213 Miles From Shea

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to five games this evening as they take on Dustin May and the Dodgers! Brandon Nimmo played hero yesterday with game saving catch in the 9th inning, allowing the Mets get the sweep against the Athletics. Now they head to Los Angeles and take on one of the best pitchers in the league.

Brett Baty finally joins the major league squad. He had a terrific spring and honestly deserved to break camp with the Mets. Over the past couple of weeks he has destroyed the ball in Syracuse and forced the Mets hand. It is not the greatest thing for the Mets fan base to have Baty’s 2023 debut after 10 PM local time but that’s a small price to pay to get his bat on the major league roster.

David Peterson becomes the first Met in 2023 to start four games tonight. Over his first three games and 14 2/3 innings of work he has a 4.91 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.841 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. Peterson had a poor start on April 5th against the Brewers where he allowed five runs from five hits over four innings. In his other 10 2/3 innings, he has allowed only three runs while striking out 11 batters. Peterson made one start against the Dodgers las year where he allowed four runs, only one earned, over 3 2/3 innings from two hits and four walks while striking out six. The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Freddie Freeman 3-12, BB, 5 K
• Miguel Rojas 5-9, 2 2B, HR
• J.D. Martinez 0-6, 2 K
• Austin Barnes 0-1, BB, K
• Mookie Betts 1-2, 2B
• Chris Taylor 0-2, K

The Mets bats will get a look at Dustin May tonight who is off to a good start for the Dodgers this year. Over his first three starts and 18 1/3 innings, May has allowed three runs from seven hits and seven walks while striking out 12 batters. This is good for early season 1.47 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 0.764 WHIP and a 312 ERA+. He leads the league in H/9 at 3.4 and has not allowed any homers this season. The Mets have the following career numbers against May:

• Tommy Pham 2-7, BB, K
• Mark Canha 2-5
• Eduardo Escobar 1-2
• Tim Locastro 1-1
• Brandon Nimmo 0-1, K
• Daniel Vogelbach 0-1, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brett Baty: In nine games and 42 plate appearances for Syracuse this season, Baty hit .400/.500/.866 with two doubles and five homers. His average exit velocity was 100.4 mph. In his final four games last year before his injury, he was just starting to get hot, going for 4-for-14 with a homer and only two strikeouts compared to going 3-for-24 with six strikeouts in his previous seven games. With Baty and Álvarez both in the major leagues – the future of the New York Mets is here!
2. Mets are hitting homers now! The Mets offense was severely lacking power early this season. During this four game winning streak the Mets have hit eight homers including three from Alonso and three from Lindor. With the exception of Lindor’s grand slam on Friday night, the Mets have mostly been hitting solo shots. The next step for the Mets is to take advantage of the walks they are working and start to score runs in bunches.
3. Robertson is on a roll! Most likely we won’t see Robertson today, but he deserves a shoutout somewhere in this article. Robertson has tossed 8 1/3 innings for the Mets this season allowing no runs on four hits and nothing else while striking out nine batters. He’s played a larger part in securing the last two Mets wins.

Let’s Go Mets!

For a second Sunday in a row, the New York Mets go for a sweep this afternoon! The Mets had 17 walks and 17 runs on Friday Night to beat the Athletics by 11 runs. Yesterday afternoon the Mets had a comeback win and just squeaked out a 3-2 victory. Yesterday’s close game featured two starters with ERA’s above 11 and they both were able to settle down and create a pretty good pitching matchup. That’s baseball!

Today was supposed to be Max Scherzer day. However he was scratched from today’s start with “lingering soreness”. Max had imaging done and it doesn’t appear that he is dealing with anything too serious. He said he didn’t want to be selfish and pitch today if he’s not 100% healthy. As of right now, Max will now slot into Wednesday’s start, giving the Mets that extra day of rest for starters in the middle of the road trip that they were looking. To be completely honest, this whole situation isn’t too confidence inducing.

José Butto will make his 2023 debut today in Scherzer’s absence. In two starts for Syracuse this season, Butto has allowed two runs from six hits and five walks over 9 2/3 innings (1.86 ERA). He made his major league debut last year pitching only one game and it was a doozy. In four innings he allowed seven runs from nine hits and two walks against the Phillies in Philly. Overall, Butto has pitched in the Mets minor league system for six seasons now with a 3.40 ERA over 104 games and 460 innings. The Mets do not have too many starting pitching prospects in Syracuse – today is a great opportunity for Butto to shine and make some noise.

The Mets bats will try to find their Friday version of themselves tonight against JP Sears. In his first two starts of the season Sears has allowed six runs from 11 hits and two walks over 9 2/3 innings (5.59 ERA). Both starts this season he has allowed exactly three runs, but he allowed eight hits in his first start and only three in his second (but two of those three hits were homers). The Mets saw Sears at the end of last season and were able score six runs from eight hits and two walks against him over 3 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against JP:

• Mark Canha 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 2-3, 2B
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, BB, K
• Pete Alonso 1-2
• Eduardo Escobar 2-2
• Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
• Tomás Nido 0-2, K
• Tommy Pham 0-1, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete continues his hot start! Pete Alonso hit his seventh homer of the season yesterday. He is now tied with Devers for the league leading (each time we write this segment, Pete is sharing the league lead with someone new). The Mets as a team have only 15 homers, good for 19th in the league. If Pete hits a homer before another member of the Mets, Pete will once again hold 50% of the team’s homers. Absurd for multiple reasons.
2. Brandon Nimmo is walking and hitting now! Before this road trip Nimmo was walking all over opponents, but he wasn’t collecting a ton of hits. Nimmo went 2-for-4 at the plate yesterday, collecting his fourth double of the year and his 8th RBI. Over his last three games he is now 7-for-13 with two walks (.539/.625/.769). He’s second in league for walks with 14. He’s now 8th in the league with a .468 OPS. He’s been one of the most consistent and important parts of this Mets offense this season.
3. Is this the last game the Mets will play at the Oakland Coliseum? This year marks the first season that every major league team plays every major league team. I am assuming right now if the Athletics and Mets play their series in Oakland this year, that means next year preference will be given for the Mets to host the series. The Athletics lease on the Coliseum is ending at the end of next season. Right now the organization is being operated as a real life version of “Major League”. They want out of Oakland. This could mean they move to another part of the Bay Area or another city entirely. They could also stay in Oakland and build a new stadium. There’s a non-zero chance that the Mets are playing their last game at the Oakland Coliseum this afternoon.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets finally had a breakout day for the offense! The Mets worked 17 walks last night and scored 17 runs as they took the series opener from the Oakland Athletics. The 17-6 win was enough to flip the Mets run differential all the way to a +10 on the season.

Francisco Lindor had the most memorable night at the plate hitting a grand slam in the second and getting three more RBI’s on a double later in the game. The Mets have struggled all season to get the big hit and Lindor essentially did that twice for the Mets as the Athletics were starting to assemble a comeback before the 5th inning.

Yesterday was a redemption day for the Mets offense. Here’s hoping today is redemption day for Carlos Carrasco. The first two starts of the year have been tough for Carrasco. He has allowed 11 runs from 10 hits and seven walks. In previous years, Carrasco has struggled when he allows homers, and he’s already allowed three this year. His troubles this year seem to be related to a drop in velocity. The Athletics have the following career numbers against Carlos:

• Jesús Aguilar 5-13, 2 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Tony Kemp 3-7, HR, BB
• JJ Bleday 1-5, HR< 2 BB
• Aledmys Díaz 0-2, K
• Jace Peterson 0-2, BB, K

The Mets bats will get a look at Shintaro Fujinami, making his third start of his major league career. Fujinami struck out four batters over two scoreless innings in his first start. Since then he has tossed 4 2/3 innings allowing 13 runs from eight hits and seven walks. The 29-year old pitched in Japan for 10 years before this season, posting a career 3.17 ERA over 252 games and 1302 1/3 innings.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Athletics Overworked Bullpen: Going into today’s game, the Athletics have the least effective, in terms of ERA, starting rotation in the majors. Their last day off was 4/6 and they don’t have another day off scheduled until 4/20. The Mets were able to knock Kaprielian out before the end of the fourth inning yesterday, further exasperating the bullpen. Can the Mets do it again and take advantage of the bullpen?
2. Work those counts! The Mets worked 17 walks last night and now have 76 on the season, good for 1st in the league. While last night was extreme, the Mets have been working walks all season. Last night was the first time the Mets fully capitalized on the free passes.
3. Possums. Gary revealed last night that the Mets broadcast booth is not actually in the visiting TV booth this series. Wayne Randazzo discovered during his first broadcast of the year that there is a possum living in the visiting TV booth. When the SNY crew tried to set up for this series they found some possum droppings and decided to go to another booth. Today is the first WPIX game of the year so first, we’ll look to see if the “new” visiting booth has signage more centered than last night. Second, a camera man still had to operate out of the possum booth. Here’s hoping he can coexist with our new fury friend for the rest of the weekend.

The Mets head to California for a long ten-game road trip with the Mets playing in Oakland, Los Angeles and San Francisco. This is on the heels of a three game series against the San Diego Padres – the Mets are definitely getting quality time with Californian teams!

After getting swept by the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Mets have responded with winning back to back series against the Marlins and the Padres. They head into Oakland to face a squad that has been struggling so far this season with a 3-10 record.

Kodai Senga makes his third start of the season this evening for the Mets. He has an early season 1.59 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.059 WHIP and a 276 ERA+. Both of his starts so far have been against the Marlins who have recorded exactly one run from three hits and three walks in each start. Senga’s second start against the same roster gave us the first peak into a major question – how fast can teams adjust to him? The Marlins struck out less in the second start but still produced the same outcome.

James Kaprielian takes the mound for the third time this season as well. Over his first two games he has allowed 12 runs over 9 1/3 innings leading to a 11.17 ERA, 8.67 FIP, 1.966 WHIP and a 40 ERA+. His first start was at home against the Guardians who tagged him for five runs on seven hits. His last start was in Tampa against the surging Rays who got him for seven runs from seven hits including three homers over 4 2/3 innings. The only Met on the roster who has faced James is Tommy Pham who went 0-2 with two strikeouts.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Starling Marte finally returns to Oakland. Starling Marte was traded from the Marlins to the Athletics at the 2021 deadline. Marte should have turned to his brief home at the end of last season when the Mets played a three game set in Oakland at the end of September, but Marte missed the last month of the regular season with an injury. Over 32 games Marte has hit .328/.359/.515 in Oakland. The Mets would love to see some of that this weekend.
2. Old Friends! The Mets will be reunited with a couple of old friends this weekend. Trevor May signed a deal with the Athletics this off-season. The emoji posting reliever has pitched in six games and 4 2/3 innings so far this season with a 9.64 ERA. Jeurys Familia signed a deal with the Diamondbacks in February and was cut in late March. Oakland picked up the former Mets closer. In six games and 5 1/3 innings this year he has allowed four runs but only two earned.
3. Pete Alonso shares the league lead in homers. Pete Alonso and Ryan Mountcastle (Orioles) have each hit six homers this season. The Mets as a team have only hit 12 homers, so Pete still has half of the teams homers. Lindor is the only other player on the Mets roster who has hit more than one homer this season.

Let’s Go Mets!

I finally got to a Mets game for the first time in 2023 this week. Since 2018 I’ve had a pretty established routine when going to a game. First, I show up way too early and end up walking around Corona Park for a while. Then I head to EBBS/Mikkeller for a beer (and read!). Finally, I go into Citi Field way too early, walk around the concourse and pick up a beer at the Empire State Craft stand.

Yesterday my routine took a major hit – the Empire State Craft stand is gone! I made a more methodic lap around the concourse, and several other concourses, to see if it moved. Years ago Keith’s Burgers (RIP) were moved and that also threw a wrench in my routine. A craft beer from New York pairs amazingly with a Keith Burger. Anyway, using Keith’s Burgers as precedent, I thought there was a chance the Empire State Craft stand was moved.

Alas, I could not find it. This blog post is an imperfect history of craft beer at Citi Field, a eulogy to my favorite stand at the ballpark, and a quick review of beer options currently at Citi Field.

Big Apple Brews and the Early Days of Beer at Citi Field

Citi Field opened in 2009. I was a sophomore at college at the time, so purchasing a beer at the ballpark was not a concept I was really aware of. Plus I still lived 213 miles away from Citi Field at the time (the name of this blog!). This is to say my understanding of beer at Citi at this point is quite limited. There were two major beer hubs, one located in the outfield by Shake Shack. Another on the promenade behind home plate. These “Big Apple Brews” stands are still standing today and over the years have been rebranded for Coors Light and Vizzy.

Back in the early days of Citi Field, you could get all of the well known beers at these stands. The vibe was like a bar that advertises how many taps they have, but all of their taps are macro beers. You still go to this bar because you want something besides Bud Light and Miller Lite, but deep down you know the beer selection is nothing special. That was Big Apple Brews! In addition to Bud Light and the 1,563 variations of Bud Light-ritas, you could get Shocktop, Stella, Kirin, Becks, Rolling Rock, Kona, Landshark, etc. I could be biased from fond memories, but the beer selection at Big Apple Brews was still larger than the beer and seltzer offerings at the iterations that are still standing today.

