213 Miles From Shea

The Mets look to avoid being swept this afternoon at Citi Field as they take on the Angels for the nationally televised early game on Peacock. Last night the Angels were able to knock Carlos Carrasco out of the game early and the Mets bats couldn’t get anything consistent going with the bats. The only positive for the Mets was the bullpen tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings after Carrasco left.

David Peterson looks to give the bullpen some time off today as he makes his 16th start of the season. Over 77 1/3 innings he has a 5.59 ERA, 4.94 FIP, 1.668 WHIP and a 75 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed seven runs from 14 hits and 10 walks over only 12 innings of work. His strikeout numbers are up (14 in that stretch) but he’s throwing way too many pitches per inning. His last outing he tossed 4 2/3 which was the deepest he’s gone since returning to the rotation. The Angels have the following career numbers against him:

• Andrew Velazquez 0-4, 2 K
• Randal Grichuk 2-5
• Hunter Renfroe 0-1, 2 BB
• Eduardo Escobar 0-2
• Mike Moustakas 0-2, 2 K
• Brandon Drury 2-2
• Shohei Ohtani 1-1

The Mets bats will try to break out of their funk against Griffin Canning. Canning has pitched 91 2/3 innings over 18 games with a 4.61 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.255 WHIP and a 98 ERA+. Over his last four starts he has a 4.58 ERA, 2.93 FIP in 17 2/3 innings, but this is being inflated by one start where he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Only two Mets have seen him before in a major league game. Daniel Vogelbach is 0-for-2 against him with two strikeouts and Omar Narváez is 2-for-2.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Daniel Vogelbach. Since August 12th, Vogelbach has been hitting more like a DH. He’s gone 10-for-37 at the plate with five of those hits being home runs. He’s slashing .278/.422/.694 over this stretch. From the start of the season to August 11th Vogelbach hit .214/.313/.348. Obviously a much larger sample size. There’s still about a month left in the season and it will be interesting to see what Vogelbach’s splits are, using this August 11th/12th cut-off.
2. Brandon Nimmo. When the Mets where winning a whole bunch of games, Brandon Nimmo was on a hot streak. He’s now 0-for-17 over his last four games, including having a two strikeout game yesterday. The Mets offense just doesn’t function without Brandon Nimmo. Let’s hope he starts a new hot streak today.
3. The Bullpen. The bullpen put a lot of work in yesterday with only Sam Coonrod and Trevor Gott not pitching. The Mets don’t have another off day until Thursday. Knowing how the Mets have treated the bullpen recently, someone is getting optioned, possibly even before today’s game to give the Mets more fresh arms. It’s just so important that David Peterson can go deep into this game and give the Mets bullpen arms a rest.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets dropped the first game of the series last night against the Angels and look to rebound tonight with Carlos Carrasco on the mound. The Mets got an amazing start from Kodai Senga last night but the offense could not contribute. This is now back-to-back losses for the Mets with their two most reliable starters on the mound. Can Carrasco be the stopper?

Carlos Carrasco has made 19 starts tossing 88 1/3 innings this season with a 6.42 ERA, 5.79 FIP, 1.653 WHIP and a 65 ERA+. Over his last three starts he has allowed seven runs from 16 hits and five walks, leading to a 5.25 ERA over 12 innings. His last time out was his first time all seasons not walking a single batter, but he allowed nine hits, the second most he’s allowed this season. The Angels have the following career numbers against him:

• Mike Moustakas 3-25, 2B, 7 K, 3 BB
• Eduardo Escobar 3-14, 2B, HR, 3 K
• Randal Grichuk 2-7, 2 2B, 3 K
• Andrew Velazquez 1-5, 2 K
• Shohei Ohtani 3-4, 2B, HR
• Brandon Drury 0-2, 2 K
• Luis Rengifo 1-2, 3B

Chase Silseth starts today for the Angels. Over 14 games and six starts this season, Silseth has pitched 45 innings with a 4.00 ERA, 5.11 FIP, 1.289 WHIP and a 113 ERA+. Silseth has been starting consistently since July 31st making four starts totaling 20 2/3 innings with a 3.48 ERA, 5.01 FIP. Before his start he allowed only three runs over 17 innings of work. Last time out he allowed five runs in 3 2/3. Homers seem to be his weakness as he’s allowed five in his last four starts. The only Met who has seen him in an official game is Jonathan Araúz who is 0-for-1 against Silseth with a walk.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. Lindor extended his hitting streak to 11 games last night, going 17-for-44 over that span with four doubles and two homers. In his last 11 games he is slashing .386/.438/.614. He really is putting together one of the best hitting seasons by a Mets middle-infielder and has a real shot now of hitting 30 homers before the season is over.
2. Strikeouts. There wasn’t much to be happy about with the Mets bats last night outside of Lindor’s homer and McNeil’s double. The Mets as team only had four hits, with no-one collecting multiple hits. Ultimately the team looked lost at the plate striking out a collective 11 times, including three players having two or more strikeouts.
3. The back of the bullpen is ready to go. With the off-days and the losses this week, the Mets haven’t needed the back of the bullpen that much. Ottavino and Drew Smith last pitched on Monday. Brooks Raley pitched last night, but has only thrown 11 pitches since Tuesday (and he didn’t throw on Monday!). They’re ready if the Mets bats and Carlos Carrasco put them in a position to be needed.

Let’s Go Mets!

Atlanta cooled down the Mets run this week and the dream of sneaking into the playoffs is just about over. The Mets enter play tonight seven games out and really need to put together a winning streak to make something happen. With the Angels, winners of three games in their last seven, coming to town tonight, who knows?

Kodai Senga gets the start tonight for the Mets. Over 23 games, 129 2/3 innings pitched, Senga has a 3.19 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.249 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. Senga is coming off of a strong start where he allowed one run from two hits over seven innings. Since the start of July (eight starts), Senga has a 2.63 ERA and 2.93 FIP, striking out 53 batters over 48 innings.

The Mets bats will get a look at Patrick Sandoval this evening. Over 22 starts, 117 innings, he has a 4.08 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.453 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. His last two starts have been a bit of a mess, allowing 11 runs total, only six earned, over 7 1/3 innings from 11 hits and nine walks. If there’s one thing the Mets are good at, it’s working a walk, so we’ll see what happens tonight. The Mets have the following career numbers against Sandoval:

• Francisco Lindor 0-3, 2 K, 2 BB
• Pete Alonso 0-2, K, BB
• DJ Stewart 0-2, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-3, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Shohei Ohtani. The Angels revealed this week that the greatest baseball player on the planet right now has a UCL tear and will not be pitching for the rest of the season. Whether he gets surgery or not is unclear as of writing, and reports yesterday said the he would continue to DH this weekend. In 2018 Ohtani hit played after announcing a UCL tear and had two homers. All of the Ohtani injury news exists with talk of his impending free agency, one that the Mets are expected to participate in. Do the Mets do anything special tonight to try give off a strong impression?
2. Not Mike Trout. You probably already know the joke. Mike Trout does something amazing, Shohei Ohtani does something that hasn’t been done in 50+ years, and the Angels lose the ball game. The Angels have two generational talents on their team. I know I’ve sought out Angels tickets in the past when they come to the East Coast to Jersey’s own Mike Trout. Trout was on the injured list from July 4th through August 22nd. He was activated on the 23rd and ended up back on the injured list yesterday. Just brutal for everyone involved, we hope he gets better soon!
3. Old Friends. The Mets are going to see a few old friends tonight. Former Mets Dominic Leone, Aaron Loup, Brandon Drury, and Eduardo Escobar are all on the roster for the Angels. Since being traded to the Angels, Escobar is hitting .224/.270/.308 with a 57 OPS+. compared to his .236/.286/.409, 90 OPS+ with the Mets. Leone has gone from a 95 ERA+ to a 97 ERA+.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets get another opportunity tonight to win the series against the Braves after losing the second game of the series yesterday 3-2. The pitching came to play again for a second straight night in Atlanta, with the bullpen allowing no runs after Megill exited the game. The bats just couldn’t score anything beyond Vogelbach’s two-run homer. Two out of three though in Atlanta would still be pretty great and the Mets turn to one of the steadiest pitchers in the rotation to lead them – Quintana.

