The Mets return from London to take on the Marlins at Citi Field! It may not feel like it, but the Mets have won six of their last nine games and four of their last five. The Mets enter play today 3.5 games out of the Wild Card (with six other teams between them and the last Wild Card spot). If there was ever a time for the Mets to make a move, it is right now.
Tylor Megill has made four starts for the Mets this season tossing 21 innings with a 3.00 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.238 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. Megill had a tremendous start against the Dodgers back on May 28th where he shut them out over seven innings in a game the Mets eventually lost. He didn’t have his best stuff his last time out, allowing five runs, four earned over five innings in a game the Mets eventually won. The baseball universe is like that sometimes. Anyway the Marlins have the following career numbers against him:
- Josh Bell 3-8, HR, 2 K
- Christian Bethancourt 0-2, K
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. 3-8, 2B, BB, 3 K
- Bryan De La Cruz 0-5, 2 K
- Nick Fortes 1-3, HR, BB, K
Jesús Luzardo had a 124 and 129 ERA+ respectively in 2022 and 2023. So far this season he has made 10 starts throwing 56 innings with a 5.60 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.250 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. Luzardo had a solid stretch going though in May where he allowed five earned runs over 25 2/3 innings (1.75 ERA) which includes back to back starts where he didn’t allow any runs over 14 innings. One of those starts was six shutout innings against the New York Mets. He is looking to bounce back from a dreadful start against the Rays where he allowed nine earned runs from nine hits over 4 1/3 innings (raising his season ERA from 4.18 to 5.30). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 2-19, HR, 8 K
- Harrison Bader 2-4, BB
- José Iglesias 0-1
- Francisco Lindor 4-15, 2 BB, 3 K
- Starling Marte 2-8, 2 K
- J.D. Martinez 2-3, K
- Jeff McNeil 5-12, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 3-9, 2B, HR, 2 BB, K
- DJ Stewart 0-4, K
- Tyrone Taylor 2-6, 2B, K
- Mark Vientos 0-9, BB, 4 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- “Jet lag is a choice” Pete Alonso’s famous quote was repeated multiple times from multiple different broadcasts over the weekend. While I admire Pete Alonso’s perspective on the issue, I’m not sure how much I agree. Tonight’s game starts 10 minutes after midnight London time. Hopefully with trainers, pre-planning and caffeine the Mets look awake tonight to take advantage of a game with the Marlins.
- He’s back! Francisco Alvarez returns to the Mets tonight after tearing the UCL in his left thumb and having surgery. He only recorded three hits throughout his six rehab games but one of them was a home run. Before landing on the injured list, Alvarez was hitting .236/.288/.364 with a 91 OPS+. The Mets really missed his pitch framing and his skills behind the plate.
- Mets Fielding. The Mets have not been the best team in the field this season. For example, Marte’s path to a fly ball on Saturday led to a hit, which then led to a huge inning. Sunday the Mets looked a lot sharper in the field, with the Mets infield turning three double plays. Two were of the normal variety (6-4-3). The game ended on a fairly spectacular play with Torrens getting the force at home before getting the ball to Alonso for the out at first.
Let’s Go Mets!
