For a second straight game the Mets offense was non-existent and despite excellent pitching the Mets fell 2-1. Now the Mets will try to salvage the series and sneak out with a win. Can the Mets get the hitting and the pitching to get hot at the same time?
Kodai Senga takes the mound today for the Mets. Over 10 starts and 55 innings Senga has a 3.44 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.345 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. He is coming off of his best start of the season where he held the Phillies to one run and no walks over seven innings while striking out nine batters. Previously he was being hurt by high walk totals. This is absolutely what you want to see from Senga as he gets more and more acclimated to the majors.
Senga will face off today against Yusei Kikuchi who is having a better season than last year. Over 11 starts (56 1/3 innings) this season he has a 4.47 ERA, 5.97 FIP, 1.402 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. His WHIP has dropped about 100 points from last season (1.500) because his walks have dropped (3.0 BB/9 vs 5.2 last season). That being said, his last four starts have been rough. He’s allowed 15 runs, 14 earned, from 23 hits and 11 walks over 18 2/3 innings. He’s been hurt by the long ball in this stretch allowing seven. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Mark Canha 5-17, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 4 K
- Tommy Pham 1-2, 2 BB
- Eduardo Escobar 1-2, 2B, K
- Francisco Lindor 0-3, K
- Starling Marte 0-2
Three Things To Watch For:
- Kodai Senga starts on regular rest. For the first time season Kodai Senga will start on regular rest. Pitchers in Japan have about a week between starts. Pitchers in MLB usually start every five days. The Mets have been easing Senga into the rotation this season, which has been a bit easier to do so far with the Mets off-days and rainouts. Today Senga will get his first start on regular rest. We are looking to see if he still pitches a comparable amount to previous games, his effectiveness and if he’s going to get extra rest before his next start.
- Alonso has gone cold. This is not the first time this season that Alonso has gone cold. Over his last five games he is 2-for-19 with one run scored. He’s only struck out three times though. Alonso has emerged from similar stretches with hot streaks where he hits a home run every other night. Kikuchi’s weakness is homeruns. He’s given them up at a rate of 2.4 per nine innings (and his career mark is 1.8).
- Stikeouts crushed the Mets yesterday. The Mets struck out 11 times yesterday including Nimmo with two, Lindor with three and Baty with three. Lets see early on in the game if the Mets can reverse this trend.
Let’s Go Mets!
