Game Preview: Mets @ Cubs

Depending on when you tuned in and tuned to yesterday’s Mets game, you may have different opinions as to how the game went. Steven Matz cruised through 7 innings, his best outing in months holding the Nationals to only one run. The Mets bats on the other hand went quiet (and Jeff McNeil left with a right quad tightness). If you turned off the game there, your inner-monologue was something like “well Matz is getting the deGrom treatment”. You probably went on to have a lovely day.

If you stayed with the game then you got to see the Mets give up 14 runs in the next two innings, make several defensive miscues. Maybe you were frustrated by play. Maybe you’re numb to it by now. Maybe you found it funny. Just know that we both experienced that together and we are closer, even though you probably have no idea who I am.

The Mets themselves find themselves now in Chicago. Syndergaard will start and he is 9-3 over 18 games and 106.2 innings with a 3.38 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 1.238 WHIP and 109 ERA+. Syndergaard fought through his last start and allowed only 2 runs over 6.0 innings when the game was over. Since coming back from hand, foot and mouth disease he has posted a 4.50 ERA over 32.0 innings in 5 games. The Cubs have the following numbers against Syndergaard:

Murphy 4-18, 2 2B, 2 BB
Bryant 5-11, 2B, 3B
Rizzo 1-9, 2 BB, 5 K
Hayward 4-9, 2B, 3B
Zobrist 1-8, 2B
Schwarber 0-3, 3 K
La Stella 2-3, BB

The Mets bats will try to find themselves against Jon Lester who is 14-5 over 26 games and 146.0 innings with a 3.64 ERA, 4.74 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed 1 run over 11.2 innings, in his two starts before that he allowed 13 runs, 12 earned, over 8.2 innings. Earlier this year he had a fantastic start against the Mets allowing no runs over 7.0 innings from 2 hits and 3 walks. The Mets have the following numbers against Jon: