213 Miles From Shea

The first place New York Mets head out west for the first time in 2025! This road isn’t so bad for east coast fans. The Mets play three games in Oakland, but only tonight has a 10 pm start. After this series the Mets head to Minnesota. The 2025 schedule as a whole is fairly nice to the Mets, featuring zero three-city west coast road trips.

Sutter Health Park has allowed 18 home runs over its first five games in 2025. It’s too early to tell if this because of the ballpark itself or the A’s pitching staff (who allowed 11 homers). This could potentially be a wild weekend.

Griffin Canning has pitched 9 2/3 innings over his first two starts of the year allowing three runs, eight hits and five walks while striking out ten (2.79 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.345 WHIP and a 140 ERA+). The Mets bullpen has been fantastic so far this year, but they could also use a break. Canning has thrown 89 pitches or less in both starts. Getting through at least six innings could go a long way for a Mets bullpen that was used a lot in the last week.

Canning faced the Athletics twice last season, allowing seven runs from 11 hits over 10 1/3 innings. The Athletics have the following career numbers against Canning:

• Miguel Andujar 1-5, 2B
• JJ Bleday 0-5, K
• Seth Brown 1-5, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Lawrence Butler 2-5, 3B, BB
• Shea Langeliers 1-7, HR, 2 K
• Brent Rooker 3-9, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Max Schuemann 2-2, HR
• Tyler Soderstrom 0-5, K
• Gio Urshela 1-3
• Jacob Wilson 1-1

The Athletics are hoping that 2025 is the year of the JP Sears breakout. He took a step forward in 2025, making 32 starts for a second consecutive season, lowering his ERA from 4.54 to 4.38 and his FIP from 5.15 to 4.71. His ERA+ over the last two years was a 93 and 91. This season he’s off to a strong start allowing five runs over 13 innings from 11 hits and two walks while striking out nine batters (3.46 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.000 WHIP, 113 ERA+). The Mets have the following career numbers against Sears:

• Pete Alonso 1-5, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-6, 2B, HR
• Starling Marte 0-3, K
• Brandon Nimmo 2-5, BB, K
• Juan Soto 2-6, K
• Luis Torrens 1-5, 2B, K
• Jesse Winker 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Home runs. The New York Mets hit 207 home runs in 2024 – 6th in the league! This season the Mets have hit only nine home runs, with a bunch of them coming in just one game. The Mets are tied for 20th in the league right now with the Braves, White Sox, Rockies, Marlins and Twins. For context, the Dodgers lead the league with 28 and the Yankees are second with 26. The jury is still out on whether Sutter Health Park is a home run hitting paradise. Hopefully the Mets can take advantage tonight!
2. Juan Soto. Soto did not get a hit or a walk on Wednesday, snapping his 11 game streak of getting on base. While the Mets offense, outside of Alonso, has been mostly absent, Soto has been so consistent this season. Even after going 0-for-4 on Wednesday, Soto still has a .404 OBP and a 146 OPS+. From April 4th to April 8th, Soto went 7-for-18 with three doubles and scored five runs (.476 OBP).
3. Tyler Soderstrom. Griffin Canning has kept Tyler Soderstrom hitless over his career (0-for-5). Tyler is having a moment right now. He has six home runs so far this season, tied with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the league lead. He’s hitting .354/.426/.771 (249 OPS+). Soderstrom had a 0.5 bWAR over 61 games in 2024, and already has a 1.1 bWAR over 13 games. It’s going to be a long night for the Mets if they can’t contain Soderstrom.

Let’s Go Mets!

Has anyone else struggled to remember what day it is? The Mets played a rare, mid-series day game in the middle of the week on Tuesday due to the falling temperatures. As a creature of habit, that fully convinced me that Tuesday was a getaway day, and the last game of the series (thus, Wednesday).

But today is that getaway day! We get another day game today! The Mets look to stretch their winning streak to seven games and sweep their second consecutive series.

