The Mets got swept by the last place Royals yesterday and now head to Baltimore to take on the first place Orioles. The Orioles have a +62 run differential on the season and are currently two games above the Rays for first place. If you haven’t checked in on the AL East recently, the division is bonkers. Top to bottom is separated by 10 games and the last place Yankees are five games above .500 themselves. No one in the division has a negative run differential. Keeping the division close, every team has gone either 5-5 or 6-4 in their last 10 games. Can the Mets play spoiler here?
David Peterson returns to the rotation tonight for the Mets. He’s pitched 62 1/3 innings over 17 games including 11 starts with a 5.92 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.620 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. Peterson has had a bit of resurgence coming out of the bullpen. In his six games relieving he has pitched eight innings with a 2.25 ERA while striking out eight batters. In 11 games as a starter he had a 6.46 ERA over 54 1/3 innings. The Orioles have the following career numbers against Peterson:
- Anthony Santander 0-3, K, BB
- Ryan Mountcastle 0-3, K
- Ryan McKenna 0-1
The Mets bats will try to find themselves against Dean Kremer tonight. Over 22 starts (119 2/3 innings), Kremer has a 4.66 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.337 WHIP and a 90 ERA+. July was a mixed bag for Kremer. Overall he had a 3.45 ERA over five games, striking out 29 batters over 28 2/3 innings. This is good compared to his season numbers! He had two rough starts that are weighing heavily on the numbers, one where he allowed five runs over 4 2/3, and another where he allowed three runs over four innings. His other three starts were excellent. This will be Kremer’s first time facing the Mets and anyone on the Mets roster.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Buck’s Return. This is Buck Showalter’s return to Baltimore. Buck is loved in Charm City. When the Mets first brought him on my phone was blowing up from Orioles fans I grew up with telling me how excited they were that he was managing again. My Mom who is a huge Orioles and Mets fan has been talking about for weeks how excited she is to see him. This is a big deal for Baltimore!
- Have you seen the walls though? The Mets lasted played in Camden Yards in 2021. After that season the Orioles moved the left field fence back about 30 feet. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s weird. It resembles like an old stadium maker video game and the Orioles just deleted the first part of the section. Not only is the outfield larger because of this but the fence is considerably higher (the Orioles used to have a low fence in left).
- Can the offense string some hits together today? The Mets were shutout on Wednesday and lost 9-2 yesterday. In yesterday’s game they had only five hits, with Pete Alonso collecting two of them. Their two runs were both from Francisco Lindor’s 22nd homer of the season. Brandon Nimmo’s absence coupled with the trade Pham/Canha trade has hurt the lineup’s length. Hopefully the Mets can return to basics today, string hits together and score runs.
Let’s Go Mets!
