The Mets won the series against the Pirates and now head to St. Louis to start a series with another NL Central team. Yesterday the Mets had an all around good day at the office, scoring a bunch of runs, having a starter pitch at least five innings and a bullpen that gave up only one run in four innings of relief. They now face a struggling Cardinals team that is in last place, but has won six of their last ten games.
José Quintana looks to start the long weekend in St. Louis off on the right foot for the Mets. Over five starts this season, Quintana has a 3.03 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 1.281 WHIP and a 139 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed three runs over 12 innings (2.25 ERA, 2.85 FIP). In his first five starts he allowed exactly six hits per start. Quintana broke that streak last time out where he held the Braves to only four hits. Despite how well Quintana has pitched this season, the Mets have never won a Quintana start. The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:
- Paul Goldschmidt 11-17, 3 2B, 3 HR, 2 K, BB
- Nolan Arenado 2-15, 2 HR, 5 K, BB
- Willson Contreras 0-9, 2 BB
- Tommy Edman 2-5, 3B
- Taylor Motter 0-3, 2 K
The Mets bats draw their old rival Adam Wainwright. Adam has started 15 games totaling 66 2/3 innings this season with a 8.78 ERA, 6.04 FIP, 2.085 WHIP and a 49 ERA+. In August he has started two games, pitching four innings, allowing 15 runs on 18 hits and two walks (33.75 ERA, 8.76 FIP). He pitched well against the Mets earlier this season, holding them to three runs over 6 1/3 innings, in a game the Cardinals won. The Mets have the following career numbers against Adam:
- Omar Narváez 9-24, 3 2B, HR, 2 K, 3 BB
- Daniel Vogelbach 3-15, HR, 5 K, 2 BB
- Rafael Ortega 6-14, 3B, K, BB
- Jeff McNeil 1-11, 2 K, BB
- Pete Alonso 3-7, 2 2B, K, 2 BB
- Francisco Lindor 2-9, 2 K, BB
- Brandon Nimmo 1-2, HR, BB
- Tim Locastro 1-2, K, BB
- Francisco Álvarez 1-3
- Danny Mendick 2-2, 2B
Three Things To Watch For:
- DJ Stewart, the engine to the offense? Stewart has gone 4-for-6 the last two games at the plate, hitting three homers. Stewart was hitless from August 4th to the 13th (0-for-14) before revving his engine and smacking three balls out of the park. He’s going to continue to get a lot of playing time for the rest of this season and make an impression for a role on the 2024 squad.
- Mets Bullpen changes and usage. For two straight days the Mets had to send a pitcher down to the minors after being over used to bring up a fresh arm. The Mets went through four relievers yesterday, with Bickford putting in the most work tossing 30 pitches. Sam Coonrod has two day’s rest. Also Dennis Santana, who was recalled before yesterday’s game, wasn’t used at all so he should be good to go if needed.
- Adam Wainwright. Tonight is probably the last time the Mets will face Adam Wainwright in a major league game. Wainwright has had a 3.52 career ERA over 18 seasons and cemented himself in Mets history when he struck out Carlos Beltran to end the 2006 NLCS. A rarity in today’s game, Wainwright stayed with the Cardinals throughout his entire career. Cheers to a great career (even though the image of the Cardinals celebrating at Shea is forever burned into my mind).
Let’s Go Mets!