Tylor Megill has allowed one run over 10 1/3 innings this season from five hits and four walks while striking out 10 (0.87 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 0.871 WHIP, 457 ERA+). We noticed after Megill’s first start that he was using his slider a lot more than last year and that continued into his second start. Over two starts now, Megill is using 27.7% of the time, up from 11.0% in 2024. Statcast still has not picked up any cutter usage yet, which he used 14.2% of the time in 2024. Megill only made one start against the Marlins in 2024 where he allowed three runs from five hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out eight. The Marlins have the following career numbers against him:

• Nick Fortes 1-4, HR, BB, K
• Otto López 0-2
• Matt Mervis 2-2, HR

The Marlins are hoping this is the season that Max Meyer turns a corner. Over two starts he’s allowed five runs, four earned, over 11 2/3 innings from 13 hits and 15 strikeouts (3.09 ERA, 2.64 FIP, 1.371 WHIP and a 147 ERA+). He’s coming off of a quality start against the Braves where he allowed three runs over six innings while striking out eight. In 2024 he made 11 starts pitching 57 innings with a 5.68 ERA, 5.90 FIP, 1.421 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. This includes one start in Queens where he allowed four runs from six hits and three walks over four innings. The Mets own the following career stats against Meyer:

• Pete Alonso 1-2, HR, K
• Francisco Lindor 1-2, HR, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 1-3, 3B, K
• Mark Vientos 2-3, 2B
• Jesse Winker 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Pete Alonso is sizzling hot right now. Over 11 games this season he is slashing .333/.447/.692 with a 222 OPS+ and 0.7 bWAR already. He has three consecutive two-hit games going 6-for-11 with three doubles. On Tuesday he had his second four RBI game of the season. The Marlins walked Juan Soto to load the bases in a key moment in the game to bring up Pete Alonso who ripped a three-run double. What a start for the Polar Bear!
2. Hitting with RISP, again. On Monday the Mets went 1-for-10 with RISP putting a lot of stress on the bullpen. Yesterday’s game was a significant improvement (the Mets scored ten runs!) but overall the team went 3-for-14 with RISP and left ten runners on base, the same amount as Monday’s game. Pete Alonso got a key hit with the bases loaded that broke the game open. Brandon Nimmo earlier in the game got a huge hit with two runners on. But there were plenty of players who put up weak at bats in key moments.
3. Bye Marlins! It feels like the Mets have played the Marlins every other day since the start of spring training. The Mets played six spring training games against the Marlins and six of the first 12 regular season games. After today the Mets do not face the Marlins again until the very end of August. Who knows what the Marlins will look like then!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to stretch their winning streak to six games in a row and win their third consecutive series this afternoon! If you follow the Mets schedule closely, you’ll recognize this is not the regularly scheduled game time. The Mets have moved the game up a couple of hours to ensure they have a clear window to play the game. The Mets do not frequently do this, and famously were hurt by the league/ the Braves not moving game times around at the end of last season. It’s worth watching to see if the Mets do this again later this season.

Clay Holmes makes his third start of the season this afternoon! Holmes has allowed three earned runs, five total, over 9 1/3 innings this season from 11 hits and six walks while striking out 10. This translates into a 2.89 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 1.821 WHIP and a 140 ERA+. Holmes has pitched exactly 4 2/3 innings in both starts this season, tossing 89 and 85 pitches during his starts. HIs last start (4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) was against the Marlins who have the following career numbers against him:

• Griffin Conine 2-3, K
• Xavier Edwards 1-3
• Nick Fortes 1-1
• Liam Hicks
• Otto López 1-3
• Matt Mervis 1-2, K
• Graham Pauley 0-2, K
• Javier Sanoja 0-2, 2 K
• Kyle Stowers 1-2, 3 BB
• Eric Wagaman 0-2