José Quintana has pitched 35 2/3 innings over six starts since returning to the majors with a 3.03 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.262 WHIP and a 139 ERA+. In his last three starts he has posted a 2.50 ERA, 3.82 FIP over 18 innings allowing five runs from 13 hits and nine walks while striking out 15. He has also allowed only one home run over his six starts this season. He has already faced the home run hitting machine braves this season, allowing one run over six innings. The Braves have the following career numbers against him:

• Orlando Arcia 4-31, 2B, 6 K, 4 BB
• Marcell Ozuna 8-19, 2B, HR, 3 K, 2 BB
• Matt Olson 1-12, 5 K, 2 BB
• Eddie Rosario 4-16, 3 K, BB
• Kevin Pillar 6-17, 3 2B, 4 K, BB
• Ronald Acuña Jr. 0-7, 3 K, 2 BB
• Austin Riley 0-5, K, BB
• Travis d’Arnaud 0-4, 2 K, BB
• Sean Murphy 2-4, 2B
• Michael Harris II, 1-4, K
• Luke Williams 0-2

The Mets bats look to get back to doing their thing against Charlie Morton tonight. Over 24 starts, 134 2/3 innings, Morton has a 3.54 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 1.433 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed no runs from seven hits and eight walks over 11 innings of work. Before those two starts he had a 7.32 ERA over four starts, so something has shifted in the last two weeks. This includes a start against the Mets where despite walking seven times, the Mets couldn’t get any runs across the plate. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Lindor 6-40, 3 2B, HR< 11 K, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 4-21, 7 K, 4 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 5-19, 2B, 2 HR, 10 K, 5 BB
• Pete Alonso 6-22, 2B, 4 K, 3 BB
• Jeff McNeil 5-22, 2 HR, 7 K, 2 BB
• Omar Narváez 5-16, 2B, HR, 3 K, BB
• Francisco Álvarez 2-7, HR
• Rafael Ortega 2-2, 2B, 2 BB
• DJ Stewart 0-2, K, 2 BB
• Abraham Almonte 1-2, K, 2 BB
• Jonathan Araúz 0-1, BB
• Danny Mendick 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. During the game Alonso got hit by a pitch and the Atlanta fans actually cheered. He handled it after the game like the pro he is saying “Boos are just the same as cheers on the road, that means you’re doing something right. For me, it’s fine. That’s jus away fans doing their job.” Pete Alonso is a better person than I. Last night’s boos from the fans continues a similar narrative we saw with Tommy Pham this week that some fans lack the ability to see baseball players as humans.
2. Jeff McHits. While most of the team struggled at the plate last night, Jeff McNeil recorded his second straight multi-hit game. In his last 12 games, starting on August 12th, McNeil has gone 20-for-51 at the plate slashing .392/.396/.510. He has a hit in 11 of those games and he has multiple hits in six of them. He’s also recorded three hits, three separate times in that stretch. What McNeil has not done during this time is scored multiple times in the same game. When the Mets can help him cross that threshold the offense really will be on fire.
3. The Bullpen has looked good the last two nights. The Mets bullpen has held one of the best power hitting teams in check the last two nights, and for long stretches of time. Adam Kolarek was the hero last night, tossing 28 pitches over two innings. Because of his performance (and Garrett, Raley behind him), Smith, Gott, Bickford, Ottavino and Coonrod all got the night off. Further Raley only had to throw five pitches, so he should be good to go today as well.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have the opportunity tonight to take the series from the first-place Braves! The Mets took an early three-run lead against the Braves last night which the Braves eventually clawed back. As soon as the Braves took the lead, that familiar, 2023 sense of “it’s over / it’s inevitable” started to take over. But these are the new 2023 Mets! The Mets would go on to score seven more runs, capped by a three-run homer from Francisco Lindor to win 10-4! Can that momentum spill into Tylor Megill tonight?

Tylor Megill has pitched 86 1/3 innings over 18 starts with a 5.53 ERA, 5.15 FIP, 1.703 WHIP and a 76 ERA+. He’s coming off of his best start in a while where he held the Pirates to only two runs over five innings from five hits and four walks. Before that he allowed 11 runs over 10 innings in two starts since returning to the majors. One of those starts was against the Braves who scored six runs over 5 1/3 innings. That was however the only start since he returned to the majors that he didn’t allow a home run (against the league leading home run team no less!). The Braves have the following career numbers against him:

• Austin Riley 5-18, 2B, HR, 7 K
• Matt Olson 2-8, K, 2 BB
• Ronald Acuña Jr. 1-7, 3 K, 2 BB
• Eddie Rosario 3-7, 2 2B, K, BB
• Orlando Arcia 1-5, 2B
• Marcell Ozuna 2-6
• Travis d’Arnaud 2-6, 2B, K
• Sean Murphy 2-2, BB
• Luke Williams 0-2, K
• Michael Harris II 1-2, K
• Kevin Pillar 0-2

