This is always a risk, but due to travel today, I have to write this game preview before the first game is even played. This is even more of a risk because the Mets haven’t announced yet who is starting and it may depend on what happens in Game 1! This is probably the worst case scenario for writing a game preview (which is an overly dramatic sentence to type).
Before yesterday’s game, Anthony DiComo reported that there were essentially four candidates to pitch in this game. This doesn’t necessarily mean start, as the Mets have gone with an opener a few times this season. From the Taxi-Squad, the Mets can use Jerad Eickhoff and Yennsy Diaz. On the Mets, depending on prior usage, Sean Reid-Foley and Robert Gsellman.
Eickhoff hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019. For the Phillies that year he pitched in 12 games, made 10 starts, totaling 58.1 innings with a 5.71 ERA, 6.51 FIP, 1.303 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. In Syracuse this year he has made 8 starts and pitched 44.0 innings with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.341 WHIP. Yennsy Diaz has pitched for the Mets this year, pitching 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, walking 2 batters and allowing nothing else while striking out 3. He has pitched in 8 games and 10.1 innings for Syracuse with a 3.48 ERA and 1.258 WHIP. Even though the Mets have used him as a reliever, he has starter 84 of the 104 games he’s pitched in the minors.
Let’s also do a quick preview of the players on the Mets roster who are candidates for today. Sean Reid-Foley has recently been called back to the Mets and has been a godsend at different points of the season already. In 7 games and 15.2 innings he has a 2.30 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 1.149 WHIP and a 172 ERA+. He’s coming off of a 2.0 inning outing where he allowed 1 run on one hit (a solo homer) while walking two filling in after deGrom’s injury. Gsellman is having a quiet, bounce back season in 14 games and 24.2 innings with a 3.65 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 1.176 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. All of those are better than his career marks and his WHIP is the lowest it has been in his career. He’s coming off of his second worst game of the season, where he allowed 4 runs over 2.1 innings against the Orioles. It has been a while now since he has pitched – 11 Days!
The Mets bats will get a look at Jon Lester who has made 9 starts and pitched 44.0 innings this season with a 4.09 ERA, 5.08 FIP, 1.477 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. In his last four starts he has pitched 18.2 innings allowing 5 runs from 20 hits and 7 walks. So he has an absurd discrepancy in stats – a 2.41 ERA with a .325 OBP. The Mets have the following numbers against him:
- James McCann 6-13, 2B, 2 HR, 4 K
- Francisco Lindor 4-13, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
- Brandon Drury 2-6, 2B, 2 K
- Jose Peraza 12-34, 2B, 3B, 5 K
- Kevin Pillar 2-8, BB
- Pete Alonso 0-2, BB, K
- Jonathan Villar 0-6, BB, 3 K
- Luis Guillorme 0-3
Let’s Go Mets!
