The Mets welcome the Minnesota Twins to Citi Field for a three game set. The Twins are currently second in the AL Central and hold the second American League wild card spot. The Mets, after dropping two games in a row to the Braves, are the sole holders of the third National League Wild Card but only 1.5 games out of the first spot. Both teams could look different by the series conclusion on Wednesday due to Tuesday’s 4 PM trade deadline.
Jose Quintana has pitched 107 1/3 innings over 20 starts this season with a 4.02 ERA, 5.06 FIP, 1.276 WHIP and a 97 ERA+. He’s coming off of a strong start against the Yankees where he held the Bronx Bombers to one run over five innings. It was a bounce back start for Quintana who allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings to the Rockies before the All-Star break. Even with that start against the Rockies, Quintana has a 1.98 ERA over his last seven starts (41 innings). The Twins have the following career numbers against him:
- Byron Buxton 3-18, 2 2 B, HR, BB, 2 K
- Willi Castro 1-3
- Max Kepler 5-16, 2B, 3B, 5 K
- Manuel Margot 6-13, 2 2B, BB, 2 K
- Carlos Santana 9-48, 2 2B, HR, 4 BB, 7 K
Simeon Woods Richardson was a top prospect for the Mets when he was traded to the Blue Jays at the 2019 deadline for Marcus Stroman. Two years later was involved in another deadline trade for a high leverage pitcher. The Blue Jays and Twins swapped Woods Richardson for José Berríos. Woods Richardson returns to Citi Field today in the midst of a breakout season.
Over 17 starts pitching 88 innings, Woods Richardson has a 3.27 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.114 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. Over his last three starts he has pitched 16 1/3 innings with a 2.20 ERA and 1.92 FIP. The Twins generally keep him capped at around 90 pitches or so (high 97, last few starts have been upper 80’s), which generally keeps him in games between four and six innings. The only current Met to see him in a game is Jesse Winker who worked a walk in his only plate appearance.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Scoring Runs. The Mets have not scored a lot of runs over the last two games. Pete Alonso hit an end of game two-run shot on Sunday to prevent back-to-back shutouts. The offense has generally carried the team so far and with the hits to the pitching staff over the last couple of days, the Mets are going to need their sluggers to start hitting again.
- Jesse Winker. The Mets got Jesse Winker to help against right-handed pitching. Yesterday they didn’t use Winker until late in the game as a pinch hitter, and he struck out in his first Mets at bat. Before the trade, Jesse Winker was hitting .257/.374/.419 with a 130 OPS+ this season. Against righties he’s slashing .266/.390/.450.
- The back of the bullpen is ready. With the Mets winning big against the Braves on Friday followed by back-to-back losses, some of the more reliable pitchers for the Mets haven’t pitched since Thursday. José Buttó , Edwin Díaz and Phil Maton each last pitched in the Mets extra-inning win Thursday night. That’s a solid group that can back up a solid Quintana start.
Let’s Go Mets!
