Game Preview: Mets @ Cubs

Stop me if you’ve heard this one – the Mets will try to play baseball tonight but the weather be a factor.

The Mets arrive in Chicago coming off of a series win in Colorado. After a game postponed due to rain in New York, the Mets landed in the middle of a snow storm in Denver. It stopped snowing in time for their game on Friday night, but the field was covered in snow, so the Mets and Rockies played a cold doubleheader on Saturday which they split. The Mets were blessed with appropriate baseball weather on Sunday and Marcus Stroman put on a show, pitching 8.0 amazing innings in a Mets win.

The Mets and Cubs will struggle with rain and snow showers through the early evening tonight before it tapers off. There should be enough time to get a game in, even if its delayed. The x-factor is the temperature. It’s going to get cold, possibly around freezing. There’s also a chance of rain and snow tomorrow as well and then the weather gets more conducive for baseball on Thursday. At some point, its just not fair to the Mets trying to get a rhythm going and trying to play in reasonable temperatures.

Taijuan Walker finally returns to the mound tonight. In his first two starts this year he has allowed 3 runs over 10.1 innings from 7 hits and 5 walks while striking out 12. His last start was in the double header against the Phillies last week and Rojas pulled him out of the game early, mainly due to walks, but his line seemed fine (4.1 IP, 1 ER 3 H, 3 BB, 8 K). Walker split time between the Mariners and the Blue Jays last year, and due to the way the schedule was structured, he completely missed facing any teams in the Central division. The Cubs have the following numbers against him:

Kris Bryant 2-2
Joc Pederson 7-15, 2 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
Jake Marisnick 2-4, BB
Matt Duffy 1-3
Eric Sogard 2-9, K
Anthony Rizzo 0-3
Javier Baez 0-2, K
Jason Heyward 0-2

The Mets bats will see an old foe tonight in Jake Arrieta, who returns to the Cubs after 3 years with the Phillies. He’s off to a strong start this year, allowing 6 runs over 17.0 innings from 17 hits and 5 walks leading to a 3.18 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.294 WHIP, and a 124 ERA+ (his best ERA+ since he was a member of the Cubs). He’s coming off of his worst start of the season where he allowed 3 runs from 4 hits and a walk in 5.0 innings. He hasn’t thrown above 89 pitches in any start this year. Last year was rough for Arrieta. Over 9 games and 44.1 innings he posted a 5.08 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 1.511 WHIP and a 87 ERA+. One of the few teams he was successful against last year was the Mets, holding the Mets to just 3 runs over 12.1 innings despite allowing 15 hits and 2 walks. The Mets have the following numbers against Jake: