213 Miles From Shea

Yesterday’s game was a good encapsulation for the Mets season as a whole. The game started full of promise with a deep shot by Juan Soto that was then robbed at the wall by James Wood. In the next frame Freddy Peralta made a throwing error leading to a run to score. The Mets would eventually claw back, only to give up the lead late.

They dropped the series and ended a stretch against the Twins, Rockies and Nationals with a 3-6 record. And now the Mets have another west coast road trip. The Mets have three Opening Day starters on the injured list now. The vibes are just rancid, but a good weekend can change everything!

The Mets will try again with Christian Scott. Scott joined the Mets rotation last week during a shakeup and truly struggled to find the strike zone, recording five walks over 1 1/3 innings. He only allowed one run though. He hasn’t pitched since that game on the 23rd. Before that outing, Scott had two strong games with Syracuse allowing only two runs from four hits over 10 1/3 innings while striking out 12 batters. Only two players on the Angels roster have seen Scott in a Major League game:

• Travis d’Arnaud 1-2, BB
• Jorge Soler 1-2, HR

The Mets bats will face rookie Walbert Ureña tonight! Over four games (two starts) he has pitched 11 1/3 innings with a 4.76 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 2.206 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. Ureña is coming off of a rough start against the Royals where he allowed four runs over 3 2/3 innings from six hits and five walks. This will be his first career start against the Mets.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto is trying his best. Soto is trying his best to get the Mets in the win column. He went 2-for-3 yesterday with a double and a walk. His one out was going to be a home run before James Wood made a terrific catch over the wall. In his last two games Soto has gone 5-for-8 with three extra base hits and three runs scored. Let’s hope Soto has some more magic in him.
2. Mike Trout is Mike Trout. Mike Trout has retuned to form this season, leading the league with 29 runs scored. He has more runs (29) than hits (27). Trough has 10 homers already and is slashing .248/.431/.569 with a 180 OPS+. If the Mets are going to win today, they need to contain Trout.
3. Francisco Alvarez. It’s May and Francisco Alvarez is the Mets home run leader. Alvarez has four on the year and the other Mets sluggers have been plagued by a myriad of things. This week Alvarez snapped his 28 at-bat hitless streak as a pinch hitter, getting a single on the 26th and then hitting a double yesterday! In between those pinch hits he has gone 0-for-12 at the plate with five strikeouts.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets face a critical rubber game this afternoon in Queens.

The Mets cruised past the Nationals on Tuesday night with an 8-0 victory. The Nationals flipped the tables on the Mets last night, bashing the Mets 14-2. David Peterson and Sean Manaea put the Mets into a hole that the struggling Mets hitters could just not climb out of. The vibes aren’t great as the Mets close out April!

Freddy Peralta has pitched 32 1/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 1.206 WHIP and a 103 ERA+ over six starts this season. He’s coming off of a solid start against the Rockies where he allowed only two runs over 5 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits and three walks while striking out eight batters. His only start against the Nationals last year was great, holding them to one run over 6 2/3 innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Peralta:

• CJ Abrams 3-6, 2B, 2 K
• Luis García Jr. 2-9, 2B, 2 K
• Brady House 0-3, K
• Daylen Lile 1-3
• Keibert Ruiz 2-7, K
• James Wood 1-3, 2 K
• Jacob Young 2-4, K

Miles Mikolas has had a rough season so far. Over six games, three starts, Mikolas has a 8.49 ERA, 6.93 FIP, 1.843 WHIP and a 48 ERA+. He’s allowed seven home runs over 23 1/3 innings, which is good for a 3.9 HR/9 which is well above his 1.8 career rate. Last season he allowed two runs over 4 2/3 against the Mets who have the following career numbers against Mikolas:

• Francisco Alvarez 0-2, K
• Brett Baty 2-8, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
• Bo Bichette 4-9, 2B, 2 K
• MJ Melendez 1-5, K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-3
• Austin Slater 1-1, HR
• Juan Soto 8-24, 2B, HR, 5 K
• Tyrone Taylor 4-12, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Don’t blame Soto for the Mets recent struggles. Soto homered for a second straight game last night, becoming the second Mets hitter to have at least three home runs on the season. Soto was on base three times last night, but the rest of the hitters couldn’t bring him home.
2. Get the rally going! The Mets are struggling again with runners in scoring position. Last night the Mets stranded runners on second and third multiple times. Over the weekend they grounded into a ton of double plays that just prevented anything from getting started. The Mets have grounded into 22 double plays this season, which is tied for 9th in the majors. This is, somehow, and improvement from last year where they were 4th in the league.
3. Carlos Mendoza. I’m not weighing in on whether the Mets should or shouldn’t fire Mendoza and shake up the coaching staff. Based on the how the Mets are playing right now, there is a possibility that this is Mendoza’s last game managing at Citi Field (or even his last game managing the Mets). Both the struggling Red Sox and Phillies have fired their managers this week. If you’re looking for historical symmetry, Willie Randolph was fired in the middle night after a series in Anaheim, a city that the Mets are heading to next.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets are 1-0 against the NL East this year!

The Mets opened up their series with the Nationals last night with an 8-0 win, thanks to a massive fourth inning where the Mets put up seven on the Nationals. The Mets got home runs from their top two stars in the lineup (Juan Soto and Bo Bichette), the pitching looked good and the Mets find themselves back in the win column. Now they need to do it again tonight!

David Peterson has a 5.06 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 1.650 WHIP, and a 79 ERA+. Since getting bumped from the rotation, Peterson has found his stuff again, allowing only one run from a solo homer over seven innings in two outings. Peterson was fantastic against the Nationals last season pitching 17 innings over two starts allowing only one run, including a complete game shutout. The Nationals have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• CJ Abrams 3-20, BB, 3 K
• Luis García Jr. 6-18, 2B, 3 K
• Brady House 0-3, K
• Keibert Ruiz 4-13, BB
• Joey Wiemer 4-6, 2 2B, HR, K
• James Wood 3-13, 7 K
• Jacob Young 4-12, BB, 2 K

Cade Cavalli has pitched 24 2/3 innings over six starts with a 4.01 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 1.662 WHIP and a 102 ERA+. Cavalli is coming off of a double-digit strikeout start where he got 10 Braves hitters to strikeout out over five innings (two runs). Cavalli had a great start against the Mets last season, holding them scoreless over five innings last September in a game the Nationals eventually won in extra innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-2
• Brett Baty 1-2
• Juan Soto 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Carson Benge hot streak is here. Benge has gone 7-for-16 in his last five games with a double, home run, three runs scored and only one strikeout (.438/.438/.688). He’s been approaching this point for a while, making hard contact but right at people. Since this hot streak started, he has raised his batting average from .136 to .195 and his SLG from .197 to .293. If we take a step back, in his last 16 games (51 PA) he is slashing .265/.294/.367.
2. Cavalli’s knuckle curve. Cavalli has a 4.01 ERA but a 2.80 FIP. His WHIP (1.662) is a bit high, and tends to lend itself to a higher ERA. Cavalli is getting out of trouble this year because of contact. He’s not really getting hitters to chase (35th percentile) or whiff (39th percentile). Hitters just aren’t making solid contact against him. He’s in the 83rd percentile in Barrel% and 82nd percentile for Hard-hit%. It’s been his knuckle curve which he throws about a quarter of a time which has a .170 xBA and .222 SLG. For comparison his fastball has a .303 xBA and .541 SLG.
3. Bo Bichette. Bichette has been turning it around since the Mets ended their 12-game losing streak. In the six game since then, Bichette has gone 7-for-22 with two doubles, a home run and five runs scored. He’s slashing .318/.360/.545 over the stretch and three games where he was on base at least twice. Bichette was not going to be a sub-.600 OPS hitter all season!

Let’s Go Mets!

