The Mets look to win back to back games tonight as they welcome the Cardinals to Citi Field. Wednesday night for the Mets looked like it was going to be more of the same until the Mets tied the game in the seventh and sent it to extra innings. Is this come from behind win the type of game the Mets need to get firing on all cylinders?
The Cardinals are one of the few teams that can rival the Mets in 2023 disappointment. They were expected to compete for the division title and currently sit in last place with a 27-42 record. That being said, their expected win-loss record is 33-36, which is just ever so slightly better than the Mets at 32-36 (Mets real and expected records are the same). Both teams have won two games in their last ten, and both can use a big series to get momentum.
Tylor Megill returns to the mound tonight for the Mets. Over 13 starts (63 innings) he has a 5.14 ERA, 5.18 FIP, 1.698 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. Megill is coming off of his worst start of the season against the Pirates where he allowed nine runs, seven earned from eight hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings. It was his third time in his last four starts allowing at least six runs. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:
- Tommy Edman 1-2, BB, K
- Nolan Arenado 0-1, BB
- Dylan Carlson 1-2
- Paul Goldschmidt 1-2, 2B
The Mets bats will open the series against Miles Mikolas. In 14 starts (80 2/3 innings) Mikolas has a 4.02 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.351 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. His season has been defined by a cold streak followed by a hot streak. In his first three starts he allowed 16 runs. In his next ten starts he allowed 16 runs. That’s a 10.05 ERA in his cold streak and a 2.24 ERA in his hot streak. In his last start he allowed five runs. Is this the start of another cold streak? Is it a blip? The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Starling Marte 5-35, 2B, 2 BB, 6 K
- Omar Narváez 4-14, 2 2B, 3B, BB, 3 K
- Eduardo Escobar 2-11, BB, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 0-9, BB, 3 K
- Jeff McNeil 4-8, 2 2B, BB, K
- Daniel Vogelbach 3-9, HR, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 1-6
- Tommy Pham 0-4, 4 K
- Mark Canha 0-1, BB
- Luis Guillorme 1-3, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Does it feel like the Mets are hitting more doubles recently? On Wednesday night Lindor, Pham and Nimmo all hit doubles. On the season the Mets rank 28th in the league in doubles but over their last seven games the Mets are 16th in the league with 11 doubles. This is calendar days and the Mets have had two off-days in the last week.
- Brandon Nimmo collects hits in pairs now. Brandon Nimmo has had two hits in three of the last four games he’s played. He’s 6-for-15 at the plate with a double and a homer. He’s also been hit three times leading to a .400/.526/.667 slash line. Now in this stretch that has seen him reach base ten times, he’s only scored twice. Hopefully the Mets can capitalize if he gets another pair of hits tonight.
- Hit by pitches are piling up again. Pete Alonso got seriously hurt by a pitch about a week ago. That pitch knocked out baseball’s homerun leader for a month. For a while the Mets were not collecting hit by pitches at the same rate they had been, but there’s been an uptick recently. The Yankees hit the Mets three times in three games which leaves the Mets tied for third in the league at getting plunked. The Athletics lead with 43 followed by the Angles at 41. Then the Mets and Mariners are tied for 40. This is not the category the Mets want to lead.
Let’s Go Mets!
