Pretty good weekend in Mets land. The Mets took the three game series from the Blue Jays, their second consecutive series win (and second consecutive series win against a winning team), the Braves and Phillies split a four game set and the Nationals got swept. The Mets head into the last week of July with a 4.0 game lead over the Phillies and a 5.0 game lead over the Braves.
Earlier this month the Braves traded for Joc Pederson to help fill the void left by Ronald Acuna Jr. one of the most exciting players in baseball. The knee jerk reaction among many with the trade was something like this: the Braves are between being buyers and sellers, there’s enough time left in the month to trade Pederson away if the Braves fall further away. This week will determine the Braves status at the deadline as they five games against the Mets.
Marcus Stroman starts game 1 for the Mets today. In 20 starts and 111.1 innings this year he has a 2.59 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 1.078 WHIP and a 151 ERA+. Stroman is coming off of his biggest start of the year for the Mets where he allowed one hit and no runs against the Reds, ending a streak of 4 lackluster starts. On top of that, the Mets really needed Stroman to go deep his last time out to give the bullpen a rest, and he did that. Stroman will also be making his 6th start on a double header (which is absurd). He’s been fantastic in two, average in one, and not good in the most recent two. Also his only start against Atlanta this season was his injury shortened one. The Braves have the following career numbers against Stroman:
- Pablo Sandoval 1-1, BB
- Kevan Smith 2-4, HR, K
- Stephen Vogt 4-9, HR, K
- Dansby Swanson 4-8, BB, 2 K
- Joc Pederson 2-6, 2 2B, 2 K
- Ozzie Albies 4-10, K
- Freddie Freeman 0-6, K
- Guillermo Heredia 1-6, K
- Orlando Arcia 0-3
- Abraham Almonte 0-9, 3 K
The Mets bats look to keep their July 2021 offense going against rookie Kyle Muller. In 5 games and 4 starts Muller has pitched 19.2 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.119 WHIP and a 141 ERA+. He’s coming off a good, if not short, start against the Padres where he allowed 1 run over 4.0 innings from 2 hit sand 3 walks. His last start before that was back on July 3rd, his longest start of the year, where he pitched 5.2 innings allowing 3 runs against the Marlins. His stat line against the Mets is one of the stranger ones you’ll see. 4.0 innings of work, no hits, 1 run, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. The Mets have the following numbers against Muller:
- Tomas Nido 0-0, BB
- Jonathan Villar 0-1, BB, K
- Kevin Pillar 0-2, K
- Pete Alonso 0-2
- Dominic Smith 0-2
Let’s Go Mets!