Sunday may have been one of the worst days in the season so far which is saying something because it is still April and there have already been more than a handful of low points. The Rockies swept the doubleheader (and the series) from the Mets. The Mets recorded only ten hits and one run across both games.

But today is a new day. The Mets had an off-day to clear their heads and for the first time in 2026 they will finally play an NL East opponent. The Mets are ten games below .500 and just need to get a win to start the big climb back up.

The Mets will turn to one of the few bright spots of the season, Clay Holmes. Holmes has made five starts pitching 30 innings with a 2.10 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.033 WHIP and a 189 ERA+. He is coming off of a seven inning outing where he held the Twins to two runs from five hits in a game the Mets actually won. Last year Holmes faced the Nationals twice holding them scoreless over 8 2/3 innings. The Nationals have the following career numbers against him:

• CJ Abrams 1-3
• Luis García Jr. 1-3
• Brady House 0-2
• Curtis Mead 0-1, K
• Nasim Nunez 1-2
• Keibert Ruiz 0-3
• Jose Tena 1-3
• James Wood 1-3
• Jacob Young 1-4, K

Zack Littell has struggled this season. Over five games, four starts, he has pitched 25 innings with a 7.56 ERA, 8.61 FIP, 1.680 WHIP and a 54 ERA+. The home run ball is crushing him. Littell has already given up 11 this season which is an absurd 4.0 HR/9. Most of the damage against him has been done in his last two starts where he has allowed 16 runs over 10 innings from 18 hits including six homers. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 0-1, K
• Brett Baty 2-3, K
• Bo Bichette 5-13, 2B, 3 K
• MJ Melendez 2-3, 2B
• Marcus Semien 2-12, 3B, BB, 3 K
• Austin Slater 0-2, K
• Juan Soto 1-6, 2B, 2 BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Homers. Littell has a 4.0 HR/9 this season, which is way, way above his his career 1.6 HR/9. He is two home runs ahead of the next person on the list (Eovalidi) despite making one less start. The Mets are 27th in the league with only 20 home runs. Either the Mets are going to hit some bombs tonight, or Littell will have a “get right” game.
2. Austin Slater. On Monday the Mets DFA’d Tommy Pham and brought in Austin Slater. Pham had a dreadful stint with the Mets going 0-for-13 at the plate with a walk and seven strikeouts. Slater had 28 plate appearances with the Marlins over 12 games this season going 4-for-23 with four walks. Last season he had 160 plate appearances between the Yankees and the White Sox and slashed .216/.270/.372 with a 78 OPS+.
3. James Wood. James Wood was an All Star in 2025, hitting .256/.350/.475 with a 132 OPS+. Despite leading the league in strikeouts (221), he mashed 31 homers, knocked in 94 runs and had a 3.7 bWAR. He’s been on fire this year, leading the league with 10 homers, 28 walks and 44 strikeouts (some things don’t change). He has a 174 OPS+. If the Mets are going to win tonight, they need to contain him.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets may have a season defining doubleheader this afternoon at Citi Field. If the Mets sweep the doubleheader, they’ll win their second consecutive series and will continue to chip away at the hole the dug themselves into after the 12 game losing streak. A split would mean dropping a series to the Rockies, squandering the momentum built after the Twins series. Being swept today by the Rockies would put the Mets into a tough spot.

It’s a consequential Sunday at Citi Field!

The Mets will lead the afternoon off with Nolan McLean. McLean has made five starts totaling 30 1/3 innings this season with a 2.67 ERA, 2.39 FIP, 0.758 WHIP and a 149 ERA+. McLean was perfect through five innings in his last start, with all of the damage coming against him late. He struck out a season high 10 batters and now has struck out at least eight batters in four of his five starts. He now has a high 11.3 K/9 paired with a low 0.758 WHIP and 0.6 HR/9. This will be his first start against the Rockies and no one on the Rockies has faced McLean in a major league game.