I moved to Newark in summer of 2011 to teach and I’ve been in the area ever since. Which means since then I’ve been going to a ton of Mets games, looking to increase the amount of beers logged on untappd. Around 2012/2013 (I’m not sure on exact year, remember this is an imperfect history!) an Empire State Craft stand opened up on the Promenade, next to the gift store. It was a substantial stand with a huge can selection and draft beer. Back then you could get Oyster Bay on tap. Southern Tier was still sold at Citi! Craft beer was heading toward it’s golden years at Citi Field.

Golden Age of Beer at Citi Field

Eventually the Empire State Craft stand closed on the upper deck (this happened around the years where more and more concessions would just be closed on the upper deck due to attendance). The stand opened on the main concourse next to Keith’s Burgers near where the Amazin’ Deli stands today. It is also entirely possible this stand always existed and I missed it. Personally I switched from buying tickets in the Promenade to sitting with The 7 Line in the Big Apple Reserve.

Early Empire State Craft was just amazing. Here are the different breweries that I had between 2016 and 2019:

• Cooperstown Brewing
• Rockaway Brewing
• Newburgh Brewing
• LIC Beer Project
• Mikkeller NYC (more on this in a moment)
• Flagship Brewing
• Blue Point
• Ithaca Beer Company
• Sixpoint Brewing
• Five Boroughs Brewing Company
• Oyster Bay Brewing Company
• Braven Brewing

Just an astonishing list of New York Brewers. Brooklyn Brewing was also at the ballpark during this time, but generally just had their normal stuff available. When I went to Citi Field this week in 2023, I didn’t see any of the beers above (it’s very possible I just missed Sixpoint though).

If your goal at Citi Field between 2016 and 2019 was to drink a beer you’ve never had before, it was going to happen! Almost all of it came through this one stand.

Another major event happened in 2018, cementing 2018-19 as the peak of the Golden Age of Beer at Citi Field: Mikkeller NYC.

Mikkeller opened up a New York arm of it’s international beer company, using the large space underneath Citi Field as a brewery. Their flagship beers, available all over the ballpark when they first opened, included Henry Hops and Say Hey Sally. Mikkeller NYC just made banger after banger of great beers. Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Post No Pils (great play on New York’s ubiquitous Post No Bills)
• Ergonomic Park Bench
• Queens Riot
• Lawn Daze
• United We Cheers
• I’ve Grown Up A Lot Since Before Dinner
• Shall We Hop A Beer
• Queensfisher
• Subway Mosaic IPA
• People Power

In addition to having a large selection of their own beers, Mikkeller NYC carried Mikkeller beers from their San Diego and Copenhagen arms. They also had a rotating list of beers from other NYC brewers. This is why Mikkeller had 60 taps! It seems silly now with EBBS. Back when the space was Mikkeller, they generally had 40-45 taps with different beers operating on game day. This truly was the peak of craft beer at Citi Field.

Adjusting to a Post-2020 World

I struggle to say post-pandemic here because the Covid19 pandemic is still actively happening. The world is still shifting to find a new equilibrium. Everything that I’m about to say is incredibly inconsequential compared to what we have all lived through over the last three years.

Last season EBBS opened up under Citi Field. This paragraph is from what I learned talking to a bartender at EBBS in Brooklyn before the 2022 season. I didn’t take any notes, so please don’t consider this an official record. Remember this is an imperfect history of beer at Citi Field. Mikkeller International essentially sells their licensing to the smaller breweries outside of Copenhagen. That licensing, and arguments about who owns what, didn’t make sense for Mikkeller NYC anymore. A good chunk of the brewers (and some of the investors) rebranded as EBBS. EBBS beer started to appear at Citi Field in 2021 with a naming convention literally the opposite of Mikkeller. Rather than fun names, EBBS names their beer like “IPA No. 7”. EBBS has a tremendous brand identity. The beer is great, and the Brooklyn spot is a lot of fun.

EBBS reopening the Mikkeller spot in 2022 gave me a lot of hope for beer at Citi Field. 2021 was tough – options were dwindling in the ballpark and there was no place to hang out right before the game. I only went two games in 2022, so I can’t speak to the beer options as a whole in Citi Field. I struggled to find beer that I haven’t had before, but I chalked that up to years of having one new beer every time I went to a Mets game.

2023 – A New Beer Landscape at Citi Field

I have a general rule when I go to the ballpark. For my health and wallet, I try to only have two beers. One before the game at Mikkeller/EBBS, one at the game at Empire State.

Tuesday was the first game I went to in 2023, I had a fantastic craft beer from Garvies at the new K Korner bar before having a beer at EBBS. Then I had another beer at EBBS when my wife got off work. Three beers – I’m done. There was no way I could have another beer at the ballpark, so I didn’t even look for Empire State Craft. Plus, I knew I was going back on Wednesday so no pressure to look at the beer offerings at Citi Field.

When I got the stadium on Wednesday I realized that things have changed at Citi Field. Here are the big beer related changes I saw when going around the ballpark:

• Empire State Craft was gone!
• The Blue Point Stand by the ramp on the third base side was gone and replaced with a Montauk Stand*
• There was now a Coney Island Stand on the first base side*
• Dogfish Head got the naming rights for a bar (Excelsior level) and had draft offerings of Citrus Squall around the ballpark *

*I cannot say for certain if this change was 2023 or 2022

Further beer offerings in the ballpark had shifted:

• IN: More Montauk, More Dogfish Head, More Coney, Garvies joins the Citi Lineup
• OUT: Five Boroughs, Newburgh, Blue Point, LIC, Braven (all beers I saw in 2021, and I’m pretty sure I saw in 2022). Everything else from that list earlier was also out, but I hadn’t seen some of them for years

If you are looking for craft beer at Citi Field, there are plenty of amazing offering still available. Coney Island makes great beers. Garvies is a strong new comer to the ballpark. Montauk is always solid. Brooklyn’s Pop Art beer is fantastic. Craft Beer is still at Citi Field.

The beer selection at Citi Field just isn’t as eclectic as it once was. Smaller brewers like Queens have been missing for years. I was introduced to several New York breweries because of their offerings at Citi Field. I’m not sure what happened but I have a hunch. (This is wild speculation). I think the Mets have a different beverage provider contract this year, that is controlling which craft beers are allowed to be sold at the ballpark. EBBS is literally under the stadium, they should be available on the concourse at Citi Field.

Wishlist For Next Year

The Mets have also changed beer offerings in the middle of the season before. Here’s hoping that in May and June there are are more beers, new beers, available at Citi.

Citi Field is missing a craft beer bar at the ballpark. A place that gets several kegs of beer from local breweries and serves drafts. This could easily go in the Taste of NY corner of Citi Field that feels more an more neglected by the Mets over the last few years. It could be inside of a “van” in the Coke Corner. If they decide to make the “Amazin’ Deli” into a bar, it could go there.

The stadium itself has changed a lot over the last couple of years. Places that haven’t been utilized properly are starting to get new attractions. The Bud Light Landing is now a pretty cool standing bar. There is now a super expensive speak easy in the outfield. Because of these changes, I think we can assume that other areas of the stadium, like the Taste of NY corner, that haven’t been busy lately may get some upgrades in 2024 and beyond.

For the second straight day the Mets will try to do something they failed to last season – win a series against the Padres. Last night the Mets were able to load the bases in the first inning but couldn’t score any runs. After that it became a tightly pitched game with the Padres eventually winning 4-2. Can the Mets string some hits together and score runs against lefty this afternoon? Can the Mets get through the San Diego albatross?

Tylor Megill has a 1.64 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.182 WHIP and a 273 ERA+ over his first two starts and 11 innings this season. Megill played stopper his time out, righting the Mets ship after being swept by the Marlins and providing the Mets with their first shutout outing by a starting pitcher this season. This will be the first time all season that Megill has faced a team not named the Miami Marlins and he didn’t face the Padres at all last season. The Padres have the following career numbers against Megill:

• Juan Soto 1-6, HR, 3 BB, 2 K
• Nelson Cruz 1-4, HR, K
• Rougned Odor 0-1, K

The Mets bats close out the series against Blake Snell this afternoon. Over two starts this season Snell has allowed seven runs from 12 hits and five walks (7.88 ERA). In his first start he was able to rack up 9 strikeouts against the Rockies, but only tossed 4 1/3 innings after allowing three runs from six hits. His last start against the Braves was a mess where he allowed four runs from six hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Snell’s two regular season starts against the Mets last year were opposite experiences for the Mets. In June he allowed five runs, four earned, from three walks and seven hits. In July he held the Mets scoreless over five innings. Snell was the only pitcher the Mets were able to get to in the Wild Card Series last year, scoring twice in 3 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Snell:

