The Mets look to secure another series victory this afternoon as they take on the Cubs for game two of their series. The Mets trounced the Cubs on Friday afternoon 11-1 powered by home runs from J.D. Martinez, Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo. This lopsided Mets win has shifted their run differential on the season to +3, making them one of four teams in the chasing the last two wild card spots with a positive run differential (out of nine teams total).
With the Padres, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Nationals, Mets and Reds all winning yesterday, the Mets remain one game out of both the second and third Wild Card spots. The Cubs now fall to two games out. There’s a lot of competition in a very tight field. Right now teams are evaluating whether they are buyers or sellers – should be a fun couple of weeks!
Tylor Megill has tossed 30 2/3 innings over six starts this season with a 3.52 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 1.304 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. He’s coming off of a good start against the Padres where he held them to two runs over five innings from five hits and two walks. Despite the low FIP, his xERA is a bit higher than his actual ERA, sitting at 4.12. The Cubs have the following career numbers against him:
- Cody Bellinger 1-2, K
- Ian Happ 0-2, K
- Nico Hoerner 1-3
- Christopher Morel 0-1, BB
- Seiya Suzuki 1-1, HR, BB
- Dansby Swanson 2-10, BB, 5 K
- Patrick Wisdom 0-2, 2 K
Jameson Taillon has made 11 starts (61 1/3 innings) in 2024 with a 3.08 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and a 135 ERA+. He had a more average stretch of games from mid-May to early-June where he posted a 5.91 ERA over 21 1/2 innings. Since then he has allowed two runs over 12 innings while striking out eight. Against the Mets in April, he held the Mets to one run from four hits over 7 1/3 innings in a game the Cubs won 3-1. The Mets have the following career numbers against Jameson:
- Pete Alonso 1-6, HR
- Harrison Bader 2-15, BB, 3 K
- José Iglesias 6-8, 2 2B, HR
- Francisco Lindor 2-10, 2 K
- Starling Marte 0-2, K
- J.D. Martinez 5-21, 2B, HR, BB, 6 K
- Jeff McNeil 2-6, K
- Brandon Nimmo 1-5, HR, BB
- DJ Stewart 0-2, BB, K
- Tyrone Taylor 1-8, 2B, 2 K
- Mark Vientos 0-5, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- OMG, José Iglesias. Iglesias went 4-for-5 at the plate yesterday recording six RBI’s. He hasn’t recorded an RBI since June 5th where he had three in his first five games as a Met. He’s been cruising as a Met hitting a smooth .438/.486/.500 over 12 games with a 190 OPS+. Against Taillon he is 6-for-8 lifetime, is he going to do something else today that makes the Mets players sing Oh My God?
- The bullpen is rested. Between the off-day and a couple of good starting pitching performances, the Mets bullpen is fairly rested. Ottavino tossed 44 pitches Friday working into and out of trouble and Drew Smith worked for a second straight game to get positive momentum after his performance on Wednesday. The result is that Diekman, Díaz and Garrett all haven’t pitched in the last three calendar days. Adrian Houser and Reid-Foley tossed 13 and 18 pitches respectively on Wednesday.
- Does the top of the Mets lineup deliver again? Success for the Mets yesterday came early with Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez setting the table. All together they went 7-for-13 with seven runs scored, six RBI’s a walk, a double and two home runs. Video game numbers really.
Let’s Go Mets!