Kodai Senga returns to the Mets rotation for the nightcap. Senga has had a bizarre season so far allowing 18 runs, 17 earned, over 17 1/3 innings from 23 hits and 10 walks while striking out 22. In his first two starts he allowed four runs over 11 2/3 innings while striking out 16 batters. Since then he has allowed 14 runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out six batters. Senga faced the Rockies twice last season allowing three runs over 12 1/3 innings with 13 strikeouts. The Rockies have the following career numbers against Senga:

• Jordan Beck 0-5, BB, 2 K
• Willi Castro 0-1, BB, K
• Brenton Doyle 0-5, 3 K
• Tyler Freeman 1-1, 2B
• Hunter Goodman 1-6, 2 K
• Troy Johnston 0-2, K
• Edouard Julien 0-2, BB
• Jake McCarthy 1-3, 2 K
• Mickey Moniak 1-7, HR, 3 K
• Ezequiel Tovar 1-4, HR, BB

The Mets will face an old friend this afternoon in the first game. Jose Quintana had a 3.70 ERA over 44 starts in seasons with the Mets from 2023-24. He pitched for the Brewers last season totaling 131 2/3 innings posting a 3.96 ERA, 4.81 FIP, 1.291 WHIP and a 105 ERA+. This season he has made three starts, 13 innings, with a 6.23 ERA, 7.61 FIP, 1.846 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. Quintana is coming off of his worst start of the season where he allowed six runs, four earned, over five innings against the Dodgers from eight hits (two home runs). The Mets have the following career stats against Quintana:

• Brett Baty 0-2
• Bo Bichette 0-1, BB
• MJ Melendez 0-2, BB
• Tommy Pham 6-25, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 2-6, 2 K
• Marcus Semien 6-15, 3 2B, BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 2-13, 2 BB, 3 K
• Tyrone Taylor 2-6, 2B, 3 K
• Luis Torrens 0-5, K
• Mark Vientos 1-2

As of writing the Rockies haven’t announced yet who is going to start the nightcap. Depending on how the first game goes, the plan is to use an opener with Chase Dollander to follow. Dollander has pitched six games so far this season totaling 25 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.000 WHIP and a 166 ERA+. He has thrown at least four innings in five of his six games. In his last two outings he has allowed only one run over 11 1/3 innings while striking out 18 batters. Dollander faced the Mets once last year and the Mets hit him hard scoring five runs from eight hits and a walk over three innings. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-2
• Brett Baty 0-2
• Ronny Mauricio 2-2
• Marcus Semien 0-2, K
• Juan Soto 2-2
• Tyrone Taylor 1-1, 2B, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brett Baty. Baty has been on a tear recently, going 4-for-8 in his las two games with a double, a home runs, five RBI’s and three runs scored. Baty got off to a slow start this year hitting .190/.197/.270 over his first 18 games. In his last five games he is slashing .500/.571/.833 and has raised his season OBP from .197 to .263. He’s swinging a hot bat right now and the Mets are going to need him this afternoon.
2. A well rested bullpen. Christian Scott only gave the Mets 1 1/3 innings on Thursday with the bullpen having to pick up the rest of the game. Sean Manaea was able to finish Friday’s game and the Mets had a day off yesterday, so pretty much everyone is ready to go today. With another off day tomorrow this is probably the best scenario for the Mets bullpen. Devin Williams is the player to watch today. He massively struggled earlier this week, failing to get an out after facing five batters. He came in to record the final two outs on Thursday and made things interesting, but ultimately survived.
3. Carson Benge. Each game it feels like we are getting closer to a Carson Benge breakout. His bat is in the 75th percentile for average exit velocity (91 mph), 64th in Hard-hit% (44.4%) and 72nd for Launch Angle Sweet-spot% (37%). His softest contact on Friday night was 85.6 mph right at someone (lineout, .630 xBA). His other three batted balls in play were between 95.2 and 104.9 mph.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have won back-to-back game for the first time in 42 years last night and now try to win three games in a row for the first time in a century!

