The Mets and Marlins play game two of a four game set tonight as the Mets look to build momentum off of yesterday’s Opening Day win. The bullpen was the big question going into yesterday’s game. To paraphrase the Mets radio booth, the Mets got used to playing eight inning games last year since Edwin Díaz was so lights out in the ninth. Drew Smith, Brooks Raley, and David Robertson tossed a combined three innings allowing only one hit and nothing else while striking out six batters. Let’s keep all of that going tonight!
David Peterson earned José Quintana’s spot while he recovers on the injured list. Last season Peterson made 19 starts and pitched in 28 games, tossing 105 2/3 innings with a 3.83 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.334 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. This includes four games and three starts against the Marlins where he pitched 18 innings allowing five runs (2.50 ERA) from 16 hits while striking out 23 batters. Peterson is also coming off of a great spring training where he allowed no runs from one hit and eight walks over 12 innings while striking out 13 batters. The Marlins have the following career numbers against him:
- Jon Berti 2-12, 2B, 4 K
- Jean Segura 4-9, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
- Garrett Cooper 2-7, HR, 2 K
- Bryan De La Cruz 0-7, BB, 4 K
- Nick Fortes 1-5, K
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. 0-1, BB
- Jorge Soler 1-3, K
- Jacob Stallings 1-2, BB, K
- Avisaíl García 0-2, 2 K
The Mets bats will get their first look at Jesús Luzardo tonight. Luzardo made 18 starts and pitched 100 1/3 innings for the Marlins last season with a 3.32 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 1.037 WHIP and a 123 ERA+. It was by far the best season for Luzardo who has a career 4.59 ERA. He faced the Mets twice last season and allowed seven runs from 10 hits and five walks over 9 1/3 innings while striking out nine batters. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 2-11, HR, 5 K
- Eduardo Escobar 2-9, HR, BB
- Francisco Lindor 2-8, 2 K
- Jeff McNeil 4-8, K
- Mark Canha 0-5, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 2-5, 2B, HR, BB
- Tomás Nido 1-3, BB, K
- Starling Marte 0-3, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Power? The Mets hit 171 homers in 2022 which was six behind the league average. The Braves led the league with 243 and the Phillies had 205. The Mets didn’t need any homers to beat to beat the Marlins yesterday. With the injury concerns mounting for the Mets pitching staff, it would be nice for the Mets bats to give their starters and bullpen some additional breathing room. Hitting homers would be the quickest way to do it!
- Crowd Size: Last season Miami had an average paid attendance of 11,203 per game. This put them in 29th, behind Tampa Bay (13,927) and ahead of Oakland (9,973). We also know that players feed off of the energy in the crowd. Max Scherzer talked about how difficult it was pitching in the back fields during spring training without a crowd. During the World Baseball Classic we saw what loanDepot Park could look like with a full crowd. The games were fun! Imagine if the Marlins could replicate a little bit of that environment in their home ballpark all the time. Anyway, the Mets generally draw a crowd in Miami and it is a Friday night, so tonight should be one of the better attended games. One thing I’m curious about this season is if people in the Miami area will go see visiting World Baseball Classic stars, like Francisco Lindor, when they come to town.
- Third time through the order woes. Opponents last year hit .238/.333/.378 against Peterson the first time through the order. Second time through .206/.304/.319. Third time through? .310/.375/.483. David Peterson’s success this year is going to depend on his ability to get hitters out the third time they face off in the game.
Let’s Go Mets!
