The Mets get another opportunity tonight to win the series against the Braves after losing the second game of the series yesterday 3-2. The pitching came to play again for a second straight night in Atlanta, with the bullpen allowing no runs after Megill exited the game. The bats just couldn’t score anything beyond Vogelbach’s two-run homer. Two out of three though in Atlanta would still be pretty great and the Mets turn to one of the steadiest pitchers in the rotation to lead them – Quintana.
José Quintana has pitched 35 2/3 innings over six starts since returning to the majors with a 3.03 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.262 WHIP and a 139 ERA+. In his last three starts he has posted a 2.50 ERA, 3.82 FIP over 18 innings allowing five runs from 13 hits and nine walks while striking out 15. He has also allowed only one home run over his six starts this season. He has already faced the home run hitting machine braves this season, allowing one run over six innings. The Braves have the following career numbers against him:
- Orlando Arcia 4-31, 2B, 6 K, 4 BB
- Marcell Ozuna 8-19, 2B, HR, 3 K, 2 BB
- Matt Olson 1-12, 5 K, 2 BB
- Eddie Rosario 4-16, 3 K, BB
- Kevin Pillar 6-17, 3 2B, 4 K, BB
- Ronald Acuña Jr. 0-7, 3 K, 2 BB
- Austin Riley 0-5, K, BB
- Travis d’Arnaud 0-4, 2 K, BB
- Sean Murphy 2-4, 2B
- Michael Harris II, 1-4, K
- Luke Williams 0-2
The Mets bats look to get back to doing their thing against Charlie Morton tonight. Over 24 starts, 134 2/3 innings, Morton has a 3.54 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 1.433 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed no runs from seven hits and eight walks over 11 innings of work. Before those two starts he had a 7.32 ERA over four starts, so something has shifted in the last two weeks. This includes a start against the Mets where despite walking seven times, the Mets couldn’t get any runs across the plate. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Francisco Lindor 6-40, 3 2B, HR< 11 K, BB
- Brandon Nimmo 4-21, 7 K, 4 BB
- Daniel Vogelbach 5-19, 2B, 2 HR, 10 K, 5 BB
- Pete Alonso 6-22, 2B, 4 K, 3 BB
- Jeff McNeil 5-22, 2 HR, 7 K, 2 BB
- Omar Narváez 5-16, 2B, HR, 3 K, BB
- Francisco Álvarez 2-7, HR
- Rafael Ortega 2-2, 2B, 2 BB
- DJ Stewart 0-2, K, 2 BB
- Abraham Almonte 1-2, K, 2 BB
- Jonathan Araúz 0-1, BB
- Danny Mendick 0-2, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Pete Alonso. During the game Alonso got hit by a pitch and the Atlanta fans actually cheered. He handled it after the game like the pro he is saying “Boos are just the same as cheers on the road, that means you’re doing something right. For me, it’s fine. That’s jus away fans doing their job.” Pete Alonso is a better person than I. Last night’s boos from the fans continues a similar narrative we saw with Tommy Pham this week that some fans lack the ability to see baseball players as humans.
- Jeff McHits. While most of the team struggled at the plate last night, Jeff McNeil recorded his second straight multi-hit game. In his last 12 games, starting on August 12th, McNeil has gone 20-for-51 at the plate slashing .392/.396/.510. He has a hit in 11 of those games and he has multiple hits in six of them. He’s also recorded three hits, three separate times in that stretch. What McNeil has not done during this time is scored multiple times in the same game. When the Mets can help him cross that threshold the offense really will be on fire.
- The Bullpen has looked good the last two nights. The Mets bullpen has held one of the best power hitting teams in check the last two nights, and for long stretches of time. Adam Kolarek was the hero last night, tossing 28 pitches over two innings. Because of his performance (and Garrett, Raley behind him), Smith, Gott, Bickford, Ottavino and Coonrod all got the night off. Further Raley only had to throw five pitches, so he should be good to go today as well.
Let’s Go Mets!
