The Mets escaped Minneapolis with a win this weekend and welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to Citi Field tonight. After yesterday’s win and a Nationals loss, the Mets now 1.5 games ahead of the Nationals for last place in the Division. The Diamondbacks have a lot to play for this week – they currently have a 0.5 game lead for the last wild card spot right above the Miami Marlins. The Diamondbacks are being chased by three teams for the last spot, all a maximum of 1.5 games out. Win or lose today, the Mets are going to help someone’s chances and hurt someone else’s.
José Quintana takes the mound for his 10th start of the season. Over his first nine starts and 54 innings, Quintana has a 3.00 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 1.259 WHIP and a 140 ERA+. He’s coming off of a brilliant start where he allowed one run over seven innings to the Nationals, scattering four hits. Over his last two starts he has allowed only one run from seven hits in 13 innings of work while striking out nine. The Diamondbacks have the following career numbers against him:
- Tommy Pham 4-19, HR, 4 K, BB
- Evan Longoria 5-20, 3 K, BB
- Ketel Marte 3-8, 2B, K
- Christian Walker 2-4
- Jace Peterson 0-1, K, BB
- Emmanuel Rivera 2-2
Zach Davies makes his 16th start of the season tonight. Over 71 1/3 innings he has a 6.81 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.598 WHIP and a 64 ERA+. His first two starts since returning to the rotation were great – he allowed only two earned runs over 11 innings. His last start – not so much. Against the Rockies he allowed five runs from six hits and three walks over three innings. He faced the Mets back in July where he allowed four runs from five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 0-7, 2 K, BB
- Brandon Nimmo 4-8, 2 2B, 3B, HR, K, BB
- Francisco Lindor 2-6, 2 HR, 2 K, 2 BB
- Omar Narváez 0-5, BB
- Jeff McNeil 4-9, K
- Daniel Vogelbach 2-6, HR, K, BB
- Rafael Ortega 1-5
- Tim Locastro 1-5, K
- Francisco Álvarez 0-2, K
- Brett Baty 1-2
Three Things To Watch For:
- Welcome Back Tommy Pham! Tommy Pham was one of the surprise signings for the Mets this offseason and essentially carried the Mets offense in early summer. Over 79 games for the Mets he hit 10 homers and slashed .268/.348/.472 with a 125 OPS+. In 33 games with the Diamondbacks he’s hit five home runs and has a .248/.289/.451 slash line with a 99 OPS+.
- Don’t forget about DJ Stewart! DJ Stewart is still playing good baseball down the stretch of the season. Since August 28th he has hit five home runs and has gone 7-for-26 (.885 SLG) at the plate with 11 RBI’s. He pushed the only two runs scored in yesterday’s game across the plate. While our eyes have started to shift over to the baby Mets since the start of September, Stewart is still here, still making noise, still making a case to be part of the 2024 Mets.
- Will the Mets cut down on strikeouts today? Yesterday the Mets struck out a combined 16 times. Lindor, McNeil, Alonso, Mauricio and Vientos all struck out two times each. Stewart, the hero of the game, had three strikeouts!
Let’s Go Mets!