The Mets bats will try to get a hit with runners in scoring position against Connor Gillispie this afternoon. Over two starts this season Gillispie has allowed five runs, four earned, over 10 innings from eight hits and four walks while striking out 10 batters (3.60 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.200 WHIP and a 125 ERA+). This will be Connor’s first road start of the season His last start against the Mets was a good one where he held the Mets to one run from four hits and no walks over five innings while striking out six batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 2-2, 2 2B
• Brett Baty 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 0-3, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-2
• Hayden Senger 1-2, 2B
• Juan Soto 1-3, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 0-2, K
• Jesse Winker 0-2, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can Clay Holmes get his WHIP down. Holmes has done an impressive job keeping scoring down while he’s on the mound. His small-sample size 1.821 WHIP is a key indicator about the amount of traffic on the basepaths behind him. He cut his walks in half from his first to second start (four to two), but allowing at least five hits while not finishing the 5th inning is a lot. Today is also his first time pitching at home. Over the last three years the Marlins and Astros have been in the top 50% of ballparks for hitting while Citi Field has been in the bottom 15.
2. Hitting with RISP. The Mets lack of hits with RISP is starting to become a theme again. Monday night the Mets went an astounding 1-for-10 with RISP and left a total of 10 batters on base throughout the night. The offense is starting to hum at getting runners on base – the Mets had nine hits and five walks over the game. The pitching staff has been absolutely phenomenal, allowing only 22 runs over the first ten games of the season. Can the Mets take some of the pressure off?
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor was slashing .067/.118/.067 over his first four games of the season where he went 1-for-15. He’s now hitting .242/.308/.303. Over his last four games he’s slashing .462/.529/.615 going 6-for-13 with two doubles and three walks. Monday night he had his first three-hit game of the season, and he’s still searching for his first home run of the season. Earlier this season, Connor Gillispie held Lindor hitless over three at bats while striking him out twice. Once Connor left the game, Lindor got his second hit of the season. Let’s see how a hot Lindor hits against Connor tonight!

Let’s Go Mets!

Are you sick of seeing the Marlins yet? After playing the Marlins six times in spring training, and three times in the first week of the season – the schedule gods have dictated another Marlins vs Mets series.

The Mets are coming off of a three game sweep of the Blue Jays. Since playing the Mets, the Marlins split a two game set with the Braves, with the rubber game getting washed out yesterday. Sandy Alcantara was supposed to pitch in Sunday’s game and will miss tonight’s game as he and his wife prepare to welcome a baby girl (congrats Sandy!). Can the Mets bats breakout of their funk against a spot starter?

Kodai Senga faced the Marlins in his first start of the season where he allowed two runs, four earned, over five innings from three hits and a walk while striking out eight batters. The under-the-hood numbers for Senga were a mixed bag in his first start. On the positive side he had a 41% Whiff% and a 63.6 GB%. He also had a 54.5% Hard-Hit rate. Senga used his four seamer 28.6% of the time while the ghost fork made up 26.0% of pitches thrown. Will he attack the Marlins the same way tonight? The Marlins have the following career numbers against him:

• Jonah Bride 0-1, BB, K
• Griffin Conine 0-2
• Xavier Edwards 1-7, 2B, 2 K
• Nick Fortes 0-4, 2 K
• Otto López 0-2
• Matt Mervis 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Dane Myers 0-2, K
• Graham Pauley 1-2, 2B, K
• Kyle Stowers 1-3, HR, 2 K

The Marlins are leaning on Valente Bellozo as a spot starter tonight. On March 29th, Bellozo pitched 4 1/3 innings against the Pirates, holding them to one run from four hits and two walks while striking out four batters. They then sent him down to the minors where he pitched two innings on Friday, allowing one run from two hits and a walk while striking out three batters. It is unclear how deep Bellozo will be able to go in today’s game. The Marlins bullpen had yesterday off to rest, but the Mets have an opportunity now to make them work extra at the start of this series if they can knock Bellozo out fast.

