213 Miles From Shea

What a night for the New York Mets! The offense roared to life on Tuesday, beating the Nationals 10-1. Pete Alonso had five RBI’s. Luisangel Acuña had a breakout game going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. Even better for the Mets, the Braves, Diamondbacks and Padres all lost. The Mets are now tied with the Diamondbacks for the second wild card spot, but because they have the tie breaker, they are in second. They are only 2.5 games out of the top spot. The Braves are two games out of any spot. Let’s keep the sweep tonight and keep pushing!

Jose Quintana has pitched 159 innings this season with a 3.91 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 1.270 WHIP and a 100 ERA+. In his last four starts he has allowed only two runs, one earned, over 25 innings scattering 18 hits and seven walks (0.36 ERA, 2.73 FIP). Quintana had two, excellent, back-to-back starts against the Nationals in July holding them scoreless over 14 innings. If you start Quintana’s season on that first Nationals start, he has a 3.18 ERA and a 4.59 FIP. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• CJ Abrams 0-8, K
• Joey Gallo 2-7, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Luis Garcia Jr. 2-4, 2B, K
• Keibert Ruiz 1-8
• Ildemaro Vargas 1-8, 3 K
• James Wood 1-5, BB
• Juan Yepez 0-4, BB, K
• Jacob Young 1-7, 2B, BB, 3 K

The Mets face another rookie starting pitcher this evening. Over 80 1/3 innings DJ Herz has a 3.70 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 1.207 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. Herz is coming off back-to-back strong starts allowing one run over 10 innings. He’s really turned a corner in his last 10 starts, pitching with a 2.76 ERA, 3.58 FIP with only a few bad games. What he doesn’t do though is go deep into games – and the Nationals needed to go into the bullpen early Tuesday night.

Herz made his major league debut against the Mets at the start of June and allowed four runs from seven hits over four innings. His next start against the Mets was much better, holding them to one run from five hits while striking out 10 batters (his only double digit strikeout game this year). The Mets have the following career numbers against Herz:

• Pete Alonso 2-6, 2 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, K
• Harrison Bader 1-4, HR, 2 K
• José Iglesias 1-4, 2B, K
• Francisco Lindor 3-6, 2B, HR
• Starling Marte 0-1, BB
• J.D. Martinez 0-2, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-3, BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, K
• Luis Torrens 1-2, 2B, K
• Mark Vientos 1-5, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. José Iglesias again. Iglesias has been on a tear recently. He has four multi-hit games in his last five (10-for-22). Tuesday night he went 3-for-4 and because the offense was clicking behind him he actually scored twice. During his 11 game hitting streak he has gone 17-for-40 hitting .425/.465/.475. He only has two extra-base hits, but it doesn’t matter if the players behind him are hitting.
2. Is the Polar Bear coming out of hibernation? Since September 3rd Pete Alonso has gone 14-for45 with two doubles, three homers slashing .311/.407/.556 raising his OPS from .791 to .805. More importantly to the Mets, he has 10 of 86 RBI’s this season during that stretch, including five RBI’s last night. If there ever was a time to get hot, it’s right now!
3. Luisangel Acuña. How does Acuña follow up his amazing Citi Field debut? Acuña went 2-for-4 during his major league debut over the weekend and then went hitless the next game. Tuesday night he was a sensation, getting his first extra-base hit and RBI right after making an error that led to a run. Later he put an exclamation point on the night with a solo shot. Every time he got on base (three times) he came around to score. This is the spark the Mets need!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets came back and won a critical game against the Nationals Monday night! The Mets got an amazing start from Sean Manaea but the bats disappeared again. After scratching out a run in the 8th inning, the Mets sent the game to extra’s where Marte had the walk-off hit. Meanwhile the Dodgers did the Mets a favor and beat the Braves again. The Diamondbacks lost. So the Mets enter play today as the sole holders of the third wild card spot and are only one game out of the second.

