The Mets pitching has kept the Mets in every game this season, but the bats have struggled to come through. Saturday was another lackluster game for the Mets hitting with runners in scoring position, leading to a 3-1 loss. The Mets still have a chance this afternoon to win their fourth consecutive series before leaving Sacramento.
It’s a second straight game where the Mets will face off against a pitcher who used to be a Met. Saturday’s starter J.T. Ginn was drafted by the Mets before the Mets traded him for Chris Bassitt. Today Luis Severino gets to start against his old team. Severino signed a massive three-year, 67 million-dollar deal with the Athletics to kick off their busy offseason. Can the Mets get some hits against the guy who used to hold the OMG sign?
Kodai Senga has allowed four runs, two earned, over 10 innings this season from eight hits and three walks while striking out 12. Most of the strikeouts came in his first start (8) but also all of the runs did as well. He’s tossed exactly 77 pitches in each start. He made a start in Oakland (and all of their foul territory) back in 2023 where he allowed four runs from seven hits and four walks over 4 2/3 innings. It was his first rough outing in the majors, but he also wasn’t close to the pitcher that we saw by the end of the 2023 season. The Athletics have the following career numbers against him:
- Shea Langeliers 1-2, HR, K
- Brent Rooker 1-3, K
Luis Severino is already making his fourth start of the season today. Over his first three he has allowed 11 runs, 10 earned over 19 innings from 17 hits while striking out 15 (4.74 ERA, 5.41 FIP, 1.263 WHIP and an 81 ERA+). His first start of the season against the Mariners was great – six shutout innings. All 10 runs he’s allowed have been in his last two starts, both of those starts at home. He’s allowed four homers in those starts. Part of his success with the Mets in 2023 was his HR rate, 1.1 HR/9, one of the better rates of his career and way down from his 2.3 in his last year with the Yankees. The Mets have the following numbers against Severino:
- Brett Baty 2-2, BB
- Francisco Lindor 5-19, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
- Starling Marte 1-3
- Brandon Nimmo 4-7, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 2 K
- Jose Siri 0-1
- Juan Soto 0-2, BB, K
- Jesse Winker 2-5, BB, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Pitch counts for Senga. Senga has been limited to under 80 pitches in first two starts as the Mets start to ease him back in to the rotation. The Mets also desperately need a pitcher to get into the seventh inning and start to give the bullpen some relief. Because of Senga’s injury history, he’s not the best candidate to force into pitching deeper into a game if the pitch count says not to. I’m watching to see if the Mets let Senga get to 90 pitches and how far into the game that will take him.
- Strikeouts. The Mets scored seven runs on Friday night, but had 12 strikeouts and ultimately went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Saturday they had 10 strikeouts, but they were concentrated across four players. Alonso and Marte each struck out three times. Baty and Taylor each struck out twice. The Mets ended up leaving eight runners on base.
- Juan Soto is getting on base. Juan Soto added two more walks yesterday, bringing his season total to 12. He’s tied for fourth in the league trailing Marcell Ozuna (16), Kyle Tucker (15) and J.P. Crawford (13). Pete Alonso, currently third in baseball with 18 RBI’s, is generally feasting on Soto being on base.
Let’s Go Mets!
