The Mets look to shake-off Sunday’s disappointing loss by opening their series against the Orioles with a win tonight in Queens. On Sunday the Mets were not able to take advantage of multiple opportunities, including one in the ninth inning and fell to the Marlins 3-2. Out of the three teams the Mets are chasing, only the Braves won on Sunday putting the Mets still two games out.
The Orioles have gone 5-5 in their last ten games as they battle the Yankees for the number one spot in the American League East. The Yankees have also gone 5-5 and both teams enter play today with the same record. Both the Mets and Orioles need every win this week.
David Peterson looks to continue his amazing 2024 tonight. Over 71 innings (13 starts) this season, Peterson has a 3.04 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.394 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. Over three starts in August Peterson has allowed four runs, three earned over 17 1/3 innings (1.56 ERA, 3.05 FIP). The Orioles have one of the more prolific offenses in the league and tonight will be a real test for Peterson. The Orioles have the following career numbers against him:
- Gunnar Henderson 0-2
- Eloy Jimenez 0-1
- James McCann 0-0, BB
- Ryan Mountcastle 1-5, K
- Cedric Mullins 2-4, 2B
- Ryan O’Hearn 0-1, K
- Adley Rutschman 0-1, BB
- Anthony Santander 0-3, BB, K
- Ramón Urías 0-1
You’ll have to take our word for it that the Marlins actually left town because the Mets bats will face former Marlin, now Oriole, Trevor Rogers. The Orioles put together a fairly large trade package for Rogers at the deadline. Before the deadline over 105 1/3 innings (21 starts), Rogers had a 4.53 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.528 WHIP and a 98 ERA+. Since joining the Orioles Rogers has allowed 13 runs, 12 earned over 14 1/3 innings. One of Rogers better starts this season was against the Mets where he held the Mets to two runs, one earned over 4 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Rogers:
- Pete Alonso 3-20, 2 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
- Harrison Bader 0-2
- José Iglesias 1-3, BB
- Francisco Lindor 4-18, 2B, 5 K
- Starling Marte 4-12, 5 K
- J.D. Martinez 3-7, 2 2B, 2 K
- Jeff McNeil 4-12, 3 2B, 3 BB, 2 K
- Brandon Nimmo 4-16, 2 2B, 4 BB, 3 K
- Tyrone Taylor 3-10, 2 K
- Luis Torrens 0-1, K
- Mark Vientos 2-2
- Jesse Winker 1-3, BB, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Yikes. Too Many Double Plays and Strikeouts. When the Mets bats struggle with RISP, its usually because they are striking out too much. On Sunday the team went a combined 1-for-9 with RISP, leaving nine batters on. They struck out 12 times (and generally things do not go well for the Mets when strikeout nine or more times in a game). The Mets also hit into three double plays yesterday, which is just killer for momentum. At some point the Mets luck will have to change.
- Jackson Holliday is here. One of the best prospects in baseball had a difficult time adjusting to major league pitching the first time he was called up to the majors. Since returning at the start of August, Holliday has gone 16-for-58 with a double, triple and four homers hitting .276/.323/.535 with 10 RBI’s. Over the last two games he has gone 1-for-7. The last thing the Mets need this week is for Holliday to get hot.
- McNeil / Marte / Iglesias playing time. Starling Marte returned to the Mets lineup on Sunday and now the Mets will have to navigate so playing time situations. McNeil was playing a lot in the outfield where the Mets were pretty thin. The return of Marte with McNeil’s second half resurgence should have Iglesias see a drop in playing time. Iglesias got on base though four times on Sunday. We’ll probably see Mendoza get more creative with giving players some rest, considering that he also has to find time for Winker, Bader and Taylor too.
Let’s Go Mets!