Tylor Megill looks to lead the Mets again! Over the course of the entire season Megill has a 4.48 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.316 WHIP and an 87 ERA+ over 62 1/3 innings. He is coming off of a fantastic start against the Blue Jays where he held them to one hit over six innings while striking out six batters. Since rejoining the Mets rotation, Megill has allowed four runs from 11 hits and four walks over 15 1/3 innings while striking out 18 batters (2.35 ERA, 1.80 FIP). The Nationals got the best of Megill back in June, scoring five runs, four earned, over five innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 0-2
• Joey Gallo 2-5, 2 HR, 3 K
• Luis Garcia Jr. 1-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Drew Millas 0-2
• Keibert Ruiz 3-8, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Ildemaro Vargas 1-4

Mitchell Parker is wrapping up his rookie season where he started 27 games pitching 142 1/3 innings with a 4.24 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.272 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. He’s coming off of a good start allowing two unearned runs over 6 1/3 innings against the Marlins. In his five starts before that Parker struggled allowing 20 runs, 19 earned, over 23 1/3 innings (7.33 ERA, 3.56 FIP). The Mets had a strong game against Parker back at the start of July scoring five runs off of five hits, including three homers over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Parker:

• Pete Alonso 0-3, K
• José Iglesias 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, HR, K
• J.D. Martinez 1-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-2, HR
• Luis Torrens 0-2
• Mark Vientos 1-3, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. José Iglesias. Iglesias has a ten game hitting streak now after last night’s 2-for-4 performance. Over the stretch he has gone 14-for-36 with two doubles slashing .389/.436/.444. There’s no power there right now, but he’s getting on base. While Lindor is healing, it seems that Iglesias is going to get the leadoff spot. Iglesias has saved this team before, and he continues to come up big when the Mets need him most during this stretch run.
2. Can J.D. Martinez break out of his slump? Over his five games J.D. has gone 0-for-18 at the plate with two walks and four strikeouts. Two of those four strikeouts came in Monday night’s game. There are 12 games left in the season – can Martinez turn it back on for the final couple of weeks?
3. Inevitable. The Mets are at their best when they feel inevitable. The 2022 Mets felt inevitable – never out of it. The Grimace Mets were inevitable – they were going to win the game. The Mets during the hot streak recently felt like they always had a chance. Losing two games in a row in Philly after having the lead took a bite out of that feeling of inevitability – especially when paired with the Lindor injury. Monday night was a good step forward in getting that swagger back. Let’s look for that same feeling tonight with the Mets bats getting to work early.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to shake off a tough weekend in Philadelphia with a three game set against the Nationals. The Mets dropped back-to-back games where they had the lead. Francisco Lindor started the game on Sunday for the Mets but left after an inning due to a flare up in his back. Things felt pretty dark for the Mets play-off chances most of the day until the 9th inning in Atlanta where the Dodgers mounted a massive comeback. The Mets and Braves are still tied for the last spot, all the Mets need to do is win.

Sean Manaea has pitched 164 innings this season with a 3.35 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.098 WHIP and a 117 ERA+. Since July 30th he has a 2.64 ERA, 3.04 FIP over 58 innings of work while striking out 70 batters. This includes a bounce back start for Manaea in his last start where he allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings. In his only start against the Nationals this season he allowed two runs, one earned over seven innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 3-10, 3 K
• Joey Gallo 4-20, 2 HR, BB, 9 K
• Luis Garcia Jr. 2-5, 2 K
• Keibert Ruiz 3-6
• Ildermaro Vargas 1-9, 3B, K
• James Wood 0-3
• Jacob Young 1-2, 2B, BB

Jake Irvin is wrapping up his second major league season, and it’s been a solid one for the 27 year-old. Over 172 innings eh has a 4.19 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.186 WHIP and a 96 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start against the Braves where he held them to one run from two hits over six innings. In his two starts before that he allowed 13 runs over 9 2/3 innings. Things have been rougher for Irvin since the start of August generally – he’s allowed nine homers over 43 2/3 innings with a 6.39 ERA, 5.33 FIP.

