When the Mets took two of three from the Pirates in June, they were a first place team in the NL Central (granted they were only four games above .500 going into the series). After a tailspin during the first two weeks of July, the Pirates sold players at the deadline and are now 12 games below .500. The Mets are, of course, and have had their own tailspin of late. Currently the Mets and Pirates have identical records. There’s a bit of a race to the bottom happening, but there are still six weeks of baseball left.
Carlos Carrasco gets the start for the Mets tonight. Over 17 games (81 1/3 innings) Carrasco has a 6.42 ERA, 5.94 FIP, 1.598 WHIP and a 65 ERA+. He’s coming off of an average start against the Cubs where he held them to three hits and two runs over five innings of work. This was a significant improvement compared to his previous four starts where he had a 12.33 ERA, 6.20 FIP, over 15 1/3 innings. Against the Pirates earlier this year Carrasco allowed two runs from six hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. The Pirates have the following career numbers against him:
- Andrew McCutchen 3-9, 2 2B, 2 K, 2 BB
- Bryan Reynolds 2-8, K, 2 BB
- Ke’Bryan Hayes 0-7, K, BB
- Connor Joe 2-6, K
- Jack Suwinski 2-4, HR, 2 K
- Jason Delay 0-2, K
- Alfonso Rivas 0-2, K
Quinn Priester looks to the right the ship against the Mets tonight. Priester is a top prospect in the Pirates system and was recently listed the #99 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline (the sixth Pirate on that list). Over five starts and 23 2/3 innings this season he has allowed 23 runs from 30 hits and 15 walks, including five homers. This led to a small-sample size 8.75 ERA, 6.35 FIP, 1.901 WHIP and a 52 ERA+. In the minors this year he has made 18 starts (87 2/3 innings) with a 4.31 ERA.
Three Things To Watch For:
- The lineup looks so much better with Brandon Nimmo leading off. Brandon Nimmo is 4-for-9 in his last two games with a double and two walks. He also made a terrific catch in the outfield last night. The Mets offense needs Nimmo in order to function, and it was great seeing him have a productive two nights in a row.
- Jeff McHits is back! It took a long time this season, but Jeff McHits is back! In his last 12 games McNeil has gone 15-for-46 at the plate with a double and two homers, slashing .326/.392/.478/.871. That’s a significant improvement from his season slash line of .259/.334/.343/.677. The Mets offense as a whole hasn’t been a lot to write about over that same time stretch. Jeff McNeil has been a consistent source of hitting during this stretch, with only three hitless games (all near the start of this stretch). Here’s hoping he goes on a little run for the rest of the season.
- Rafael Ortega. Ortega has had nine hits in his first 12 games as a Met. Three of them came last night. Ortega arguably had the biggest hit of the night that scored two runs and busted the game open for the Mets, stretching their lead to 7-3. As the Braves clawed back those two RBI for Ortega proved critical to holding onto the lead. Ortega played over 100 games each of the last two seasons for the Cubs. With the Mets current state, he will probably be a regular in the lineup for the next six weeks.
Let’s Go Mets!
