The Mets are back in first place! The Mets offense exploded last night with an eight run inning leading to an 11-3 win over the Marlins. A few hours later the Mariners beat the Braves and now the Mets are in control of their own destiny again.
Until the Mets get a little more separation in the division, every game is a must win. Before yesterday’s game, the Mets announced they were finally placing Starling Marte on the injured list and calling up another top prospect – Mark Vientos. Vientos is a top prospect in the Mets system, can play the corners in the infield and most importantly, can hit. Vientos was slashing .280/.358/.519 over 427 plate appearances for Syracuse before his call up, a league where he was 4.3 years younger than the average player.
Taijuan Walker gets the start today. Over 24 starts, 127 2/3 innings this season, Walker has a 3.60 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.230 WHIP and a 109 ERA+. His last time out wasn’t great – he allowed four runs from six hits and two walks over five innings against the Pirates. Hopefully Walker can move all of that behind him as he takes on the Marlins for the fifth time this season. Over his first four games he allowed seven runs from 20 hits and six walks over 25 1/3 innings (2.49 ERA). The Marlins have the following career numbers against Walker:
- Miguel Rojas 3-20, 2B, BB, 4 K
- Bryan De La Cruz 5-14, 2B, BB, 3 K
- Avisail Garcia 2-15, 2B, 7 K
- Jesus Sanchez 1-13, 2 BB, 4 K
- Brian Anderson 3-13, 5 K
- Garrett Cooper 1-8, BB, 3 K
- Joey Wendle 1-8, 2B, K
- Jacob Stallings 2-7, K
The Mets bats take on Jesus Luzardo this afternoon. Luzardo has pitched 13 games tossing 72 1/3 innings with a 3.36 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 1.023 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. Luzardo is coming off of a strong start against the Phillies where he allowed two runs, four hits, over seven innings of work. He’s missed the Mets completely this season so far but faced the Mets twice last season. Over two games he allowed five runs from six hits and seven walks over 10 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Pete Alonso 2-6, HR, 2 K
- Eduardo Escobar 1-5
- Darin Ruf 0-4, BB
- James McCann 0-3, BB, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 0-3, K
- Jeff McNeil 0-3, K
- Tyler Naquin 0-2, K
Let’s Go Mets!