Bryce Elder makes his 25th start for the Braves tonight. Over 138 innings he has a 3.46 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.210 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. After a rough start to the month of August (12 runs, 10 earned, 9 1/3 innings) Elder rebounded in his last start allowing one hit, three walks and no runs over seven innings of work against the Yankees last week. He missed the Mets last weekend but did face them back in June where he allowed four runs from four hits, including two homers, over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Jeff McNeil 0-4, K, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-4, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-2, HR, BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 0-3, 3 K
• Pete Alonso 1-4, HR
• Omar Narváez 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. DJ Stewart. Stewart hit another homer last night. In his last six games, five starts, eh has gone 8-for-20 with five homers (1.150 SLG). He would have had a seventh homer if the Cardinals didn’t rob him on Sunday afternoon. Stewart is making the most of his extended audition with the Mets. The longer he keeps this up, the easier it is to start to wonder if the Mets found lightning in a bottle. I did not have DJ Stewart trying a Hail Mary save of the Mets season on my 2023 bingo card.
2. The Mets bullpen bounced back! The Mets bullpen had a rough Sunday. It was rough enough to make the hope and optimism that was emerging throughout the week disappear. Last night the bullpen pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and a walk. Is momentum building?
3. Jeff McHits. From March 30th to August 4th McNeil hit .251/.324/.324. From August 5th to last night night McNeil is hitting .358/.405/.537. McNeil recorded three hits last night for the second time in three games, it was also his third multi-hit game in his last four. The Mets have desperately needed another veteran hitter to step up with Alonso, Lindor and Nimmo all season to keep this offense going. We’re just glad to see McNeil start to drag his season numbers closer to his career marks.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets 11th hour post-season run took a big hit yesterday as the Cardinals were able to beat the Mets and avoid the four game sweep. Tonight starts a big test for the Mets who need to have a good showing against Atlanta, a team that absolutely trounced them before this hot streak, in order to keep the miracle run alive.

David Peterson gets another start for the Mets tonight. Over 20 games and 14 starts this season he has pitched 72 2/3 innings with a 5.45 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 1.651 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. Since returning to the rotation he has pitched 10 1/3 inning over three starts allowing only three runs (2.61 ERA, 7.14 FIP). Base runners have really hurt his ability to go deep into games though as he has allowed eight hits and walked 11 batters during this stretch. His last time out he was able to throw 91 pitches, almost 30 pitches more than his previous start. But that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t get you deep into a game. In his one start against the Braves this year he allowed four runs from five hits and a walk over five innings of work. The Braves have the following career numbers against him:

• Ronald Acuña Jr. 3-15, 2B, HR, 5 K, 5 BB
• Austin Riley 8-18, 3 2B, 5 K, 2 BB
• Travis d’Arnaud 0-10, 5 K, 2 BB
• Marcell Ozuna 0-12, 6 K, BB
• Matt Olson 3-11, 3 K, 2 BB
• Michael Harris II 0-7, 4 K
• Luke Williams 1-6, 2 K
• Orlando Arcia 0-3, K, BB
• Kevin Pillar 3-5, 2 2B
• Sean Murphy 0-2, K

Allan Winans will make another start for Atlanta tonight. Over two starts (11 1/3) innings this season he has a 1.59 ERA, 1.86 FIP, 1.059 WHIP and a 290 ERA+. This includes a start against the Mets where he tossed seven scoreless innings against the Mets allowing only four hits and two walks while striking out nine, a game the Braves infamously won 21-3. The Mets have the following batting lines from that game against Winans:

• Omar Narváez 2-3, 2B
• Jeff McNeil 1-3
• Jonathan Araúz 0-3, K
• Rafael Ortega 0-3, BB
• DJ Stewart 0-3, K
• Daniel Vogelbach 1-2
• Pete Alonso 0-2, BB, 2 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Pete Alonso hit his 39th homer of the season last night, his second homer in two days as he continues this terrific hot streak. The next homer he hits will tie his season total for fourth best in Mets history with himself (2022) and Mike Piazza (1999). Carlos Beltran (2006) and Todd Hundley (1996) are both tied for second with 41 homers in a season.
2. The Mets bullpen has become a revolving door. The Mets bullpen over the last week or so has just become a revolving door of pitchers coming in and pitchers coming out as they are used to their maximum extension. Before yesterday’s game the Mets optioned Vinny Nittoli who did the bulk of the relief on Saturday night to call up Reed Garrett. Garrett then tossed 23 pitches last night to pitch 1 2/3 innings. David Peterson (and Carrasco + Megill) could do a lot to stabilize the frequency of roster moves if they could just pitch deeper into games.
3. Francisco Álvarez. Álvarez is mired in a deep slump right now, going just 6-for-45 in his last 14 games with a double and no homers. Yesterday though he came in off the bench and went 1-for-2 with an RBI. That was his only his second RBI in his last 14 games. Here’s hoping that was the spark of something so he can start to lift himself out of this slump.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have a chance to complete a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon in St. Louis. Now winners of six of their last seven games, the Mets are playing like a different team since they got routed in a doubleheader last week against the Braves. After those games were complete, the Mets were nine games out of the Wild Card. Now they are six games out. There’s a lot for the Mets to overcome in the next couple of weeks, and their opponents have been on the weaker side this past week. That being said, the Mets have shown a tremendous amount of fight and grit in the last week. Let’s see what happens!

Carlos Carrasco has tossed 84 1/3 innings over 18 starts with a 6.40 ERA, 5.83 FIP, 1.625 WHIP and a 65 ERA+. The good news is he’s allowed only two runs in each of his last two starts. The bad news is that in last start he threw 88 pitches over only three innings and the Mets bullpen had to bail him out the rest of the way. Carlos already faced the Cardinals this season and it wasn’t good. He allowed six runs, five earned, from five hits and three walks over three innings. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Paul Goldschmidt 4-8, 2 2B, K
• Willson Contreras 2-9
• Tommy Edman 2-6, 2B, 2 K, 2 BB
• Tyler O’Neil1-5, 2 K
• Taylor Motter 0-3, K
• Nolan Arenado 3-4, HR, K
• Jordan Walker 0-1, BB

The Mets bats will try to continue the roll they’ve been on facing off against Dakota Hudson today. Over 10 games, four starts, this season, Hudson has thrown 38 innings with a 4.03 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.316 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. Hudson rejoined the rotation after the trade deadline and since then he has allowed eight runs over 18 2/3 innings (3.86 ERA, 6.05 FIP), from 14 hits and five walks. Homers have been his weakness, he’s allowed four in this stretch, but has limited the overall damage those homers have done. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 3-7, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-6
• Jeff McNeil 0-4, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-0, 2 BB
• Omar Narváez 1-3
• Rafael Ortega 1-4, 2B
• Danny Mendick 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can the Mets fire on all cylinders again? The Mets are on a good run right now, but there have been games they’ve won, like Carrasco last start, where a major part of the team was off. Mainly it’s been difficult for them to get their offense and their starting pitching to both click on the same night. That has happened two nights in a row. The result has been stress-free bullpen use and games that haven’t been close. This was a key part of the 2022 Mets that was missing most of this season.
2. What does Lindor do after his big night? Lindor was a table setter all night yesterday. He went 4-for-5 at the plate with a double, and scored three runs for the Mets. We’ve talked a lot this week about players having big nights at the plate, but the rest of the Mets bats not necessarily pushing them across the plate. Behind Lindor was Alonso going 2-for-4 and Jeff McNeil going 3-for-5. More of this for the next few weeks please!
3. DJ Stewart. Stewart had another massive night at the plate going 2-for-4 hitting his fifth homer of the season. It was also his fourth homer in his last three games. How long can Stewart ride this streak?

Let’s Go Mets!

Are the Mets making a little post-season run? Probably not, but the Mets have won five of their last six games and have seen their playoff odds on fan graphs go from a season low of 0.7% a few days ago rise up to 1.9%. Last night the Mets got a great spot start from Joey Lucchesi who made his case to stay in the rotation. Joey was starting yesterday so Kodai could get an extra day of rest. If Kodai and the Mets win today, they’ll clinch the series victory in St. Louis!