Bellozo made one start against the Mets last season, allowing two runs form seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 1-3
• Francisco Lindor 1-3
• Starling Marte 1-3, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-2, HR, BB
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 1-3, K
• Jesse Winker 1-2

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Score Runs! The Mets bullpen has been brilliant to start the year, keeping the Mets in every game. They have been carrying the Mets over their four game winning streak while the bats for the most part have gone silent. Yesterday the Mets turned three walks and seven hits into only two runs going 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position leaving seven batters on base.
2. Back half of the lineup. A big reason the Mets left so many runners on base yesterday was because of the back half of the lineup. The Mets 1-4 batters yesterday combine to go 5-for-13 with two strikeouts. The rest of the Mets lineup went 2-for-15 with seven strikeouts.
3. Mets bullpen. The Mets bullpen held the Blue Jays scoreless for 4 1/3 innings on Sunday, allowing one hit and striking out five batters. Overall against Toronto the bullpen allowed only one run in 13 innings. Between playing close games, early exits by starters, and an offense that is struggling, the Mets have really leaned heavily on the bullpen the last few days. Senga was limited to only 77 pitches in his first start, so it could be another bullpen intensive night.

Let’s Go Mets!

“We really believe it every time” – Francisco Lindor, after Saturday night’s walk-off win.

The Mets had traffic on the base paths most innings in last night’s game, consistently getting runners on and in scoring position. They just couldn’t get runners home. Then Jesse Winker hit his second triple of the game, bringing in two runs. Lindor would hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.

The confidence that Lindor talked about after the game (that Will Sammon credits to Pete Alonso in linked article) is what made the Mets a force in June of last year. We love to see that confidence in April and we hope it can carry the Mets to a sweep of the Blue Jays this afternoon at Citi Field.

David Peterson allowed only two runs off of five hits and three walks in his first start while striking out nine batters. Obviously its early, but so far this season his 36 Whiff% is good for the 85th percentile. Peterson had a rough start against the Blue Jays last September where he allowed five runs, four earned over 4 1/3 innings from eight hits hits and two walks while striking out two. The Blue Jays have the following career numbers against Peterson:

• Bo Bichette 0-3, K
• Ernie Clement 1-3
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 0-4, BB
• Tyler Heineman 0-1
• Alejandro Kirk 1-3, 2B
• Anthony Santander 1-6, BB, K
• Davis Schneider 1-2, 3B, K
• George Springer 1-3

Bowden Francis had a very similar stat line to David Peterson in his first start of the season. Francis allowed two runs from two hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings. Last season Francis split time between the bullpen and the rotation totaling 103 2/3 innings over 27 games with a 3.30 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 0.926 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. He was much more effective as a starter, posting a 2.92 ERA, 0.753 WHIP over 77 innings. This includes a stellar start against the Mets where he held the Mets to a solo home run and nothing else over eight innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-2
• Francisco Lindor 1-4, HR
• Starling Marte 0-2, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3
• Juan Soto 1-2, K
• Mark Vientos 0-3, K
• Jesse Winker 0-1

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Seeing Double. On Friday afternoon the Mets had three doubles (Lindor, Soto and Nimmo). On Saturday night the Mets had two doubles (Lindor, Winker). The Mets have hit five of their 16 total doubles this season in the first two games of this series, good for 6th in the league. For context, the Diamondbacks and Cubs lead the league with 22 doubles and the Mariners are in 30th with only five. While the Mets have only scored eight runs this series, lets hope the extra-base hit barrage continues this afternoon.
2. Ryne Stanek. We’ll probably see Ryne Stanek this afternoon. Stanek has only pitched 1 1/3 innings this season, last pitching on Wednesday. Over his two games he has allowed a hit, two walks and struck out one batter. His fastball has averaged 98.7 mph so far this season, which is almost a full mph faster than 2024 (averaged 97.8). We also have to take that with a grain of salt as he has only thrown 16 fastballs this season.
3. Francisco Lindor. Friday was the first game this season where Lindor got on base twice by hits or walks. He did it again yesterday! In his last two games he is 2-for-5 with three walks, two doubles and three runs scored. He also had the walk-off sacrifice fly last night. It feels like Lindor is starting to heat up!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets attempt to win their second consecutive series as they take on the Blue Jays this afternoon at Citi Field! Pete Alonso got the team and the crowd going Friday with his third homerun of the season, giving the Mets a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Mets never looked back as they went on to win 5-0.