Yesterday started off rough for the Mets. The Mets revealed that Francisco Lindor has a significant calf injury and wouldn’t even put a time table on his return. This is in contrast to his hamate surgery and Soto’s calf injury that both had time tables within a day of the injury. Then Christian Scott struggled in his first major league start returning from Tommy John and had to get pulled in the second inning.

But the Mets bats were alive and well last night. Brett Baty hit a massive three-run home run in the first inning. When the Twins hit a grand slam late in the game to tie, Bo Bichette responded with a bases clearing double in the 8th. There are signs of life! There are signs of Mets magic!

Freddy Peralta has pitched 26 2/3 innings over five starts with a 4.05 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.088 WHIP and a 97 ERA+ this season. His last start is pretty emblematic of his time with the Mets. His official line is three runs over 5 2/3 innings. He left the game in the fifth inning with two runners on and the next pitcher immediately allowed a three-run home run. Pretty demoralizing stuff, but also shows that Peralta has been better than his season stats suggest. In one start against the Rockies last season, he allowed one run over five innings from three hits while striking out six batters. The Rockies have the following numbers against Peralta:

• Jordan Beck 0-1, BB
• Willi Castro 1-7, 3 K
• Brenton Doyle 1-7, HR, BB, 4 K
• Tyler Freeman 1-2, K
• Hunter Goodman 1-1, HR, BB
• Edouard Julien 1-2
• Jake McCarthy 0-3, BB, K
• Mickey Moniak 0-4, K
• Ezequiel Tovar 3-9, 2B, 2 HR, BB, 2 K

Michael Lorenzen has had a rough season so far. Over six games, five starts, he has tossed 21 2/3 innings with a 7.48 ERA, 5.32 FIP, 2.123 WHIP and a 63 ERA+. His last time out he allowed three runs from seven hits over five innings. He has also had two starts this season where he has allowed seven or more runs. Lorenzen will be hoping for a “get right” game against a Mets offense that doesn’t have tremendous numbers against him:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-4
• Brett Baty 0-3
• Bo Bichette 1-3, 2B
• Ronny Mauricio 0-2, 2 K
• MJ Melendez 1-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Tommy Pham 3-13, HR, 6 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 3-16, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• Marcus Semien 3-5, 2B, K
• Juan Soto 1-10, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-0, BB
• Mark Vientos 2-2, HR

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Baby Mets. It’s time for Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Francisco Alvarez to take over. With Francisco Lindor and Jorge Polanco both currently sidelined (and Juan Soto’s injury/recovery plan), the four baby Mets from 2024 have a real opportunity to make their mark. Baty had a huge game last night going 2-for-4 with a massive three-run home run, and two runs scored. He has a .600 OBP in his last four games! Vientos made a bone head play and had the go-ahead hit to end the Mets losing streak a couple of nights ago. Mauricio finally has a chance to show he’s a major league ready shortstop on a team that has Bo Bichette (who could very well play short!).
2. The New Mets. Bo Bichette had a massive game last night for the Mets going 3-for-5 with a bases clearing double to give the Mets a lead in the 8th inning. He now has a three game hitting streak and has a double in back-to-back games. Marcus Semien also has a double in back to back games. In his last six games Semien has gone 8-for-21 with three doubles and three stolen bases (.381/.435/.524).
3. The Top Prospect. Carson Benge is coming off of his best day at the plate since Opening Day. He went 2-for-3 with a double and a homer. It’s been a tough season for Benge who is hitting .159/.237/.275 to start his career with a 46 OPS+. The team fell apart around him and had a historic losing streak – difficult working conditions! Hopefully last night is the start of a good run for Benge!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to win a series for the first time in 37 years tonight!

Last night the Mets squeaked by the Twins 3-2 to snap their 12 game losing streak. It was a bitter sweet end to a tough stretch as Francisco Lindor injured his calf and is now on the injured list. So once again the Mets head into play tonight with one of their key bats. Ronny Mauricio is rejoining the team and he’s coming off of a tremendous game this week where he hit three home runs. There’s a lot working against the Mets right now, but hopefully the team can push through!

