 3-10, 2B
• Desmond 3-10, HR
• Escobar 3-7, 2B
• Ramos 3-8, 2B, HR
• Taylor 0-6
• Werth 1-6
• Zimmerman 2-5, HR

The Mets bats will get a crack at Joe Ross who will be making his sixth start of the season. He is 2-3 with a 3.03 ERA over his first 32.2 innings in the bigs while recording 34 strikeouts. In the month of July he has tossed 12.1 innings allowing 6 runs, 5 earned including 6.1 innings against the Mets allowing 3 runs, 2 earned. The Mets have the following numbers against Joe:

• Duda 0-2
• Flores 2-3
• Granderson 1-3
• Murphy 0-3
• Captain Kirk 0-3
• Plawecki 0-3
• Tejada 0-3
• Lagares 1-2

Lets Go Mets!

This is the start of a crucial series for the Mets. The first place Nationals come into town with a three game lead over the Mets. The Mets have not had an easy last couple of days, and they really need these three days to go well. Luckily for the Mets, they have their young studs going on the mound each day.

Today we start off with Matt Harvey who is 9-7 over 19 starts with a 3.16 ERA over 125.1 innings this year. After a rough start after the All-Star Break, Harvey bounced back his last time out allowing only 2 ER over 7.0 innings. Harvey is 2-1 in as many starts against the Nationals with a 1.80 ERA over 20.0 innings while striking out 15 batters. The Nationals have the following numbers against Matt:

• Desmond 5-17, 2B, HR
• Harper 0-14
• Werth 3-13
• Zimmerman 4-14, 2B, HR
• Rendon 0-6

The Mets bats will try to crack Gio Gonzalez who is 8-4 over 18 starts and 105.2 innings with a 3.83 ERA. He is on a tear as of late going 4-0 over his last 5 starts and 31.0 innings with a 1.45 ERA. He is 2-0 in as many starts against the Mets this year with a 1.38 ERA over 13.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Gio:

• Granderson 3-27, 2B, HR
• Murphy 8-23, 2B, 3B
• Tejada 6-20
• Lagares 10-22, 3 2B, 3B, HR
• Duda 3-17, 2B
• Uribe 3-13, HR
• Flores 1-13
• d’Arnaud 2-11, 2 2B

Lets Go Mets!

Well the last 15 hours or so have been a whirlwind for the Mets. Today is going to test out the professionals on the team to be play through all of the distractions. Basically in the last 15 hours, the news broke out that the Mets were working hard to acquire a big bat. Then Colon stunk it up on the mound. Then news broke that the Mets acquired Gomez for Wheeler/Flores. Then Duda hit his second homer of the night. Then we were all confused why Flores was still in the game. Then Flores showed us that he’s human and this game involves humans. Then Flores was finally taken out of the game. Then Duda hit his third homer of the game. Then the Mets lost. Then the deal fell through due to medicals.

So Jon Niese will try to make the Mets and Mets fans forget the last 15 hours. Niese is 5-9 over 19 games and 115.1 innings with a 3.75 ERA. Niese was one a great roll since the start of June except for his lasts tart against the Giants where he allowed 6 ER over 3.0 innings. Its been a while since Niese faced the Padres, the last time was back in 2013 where he was 2-0 over as many starts allowing only 3 ER over 12.2 innings striking out 13 K’s. The Padres have the following numbers against Niese:

• J Upton 9-23, 2B
• Barmes 6-16, 2B, HR
• Kemp 4-16
• M Upton 2-12
• Gyorko 4-6, 2 2B

The Mets bats will get a look at Andrew Cashner who is 4-10 over 19 starts and 116.2 innings with a 3.93 ERA. His last start was his second in his last three where he allowed 1 run over at least 6.0 innings. His start against the Mets earlier this season was good for the Mets as he allowed 11 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned over 4.2 innings (although he struck out 12 batters). The Mets have the following numbers against Andrew:

• Uribe 8-23, 2 2B
• Murphy 3-7, HR
• Tejada 4-7, 2B
• Duda 2-5, 2 2B
• Granderson 0-6
• Johnson 0-6
• Flores 1-3

Lets Go Mets!