Rain is the story for the rest of the weekend. There are chances of showers and thunderstorms for most of the night and that threat increases after 10 PM. If the field and players can handle it, there’s a lot of incentive to play through early bursts of rain so the end of the game doesn’t get called. Tomorrow is a rinse and repeat (pun kind-of intended?) situation with a chance of showers throughout the afternoon, getting worse at night. Hopefully April showers bring a blooming box score for the Mets!

Griffin Canning allowed two runs from four hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. He leaned heavily on his slider in his first start, throwing it over 50% of the time. The slider was his most used pitch in his last spring start as well, but he tossed it only 44.5% of the time. In 2024 his slider made up 24.1% of all pitches. Let’s see what happens with his pitch selection today!

One of Canning’s best 2024 starts was against the Blue Jays. He held them scoreless and allowed only two hits over six innings while striking out six. The Blue Jays have the following career batting lines against Canning:

• Bo Bichette 0-2, K
• Ernie Clement 0-2, K
• Andrés Giménez 2-6, K
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1-6, HR, 3 K
• Alejandro Kirk 1-3, 2B
• Anthony Santander 3-12, 2 2B, 2 K
• George Spring 1-7, 2 BB, K
• Myles Straw 0-3, BB, 2 K
• Will Wagner 0-3

Chris Bassitt was a stabilizing presence in the 2022 Mets rotation. He made 30 starts, pitched 181 2/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 1.145 WHIP and a 113 ERA+. He is now in year three of a three year contract with the Blue Jays. In 377 innings for the Jays he has a 3.82 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 1.313 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. In his 2025 debut, he scattered eight hits, allowing only one run to score over six innings.

Bassitt last faced the Mets in September where he allowed only one run from five hits and a walk over six innings while striking out eight. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

• Pete Alonso 0-5
• Brett Baty 0-3, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 4-14, HR, BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 1-8, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-6, 2 K
• Jose Siri 1-5, HR, K
• Juan Soto 2-9, 2 BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2
• Luis Torrens 2-4, BB, 2 K
• Mark Vientos 0-6, 4 K
• Jesse Winker 2-4, BB

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Pete Alonso. Alonso is fueling this offense right now, getting big hit after big hit. In his last four games he has gone 6-for-15 at the plate with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI’s and three walks. This translates into a .500 OBP and a 1.133 SLG. To put the 10 RBI’s in perspective, the Mets have scored only 23 runs in those four games.
2. Francisco Lindor. Lindor went 0-for-11 in Houston. Since then he has gone 3-for-11 in three games with two walks. Friday night Lindor had a double (his first of the season), two walks (his first of the season), and a stolen base (his second of the season). He was on base three times, he scored two runs (most he has this season in one game) and the Mets won the ball game. Let’s hope this is a sign things are clicking for him now! Lindor, followed by Juan Soto, followed by this version of Pete Alonso is going to rake!
3. Hitters Off To Slow Starts. The Mets have a few hitters that off to slow starts and there’s no day like today to break out! Whether its from a solid start or a pinch hit, sometimes it just takes one hit or one solid at bat to start the avalanche. Mark Veintos is 2-for-27 this season with two walks. In his last three games he has gone 0-for-12 (but only two strikeouts!). Jose Siri is 1-for-12 with a walk. We’ve seen the chaos he he can cause on the base paths, but since his first game when he got on base twice, he has gone 1-for-10 (with only one strikeout!). Brett Baty is 1-for-14 to start the season. After striking out three times in his first two games he has struck out only once in his last three.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets return home for the first time in 2025!