Kodai Senga has tossed 122 2/3 innings this season with a 3.30 ERA, 3.54 FIP, 1.288 WHIP and a 128 ERA+. His last four starts have been more or less indicative of his season numbers, allowing nine runs over 23 2/3 innings (3.42 ERA, 2.50 FIP) with nine walks and 24 strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed a homer in four starts either. Senga pitched against the Cardinals earlier this season and allowed four runs from five hits over 6 2/3 innings, including two homers:

• Tommy Edman 1-3, 2B, K
• Jordan Walker 1-2, HR, K, BB
• Nolan Arenado 0-3
• Alec Burleson 0-3, K
• Paul Goldschmidt 2-3, HR, K
• Willson Contreras 0-2

The Mets bats look to keep their streaks going against Miles Mikolas tonight. Miles has started a league leading 26 games so far this season throwing 147 2/3 innings with a 4.27 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.280 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. He’s coming off of an average start against the Athletics where he allowed four runs over 6 1/3. Before that he allowed five runs spread across two starts and 14 innings. He’s already faced the Mets this year who were able to tag him for six runs over six innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Omar Narváez 4-17, 2 2B, 3B, 3 K, BB
• Rafael Ortega 6-18, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 0-11, 2 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 4-12, 2 HR, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 6-11, 2 2B, K, BB
• Francisco Lindor 1-8, K
• Pete Alonso 2-10, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brandon Nimmo hot streak season. Nimmo went 3-for-5 hitting his 18th homer of the season, a person best! Since August 12th, Nimmo has gone 14-for-28 at the plate with two doubles and three homers, leading to a ridiculous .500/.576/.893 batting line. It’s no surprise that the Mets have won five of their last six games with Nimmo hitting like this. Despite being on base multiple times in each of his last seven games, before last night Nimmo had only scored three runs. Last night he scored twice. Let’s see how long the Mets can ride this streak.
2. Jeff McNeil. McNeil’s huge 2022 kept the offense humming. This season hasn’t been his greatest (.259/.331/.348) but lately he’s been turning things around. Since August 5th he has played in 14 games going 17-for-53 at the plate with three homers (half of his season’s total amount) leading to a much more McNeil-like .321/.383/.528 line.
3. Rafael Ortega. It’s been a while since all three things to watch for have been offense related (and probably the only time this season that’s been true, and we didn’t talk about Pete Alonso). Since August 7th, when Ortega went 2-for-4 at the plate, he has played in 12 games and gone 12-for-37 with four walks. He hasn’t shown much power at all but he is rocking a .390 on base percentage with three stolen bases and six runs scored.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have won four of their last five games. For the second game in a row, everything looked pretty good with the Mets. They got an excellent start from Quintana, the offense provided just enough, and the bullpen held things down. This is the type of run that makes you start wondering about what if things were a little different in June and July. Can the Mets keep this up through the weekend?

The Mets have three open spots in their rotation next season and Joey Lucchesi is still on this team. Tonight he gets a spot start to give Kodai Senga an extra start of rest. For Lucchesi this is definitely an audition for next year. With the Mets this year Lucchesi made five starts totaling 22 1/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA, 5.14 FIP, 1.343 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. Over 12 games in Syracuse he’s tossed 67 2/3 innings with a 3.99 ERA. He has been on the injured list for about the last month healing from a knee injury. He’s had two solid starts in Brooklyn where he has allowed only one run from five hits over eight innings. Last time out he tossed a bit above 60 innings, so it will probably be a longer night for the bullpen. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Nolan Arenado 8-22, 3B, 3B, 3 HR, BB, 7 K
• Paul Goldschmidt 8-16, 2B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 3 K
• Willson Contreras 3-5, 2 K
• Tommy Edman 1-5, 3B, 2 K
• Tyler O’Neill 1-4, 2B, K
• Dylan Carlson 1-1

