213 Miles From Shea

The Mets got the job done last night and frankly looked like the team they were projected to be at the start of the season. Justin Verlander looked great and gave the Mets six strong innings. Pete Alonso hit two homers. The bullpen made things interesting but held it together. Even with the win the Mets are six games below .500 and still seven games out of the wild card.

The Mets got a big scare late in the game last night as Francisco Álvarez took a pitch to his hand. Buck Showalter said after the game there was “some concern” but X-rays came back negative. Álvarez later in the evening said there was no concern and basically said he was fine.

José Quintana looks to build on his positive Mets debut as the Mets look to sweep the two game series from the Yankees. In his first start he pitched five innings allowing two runs from six hits and no walks. He was able to toss 77 pitches, 53 of them for strikes. He held the Yankees to one run from six hits and no walks over five innings last season. The Yankees have the following career numbers against Quintana:

• Anthony Rizzo 3-12, 2 2B, 2 K
• DJ LeMahieu 1-9, BB
• Isaiah Kiner-Falefa 1-8, 2B, 2 K, BB
• Harrison Bader, 1-6, 2 K, BB
• Gleyber Torres 2-3, 2B
• Giancarlo Stanton 0-2, K
• Greg Allen 1-1, BB
• Jake Bauers 1-1

The Mets bats look to continue their offensive outbreak tonight against Carlos Rodón, who has had a tough start to his Yankee career. Over his first three starts as a Yankee, he’s allowed 12 earned runs over 14 2/3 innings leading to a 7.36 ERA, 7.17 FIP. The damage has come from hits (12), walks (9) and homers (4). Rodón had a solid start against the Mets last season where he held the Mets to three hits and no runs over five innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Lindor 10-34, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 K, 2 BB
• Tommy Pham 1-4, 3 K, 2 BB
• Mark Canha 2-9, 2 HR, 2 K
• Daniel Vogelbach 0-2, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, K, BB
• Pete Alonso 1-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tommy Pham. Originally Tommy Pham was supposed to get the start yesterday. That was announced plan on Sunday. But Pham didn’t feel fully ready to go yet before the game and wanted one more day to rest his groin. As we get closer to the trade deadline, Pham being out of the lineup starts to shift from “is he feeling ok?” to “is this a hug watch situation?”.
2. Pete Alonso. Alonso hit his 27th and 28th homer of the season last night. He had been in the midst of one of the deepest slumps of his career but has shown a lot of life in his last four games. He’s gone 8-for-15 in that stretch with two doubles, a triple and two homers. In his last four he’s hitting .533/.588/1.200. If the Mets are going to make a miracle run for the Wild Card, they’re going to need Pete Alonso.
3. Francisco Lindor. It’s going to take more than Pete Alonso on a hot streak to save the Mets. The Mets need Francisco Lindor to get hot too. Lindor went 3-for-5 last night with a double, scored three runs and stole two bases. He has now stolen four bases in his last four games and has a hit in his last three games.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to bounce back from a frustrating weekend in Boston against the Yankees in the Bronx. The Mets find themselves seven games out of the wild card right now and seven games below .500. Are they going to sell? Buy? Just keep the course? A lot of that could be determined in these next two days against the Yankees.

The Yankees are in an odd position in wild AL East. They are tied for last place, nine games behind the Orioles. They are also 2.5 games out of the Wild Card. Further, they are six games above .500. The Yankees also have the worst run differential in their division at +15 (the Mets are at -17).