Irvin had two very different starts against the Mets at the start of July. In his first start, he held the Mets scoreless over eight innings. In his second start five days later, he allowed six runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-8, 3 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-8, 4 K
• Harrison Bader 3-3
• Francisco Lindor 5-10, 2B, HR, 2 K
• Starling Marte 1-2, K
• J.D. Martinez 2-6, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-10, HR
• Tyrone Taylor 0-3, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-6, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. José Iglesias. The Mets need hitters to step up right now and Iglesias has been doing that over the last week. He has an nine game hitting streak right now where he has gone 12-for-32 with two doubles, six runs scored. He’s slashing .393/.452/.464 over the first eight games of the streak. This current streak has pushed his OPS, which dipped to .795 back above .800.
2. Mark Vientos. Coming into the weekend in Philadelphia, Vientos was mired in a slump, going 0-for-16 over five games with eight strikeouts. He collected three hits over the first two games of the series but had a tough day on Sunday, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. The Mets need Vientos this week, especially while Lindor is hurt.
3. Prospects starting their division rivalry together. The last time the Mets played the Nationals, the Nationals called up their top prospect James Wood. Luisangel Acuña made his major league debut a couple of days ago. Both players will become very familiar with the fan bases of their opponents over the next several years.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to shake off a tough loss on Saturday and win the rubber game this afternoon in Philadelphia. The Mets had the lead heading into the 6th inning on Saturday but the pitching staff, who has been great for much of the Mets stretch run, allowed two-runs in back-to-back innings. A Francisco Lindor-less Mets wasn’t able to make a comeback and the Mets dropped the game. So entering play today the Padres have a 2.5 lead in the top wild card spot, the Diamondbacks have a 1.0 game lead. The Braves and Mets are tied for the last spot.

David Peterson is getting close to a career in innings pitched in a season – a complete game today would do it! Over 102 2/3 innings this season, Peterson has a 2.98 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 1.354 WHIP and a 131 ERA+. He’s coming off of one of his worst starts this season where he allowed five runs, four earned, over 4 1/3 innings. In his seven starts before that he had a 1.81 ERA, 2.99 FIP over 44 2/3 innings while striking out 38 batters. The Phillies have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Nick Castellanos 3-5, K
• Bryce Harper 7-15, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Brandon Marsh 1-1, HR
• J.T. Realmuto 3-12, 2B, 3 BB, 4 K
• Johan Rojas 0-2, 2 K
• Kyle Schwarber 1-9, 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
• Bryson Stott 0-2, K
• Trea Turner 2-11, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K

Cristopher Sánchez looks to continue his fantastic season for the Phillies. Over 165 innings and 28 career starts (career highs) he has a 3.33 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.242 WHIP and a 122 ERA+. September has been good to Sánchez, where he has allowed only two runs scattering 10 hits over 13 innings. His four starts before that were much more human, allowing 15 runs over 25 1/3 innings with a 4.62 ERA, 3.81 FIP. Sánchez faced the Mets back in May and allowed three runs from seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Sánchez:

• Pete Alonso 3-12, 2B, HR, 4 K
• Eddy Alvarez 0-1
• Francisco Alvarez 0-4, 2 K
• Harrison Bader 1-2, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 2-8, 2 BB
• Starling Marte 3-9, 2B, HR, K
• J.D. Martinez 2-3, 2 2B, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-8, BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Mark Vientos 0-3, 2 K
• Jesse Winker 0-6, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Only four runs, but a lot of hits. The Mets had 14 hits on Friday night. They followed that up with nine hits on Saturday. While that didn’t translate into a lot of runs scored, for an offense that was cold for a week, nine hits is a positive sign. Iglesias was the only hitter who recorded multiple hits in both games!
2. Francisco Lindor: Lindor did not play in Saturday’s game, but he was available off of the bench. He said after the game that he felt much better and he was hoping that would be enough to get him in games for the rest of the season. He’s the leader on the Mets and the team needs him.
3. There are still four more left. Personally, I am not a fan of the schedule quirk that felt common this year where a two teams would play each other, have a series off, and then play each other again. That’s happening right now with the Mets and Phillies. While today is the rubber game for the series, the Mets still have four more games against the Phillies next weekend. This also means any storylines that come out of today’s game will be immediately revisited in just a few days.

Let’s Go Mets!

On Wednesday the Mets bats finally woke up from their slumber in the ninth inning and exploded for six runs. That continued Friday night in Philadelphia. After being shutdown for the first few innings of the game the Mets bats roared to life hitting three, three-run homers on their way to beating the Phillies 11-3. Meanwhile the Diamondbacks lost, so the Mets are now only 1.5 games behind the Padres for the first wild card spot, one game behind the diamondbacks for the second spot, and have a one game lead over the Braves for the last spot (entering play today).