The Mets bats will get a look at Zack Thompson. Thompson has pitched in 17 games this season, but only start, totaling 25 innings. Over those 25 innings he has a 3.96 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.480 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. His only start came on August 6th where he allowed one run off two hits over four innings against the Rockies. On the 11th the Cardinals used an opener to start the game and then Thompson came in to pitch the next four innings, allowing one run from four hits. Over those combined eight innings he has struck out 13 batters. Thompson also increased the total pitches he had thrown from 60 to 73, so his arm is getting some length (besides that he has thrown 30+ pitches only twice this season). Only two Mets have seen Zack Thompson in a major league game: Daniel Vogelbach (0-for-3) and Rafael Ortega (1-for-1, BB).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Pete has homered in two consecutive games, bringing his season total to 37. Since July 25th, Alonso has homered 11 times in 23 games. He’s hitting .268/.378/.707 over that stretch. Whatever was ailing him from before has passed and he’s back to being the player he was in April/May when it looked like he had a chance of catching 60 homers. While that total seems unreachable, 50 homers feels plausible right now and Alonso may even have a chance to set a personal/Mets record by the end of the season.
2. The Mets bullpen has been under stress lately. The Megill/Peterson/Carrasco starts have required a lot of extra use of pitchers out of the bullpen recently. Quintana helped right the ship a bit last night going six innings. Hartwig and Gott being able to hold the game after Smith meant that Ottavino and Raley were able to get the rest they need for tonight. As of writing, the Mets haven’t named a corresponding move to bring in Lucchesi tonight. Dennis Santana was called up a few days ago, but he hasn’t been used yet. Sam Coonrod hasn’t played since throwing 28 pitches on Monday. I would venture a guess that if either player isn’t sent back down for Lucchesi, one of them is in line for multiple innings tonight.
3. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo has had five multi-hit games in his last six games played. Going back to August 5th, Nimmo has played in 12 games going 16-for-44 with seven walks, slashing .364/.451/.568. His OPS over this 12 game stretch is similar to Alonso’s OPS over the last month. Despite how many times he’s been on base though, Nimmo has only scored four runs. He’s in a hot streak right now, can the Mets take advantage of it?

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets won the series against the Pirates and now head to St. Louis to start a series with another NL Central team. Yesterday the Mets had an all around good day at the office, scoring a bunch of runs, having a starter pitch at least five innings and a bullpen that gave up only one run in four innings of relief. They now face a struggling Cardinals team that is in last place, but has won six of their last ten games.

José Quintana looks to start the long weekend in St. Louis off on the right foot for the Mets. Over five starts this season, Quintana has a 3.03 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 1.281 WHIP and a 139 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed three runs over 12 innings (2.25 ERA, 2.85 FIP). In his first five starts he allowed exactly six hits per start. Quintana broke that streak last time out where he held the Braves to only four hits. Despite how well Quintana has pitched this season, the Mets have never won a Quintana start. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

• Paul Goldschmidt 11-17, 3 2B, 3 HR, 2 K, BB
• Nolan Arenado 2-15, 2 HR, 5 K, BB
• Willson Contreras 0-9, 2 BB
• Tommy Edman 2-5, 3B
• Taylor Motter 0-3, 2 K

The Mets bats draw their old rival Adam Wainwright. Adam has started 15 games totaling 66 2/3 innings this season with a 8.78 ERA, 6.04 FIP, 2.085 WHIP and a 49 ERA+. In August he has started two games, pitching four innings, allowing 15 runs on 18 hits and two walks (33.75 ERA, 8.76 FIP). He pitched well against the Mets earlier this season, holding them to three runs over 6 1/3 innings, in a game the Cardinals won. The Mets have the following career numbers against Adam:

• Omar Narváez 9-24, 3 2B, HR, 2 K, 3 BB
• Daniel Vogelbach 3-15, HR, 5 K, 2 BB
• Rafael Ortega 6-14, 3B, K, BB
• Jeff McNeil 1-11, 2 K, BB
• Pete Alonso 3-7, 2 2B, K, 2 BB
• Francisco Lindor 2-9, 2 K, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, HR, BB
• Tim Locastro 1-2, K, BB
• Francisco Álvarez 1-3
• Danny Mendick 2-2, 2B

Three Things To Watch For:

1. DJ Stewart, the engine to the offense? Stewart has gone 4-for-6 the last two games at the plate, hitting three homers. Stewart was hitless from August 4th to the 13th (0-for-14) before revving his engine and smacking three balls out of the park. He’s going to continue to get a lot of playing time for the rest of this season and make an impression for a role on the 2024 squad.
2. Mets Bullpen changes and usage. For two straight days the Mets had to send a pitcher down to the minors after being over used to bring up a fresh arm. The Mets went through four relievers yesterday, with Bickford putting in the most work tossing 30 pitches. Sam Coonrod has two day’s rest. Also Dennis Santana, who was recalled before yesterday’s game, wasn’t used at all so he should be good to go if needed.
3. Adam Wainwright. Tonight is probably the last time the Mets will face Adam Wainwright in a major league game. Wainwright has had a 3.52 career ERA over 18 seasons and cemented himself in Mets history when he struck out Carlos Beltran to end the 2006 NLCS. A rarity in today’s game, Wainwright stayed with the Cardinals throughout his entire career. Cheers to a great career (even though the image of the Cardinals celebrating at Shea is forever burned into my mind).

Let’s Go Mets!