Christian Scott returns to the majors! Scott made nine starts for the Mets in 2024 pitching 47 1/3 innings with a 4.56 ERA, 4.60 FIP, 1.204 WHIP and an 87 ERA+. He tore his UCL and spent most of 2024 and all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s made three starts in Syracuse this season with a 5.27 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. Home runs have been an issue (3) but he has struck out 17 batters. Only Josh Bell (1-for-5, BB, K) has faced Scott in a Major League game before.

The Mets bats draw the ace of the Twins staff, Joe Ryan. Ryan has made five starts this season totaling 27 1/3 innings with a 3.29 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 0.878 WHIP and a 135 ERA+. Ryan has allowed only three earned runs, four total in his last two starts (13 innings). Last season Ryan held the Mets to one run over five innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Ryan:

• Bo Bichette 3-10, 2 BB, 3 K
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, K
• MJ Melendez 1-15, 4 BB, 10 K
• Tommy Pham 1-5, 3 K
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-9, BB, 6 K
• Marcus Semien 1-7, R, BB, 2 K
• Juan Soto 0-6, 3 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Juan Soto went 1-for-3 with a walk at the plate yesterday. His single was the weakest ball that he hit all night, leaving his bat at 74.2 mph but with an xBA of 0.570. His other two outs were loud though. He had a 104.3 mph lineout with a .680 xBA and a 104.2 mph flyout out with a .730 xBA. Here’s hoping he makes more hard contact this evening!
2. Sean Manaea. Manaea hasn’t pitched for the Mets since last Friday and it was his worst outing of the season so far. he allowed five runs on six hits and a walk over four innings. It was a game where Senga allowed the Cubs to take the lead early and Manaea put the game out of reach for the offense at the end. Before that outing Manaea allowed only three runs from 10 hits and six walks over 12 innings while striking out 10.
3. Contain Byron Buxton. Byron Buxton has gone 2-for-10 this series, hitting a critical home run in each game. Last night Luke Weaver was able to get Buxton out to end the game last night, but he’s been a constant threat this entire series.

Let’s Go Mets!

Juan Soto, can you save the New York Mets?

The Mets losing streak stretched to an abysmal 12 games last night. Francisco Lindor gave the Mets a lead with a 3-run home run and Nolan McLean took a perfect game into the fifth inning but that wasn’t enough as the Mets fell apart late in the game. The game went past a tipping point when Devin Williams failed to record an out and allowed two runs to score in the ninth inning. Austin Warren came in and struck out the side, but that wasn’t enough as the Mets bats fell flat in the ninth.

Tonight Juan Soto returns from his calf injury. Things have been bleak without Soto. Soto is one of the greatest players in the game right now, and we need him now more than ever.

Clay Holmes has been one of the bright spots on the Mets this year. Over four starts, 23 innings, Holmes has a 1.96 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 1.087 WHIP and a 200 ERA+. He allowed two runs over five innings in his last start against the Dodgers, a game the Mets eventually lost 8-2. He faced the Twins last April holding them to only one run from two hits over five innings. The Twins have the following career stats against Holmes:

• Josh Bell 1-5, 2B, K
• Byron Buxton 0-5, BB, 4 K
• Victor Caratini 1-3, 2 BB
• Trevor Larnach 1-1, BB
• Brooks Lee 0-1, BB
• James Outman 0-1, K
• Matt Wallner 1-2, 3B