Luis Severino has a 3.74 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.247 WHIP and a 104 ERA+ over 166 innings this season. In his last five starts he has a 1.95 ERA (2.83 FIP) over 32 1/3 innings where has struck out 35 batters. He’s only allowed two home runs in that stretch, both in his worst start where he allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings in Arizona. This will be a tougher challenge today with Phillies’ strength and the CBP field dimensions. The Phillies have the following career numbers against him:

• Nick Castellanos 6-15, BB, 3 K
• Kody Clemens 0-2
• Kyle Schwarber 2-4, 2 2B, K

The Mets will face Kolby Allard who is trying to save the back of the Phillies rotation. Old friend Taijuan Walker has struggled for the Phillies when healthy this season, his original replacement Spencer Turnball got hurt and Seth Johnson had a poor outing with the team last week. So Kolby Allard gets the call for the second time this season.

Kolby Allard pitched in four games between the end of July and start of August totaling 18 innings with a 3.50 ERA, 5.67 FIP, 1.333 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Across the minors this season he has a 5.66 ERA over 90 2/3 innings. A few Mets have seen Allard across his career:

• Harrison Bader 0-1
• José Iglesias 1-4
• Starling Marte 1-3
• J.D. Martinez 1-5, K
• DJ Stewart 0-1
• Luis Torrens 2-8, 2B, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor left Friday’s game in the in the seventh inning with lower back soreness. After the game, Carlos Mendoza said that if the game was closer, Lindor would still be playing. He’s considered day-to-day right now. Lindor has been the Mets hitter all season and is in the running for the National League MVP. If he plays, how much plays, how he plays, how he sits on the bench – all of that will be overly scrutinized today.
2. Luisangel Acuña. One of the Mets top prospects is expected to join the active roster today! Acuña came to the Mets as part of the Max Scherzer trade during the 2023 MLB trade deadline. While his offense has left a bit to be desired this season (69 wRC+), he provides the Mets middle infield depth. It was wildly wondered after the Jeff McNeil injury if Acuña would get the call. Acuña is also a machine at stealing bases. Across two teams in 2023 he stole 57 bases. In Syracuse he stole 40. If he can get three stolen bases this year in the majors, he’ll have 100 total stolen bases across MiLB-MLB play!
3. Hit Parade. After struggling for a week the Mets offense recorded 14 hits on Friday night. Lindor, Alonso, Iglesias, Francisco Alvarez and Bader each had two-hits in the game. Nimmo only had one hit, but it was a massive three-run bomb. Hopefully this is what the offense needs as a spark to keep the momentum going through this final stretch of the season!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have finally reached their final stretch run that features two series against the Phillies, the Braves, the Brewers and … the Nationals. The Mets have one of the hardest if not the hardest schedules to end out the season. It’s just one game at a time now for the Mets who still control their own destiny.

The Mets offense was struggling in Toronto, leading to a storybook ninth inning on Wednesday. After several days in a row of struggling to rack up hits, the Mets didn’t have a hit at all in the first eight innings on Wednesday’s game. Then the offense just exploded in the ninth on Wednesday with Francisco Lindor tying the game on a solo shot and the Mets scoring five runs after. Let’s hope the momentum continues tonight.

Jose Quintana has tossed 152 innings over 28 starts with a 4.09 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 1.309 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. He’s coming off a great start against the Reds where he held the Reds to no runs from five hits over 6 2/3 wins on his way to his 100th career win. In Quintana’s last three games he has allowed only two runs, one earned, over 18 innings (0.50 ERA, 3.01 FIP). The Phillies have faced Quintana twice so far this season scoring five runs on 10 hits over nine innings. The Phillies have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• Nick Castellanos 13-50, 3B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 9 K
• Aramis Garcia 0-2, K
• Bryce Harper 3-18, HR, BB, 7 K
• Brandon Marsh 0-2, K
• J.T. Realmuto 4-16, HR, 3 BB
• Johan Rojas 4-7, 2 K
• Kyle Schwarber 6-21, 2B, HR, 7 K
• Bryson Stott 0-1, BB
• Garrett Stubbs 0-2
• Trea Turner 6-21, 2B, 3 K
• Weston Wilson 0-4, 2K

