The vibes are off the chart right now! The Mets beat the Astros in the series opener Friday night and are finally have the a winning record for the first time in a long time. José Iglesias sang his song on the diamond after the game and the rest of the team joined in. It’s a lot of fun to be a Mets player and a Mets fan right now! The Mets look to secure the series victory against the Astros this afternoon!
Over seven starts, 33 2/3 innings, Megill has a 4.81 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 1.426 WHIP and an 80 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start against the Cubs where he allowed six runs from five hits and three walks over three innings, blowing up his ERA from 3.52 to 4.81. Megill is looking to bounce back from his start against the Astros in 2023 where he allowed five runs, four earned over 2 1/3 innings from four hits and four walks. The Astros have the following career numbers against him:
- José Altuve 0-1, BB
- Alex Bregman 2-2
- Yainer Diaz 0-2, K
- Mauricio Dubon 1-2, 2B
- Chase McCormick 0-0, BB
- Jeremy Pena 0-0, BB
The Mets bats look to keep the good vibes going against Framber Valdez. Valdez has pitched 80 2/3 innings over 13 games with a 3.68 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.202 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. He’s coming off of two good starts where he allowed three runs over 13 innings from eight hits and seven walks while striking out 12. Overall in June he has allowed two runs or less in four of five starts and has played a huge role in the Astros resurgence this month. He had a strong start against the Mets last season where he held the Mets to only two runs over eight innings from four hits and a walk while striking out nine. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 1-6, 2 K
- Francisco Alvarez 1-3, 2B, 2 K
- Harrison Bader 1-3, K
- Ben Gamel 0-1, BB
- Francisco Lindor 0-5, 2 BB
- J.D. Martinez 2-8, 2 BB, 2 K
- Jeff McNeil 1-6, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 1-7, 3 K
- Luis Torrens 2-12, 3 K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Can the Mets get a long outing from Tylor Megill? Jose Quintana had a short outing Friday night for the Mets, so the bullpen had to put a lot of work in. Megill pitched seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on May 28th. That was the only outing he lasted longer than five innings. His xERA is 4.46, so his outcomes have been a bit worse than his overall mechanics suggest. He also has highest BABIP in his career this season (.345 vs a career .316).
- Jeff McNeil. Jeff had a huge night on Friday going 3-for-4 at the plate with a three run home run that broke the game open for the Mets. Whether McNeil leans more as a starter or more as a bench player, the Mets are way better when he looks more like vintage Jeff McNeil. I’m curious to see how Mendoza uses him after a night like Friday night.
- Containing the Astros top of the lineup. Altuve, Alvarez and Diaz combined to go 8-for-14 last night with three doubles and a homer. The Mets were able to contain all of that production into only two runs. Part of that was keeping Alex Bregman hitless over five at bats and the Astros overall to 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. The Mets afternoon will be a lot less stressful if they can keep Altuve and crew off the base paths.
Let’s Go Mets!
