The Mets are coming off of a three game sweep of the Phillies and look to extend their winning streak to four games tonight as they take on the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Mets starting pitching rotation had a major turnover this past off-season with three major pitchers (deGrom, Walker and Bassitt) leaving the team as free agents. The Mets faced off against Taijuan Walker yesterday and tonight they draw Chris Bassitt as he makes his Citi Field return.
Justin Verlander looks to move beyond his last start where he allowed six runs over five innings. It was the second time in three starts that he allowed six runs over five innings of work. Both of these terrible starts were preceded by a start where Verlander allowed exactly one run over at least seven innings. If the pattern continues, Verlander should have a good start today. Overall this season he has a 4.80 ERA, 4.59 FIP, 1.100 WHIP and 87 ERA+ over 30 innings. Verlander faced the Blue Jays last April and allowed three runs from four hits and a walk over six innings of work. The Blue Jays have the following career numbers against him:
- Whit Merrifield 5-24, 2B, BB, 7 K
- Matt Chapman 1-20, HR, 2 BB, 10 K
- George Springer 5-13, HR, BB, 5 K
- Kevin Kiermaier 1-11, 5 K
- Bo Bichette 0-6, BB, 3 K
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1-6
- Brandon Belt 1-3
Chris Bassitt has pitched 66 1/3 innings with a 3.80 ERA, 5.22 FIP, 1.146 WHIP and a 109 ERA+ this season. Bassitt has already had three different seasons in 2023. After allowing nine runs in his first start he settled in for a good April where he had a 3.03 ERA, 4.20 FIP over 29 2/3 innings and five games. Then Bassitt became the best pitcher in baseball for three consecutive starts, allowing no runs from nine hits and seven walks over 23 innings while striking out 20 (2.86 FIP). In his last two starts he has allowed 13 runs, nine earned. It is a fair question to ask – which Bassitt do the Mets see tonight? The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Eduardo Escobar 2-9, 2 2B, BB, 2 K
- Francisco Lindor 3-9, HR, K
- Daniel Vogelbach 2-5, HR, 2 BB, K
- Starling Marte 0-5, BB, K
- Tommy Pham 0-1, BB, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Mark Canha Szn. Mark Canha has turned a corner the last week and is entering a hot streak. Over his last seven games he has gone 7-for-19 at the plate with two homers and five walks hitting .368/.520/.684. He’s now homered in back-to-back games and has six RBI’s in the last two games. The Mets have only scored eight runs those games!
- The Mets bullpen is bouncing back. Last weekend was a rough one for the Mets bullpen. Due to the Mets game script, the Mets top relievers were also left out of a bunch of the games. The Mets needed to heavily rely on Ottavino and Robertson for the first two games in the Phillies series, which meant that the rest of the Mets bullpen needed to get the job done yesterday in a close game. To quote the SNY broadcast, the law firm of Brigham, Raley and Smith were able to get the final six outs and allowed only one hit.
- Starling Marte could set a personal record for stolen bases. In 2016 and 2021 Starling Marte recorded 47 stolen bases. Yesterday he stole his 16th stolen base on the season. This would put him right around 45 for the season if he continues at his current pace. There is no one else close to Marte right now. Pham is second on the team with five stolen bases and is only in second because he stole two bases in one game recently.
Let’s Go Mets!
