The Mets look to take series against the Nationals tonight as they continue their four game set in DC. Monday the Mets finally awoke in the 10th inning, scoring six runs. The bullpen made things dicey though, but the Mets were able to hold onto a 9-7 win. Tuesday was the opposite with the Mets cruising to a victory behind a strong start by Sean Manaea, big days at the plate by most of the Mets hitters and a triumphant return for José Buttó. Now the Mets look to repeat with Christian Scott on the mound.
Christian Scott finally returns to the Mets rotation! Scott was successful in five starts for the Mets a few weeks ago where he pitched 27 2/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.084 WHIP and a 99 ERA+. As other members of the Mets rotation rehabbed from injury, and the Mets playing schedule got more spread out, Scott was optioned back to the minors. He has made four starts over the last month with Syracuse where he allowed four earned runs (one in each start) over 17 innings, striking out 19 batters. The only concern has been opposing batters hitting three homers against him during that stretch. This will be his first start against the Nationals in his career.
Mitchell Parker has had a solid start to his major league career. He’s made 14 starts in 2024 pitching 78 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.119 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Since June 6th he has made five starts (28 2/3 innings) with a 2.83 ERA against the Braves, Tigers, Marlins, Rockies and Rays. Despite the outcome, there are some signs that at least more recently he has been more hit-able. He has a 3.95 xERA and since June 10th his xwOBA has been above the league average (league average is a bit above .300 and over his last 100 PA’s his has been .362). This will be his first career start against the Mets.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Francisco Lindor: Major League baseball will be announcing their All-Star rosters in a few days and this is a great time to highlight a few players who are more than deserving to be on the All-Star team. Lindor went 2-for-5 last night with his 14th homer of the year. He’s been one of the best hitting and fielding shortstops in the majors this year (again) and yet still hasn’t been named to an All-Star game as a New York Met. He’s on track for a 25-25 season.
- Brandon Nimmo: Nimmo has been a solid, top-hitting outfielder for several seasons now and still has not been named to an All-Star game. He has had an OPS+ of above 129 for five consecutive seasons and is currently on track to have about 25 home runs. Nimmo is coming off of a scary situation Monday where he fainted at the hotel. He didn’t start in Tuesday’s game but came off the bench and went 2-for-3 with his 16th homer of the season.
- José Iglesias: Has the All-Star game ever had an opening concert from a musical artist who has a .974 OPS? Obviously Iglesias hasn’t played enough this season to warrant a trip to the All-Star game, but he’s another key player to watch for the Mets tonight. He had his fifth double already this season on Tuesday’s game.
Let’s Go Mets!