The Mets had a come from behind, extra-innings win on Wednesday to take the series from the Marlins. Pitching has kept the Mets in every game this season with a 2.38 ERA so far. Defensive miscues and lack of offense at times has prevented the Mets from taking full advantage of the pitching staff’s performance. Can the Mets bats wake up tonight against the Blue Jays who are on a four game winning streak?

Tylor Megill allowed only one run from three hits and a walk over five innings while striking out six in his first start. Before his start last week, we noted that statcast recorded eight different pitches thrown by Megill in 2024. In his first start he tossed five pitches: a four seamer (50.6% of the time), slider (22.1%), sinker (20.8%). changeup (3.9%, three total pitches) and curveball (2.6%). One his best starts of 2024 was against the Blue Jays where he one-hit them over six innings while striking out nine batters. The Blue Jays have the following career numbers against him:

• Bo Bichette 2-5, BB
• Andrés Giménez, 0-3, 3 K
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 0-7, 2 BB, 2 K
• Alejandro Kirk 2-5, BB
• Nathan Lukes 0-2, K
• Anthony Santander 2-3, 2B, HR
• George Springer 1-8, K
• Will Wagner 0-1, BB, K

The Mets bats will try to get themselves going against Kevin Gausman this afternoon. He allowed two runs from three hits and a walk over six innings in his first start this season. Last season he pitched 181 innings over 31 starts with a 3.83 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.221 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. Before you move on the Mets numbers against Gausman, make a prediction, which two hitters have eight hits and an OBP over .680 against Gausman over their careers? Read on to find out!

• Pete Alonso 1-4, 3B, BB, 2 K
• Francisco Lindor 3-9, HR, BB, 2 K
• Starling Marte 8-13, 3 2B, HR, BB, K
• Brandon Nimmo 1-7, 2 BB, K
• Jose Siri 0-9, 4 K
• Juan Soto 8-15, 2 2B, HR, 12 BB, 2 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-2, K
• Jesse Winker 2-12, 3 BB, 3K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill pitch selection. We are still watching Megill’s pitch selection. In 2024 he used his four seamer 46.7% of the time, which is close to his first start. He used his slider almost twice as much in his first start this year (22.1% vs 11%). Statcast didn’t pick up any cutters in his first start, a pitch he used 14.2% of the time in 2024.
2. Andrés Giménez. Hey! We know him! Giménez made his major league debut with the Mets at 21-years old in 2020, putting up 1.0 bWAR over 49 games (101 OPS+). He had a slick glove and was a highly touted prospect. The trade package that brought Francisco Lindor to New York was built around him! Giménez put up an insane 7.4 bWAR in 2022 for the Guardians (141 OPS+) as his bat took a significant step forward with his glove. He signed a massive extension with the Guardians who then traded him this year mainly for salary relief. He’s already off to a hot start going 8-for-26 with two doubles and three home runs (229 OPS+) in 2025.
3. Pete Alonso. Alonso loved Miami. He went 5-for-12 with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI’s throughout the series with four runs scored. He hit a grand slam in the first game that broke the game open. His three hits on Wednesday all came off the bat between 113.1 and 114.5 mph. Just insane stuff from the polar bear!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look to bounce back in a rubber game against the Marlins this afternoon in Miami! Last night the Marlins were able to take advantage of defensive miscues from the Mets scoring four runs on only two hits. A win this afternoon means the Mets will come back to New York with a .500 record!

Clay Holmes allowed three runs, two earned over 4 2/3 innings in his first start of the season, allowing five hits and four walks while striking out four. More importantly Holmes reached 89 pitches thrown as he continues to stretch himself out into a starting pitcher. How many times do the Mets today allow Holmes to go through the order? His first start was fairly inconclusive for this, with opponents reaching base at a .444 clip both their first and second time through the order, then .400 the third time through. The only two Marlins who faced Homes are Nick Fortes (1-for-1) and Kyle Stowers (1-for-1, BB).