• Francisco Lindor 3-25, 2B, 5 K
• Starling Marte 5-15, 2B, HR, 5 K
• Mark Canha 4-11, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 3-9, 2B, HR, 3 BB, K
• Eduardo Escobar 2-12, 2B, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 3-9, 2B, BB, K
• Tim Locastro, 0-4, BB, 2 K, HBP
• Jeff McNeil 2-5, K
• Tomás Nido 0-3
• Tommy Pham 0-2, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Multi-Inning Bullpen Heroes: Yesterday Denyi Reyes tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. A few days ago Nogosek tossed 3 1/3 innings allowing one run and scattering three hits. While the Mets starters haven’t been able to go terribly deep into games, the Mets are getting multi-inning outings from some surprising sources.
2. Please cash in on free passes: We’ve already discussed this a few times this season and it is still relevant today – the Mets aren’t capitalizing on walks and hit by pitches. The Mets have already been walked 52 times this year, the fourth highest amount in the majors. They’ve been hit by 10 pitches, the most in the majors. The Mets have scored only 46 runs, which ranks 23rd. It’s also not like the Mets are striking out a ton, they have 87 K’s on the season, good for 24th in the league. At some point putting the ball in play will work for the Mets. Today would be a great day for that to start.
3. Power Up: Related to not cashing in on free passes, the Mets as a team have only hit 10 homers (23rd in the league). Pete Alonso is one four players in the majors with five homers this season. The remaining five homers on the Mets roster spread between Canha, Escobar, Lindor, Marte and Pham who have hit one each. The Mets could really use a player outside of Pete Alonso to get hot.

Let’s Go Mets!

The New York Mets look to do something they didn’t do all of last season – win a series against the Padres.

Max Scherzer labored last night and was still able to give the Mets five innings of shutout baseball. The bullpen behind him returned the favor. Meanwhile the offense provided one of the more memorable innings of 2023 with two perfect bunts that set up a two-run hit by Francisco Lindor to break the game open. Not exactly the gameplan, but it worked!

David Peterson looks to bounce back from his last start tonight. Over his first two games he has allowed six runs from 13 hits and six walks while striking out 10 leading to a 6.00 ERA, 6.06 FIP, 2.111 WHIP and a 79 ERA+. Almost all of the damage was done in his last start where he allowed five runs from five hits and five walks against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Last season he faced the Padres once in the regular season, allowing a run on two hits and a walk in one inning of relief. He then faced the Padres twice in the Wild Card Series allowing one run from two hits across two innings. The Padres have the following career regular season numbers against Peterson:

• Juan Soto 1-6, 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
• Xander Bogaerts 0-5, BB
• Nelson Cruz 0-3, K
• Matt Carpenter 0-1, K
• Ha-Seong Kim 0-1
• Austin Nola 1-1

The Mets bats will get a look at Ryan Weathers tonight who is making his second start of the season. In his first start he allowed two runs from five hits and a walk while striking out two in five innings of work. He only made one start in the majors last season where he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Weathers pitched in 31 games including 22 starts with El Paso in 2022 where he had a 6.73 ERA and a 1.789 WHIP over 123 innings. Only a few Mets have seen Weathers in a game before:

• Starling Marte 0-1
• Eduardo Escobar 0-1, K
• Tim Locastro 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Winning twice: In June of last year the Mets won the series opener against the Padres, and then lost the next two games. In July the Mets lost the first two games in San Diego, and then one last game of the series to avoid being swept. In October the Mets won second game of the Wild Card Series as the Padres eliminated them in a best of three series. Today the Mets have a chance to do something they couldn’t do all of last year – win two games in a series against the Padres. The Mets have had a rough go of it so far in 2023 with injuries and being swept by the Brewers. The secret of the Mets success last season was winning series. Let’s get that 2022 energy back today!
2. Bullpen usage: The Mets have used six different pitchers in their bullpen over the last two games (Nogosek, Santana, Curtiss, Smith, Robertson, Ottavino). Out of the group, Nogosek was the hero, tossing 3 1/3 innings on Sunday and preventing even more pitchers from having to enter the game. Everyone who pitched yesterday only went in one inning. The Mets aren’t in a dire situation yet, but an early exit by Peterson tonight could create one for tomorrow’s getaway game.
3. Brandon the Swiper? Brandon Nimmo stole only three bases in 2022. Prior to this season he stole 23 bases over his seven seasons and 608 games in the major leagues. Last night he stole for the third time already in 2023. We knew stolen bases were going to be up this year with the rule changes and this looks like a significant development.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look revenge today as they take on the Padres for the first time since the Padres knocked the Mets out of the 2022 playoffs. The Mets enter tonight’s series coming off of a series win against the Marlins. The Padres are coming off a series win against the Braves. It’s time for an early season statement series!

Max Scherzer is looking to get himself and the Mets rotation back on the right track today. Through two starts this season Max has allowed eight runs from 12 hits and four walks over 11 1/3 innings while striking out eight batters. He’s coming off of a particularly rough start against the Brewers where he allowed five runs from eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. There was a moment where he allowed back to back to back homers. Just terrible vibes.

