The Mets finally play at home today for the first time in 2023. The Mets have gone through a long spring training and first week of the season that has seen numerous injuries, a disappearing offense, struggling pitching and a rainout. But at the end of the day, the Mets are only one game below .500 and have only played seven games this year. It’s not time to move into Panic City just yet.
Tylor Megill will look to get the Mets back on the winning track as he faces off against the Marlins for the second time this season. Last time out he held the Marlins to two runs from six hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings. In his career now he has now faced the Marlins three times, allowing seven runs, six earned over 11 innings while striking out 13 batters. The Marlins have the following numbers against him:
- Juan Segura 1-7, K
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. 3-5, 2B, BB, K
- Bryan De La Cruz 0-5, 2 K
- Jacob Stallings 1-3, 2 BB, K
- Luis Arraez 3-3
- Garrett Cooper 0-3, 2 K
- Jorge Soler 0-3, K
- Nick Fortes 1-2, HR
- Avisaíl García 0-2
The Mets bats will get another look at Edward Cabrera, who made his 2023 debut against the Mets last week. Edward lasted four innings, allowing only two runs from two hits and six walks. The Mets figured out the being patient part last time, working counts against him and getting on base. They didn’t quite figure out the scoring part. Hopefully the Mets can put all the pieces together this afternoon. Anyway, the Mets have the following career numbers against Cabrera:
- Pete Alonso 3-8, 3 HR, 3 BB, 3 K
- Francisco Lindor 1-9, BB, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 3-6, 4 BB, K
- Jeff McNeil 1-9, 2B
- Mark Canha 2-3, 2B, BB
- Eduardo Escobar 0-4
- Daniel Vogelbach 0-4, 2 K
- Tomás Nido 1-2, 2B, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Luis Arraez can hit: Arraez is already leading the league with 11 hits in 26 trips to the plate this season hitting a smooth .458/.500/.500 (174 OPS+). Almost all of this happened against the Mets where he went 9-for-16 including a perfect 3-for-3 against Megill. Arraez has cooled off the last two games, going hitless in three at-bats (but still getting a walk). If the Megill and the Mets can keep him off the base paths today, the Mets will probably have a good day.
- Pete Hot Streak? Pete Alonso entered Wednesday’s game going 0-for-11 over his last three games. The positive news was he only had two strikeouts. Anyway, Pete had a huge game on Wednesday collecting two homers and carrying the Mets offense. Can he do it again today?
- What about Álvarez? Omar Narváez was pulled from Wednesday’s game early. Whispers then started that Francisco Álvarez was on his way to New York, which signaled that whatever was ailing Narváez, it had to be serious. He will be activated before today’s game and is not starting (or hitting as a DH) as the Mets are sticking to their original Opening Day script. Today will be our first chance at seeing how the Mets plan on using him when he is not starting.
Let’s Go Mets!
