For a second straight series the Mets find themselves trying avoid the sweep. On Friday night the Mets dropped the game 4-2, falling early and couldn’t claw back. On Saturday afternoon the Mets fell early again, had one massive inning to bring them within two, and but couldn’t complete the comeback.
The Mets now find themselves back at .500, can they get back on the right track today?
Jose Quintana has pitched 25 2/3 innings over five starts this season with a 4.21 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 1.597 WHIP and a 94 ERA+. His numbers are inflated by his last start in San Francisco where he allowed five runs from seven hits and three walks over five innings. Another interesting quirk this season for Quintana – he has struck out exactly four batters in each of his five starts this season. Quintana’s former team has the following career numbers against him:
- Nolan Arenado 2-18, 2 HR, BB, 5 K
- Willson Contreras 0-11, 3 BB, 4 K
- Brandon Crawford 3-12, HR, K
- José Fermín 0-2
- Paul Goldschmidt 12-20, 3 2B, 3 HR, BB, 2 K
The Mets bats will get a look at the ageless Lance Lynn who is about two weeks away from his 37th birthday. Over five starts (25 2/3 innings) this season he has a 2.81 ERA, 4.45 FIP, 1.364 WHIP and a 149 ERA+. This is a pretty far departure from his 183 2/3 innings last season where he had a 5.73 ERA, 5.53 FIP, 1.394 WHIP and a 77 ERA+. The Mets have the following career numbers against Lynn:
- Harrison Bader 0-1, K
- Francisco Lindor 3-8, HR, BB
- J.D. Martinez 3-25, 3 BB, 9 K
- Omar Narváez 3-16, 2 BB, 3 K
- DJ Stewart 1-4, BB, K
- Tyrone Taylor 3-4, 3B
- Joey Wendle 6-14, HR
Three Things To Watch For:
- Brandon Nimmo is getting on base in bunches. Nimmo went 2-for-4 at the plate Saturday, marking his second consecutive game with two hits. It’s also his third consecutive game where he got on base twice (4-for-11, 2B, 3 BB, .500 OBP). He has now reached base safely at least once in nine straight games (.439 OBP).
- Mets depth players getting the job done. In Saturday’s game DJ Stewart went 1-for-2 at the plate, working two walks raising his OPS to .827 on the season. Tyrone Taylor went 1-for-4 at the plate and scored a run. He’s hitting .321/.351/.491 so far. Teams win because of the players behind their regular starters and it feels like a while since the Mets have had solid, consistent play from role players.
- The Mets need a quality start. The Mets are in a six-way tie for the least amount of quality starts by a starting pitching this year (5). The league average is nine quality starts per team. For comparison, the Phillies are leading the league with 18 so far.
Let’s Go Mets!