Connor Gillispie allowed four runs, three earned over five innings in his first start of the season from four hits and four walks. Gillispie had a cup of coffee in 2024 with the Guardians allowing two runs over eight innings in three relief outings. His four seamer sits in the low-90’s and used it about a third of the time in his first star. He also uses his low-80’s sweeper about a third of a time and mixes in a mid-80’s cutter and mid-to-high-80’s changeup. Juan Soto is the only batter on the Mets who has faced Connor in a major league game (0-for-1, K).

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Can the Mets turn loud outs into loud hits? The Mets had a couple of outs last night that could have easily been hits. Luisangel’s 104.9 mph groundout had an xBA of .420. Juan Soto’s 104.8 mph lineout had an xBA of .550! At some point these hard hits will turn into hits. The Mets had loud outs in Houston that turned into a rout the first game of this series.
2. Brandon Nimmo. Is Brandon Nimmo hitting home runs back? Nimmo homered in his second straight game last night (3-for-8, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K). In his first series in Houston he went 2-for-11 with a walk. The Mets offense really kicks into another gear when Nimmo hits tanks!
3. Say goodbye to Miami. In the new “everybody plays everybody” baseball schedule MLB has used over the last few years, division rivals play four series a season against each other. The Mets have one more trip against the Marlins and it’s the very last series of the season. Mets fans have been loud in Miami the last couple of nights and hopefully the Mets can give them something to cheer about this afternoon!

Let’s Go Mets!

No need to lease an apartment in Panic City, the Mets offense came roaring back to life last night. The Mets scored 10 runs, powered by four home runs including a Pete Alonso grand slam as they beat the Marlins to take the first game of the series.

Tonight we get a battle of aces coming off lost years due to injury. Kodai Senga returns after making only one start in the regular season. Sandy Alcantara missed all of 2024 after having Tommy John in October 2023. Should be an exciting night in Miami!

Kodai Senga was a sensation in 2023. He finished the season making 29 starts, tossing 166 1/3 innings with a 2.98 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.220 WHIP and a 140 ERA+. He struck out 202 batters, was an All-Star, finished 7th in Cy Young voting and 2nd for ROY voting. Injuries fully derailed his 2024. He made one start in July, allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings before an injury sidelined him again until the October. How far the Mets go this year could depend on how Senga comes back from injury. There are only three Marlins have have seen Senga in an official major league game:

• Xavier Edwards 0-4, K
• Nick Fortes 0-2, K
• Matt Mervis 0-2, BB, K

Sandy Alcantara missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. The ace of the Marlins staff had a tremendous 2022 with an 8.0 bWAR over 228 2/3 innings. His 2023 was a step back, where he had a 4.14 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.213 WHIP and a 113 ERA (3.9 bWAR) over 184 2/3 innings. In his first start this year he allowed two runs from two hits and four walks while striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Sandy:

• Pete Alonso 5-32, 3 2B, HR, 2 BB, 8 K
• Francisco Lindor 7-25, 2 2B, HR, 3 BB, 4 K
• Starling Marte 5-15, 2 3B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Brandon Nimmo 4-30, 2 2B, 4 BB, 6 K
• Jose Siri 2-6, 2B, K
• Juan Soto 11-38, 2B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 6 K
• Tyrone Taylor 0-6, 2 K
• Jesse Winker 1-4, 2B