Justin Verlander’s start this evening could be an audition for other teams if the Mets decide to sell by the deadline. Over 14 starts (83 innings) he has a 3.47 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.157 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. Verlander is coming off of a fantastic start against the White Sox where he held them to one run over eight innings. Over his last five starts he has tossed 31 innings with a 1.74 ERA, 3.38 FIP and allowed only one homer. The Yankees have the following career stats against him:

• Gleyber Torres 4-24, 2B, 6 K
• DJ LeMahieu 8-25, 2B, 2 HR, 2 K, BB
• Giancarlo Stanton 3-20, 2B, 2 HR, 10 K, BB
• Jake Bauers 2-10, 3 K, BB
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa 3-13, HR, 5 K
• Anthony Rizzo 0-5, K, 2 BB
• Billy McKinney 1-5, 2B, 2 K
• Kyle Higashioka 0-3, K
• Anthony Volpe 0-2
• Harrison Bader 1-2, HR, K
• Greg Allen 1-2

The Mets bats draw Domingo Germán for the Subway Series opener. Over 18 starts (97 2/3 innings) Germán has a 4.52 ERA, 4.62 FIP, 1.075 WHIP and a 94 ERA+. He’s been frustrating for Yankee fans this year having starts that range from wonderful to terrible, and not much in-between. For example, his last time out he allowed five runs over six innings, before that, one earned run over six innings. In late June he had back to back starts where he allowed 10 total runs over 3 1/3 innings and a complete game shutout. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Lindor 2-12, 4 K, 3 BB
• Mark Canha 7-13, 2B, HR, 2 K, BB
• Tommy Pham 0-10, 4 K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-8, 3B, 2 K, BB
• DJ Stewart 0-5, 2 K, BB
• Jeff McNeil 1-7, HR
• Pete Alonso 2-8 2B, HR, K
• Daniel Vogelbach 2-4, 3B, BB
• Brett Baty 0-2
• Omar Narváez 1-1, 2B

Three Things To Watch For:

1. More playing time for Pham. Tommy Pham injured his groin last week and rested most of the weekend. He took a pinch hit on Sunday night and looks to get more playing time tonight. He’s one of the more likely Mets to be traded this week and has already been linked to a few teams that are monitoring him (and possibly Mark Canha).
2. Brandon Nimmo is coming around again. After starting cold after the All-Star break, Nimmo has had at least two hits in two of the last three games. In his last five games three of his six hits have been for extra bases (two doubles and homer). He’s also worked three walks in his last six games. He’s not quite at the normal Brandon Nimmo level we know and love, but he’s showing signs of returning soon.
3. Mets Bullpen Hug Watch: David Robertson is the most likely to be moved reliever, even though he indicated this week that he likes being a member of the Mets and doesn’t want to be traded. There’s a chance Adam Ottavino is traded but he does have a 2024 player option. Ottavino just pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday (his third such outing in a row). Robertson had a clean inning in the first game on Saturday.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Red Sox play a rubber game tonight after splitting the doubleheader yesterday. The Mets won the first game of the afternoon 5-4, a game that they were leading 4-3 before the rain suspended the game in the fourth inning. The nightcap was a much messier affair for the Mets as Scherzer allowed five runs and the bullpen immediately allowed three runs. The Mets were able to make it close, but couldn’t complete the comeback and lost 6-4.

Carlos Carrasco has pitched 65 2/3 innings this season with a 5.35 ERA, 5.95 FIP, 1.447 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rougher start where he allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings, in a game where the Mets eventually won 11-10. Before that he pitched an absolute gem, allowing no runs from three hits over eight innings in Arizona. The Red Sox have the following career numbers against him:

• Jorge Alfaro 2-10, 2B, 3 K, BB
• Adam Duvall 2-8, 2B, K
• Justin Turner 1-4, HR, 2 BB
• Rafael Devers 0-3, 2 BB, 4 BB
• Rob Rafsnyder 1-5, K

Alex Cora put the Red Sox in a interesting position yesterday. Today was always going to be a bullpen day for the Red Sox, probably featuring an opener with Pivetta doing the blk of the work after. Pivetta only pitched an inning yesterday, but that’s enough to mean the bullpen is going to need to do a lot more today.

Brennan Bernardino starts things off for the Red Sox. Over 28 games, including three starts, he has pitched 32 2/3 innings with a 2.48 ERA, 2.86 FIP, 1.041 WHIP and a 189 ERA+. As a starter he has pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing only one run from three hits while striking out seven. Two innings is the most he has tossed in any game this season and the most amount of pitches he’s tossed is 36. On “Friday night” (really Saturday) against the Mets he allowed two hits and a run over an inning of work. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Álvarez 0-1, K
• Mark Canha 0-1
• Mark Vientos 0-2, K
• Brett Baty 1-1
• Pete Alonso 1-1, 2B

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos! Mark Vientos finally played! Vientos pinch hit and then stayed in the game afterwards in the first game yesterday, going 1-for-2 at the plate with a strikeout. Then he got to start in the nightcap going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Vientos struggled when he was initially called this season because the Mets did not give him consistent playing time. Collecting three hits yesterday should be enough warrant more playing time but it’s the Mets so who knows.
2. Pete Alonso! Alonso needed a good weekend at the plate in the absolute worst way, and he got it. He went 2-for-4 in both games, collecting a double and a triple int he nightcap. If the Mets are going to make a run, they absolutely need Alonso’s bat to heat up.
3. The Red Sox Bullpen. The Red Sox used four pitchers in the first game yesterday (Jacques, Bernardino, Bleier, and Martin) and four pitchers in the second game (Winckowski, Pivetta, Garza, and Jansen). The Mets need to take advantage of a tired bullpen this evening.

Let’s Go Mets!

Do you like Mets baseball? Do you like days where plans change? Then I have some exciting news for you. The Mets and Red Sox play their regularly scheduled 4:10 game at 7:10 tonight, thanks to the suspended game from yesterday. Thankfully the Mets have the Sunday night game, so we don’t have a situation where the Mets are playing three baseball games in 27ish hours.

Max Scherzer was vintage Max Scherzer in his last start. He allowed one hit, no runs over seven innings against the Dodgers. This season he has made 17 starts (94 2/3 innings) with a 3.99 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 1.183 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. The Mets need vintage Max again tonight, to give the bullpen a break, to give the team a chance to make the playoffs, or to become an even more valuable player to trade. The Red Sox have the following career numbers against Max Scherzer:

• Jorge Alfaro 4-23, HR, 12 K, BB
• Justin Turner 6-15, 4 HR, K
• Adam Duvall 2-11, HR, 7 K
• Rafael Devers 1-6, 2B, 3 K
• Alex Verdugo 3-6, 2B
• Enrique Kiké Hernández 0-3, 2 K
• Christian Arroyo 0-2, K

James Paxton is looking for a bounce back start tonight. His last time out in Chicago he allowed six runs from three hits and three walks over three innings. This season he has made 11 starts (59 innings) with a 3.51 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 1.034 WHIP and a 133 ERA+. The Mets have the following career numbers against James:

• Francisco Lindor 2-11, 2B, 4 K, BB
• Tommy Pham 3-9, 2 2B, 3 K
• Mark Canha 3-9, HR, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 1-3, HR, K, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 3-5, 2B
• Daniel Vogelbach 0-1, K BB

Three Things to Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos? After Friday’s game was suspended due to rain, Buck Showalter joked that maybe he would have Mark Vientos go wake up Scherzer to pitch in the 2:10 game. The punchline here being that no one wants to be the person to wake Max up. It would be incredibly nice to Vientos get some consistent playing time, starting in this game.
2. Paxton hasn’t faced the Mets in a long time. Paxton first faced the Mets in 2017 as a member of the Mariners during the final weekend of baseball before the trade deadline. He held the Mets to six hits and no runs over six innings. He then had two very different starts against the Mets as a member of the Yankees in 2019. In one start he allowed six runs from seven hits over 2 2/3 innings. Then in the next start he allowed only one run over six innings.
3. Reminiscing about the last Mets weather related suspension. Earlier this season the Mets and Nationals had a game suspended due to rain. Last night’s delay was about two hours before the Red Sox called it and announced a split-admission doubleheader. In May, the Nationals made the fans and players wait for four hours, before scrambling everyone’s Mother’s Day with a split doubleheader. After the Nationals game, Gary Cohen said “That is unprecedented to have the completion of a suspended game part of a split doubleheader”. Looks like the Red Sox saw what the Nationals did and decided that was a good idea!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Red Sox had to do a little reshuffling of their schedule today after last night’s torrential rain. With one out and a 1-2 count in the bottom of the fourth inning the rain was just too much to play through. Throughout the multi-hour rain delay we saw how the warning track and parts of Fenway just absolutely flooded.