The Mets bats will get a look at an old foe in Aaron Nola this evening. Over 29 games, 177 innings, Nola has a 3.41 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.181 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. Nola is coming off of a rough start against the Marlins where he allowed five runs, four earned over 4 2/3 innings. In his four starts before that he allowed only four runs over 25 innings (1.44 ERA, 3.13 FIP). His one start against the Mets this season was his best start of the season where he tossed a complete game shutout at Citi Field. The Mets have the following career numbers against Nola:

• Pete Alonso 16-49, 3 2B, 5 HR, 3 BB, 13 K
• Harrison Bader 0-2, 2 K
• José Iglesias 3-7, 2B
• Francisco Lindor 6-30, 2 2B, 6 K
• Starling Marte 11-31, 2B, HR, 9 K
• J.D. Martinez 3-19, 2 BB, 10 K
• Brandon Nimmo 12-50, 3B, HR, 11 BB, 19 K
• DJ Stewart 0-1, K
• Tyrone Taylor 3-8, 2 2B, BB
• Luis Torrens 2-3
• Jesse Winker 4-22, HR, 2 BB, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso vs Aaron Nola. Pete and Nola have been with their respective teams for a long time. It’s actually unusual that the Mets have two players tonight on the roster who have around 50 AB’s against the starting pitcher on a divisional rival. There’s a chance Nola lines up with Alonso again at the end of the season. There’s a chance that Pete Alonso signs a long term contract with the Mets during the off-season. There’s also a chance that this is the last Alonso / Nola matchup with Alonso as a Met. Alonso has a career 1.059 OPS against Nola – it would be awesome if he could take Nola deep one more time.
2. National League MVP Race. Francisco Lindor looked like an MVP in the ninth inning on Wednesday, hitting a solo home run that may have saved the Mets season. He’s sitting at 7.3 fWAR after a bit of a slump. Meanwhile Shohei has been turning it on recently and is now up to 7.0 WAR. Stat collecting aside, the Mets need Lindor to be Lindor this season to survive the series in Philly.
3. A lot has changed since the teams last met. The Mets and Phillies first faced each other in May, when the Mets were in the midst of their downward spiral. The Phillies swept that series. The Phillies and Mets then Met in a two-game series in London which the teams split, just days before Grimace tossed the first pitch. The Mets have lived 1000 lives since the teams last Met.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets bats are in a slump – for a third consecutive game the bats struggled to get anything positive going on Tuesday night. Every game is important and the Mets will need to put the two losses in their last three games behind them as they try to take the series from the Blue Jays this afternoon. Tuesday was the worst case scenario for the Mets were everyone else in the wild card race, including the Cubs, won. The Mets enter play today tied for the last wild card spot again with the Braves and are now 2.5 games behind the Padres.

Sean Manaea has pitched 157 1/3 innings over 28 starts with a 3.43 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.100 WHIP and a 114 ERA+. He’s coming off of a start where he allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings while striking out nine batters. In his last eight starts he has posted a 2.81 ERA, 3.10 FIP – striking out 62 batters over 51 1/3 innings. Seven of those eight starts have gone for at least 6 2/3 innings. The Blue Jays have the following career numbers against Manaea:

• Ernie Clement 0-1
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2-3, K
• Alejandro Kirk 0-3, K
• George Springer 13-39, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 12 K
• Daulton Varsho 0-6, BB, K