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto to Pete Alonso. Last night’s game functioned exactly how the Mets hoped it would. Juan Soto worked a walk to load the bases. Pete Alonso then made the Marlins pay with a grand slam. The Mets were leading 2-1 before Pete’s grand salami. Juan Soto was the person you wanted up with two on. Pete was person you wanted to break the game open. More of this please!
2. Containing Otto Lopez. What a start for Lopez in 2025! He is slashing .400/.478/.700 over 20 at bats so far this season including his second three hit performance last night against the Mets (3-for-5, HR, K). In 2024 Lopez had only six homeruns over 403 AB’s. He already has two this year. The Mets need an answer for him now, and a week from now when the Marlins travel to Queens.
3. Lindor’s Bat. There has been a lot of talk about the torpedo bats that the Yankees were using against the Brewers last weekend. At some point over the weekend, it was reported that Lindor was also using one of the torpedo bats in Houston. Steve Gelbs reported that Lindor was actually using the torpedo bat a handful of times in 2024, it just wasn’t as “torpedo-y” shaped as it is this year.

Let’s Go Mets!

The momentum is in … Miami?!?

The Marlins are 3-1 this season, beating the Pirates three times on walk-off hits. The 1924 Pirates were the last team to be walked off for the first three losses of the season. The Mets are coming off of a lackluster weekend in Houston where they scored only five runs over three games. The Mets pitching kept them in all three games, just the bats fell short. Does Miami keep rolling? Can the Mets bats wake up?

Things finally clicked for David Peterson in 2024. Over 121 innings spread over 21 starts, Peterson had a 2.90 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.289 WHIP and a 136 ERA+. He also looked dominant in spring training this year, allowing two runs, one earned over 15 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits and seven walks. The Marlins got the better of Peterson last season, tagging him for six runs from 14 hits and six walks over 10 innings. The Marlins have the following career numbers against him:

• Xavier Edwards 1-3, 2 BB, 2 K
• Nick Fortes 3-12, 2 K
• Otto Lopez 1-6, 2B, K
• Dane Myers 1-3, 2B

Cal Quantrill joined the Marlins late in the offseason, signing a one-year contract on February 13th. Over 29 starts in 2024, he tossed 148 1/3 innings with a 4.98 ERA, 5.32 FIP, 1.517 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. He led the league with 69 walks. Despite pitching in Colorado, his road splits were not that much different than his overall numbers (5.04 ERA, 1.427 WHIP, 75 innings). The last time Cal faced the Mets was in 2023, as a member of the Guardians. He allowed three runs from six hits over 5 2/3 innings in that start. The Mets bats have squeaked out the following numbers against Quantrill:

• Pete Alonso 1-6
• Brett Baty 2-3, 2B, HR
• Francisco Lindor 1-3, 2B
• Starling Marte 1-8, BB, 2 K
• Brandon Nimmo 0-4, BB, 2 K
• Jose Siri 2-2, 2B
• Mark Vientos 0-3, K
• Jesse Winker 0-3, 3 BB, 3 K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Juan Soto vs Cal Quantrill. Soto has led the league in walks in three of the last four seasons. This year he already has four walks leading to a .538 OBP. Cal Quantrill led the league in walks in last season. He walked four batters over 10 2/3 innings this spring. Seems like a recipe for traffic on the base paths!
2. Cooling off the Marlins bats. Over three games this season Juan Soto is the only Mets player with three hits. Nimmo and Torrens are the only hitters with two hits. Through four games this season the Marlins already have three players (Hill, Lopez, Myers) with five hits each. They have a total of six players with three hits or more. Mets pitching has been a strength so far this season and they need stop the momentum that is growing outside of South Beach.
3. Something new in centerfield. The Marlins used to have a seven-story tall home run sculpture in centerfield that actually gave the stadium character, which was removed in 2018 thanks to Derek Jeter. Norwegian Cruise Lines added a sculpture this season that tries to fill that void. Unlike the original home run sculpture which was basically just over the outfield wall, this iteration looks closer to concourse that wraps around the back of the stadium for fans. It looks like smoke stack on a cruise ship and sets off of fire works after a home run. Not as magical as the original, but at least its something. Hopefully the Mets don’t see it in action this week.

Let’s Go Mets!