The Twins are calling up the #5 prospect in their system Connor Prielipp to take on the Mets tonight. Prielipp was drafted by the Red Sox in 2019 out of high school and elected to go to college. The Twins drafted him in 2022 in the second round out of the University of Alabama. He has a 2.30 ERA over 15 2/3 innings this season with 22 strikeouts. Prielipp has struggled staying on the field in college and the minors, but last season he put together 82 2/3 innings between AAA (5.14 ERA) and AA (3.65 ERA). He has a mid-90’s fastball, a high-80’s slider and a high-80’s changeup.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto. Soto was off to a hot start when he landed on the injured list. Over eight games he amassed 0.5 bWAR hitting .355/.412/.516 with a 164 OPS+. He ended last season with a league leading .396 OBP and had a 160 OPS+. Soto’s 0.5 bWAR still leads all hitters on the Mets, ahead of Jared Young (0.3) and Francisco Lindor (0.2). Soto just makes everyone around him in the lineup better. Save us from this streak Soto!
2. Kendry Rojas. The Twins bullpen has struggled this season (although they looked fine yesterday against the Mets), so the Twins are trying to mix things up with another top prospect, Kendry Rojas. Rojas was activated before yesterday’s game with Kody Funderburk on the paternity list. Rojas is the 10th ranked prospect in the Twins system and throws mid-90’s gas, a mid-80’s slider and a splitter. He hasn’t allowed any runs over 7 1/3 innings this season in the minors.
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor put the Mets on the scoreboard with a 3-run home run yesterday, bringing him to four RBI on the season. He also walked for the first time since April 3rd! Over the last eight games he has gone 9-for-31 at the plate with a double and two home runs, slashing .290/.313/.516. Lindor’s season OPS has gone from .546 to .642 during this stretch, and hopefully that continues to grow tonight.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets try to do the impossible tonight – win a baseball game!

It’s been a terrible two weeks for the Mets losing 11 straight games. Over losing streak we’ve seen injuries, extra-inning losses, hard-hit balls turn into outs, pitching completely fall apart and bats disappear. At some point though, the Mets will win snap this losing streak. Tonight would be a perfectly fine night to get back in the win column.

Nolan McLean has been on fire this season. Over four starts, 23 2/3 innings, he has a 2.28 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 0.761 WHIP and a 170 ERA+. His WHIP and H/9 (3.8) are both league leading while he’s striking out batters at a 10.6 K/9 clip. Last time out he allowed one run over seven innings, making it the second consecutive outing he went into the seventh inning. Josh Bell (1-for-3, 2 K) is the only hitter on the Twins who has seen McLean in a Major League game.

Simeon Woods Richardson is starting one night earlier than originally scheduled for the Twins tonight who put Mick Abel on the injured list yesterday with elbow inflamation. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Woods Richardson who was a second round pick by the Mets in 2018 and was traded in 2019 with Anthony Kay for Marcus Stroman.

Woods Richardson made 22 starts (23 total games) last season totaling 111 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.275 WHIP and a 106 ERA+. Over four starts, 20 2/3 innings, this season he has a 6.10 ERA, 5.60 FIP, 1.597 WHIP and a 73 ERA+. His HR/9 has jumped from 1.4 last to 1.7 this year while his K/9 has dropped from 8.6 to 4.8. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Bo Bichette 2-4, HR
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, K
• MJ Melendez 2-3, 2 B, 2 BB, K
• Tommy Pham 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 BB
• Luis Robert Jr. 0-5, 3 K
• Marcus Semien 1-6, HR
• Luis Torrens 2-2
• Mark Vientos 1-2, 2B

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Watch Out! I’m not walking here, or anywhere. The Mets worked zero walks on Sunday’s loss to the Cubs while striking out nine times. Overall in the series they walked a total of six time times while striking out 22 times. As a team the Mets have walked 64 times, which is 28th in the league. Last season the Mets were 5th in the league, anchored by Juan Soto who set a new franchise record. Obviously the Mets free passes will jump as soon as Soto returns to the lineup, but the problem runs deeper than Soto’s injury right now.
2. Nolan McLean. McLean has been one of the few bright spots on the team this year and every McLean start has been must watch. Hitters have a .125 BA (.168 xBA) and .213 SLG (.238 xSLG) this season. His xERA of 2.03 is even lower than his already low real ERA. Sarah Langs noted after his last start that he was one of three pitchers who had more than 80 strikeouts and allowed 20 or few runs in their first 12 games, joining Paul Skenes and Matt Harvey. Happy McLean Day!
3. Citi Field + Player Vibes. It’s going to in the mid-40’s tonight with a chance of showers. The team is on an 11 game losing streak. Everyone’s vibes are down. There’s every reason to believe the fans may get on players early if they don’t jump out with a lead. There’s every reason the believe that players may start pressing. The atmosphere between the players and fans could spill throughout the rest of the week. Not to be hyperbolic or anything.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Cubs were tied at 1-1 yesterday in the sixth inning. The Cubs had two runners on, and Freddy Peralta was taken out of the game. Brooks Raley came into the game, promptly gave up a 3-run home run.

It’s the way the cookie has been crumbling for the Mets over the last two weeks. The Mets are now tied for the worst record in baseball and are on a ten game losing streak. The vibes right now are bleak. They desperately need to win today before heading into an off-day on Monday. Can the impossible happen?

After a couple of poor starts from David Peterson, the Mets are switching it up today and sending out Tobias Myers to the mound. Myers has pitched 13 innings over six games this season with a 3.46 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 0.769 WHIP and a 114 ERA+. He has tossed three innings twice and the most amount of pitches he has made in any outing is 39. Myers was a starter his rookie season in 2024 where he had a 3.00 ERA over 138 innings. Last season he split time between the rotation and the bullpen. He faced the Cubs twice in relief last season totaling three innings allowing no runs and two hits while striking out three. The Cubs have the following career numbers against him:

• Miguel Amaya 1-2, BB
• Michael Busch 5-9, HR, K
• Michael Conforto 0-2
• Pete Crow-Armstrong 2-6, 3 K
• Ian Happ 2-6, HR, 2 BB, K
• Nico Hoerner 2-8, HR, K
• Carson Kelly 0-4, K
• Matt Shaw 0-1
• Seiya Suzuki 0-8, 4 K
• Dansby Swanson 2-7, 2B, BB

The Mets bats will try to breakout today against Javier Assad. Assad has made two starts this season allowing nine runs on 12 hits over 10 innings. Last season he only made eight starts totaling 37 innings due to an oblique strain. He had a 3.65 ERA, 4.24 FIP, 1.216 WHIP and a 105 ERA+. The Mets have the following career numbers against Assad:

• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, 2B
• Brett Baty 1-3, K
• Bo Bichette 2-4, BB
• Francisco Lindor 3-7, HR, BB
• MJ Melendez 0-3
• Tommy Pham 1-7, HR< K
• Luis Robert Jr. 1-2, BB
• Marcus Semien 1-2
• Tyrone Taylor 0-3
• Mark Vientos 0-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Step 1, get hits. Step 2, score runs. The Mets were failing at both getting hits and scoring runs during the week. In Chicago, they’ve gotten through the first step. The Mets have 21 hits over their first two games of the series, but have only six runs to show for it. Yesterday the Mets went 0-for-6 with RISP. Getting hits is encouraging! But you can’t win if you don’t score.
2. Francisco Lindor has been a lot better of late. Lindor went 2-for-4 at the plate yesterday. It was his second consecutive game recording two hits and his fourth time recording two hits in his last six games. In his last six games he is 8-for-24 with a double and a home run (.333/.333/.500). He’s also only scored twice, highlighting the problems behind him. Over the last six games he has raised his season slash line from .167/.296/.250 to .214/.305/.321.
3. Luis Robert Jr. Robert Jr. is slashing .258/.372/.379 with a 116 OPS+. While his slugging is a bit down from his career line (.452), his OBP is way up (.315). It’s the first time since 2023 that his OPS+ is over 100. He’s been much more patient this season, already working 12 walks. For comparison, he had 28 walks over 100 games in 2024 and 40 last year over 110 games. Robert hasn’t walked in five games though.

Let’s Go Mets!