This afternoon’s 4:10 start has been pushed back to 7:10 so last night’s game can be finished at 2:10.

Momentum was heading in the Mets direction before the game got suspended. Senga had a rough two innings to start the game, allowing three runs. The Mets bats behind Brandon Nimmo and Daniel Vogelbach bailed Senga out with homers in the top of the third and top of the fourth. Senga was getting into a groove when the game was called but at least now he won’t be on the hook. Can the Mets bullpen hold out for the win?

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos? With Marte and Pham both out, and Vientos called up to replace Vientos on the roster, naturally Vientos would be in the starting lineup, right? Nope. Vientos was benched in his first game back in the dugout. Maybe we see a before the game substitution or during the game pinch hit today.
2. Mark Canha. Mark Canha, a trade candidate going into this last week of play before the deadline is 0-for-1 so far in today’s game. The Mariners have already been linked to Canha as teams are starting to call about the outfielder’s availability. Can he raise his value during this game?
3. Mets bullpen. David Robertson, Brooks Raley and Grant Hartwig each have three days of rest going into today’s game. David Peterson, the Mets most likely long-arm, lasted pitched on Thursday where he tossed 15 pitches. Before that you have to go all the way back to last weekend to see any Peterson action.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets couldn’t complete the sweep of the White Sox but at least head into their weekend series with the Red Sox with some positive momentum winning three of their last four games. The Red Sox are trying to snap a two game losing streak tonight. Overall they’ve been good recently, going 7 and 3 in their last ten games. The Mets need a good weekend to stay relevant. The Red Sox need a good weekend to keep pace in the insane AL East.

Kodai Senga has pitched 95 2/3 innings over 17 starts with a 3.20 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.265 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. He’s coming off of a solid start against the Dodgers where he held them to one run and four hits over six innings while striking out nine. Over his two starts in July he has allowed only two earned runs and only three walks. Earlier this season Walks were crushing him and he now has five consecutive starts issuing three walks or less. Further his strikeout numbers haven’t diminished (11.5 K/9 on the season).

Kutter Crawford will make his 11th start of the season today. Over 67 1/3 innings he has a 3.47 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.129 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. As a starter he has a 4.73 ERA and 1.336 WHIP over 45 2/3 innings. He’s coming off of one of his best starts of the season where he one-hit the Cubs over six innings while striking out nine. This will be the first time the Kutter Crawford has faced anyone on the Mets in a major league game.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos. With Starling Marte landing on the 10-day injured list, Mark Vientos is back with the major league club. The Mets botched his playing time the first time he was called up, sitting him for long stretches of time in favor of other more veteran players getting playing time. Between Marte’s injury and Pham’s injury during the game yesterday, Vientos should see more consistent playing time. Vientos hit .178/.224/.244 with a 31 OPS+ in the majors this season. In the minors he’s hitting .307/.386/.614 over 60 games.
2. Mets trade candidates. Mark Canha and Omar Narváez could be moved over the next nine days. Yesterday Canha went 0-for-3 at the plate with a strikeout. Omar Narváez had the best day yesterday of any Mets hitter, possibly his best day as a Met, going 2-for-3 with a homerun.
3. Old Friends! With the Mets playing the Red Sox for the first time this season, we’ll get to see a couple of familiar faces tonight. Justin Turner is playing his first season in Boston after many years in LA. He’s hitting .289/.358/.478 with a 122 OPS+ over 93 games. Joely Rodríguez is continuing his tour of eastern, I-95 based baseball teams with the Red Sox this season. The Red Sox activated him from the injured list right around the All-Star break. Since returning he has pitched four innings over four games, allowing two hits and nothing else.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for the sweep this afternoon against the White Sox! The Mets have now won three games in a row. A win today would erase their four game slide that happened after their six game winning streak. Currently the Mets are five games below .500 and seven games out of the Wild Card. All of the teams around them have won their last two games. The Marlins are on a six game slide which kept the Mets in the race right after the break. There’s still an opening for the Mets to make move!