In the regular season last year Scherzer made one start against the Padres where he allowed two runs from five hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings. The Padres got the best of Max though in the Wild Card Series, tagging him for seven runs from seven hits, including four homers. The Padres have the following career regular season numbers against Max:

• Manny Machado 8-50, 2 2B, 2 HR, 20 K
• Matt Carpenter 8-31, 3 2B, BB, 10 K
• Nelson Cruz 10-27, 2B, HR, 7 K
• Trent Grisham 2-15, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Jake Cronenworth 0-13, BB, 4 K
• Xander Bogaerts 2-11, 5 K
• Juan Soto 1-3, HR, 3 BB
• Ha-Seong Kim 0-3, 2 K

The Mets bats draw Yu Darvish’s second start of the season. In his first start he allowed one run from three hits and four walks over five innings while striking out three. He’s coming off of a great year where he made 30 starts tossing 194 2/3 innings with a 3.10 ERA, 5.80 FIP, 1.400 WHIP and a 254 ERA+. Darvish was fantastic against the Mets in the regular season last year allowing only one run from 14 innings and six hits. Between those two games he struck out 15 batters. Then in the Wild Card Series last year he held the Mets to only one run from six hits over seven innings. The Mets have the following regular season career numbers against Yu:

• Francisco Lindor 5-16, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Starling Marte 7-17, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Eduardo Escobar 3-17, 2 2B, HR, 7 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-11, HR, BB, 2 K
• Pete Alonso 2-10, HR, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-6, 2 K
• Luis Guillorme 1-6, 2B, 2 K
• Mark Canha 1-4, K
• Daniel Vogelbach 2-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can the Mets push out Darvish early? The only blemish that Darvish had in his first start was walks. He issued four of them, contributing to his pitch count. The Mets are third in the league with walks at 45 (Dodgers have 58). Darvish lasted seven innings each of his last three starts against the Mets. Can the Mets make him work early and get to the bullpen?
2. Please stop throwing at the Mets: It’s time for another check-in on the Mets HBP numbers. Through ten games this season the Mets have already been hit nine times this season. The Mets currently lead the league in this category but there are several other teams with abnormally high HBP amounts so far this season. The Rays have been hit eight times. The Diamondbacks, Astros and Giants each have been hit seven times.
3. Old Friends! The Padres have several former Mets on the roster, some of whom we’ll see today and some we’ll see in quick clips of them saying hello to their old teammates. Most notably is Seth Lugo who pitched against the Braves last night. In addition to Lugo, the Padres have Domingo Tapia, Michael Wacha, and Nabil Crismatt on their roster.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to close out the weekend with a win and a sweep this afternoon at Citi Field! Yesterday the Mets rolled through the Marlins thanks to an excellent start from Kodai Senga and Pete Alonso’s fourth homer in three games.

This afternoon though all eyes are on Francisco Álvarez as the Mets top prospect gets his first start in 2023. Lets break down today’s matchup!

Carlos Carrasco looks to bounce back for a disastrous first game of the season where he allowed five runs from four hits in four innings against the Brewers. Carrasco allowed a home run, a calling card that he’s in trouble, and his velocity vanished about midway through the start. The whole game made for a disturbing start of the series for the Mets. Hopefully the Mets get a more familiar version of Carrasco this afternoon. Carrasco faced the Marlins five times last season allowing 10 runs from 29 hits and seven walks in 28 2/3 innings (3.14 ERA) while striking out 27 batters. The Marlins have the following career numbers against him:

• Avisaíl García 12-45, 2B, HR, BB, 13 K
• Jean Segura 7-18, 2B, 3 HR, 3 K
• Bryan De La Cruz 4-16, 2B, HR, 5 K
• Yuli Gurriel 5-15, 2 2B, 3 K
• Jon Berti 3-12, 2 2B, 2 K
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. 2-11, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Jacob Stallings 1-11, 3 K
• Garrett Cooper 4-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Jesús Sánchez 1-10, BB, 3 K
• Jorge Soler 1-7, 2 BB, 4 K
• Nick Fortes 3-5, K
• Luis Arraez 0-5, 2 K

Braxton Garrett will make his first start of the season today. So far he has pitched in one game as a reliever, tossing three innings against the Mets. In those three innings he allowed two runs from six hits, including a homer. Garrett made 17 starts last season totaling 88 innings with a 3.58 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.250 WHIP and a 114 ERA+. This includes two starts against the Mets who racked up six runs on eight hits and three walks over 9 2/3 innings. The Mets have these career numbers against him:

