The Mets day off came at the perfect time for them. The Mets have been free falling for the past few weeks, reaching a season worst seven games below .500 after Wednesday’s game. The Mets haven’t really been blown out recently either. These were all games that the Mets could have won or were winning at some point, and yet they fell short.
While the Mets have been falling, losing eight of their last ten, the Giants have been rising. They are one game below .500 but have won seven of their last ten. Can the Mets stop their roll this weekend?
Christian Scott will make his fourth start of the season tonight for the Mets. He was lights out in his first start, holding the Rays to one run from five hits while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings. He held a tough Atlanta lineup to only three runs while striking out eight batters in his second start, which also was a quality start. Last time out though was a struggle. The Marlins got him for four runs on seven hits over four innings.
The Mets bats will get a look at Kyle Harrison this evening. Over 10 games (55 innings), Harrison has a 3.60 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.273 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. His game log though is interesting. Harrison had a three game stretch from the end of April through the start of May where he allowed one run over 18 innings, lowering his ERA from 5.00 to 3.20. Since then he has allowed three runs over five innings in back-to-back games. He’s only had one rough start this year so generally he’s slightly worse than a quality start or he’s fantastic. The only member of the Mets to see him in a major league is J.D. Martinez who is 1-for4 with a homerun and two strikeouts.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Improbable power hitters. The Mets are coming off back-to-back games hitting three home runs in each game. During the CBS880 broadcast on Wednesday, the booth discussed how historically if a team hits three homers, they win the game over 70% of the time. So to do that two games in a row and lose both games is improbable. Here’s hoping the power continues but not the game outcome for the Mets.
- The most improbable power hitter. Jeff McNeil has homered in back-to-back games. His homerun on Tuesday was his first homer since April 5th. Overall he’s gone 3-for-8 with three runs scored and three total extra-base hits in the last two games. Since May 18th he’s hit .300/.333/.650 over five games. Is McNeil back?
- Old Friends. I personally love watching the Giants come to Citi Field. First there is the overall influence of the Giants on the Mets roots. And then there are two players on the Giants roster. Michael Conforto will probably not play this weekend as he’s on the injured list and he just got cleared to take BP a couple of days ago. And then there is Wilmer Flores, the Mets legend. Flores is having a down year, hitting .215/.290/.289 with a 72 OPS+. It is the first time since 2015 that his OPS+ is below 100. If you are going this weekend, I hope you give Wilmer Flores a warm welcome back home.
Let’s Go Mets!