José Quintana makes his New York Mets debut this afternoon! The long-time member of the Chicago White Sox will start off his 2023 campaign against his former team. Quintana was signed this off-season to bolster a Mets rotation that lost most of it’s regular starting pitchers to free agency. He had surgery back in March to treat a lesion on his ribs. After the maximum allotted time for rehab starts, and getting his debut pushed back a day while he battled flu-like symptoms, he is ready to go!

José Quintana split time with he Pirates and the Cardinals last season. Over 32 starts (165 2/3 innings), Quintana had a 2.93 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 1.213 WHIP and a 138 ERA+. He lead the league last season in HR/9 at a paltry 0.4. The White Sox have the following career numbers against him:

• Elvis Andrus 4-21, 2 K
• Yasmani Grandal 5-15, 2 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• TIm Anderson 0-4, K
• Clint Frazier 1-3, 2B
• Yoán Moncada 1-3, 2 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-1

The Mets bats will try to finish out the series on a strong note today against Michael Kopech. Kopech has tossed 86 2/3 innings over 17 games with a 4.47 ERA, 5.90 FIP, 1.408 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. He’s coming off of any abysmal start about a week ago where he allowed four runs on a hit a four walks over 2/3rds of an inning against the Braves. His two starts before that weren’t great either and overall he’s allowed nine runs over his last 8 2/3 innings of work. He was on roll briefly before this stretch, where he allowed two runs or less in four of five starts. The only Mets who have seen him in a major league game before are Mark Canha (0-2, K) and Starling Marte (0-2).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Baby Mets continue to dominate the offense. This has been a series for the baby Mets. Brett Baty and Francisco Álvarez went back-to-back on Tuesday night. Álvarez even hit two homers! Last night Baty hit a homer for the second straight day. Álvarez went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. While some of the other Mets are slumping right now, the Baby Mets are carrying the team.
2. Can Pete Alonso break out of his slump? Since the All-star break Alonso has gone 1-for-16 at the plate with three walks. This can be extended a bit, since July 7th he has gone 1-for-26 at the plate with five walks. He’s had four hits in July, two of them being homers. During his cold stretch the Mets have won six games in a row, lost four and now won three again. The Mets need their biggest power threat to return to being himself.
3. The bullpen should be more rested tonight. After a terrible Tuesday where the bullpen was overused and imploded in the 7th inning, Just Verlander essentially gave the bullpen the night off yesterday. Ottavino pitched the only inning of relief and it was second consecutive scoreless outing. Drew Smith and David Peterson haven’t been used in a minute and presumably will take on a larger role with any pitch count limitations with Quintana today.

Let’s Go Mets!

Just like that the Mets look to win their third game in a row this evening as they take on the White Sox in game two of their series. Last night the Mets were on the right side of a record night for baseball, as they beat the White Sox 11-10. It was the first time in major league history that three games had the final score of 11-10. The Mets accomplished this feat thanks to a five run first inning, two homers from Álvarez and a bullpen that couldn’t close the door late in the game. The Mets look to win tonight’s game in a much more normal fashion.