The Mets draw Bowden Francis for the series finale. Over 24 games this year Francis has pitched 84 2/3 innings with a 3.72 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 0.992 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. He’s been better as a starter, making 10 starts this year totaling 58 innings with a 3.41 ERA, 0.793 WHIP. His weakness has been homers, giving up 11 as a starter. No member of the Mets have faced Francis as a major leaguer.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Mets are slumping. Harrison Bader on Sunday was the last Met to record more than one hit in a game. As a team the Mets had four hits on Sunday, three on Monday and six on Tuesday. Eventually the team breaks through this and comes back in a big way. We’ve seen this at several points through the season already. It would be nice for that to happen today before the off-day on Thursday.
2. Containing the back of the Blue Jays Lineup. On Tuesday night the five through nine hitters on the Blue Jays combined to go 8-for-17 with two doubles and two triples. If you let the back of the lineup beat you, you’re going to have a bad night.
3. One last regular season interleague game. After this afternoon the Mets will only play National League teams for the rest of the season. Post universal-DH and post schedule alignment (everyone playing everyone), American League games have lost a lot of their mystique an oddity. Being in a pennant race, and playing teams not chasing the same pennant has been weird in September. Let’s hope the Mets end on a high note!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to take the series from the Blue Jays tonight in Toronto! Last night was a pitching duel thanks to the best performance of the season from Tylor Megill. Blackburn was scratched from the start early in the afternoon and Megill shined just like how we thought he would after spring training this year. The Braves also lost so now the Mets are sole holders of the last wild card spot and only 1.5 games out of the top spot.

David Peterson looks to continue to his run tonight with his 18th start of the season. Over 98 1/3 innings he has a 2.75 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.312 WHIP and a 143 ERA+. Since July 11th Peterson has made 10 starts with a 2.23 ERA (3.54 FIP). In his last six starts he has a 1.63 ERA (3.10 FIP). He reached a season high 11 strikeouts in his last start against the Red Sox. The Blue Jays have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Vladmir Guerrero Jr. 0-2
• Daulton Varsho 1-4, 2 K

The Mets bats will face an old friend tonight in Chris Bassitt. Bassitt has made 28 starts this season, pitching 157 innings with a 4.30 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.427 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. Over his last five starts he has pitched 27 innings with a 6.00 ERA (4.55 FIP). There was one strong start against the Red Sox mixed in there back on August 28th where Bassitt allowed only one run over 6 2/3 innings while striking out 9. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-3
• Francisco Alvarez 1-3
• Harrison Bader 3-8, K
• José Iglesias 1-15, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-12, HR, 3 K
• Starling Marte 1-8, BB, 2 K
• J.D. Martinez 1-12, 2 BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
• DJ Stewart 1-3, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Luis Torrens 2-4, BB, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-3, 2 K
• Jesse Winker 1-2, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Hits? For a second straight game the Mets bats struggled to get hits. They had four hits on Sunday with no one in the Mets top five getting any hits. Monday night the Mets offense had only three hits. Chris Bassitt is leading the league in hits allowed this season at 165. Can the Mets use this to propel out of their slump?
2. Making the most of a few situations. The Mets really struggled Monday night to get runners on, so they went aggressive on the base paths. Nimmo and Lindor both had stolen bases. The Mets were able to get two runs in the 8th when the Blue Jays tied the game. If the Mets still struggle to get runners on tonight, look for them to be aggressive.
3. David Peterson. Peterson has been a savior for the Mets for the last six weeks and will probably cross over 100 innings of work tonight for a third consecutive season. He has a legitimate chance to pass his career high in innings and starts before the season is done.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Reds snapped the Mets winning streak yesterday and the Braves won. The Padres still lost though and now the Padres, Diamondbacks, Braves and Mets are separated by only two games. The Mets and Braves are tied for the last wild card spot – this September is just getting more and more chaotic!

Paul Blackburn returns to the rotation after landing on the injured list for a short stint. During his last start he took a comebacker on his pitching hand. He escaped major injury, but still was knocked out of the rotation for about two weeks. As a member of the Mets eh has allowed 16 runs over 24 1/3 innings (5.18 ERA) with a 4.70 FIP, 1.562 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. Blackburn had a successful rehab start in Syracuse to ramp of for today, holding his opponent to one run over 6 2/3 innings. The Blue Jays have the following stats against him:

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 0-4, K
• Alejandro Kirk 0-2
• George Springer 2-6

