The Mets look to salvage the series against the Royals this afternoon and avoid the sweep on getaway day. The Mets offense couldn’t score any runs last night despite Jeff McNeil’s big 3-for-5 day at the plate. It was also the second game in a row that Brandon Nimmo rested due to tightness in his quad. Before the game he said he was missing that last 10 percent to be ready to go. There is zero reason for Brandon Nimmo to rush back right now.
Carlos Carrasco takes the mound tonight and he looks to rebound from his last start where he allowed eight runs, six earned, over 2 1/3 innings against the Nationals. In his last three starts he has allowed 17 runs, 15 earned, over 9 1/3 innings of work (14.46 ERA, 4.66 FIP). Amazingly, he has allowed that many runs, but only one homerun, despite allowing 12 homers in his other 12 starts. Overall on the season, over 15 starts (70 1/3 innings), Carrasco has a 6.40 ERA, 5.77 FIP, 1.649 WHIP and a 64 ERA+.
Only two players on the Royals roster have seen Carrasco in a major league game. Salvador Perez is 7-for-30 with nine strikeouts. Edward Olivares is 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
Brady Singer has pitched 113 2/3 innings over 21 starts this season with a 5.46 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.460 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed only four runs over 11 innings (3.27 ERA, 1.18 FIP) while striking out 19 batters. This was a positive departure from his two previous starts before that where he allowed 10 runs from 20 hits over 13 innings (6.92 FIP, 4.66 ERA). Which Brady Singer will show up this afternoon to take on the Mets? The Mets have the following, limited career stats against him:
- Francisco Lindor 0-5, 3 K
- Danny Mendick 0-2
- DJ Stewart 2-2
Three Things To Watch For:
- Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco is a free agent at the end of the season. Every start from here on out is an audition for any major league team. He started off the month of July looking spectacular with an eight inning shutout performance. In his last three starts there’s been a crazy 10 run difference between his ERA (14.46) and his FIP (4.66). Here’s hoping Carrasco can go on a bit of a run here to close out the season.
- Danny Mendick. Mendick is arbitration eligible in 2024 and can be a free agent in 2026. He found his way to the Mets when the White Sox granted him free agency in November 2022. It is very possible Mendick is with the team next season. While I would personally rather see the Mets give more playing time to younger right now, Mendick has been getting a long look since the end of July. In his last three games he has gone 4-for-10 with a double. He only has five hits on the season so he’s done most of his damage this week. Is this the start of a hot streak?
- Jeff McNeil. Jeff McNeil has had to fill in for Brandon Nimmo for the last couple of days at the start of the lineup and has responded with some great days at the plate. In his last three games, McNeil has gone 5-for-14 with a triple and scored three runs. His best day was yesterday where he slapped in three hits, bringing him to 99 on the season. Yesterday was the second game in a row where McNeil was exclusively in the outfield. With Luisangel looming in the system now, I am curious to see the share of games Jeff gets in the outfield compared to second going forward.
Let’s Go Mets!