Justin Verlander has pitched 75 innings over 13 starts with a 3.72 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.227 WHIP and a 111 ERA+. He’s coming off of a weird start where he no-hit the Dodgers for four innings and then things completely fell apart in the fifth inning where they were able to tag him for three runs. Walks crushed him as he gave the Dodgers six free passes. The White Sox have the following career numbers against him:

• Elvis Andrus 22-71, 3 2B, 3 BB, 9 K
• Tim Anderson 2-21, 7 K
• Andrew Benintendi 2-15, 3B, BB, 4 K
• Yasmani Grandal 5-12, HR, 5 K
• Yoán Moncada 1-11, BB, 6 K
• Andrew Vaughn 1-7
• Eloy Jiménez 1-6, 3 K
• Clint Frazier 2-3, K

Touki Toussaint makes his third start of the season, pitching in his sixth game. Toussaint should be a familiar name to Mets fans as he broke into the majors with the Braves in 2018 (involved in the 2015 Bronson Arroyo trade). He was a highly touted prospect who struggled in the majors for the Braves and eventually made it over to Anaheim, Cleveland and now the Chicago White Sox organizations.

In 20 1/3 innings this season (for the White Sox), he has a 3.10 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 1.230 WHIP and a 144 ERA+. Over his last two games he has tossed a combined 10 1/3 innings allowing only three runs from eight hits and five walks. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Jeff McNeil 3-8, 2B, BB, K
• Pete Alonso 1-6, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2, 3 BB, K
• DJ Stewart 1-4, HR, K
• Tommy Pham 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 1-2, K
• Omar Narváez 0-1, K
• Luis Guillorme 0-1, K
• Starling Marte 0-1, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Álvarez! Last night’ was Álvarez’s third multi-homer game of the season. He now has 19 homers on the season and has an OPS at .837. His 19 homers ties Francisco Lindor for second on the club. He is also tied with Josh Jung on the rookie homer leader board and now one in front of Corbin Carroll. Álvarez is the spark this team needed!
2. Brett Baty homered! Baty hit his first homer in July last night, his first homer since June 28th. Before that his last homer was on May 19th. It has been a long drought for the Mets young star. Hopefully last night is the beginning of a turn-around.
3. The Mets bullpen is struggling. Last night the Mets bullpen allowed six runs, five earned. This all happened during a seventh inning that allowed the White Sox to completely get back into the game. Somehow, despite using five relievers yesterday, the Mets still have two relievers on multiple-days rest. David Peterson and Drew Smith haven’t pitched since Saturday. Both are looking for bounce back outings.

Let’s Go Mets!

No bats? No problem.

The Mets bats haven’t returned yet from the All-Star break but Sunday evening the Mets pitching did. Max Schezer tossed a gem and the Mets bullpen (mostly) held it together as the Mets were able to squeak out an extra-inning win to avoid being swept by the Dodgers. Now the Mets welcome the White Sox to town. Can the Mets put together a little run like they did at the end of the first half?

Carlos Carrasco threw an absolute gem for the Mets before the All-Star break. He went eight innings, allowing three hits and no runs while the Mets won 8-0. Over 61 innings and 12 starts he has a 5.16 ERA, 5.96 FIP, 1.426 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. In his last three starts now he has allowed four runs over 17 innings while striking out 15, dropping his season ERA from 6.34 to 5.16. The White Sox have the following career numbers against Carrasco:

• Tim Anderson 11-37, 2B, HR, 12 K
• Elvis Andrus 7-19, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Yoán Moncada 1-18, BB, 13 K
• Andrew Benintendi 2-7, 2 2B, K
• Eloy Jiménez 3-4, 2B, HR
• Clint Frazier 1-3, 2B, K

The Mets bats will get a look at Lucas Giolito tonight. Giolito has pitched 112 1/3 innings this season (19 starts) with a 3.45 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 1.139 WHIP and a 128 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed four earned runs over 13 innings (2.77 ERA). The Mets have the following numbers against Giolito:

• Francisco Lindor 6-18, 3 BB, 3 K
• DJ Stewart 1-7, 2 BB, 3 K
• Mark Canha 1-5, 5 K
• Tommy Pham 0-5, BB, 3 K
• Omar Narváez 2-5
• Pete Alonso 0-3, 2 K
• Starling Marte 2-3, K
• Jeff McNeil 0-3, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can the Mets bats give Carrasco run support? Carlos Carrasco was fantastic in his last start and the Mets bats gave him tons of run support. Since the All-Star Break the bats have scored only two runs and have had only 10 hits (six of them in one game). No single Met has had two hits in a game yet since returning from the break. All of these trends need to break for the Mets to have a chance to make a wild card run.
2. Limited hits? No runs? Steal bases. With the Mets bats struggling this past weekend to score runs, the Mets switched back to a stealing strategy that worked for them during the win streak right before the All-Star break. On Sunday evening the Mets stole three basses (Marte, Canha, DJ Stewart). We are watching tonight to see if this was an outlier or the start of a trend for the Mets.
3. The return of David Robertson. The Mets bullpen struggled on Friday and Saturday. Gott gave up the tying run on Sunday night after he came in for Scherzer who tossed seven scoreless innings. Robertson would later come into the game and pitch two scoreless innings. The Mets will probably like to avoid using him tonight, but he showed on Sunday why he is the best reliever currently on the roster.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets got an amazing start from Kodai Senga last night and did nothing with it. Senga allowed only one run on a solo homer over six innings while striking out nine. The bullpen behind him self-destructed and the offense didn’t show up. Now the Mets find themselves this afternoon fighting to avoid being swept. Can they snap their four game losing streak?

Max Scherzer looks to get the Mets on the right track this afternoon as he takes on his old club. Over 16 starts, 87 2/3 innings, Scherzer has a 4.31 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.232 WHIP and a 96 ERA+. He’s had a rough July, allowing nine runs over 11 innings from 11 hits and five walks. While he has struck 16 batters out, he’s also allowed five homers. He’s now allowed a homer in seven consecutive starts and he’s allowed a total of 11 homers in that same stretch (5.63 ERA). The Dodgers have the following career numbers against him:

• Freddie Freeman 11-49, 4 2B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 13 K
• Miguel Rojas 9-35, 3 2B, HR, 3 BB, 5 K
• David Peralta 6-21, 2 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Jason Heyward 5-18, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
• Max Muncy 4-13, HR, 4 BB, 4 K
• Chris Taylor 2-12, 2B, 3B, BB, 7 K
• J.D. Martinez 2-11, 2 HR, BB, 5 K
• Austin Barnes 1-11, 7 K
• Mookie Betts 1-5, 2B, BB

The Mets bats look to build off the four hits they’ve had in the last two games against Dodgers’ rookie Bobby Miller. Miller has pitched 44 innings over eight starts with a 4.50 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.227 WHIP and a 98 ERA+. In his last four starts he has allowed 20 earned runs from 27 hits and eight walks over 21 innings (8.57 ERA, 5.37 FIP). In his four starts before that he allowed only two runs over 23 innings. Which Bobby Miller will the Mets get today?

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brandon Nimmo. The Mets as a team have had four collective hits since returning from the All-Star break and Brandon Nimmo has two of then. He had the sole hit, a double, in Friday night’s game and he had the sole RBI in yesterday’s game, hitting a solo homer. He can’t do it alone and the Mets right now can do nothing without him.
2. Max Scherzer. Are the Mets buyers? Are the Mets sellers? Everything depends on Max Scherzer. If the Mets are going to make a run for the Wild Card, they need Max Scherzer to be vintage Max. If things fall apart for the Mets, they need Max to be vintage Max so he can net the most possible prospects in a trade. Everything depends on Max. He was originally supposed to pitch yesterday, but a neck issue pushed him back to today.
3. Can the bullpen get it together? Trevor Gott. Brooks Raley. Despite the Mets using seven different bullpen arms in their last two games, only two pitches have tossed a clean inning. Yesterday Ottavino allowed a run, Hartwig allowed three total, only two earned. Robertson is the only arm that hasn’t been used yet and probably will be today regardless of the situation. The Mets need the bullpen to step up if they are going to make any sort of a run.

Let’s Go Mets!