• Tommy Pham 4-10, 3 K
• Pete Alonso 2-7, HR, 2 BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-7
• Mark Canha 2-5, HR, BB, K
• Eduardo Escobar 0-6, K
• Francisco Lindor 3-6, 2B, 2 HR, K
• Starling Marte 2-4, 2B, K
• Jeff McNeil 1-3

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Álvarez: Today is really Francisco’s day. The Mets top prospect was playing in Syracuse to start the season, 5.5 years younger than the average player. In four games and 19 PA’s he collected four hits including a double and two homers. Last season he had a .885 OPS between Binghamton and Syracuse before the Mets called him up. It’s difficult to not expect the world from him today.
2. Four in Three Games? Pete Alonso is tied for the league lead in homers with five after hitting his fourth homer in three games yesterday. Alonso only has eight hits so far this season. Here’s hoping he continues to ride this hot streak (and his very early, way to small sample size .706 slugging percentage).
3. See you later Marlins! The Mets faced the Marlins six times during spring training. Then the Mets played the Marlins seven times over the first ten games of the season (including today). The Mets and Marlins won’t see each other again until late September when they will do another two series against each other over a week and a half. I for one cannot wait for the Mets to get a break from Luis Arraez. See you in the fall Marlins!

Let’s Go Mets!

Winning cures all ails! The Mets came home to Citi Field yesterday after a terrible three game set with the Brewers. The team record was only 3-4 but it felt like the Mets were in this spiral of ineffective pitching and lackluster hitting.

Winning changes everything though! Tylor Megill became the first starter in 2023 to not allow any runs. The Mets offense turned walks into runs, getting a 6-0 lead against the Marlins. When the Marlins capitalized on walks in the 8th inning, cutting the lead to 6-3, the Mets bats responded back picking up three more runs and cruising to a 9-3 lead. Now the Mets look to win the series today behind Kodai Senga.

Kodai Senga pitched 5 1/3 innings in his debut, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out eight. It was a rocky start of the game for Senga, who had to wait through a long first half of the frame and then allowed a run and loaded the bases before he even recorded his first out. Then everything came together for Senga as he chopped up the Marlins lineup. All eight of strikeouts came on the ghost fork. The Marlins have the following numbers against him:

• Luis Arraez 2-3
• Jorge Soler 1-3, 2B, 2 K
• Jazz Chisholm 0-2, BB, 2 K
• Avisaíl García 0-1, BB
• Yuli Gurriel 0-2, K
• Jesús Sánchez 0-2, 2 K
• Jon Berti 0-2
• Jacob Stallings 0-1, BB, K

Trevor Rogers, like every other starting pitcher so far in this series, is making his second start of the season against the same team he pitched against the first time around. Last week the Mets were able to tag him for four runs, three earned, over 4 1/3 innings from two walks and four hits. Additionally, he hit two Mets with pitches. The Mets batters yesterday were patient and worked a dozen walks. Look for the Mets today to something similar to keep getting into the Marlins bullpen. The Mets have the following career numbers against Rogers:

• Pete Alonso 1-15, HR, BB, 6 K
• Brandon Nimmo 4-13, 2 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-12, 2B, 2 K
• Jeff McNeil 4-11, 3 2B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Eduardo Escobar 1-8, 5 K
• Starling Marte 3-9, 4 K
• Mark Canha 1-5, 2 BB,2 K
• Luis Guillorme 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Tommy Pham 3-5, HR, K
• Tim Locastro 1-3, 2B, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. What adjustments have the Marlins made? The Marlins are the only team that has seen the ghost fork so far as Kodai Senga threw it very rarely in spring training this year. What adjustments are they going to make? They only struck out on the ghost fork itself last week. When the pitch was working, it traveled in a similar trajectory as Kodai’s other pitches until the last moment when it broke way out of the zone. Are the Marlins going to take more pitches late in counts? Are they going to go aggressively swing at the first pitch they see? The Marlins are essentially writing the major league blue print right now on how to approach Kodai.
2. Three-Pete: After going 0-for-11 in a three game stretch, Alonso has really turned it on over the last two games. He is 4-for-9 with three homers and six RBI’s. His homer yesterday provided the Mets with their 9th run of the day and made the game feel out of reach for the Marlins. The Mets need this Pete Alonso all season.
3. Brandon walks again and again (x2): Brandon Nimmo became the 28th Met in history to walk four times in a major league game. He has now walked 10 times this season. That’s 10 times in only eight games! Further, this was Nimmo’s third multi-walk game of the year. Shockingly (or disappointingly?) Nimmo has only scored three times this season. He’s doing his part by getting on base. Can the Mets please bring him home?

Let’s Go Mets!