The Mets losing streak has reached seven games as the Mets lost the series opener last night to the Pirates 14-7. In what has become a recent theme for the Mets, the starting pitch failed and this time the bullpen blew up next. The Mets have now scored 17 runs in their last two games, great for a team that’s been struggling at the plate and without their best hitter, but have no wins to show for it.
Kodai Senga looks to get the Mets back in the win column this afternoon. Over 11 starts (57 2/3 innings), Senga has a 3.75 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 1.439 WHIP and a 110 ERA+. His last game, his first on regular rest this season, was a bit rough as he allowed four runs, three earned, over 2 2/3 innings from four four hits and five walks. It was a stark difference from his previous start where he allowed one hit and no walks while striking out nine over seven innings. He also allowed a homerun for the first in his last start since May 11th. As we’ve seen by now, walks are Senga’s main weakness. When he’s really off, the walks and homers produce a bad mix. We’ve also seen that when he’s on, he’s almost unhittable. The Mets desperately need that version of Senga tonight.
The Mets bats look to keep getting hits and runs against Johan Oviedo this afternoon. Oviedo has made 12 starts (65 innings) with a 4.29 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 1.477 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. Over his last five starts and 28 innings he’s had a 2.57 ERA (4.46 ERA). The Mets faced him twice last year, scoring seven times over a combined 5 2/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Daniel Vogelbach 1-8, BB, K
- Eduardo Escobar 1-6, K
- Jeff McNeil 1-4, 2 BB, K
- Brandon Nimmo 2-4, BB, K
- Francisco Lindor 1-3, BB, K
- Tommy Pham 1-2, 2 BB, K
- Mark Canha 0-2, BB, 2 K
- Luis Guillorme 0-1, BB, K
- Omar Narváez 0-2
Three Things To Watch For:
- The Mets need a quality start tonight. Last weekend the Mets played the Blue Jays and got swept. It was also the first time all season where the Mets got quality starts from their starting pitchers and didn’t win the game. It was going to happen eventually. The Mets have now gone five games in a row with bad to terrible starts from their starters. The kicker is in four of those games, whether it was when the starter was on the mound or when the bullpen took over – the Mets had the lead at one point. The bullpen needs a chance to reset itself, and that can happen tonight if Senga goes six innings, allows three runs or less and the Mets have lead by the time the bottom of the seventh rolls around.
- Vientos had a solid day. Thursday was a day to forget for Vientos. He went 0-for-5 at the plate, striking out three times. Yesterday he went 1-for-3 with a walk. His hit drove in his fifth run of the season. Vientos has not seen consistent playing time in a while. When he was seeing consistent time in the minors, he was absolutely destroying the ball at the plate. With Alonso down for an extended period of time, Vientos should be getting consistent playing time (he should have gotten consistent time before that too but that’s another conversation).
- It’s happened before folks. On June 26th, 2018 the Mets ended a seven game losing streak against the Pirates when Wilmer Flores had a walk-off hit in the 10th inning. Can the Mets end a similar streak tonight against the same opponents?
Let’s Go Mets!