The Mets bats will face an old friend tonight in Chris Bassitt. Bassitt has made 28 starts this season, pitching 157 innings with a 4.30 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.427 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. Over his last five starts he has pitched 27 innings with a 6.00 ERA (4.55 FIP). There was one strong start against the Red Sox mixed in there back on August 28th where Bassitt allowed only one run over 6 2/3 innings while striking out 9. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-3
• Francisco Alvarez 1-3
• Harrison Bader 3-8, K
• José Iglesias 1-15, 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-12, HR, 3 K
• Starling Marte 1-8, BB, 2 K
• J.D. Martinez 1-12, 2 BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
• DJ Stewart 1-3, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Luis Torrens 2-4, BB, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-3, 2 K
• Jesse Winker 1-2, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. In search of hits. The top five batters in Sunday’s game combined to go 0-for-16 with three walks. An unusual day for the Mets that usually have one of their big bats go off in a game. When the top five batters don’t record a hit, it’s not surprising that the team only had a total of four hits. Hopefully this was just a blip and everyone comes roaring back tonight. Tonight’s starter for the Blue Jays, Chris Bassitt, is currently leading the league in hits allowed at 165.
2. Harrison Bader. From August 25th to September 6th Harrison Bader went 1-for-21 at the plate with a home run and one walk. In his last two games he has gone 3-for-6 with a a home run. Is this a sign that Bader is starting to break out of his slump?
3. Spencer Horwitz. The Blue Jays infielder is having a breakout year slashing .274/.360/.467 over 80 games in his second major league season with a 134 OPS+. Three of his 12 home runs this season have come in the last two days where he has gone 6-for-7 at the plate. He was hot against the Braves, hopefully it was because he wants the Mets to win and will cool off this week.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for their 10th win a row and a third consecutive series sweep this afternoon at Citi Field. On Saturday Jose Quintana pitched brilliantly earning his 100th career win while all of the teams the Mets are competing with lost. The Mets enter play today as the sole holders of the third wild card, 0.5 games back of the second wild card and 2.0 games back of the top spot.

Luis Severino has pitched 159 1/3 innings over 27 games this season with a 3.84 ERA, 4.25 FIP, 1.255 WHIP and a 102 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start against the Red Sox where he held them to one run over seven innings. In his last four starts has allowed six runs over 25 2/3 innings (2.10 ERA, 3.14 FIP) and four of those six runs came in one start. He’s also struck out 27 batters over that stretch. Severino faced the Reds at the start of the season, holding the Reds to two runs, one earned over five innings. The Reds have the following career numbers against Severino:

• Will Benson 1-5, 2 K
• Elly De La Cruz 0-2, K
• Santiago Espinal 1-6, 2B, 3 K
• Jake Fraley 0-4, K
• Jonathan India 0-4, 3 BB, K
• Luke Maile 3-10, BB, 2 K
• Amed Rosario 2-14, HR, 5 K
• Spencer Steer 2-4, 2B
• Tyler Stephenson 0-1, 2 BB, K

The Mets bats will close out the series against the Reds with the rookie Julian Aguiar. Aguiar has made four starts over his major league career totaling 16 2/3 innings with a 6.48 ERA, 7.26 FIP, 1.500 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. His stats right now are skewed by a start against the Athletics where they scored six times off 10 hits over four innings. He allowed exactly two runs each in his other three starts that ranged from 2 2/3 innings to six innings. No one on the Mets have faced Aguiar in a major league game.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mets bullpen is probably without Díaz today. Edwin Díaz has been on a roll for the Mets during their current win streak and has pitched in three of the last four Mets games, tossing 30 pitches in back-to-back games. Most likely he will not be available today for the Mets, but the rest of the bullpen is pretty rested. Garrett has thrown the most pitches in the last three calendar days at only 16 pitches. Hopefully the Mets bats give the Mets enough breathing room where they don’t even need to think about a high leverage situation.
2. José Iglesias becomes even more important. Before Saturday’s game the Mets announced that Jeff McNeil would be out for the rest of the season due to a fractured wrist. Iglesias has gone 3-for-6 in his last two games with a double, run scored and an RBI.
3. The Mets hit a lot of doubles. The Mets had two doubles on Saturday (Winker, Martinez). As a team they have 259 doubles in 2024, which ties them with the Dodgers for third in the majors, and first in the National League. When combined with the Mets homer numbers (182, fourth in the majors, second in the national league), the Mets offense features quite a bit of pop.

Let’s Go Mets!