The Mets couldn’t complete the sweep of the White Sox but at least head into their weekend series with the Red Sox with some positive momentum winning three of their last four games. The Red Sox are trying to snap a two game losing streak tonight. Overall they’ve been good recently, going 7 and 3 in their last ten games. The Mets need a good weekend to stay relevant. The Red Sox need a good weekend to keep pace in the insane AL East.
Kodai Senga has pitched 95 2/3 innings over 17 starts with a 3.20 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.265 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. He’s coming off of a solid start against the Dodgers where he held them to one run and four hits over six innings while striking out nine. Over his two starts in July he has allowed only two earned runs and only three walks. Earlier this season Walks were crushing him and he now has five consecutive starts issuing three walks or less. Further his strikeout numbers haven’t diminished (11.5 K/9 on the season).
Kutter Crawford will make his 11th start of the season today. Over 67 1/3 innings he has a 3.47 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.129 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. As a starter he has a 4.73 ERA and 1.336 WHIP over 45 2/3 innings. He’s coming off of one of his best starts of the season where he one-hit the Cubs over six innings while striking out nine. This will be the first time the Kutter Crawford has faced anyone on the Mets in a major league game.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Mark Vientos. With Starling Marte landing on the 10-day injured list, Mark Vientos is back with the major league club. The Mets botched his playing time the first time he was called up, sitting him for long stretches of time in favor of other more veteran players getting playing time. Between Marte’s injury and Pham’s injury during the game yesterday, Vientos should see more consistent playing time. Vientos hit .178/.224/.244 with a 31 OPS+ in the majors this season. In the minors he’s hitting .307/.386/.614 over 60 games.
- Mets trade candidates. Mark Canha and Omar Narváez could be moved over the next nine days. Yesterday Canha went 0-for-3 at the plate with a strikeout. Omar Narváez had the best day yesterday of any Mets hitter, possibly his best day as a Met, going 2-for-3 with a homerun.
- Old Friends! With the Mets playing the Red Sox for the first time this season, we’ll get to see a couple of familiar faces tonight. Justin Turner is playing his first season in Boston after many years in LA. He’s hitting .289/.358/.478 with a 122 OPS+ over 93 games. Joely Rodríguez is continuing his tour of eastern, I-95 based baseball teams with the Red Sox this season. The Red Sox activated him from the injured list right around the All-Star break. Since returning he has pitched four innings over four games, allowing two hits and nothing else.
Let’s Go Mets!
