The calendar flipped to July and the Mets have started winning again! It’s a sample size of one, but a win is a win. The Mets got a flurry of solo homers, an outstanding start from Verlander and cruised to a 4-1 victory. Now the Mets have a chance to win a series for the first time since June 1st.
David Peterson gets a second start in the rotation this evening. José Quintana is close to joining the Mets rotation and a decision will need to be made about whether the Mets stick to a five-man rotation or jump to a six-man. Peterson made that decision a bit more interesting in his last start, tossing six scoreless innings against the Brewers. He worked out of multiple jams and gave one of his best efforts of the season. Over nine starts and 45 innings, he has a 7.00 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.689 WHIP and a 59 ERA+. He faced the Giants back on April 22nd, in a forgettable start, where he allowed seven runs from seven hits and a walk over five innings. The Giants have the following numbers against him:
- Thairo Estrada 3-7, 2 K
- Wilmer Flores 1-4, HR, BB
- Joey Bart 1-5, 2 K
- Brandon Crawford 2-4, 2 HR, K
- Michael Conforto 1-3
- David Villar 0-2
- Mike Yastrzemski 0-3, K
- Heliot Ramos 1-2, 2B, K
- LaMonte Wade Jr. 0-2, K
Ross Stripling will make his first start tonight since coming off the injured list about a week ago. In ten games this season, five starts, Ross has a 6.88 ERA, 6.25 FIP, 1.557 WHIP and a 63 ERA+. He tossed 50 pitches in relief on June 28th, holding the Blue Jays to one run and four hits over three innings (arguably his best outing of the season). He faced the Mets at the end of April and allowed three runs, two earned, over 3 1/3 innings after allowing six hits. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Starling Marte 3-10, 2 BB, K
- Tommy Pham 0-13, BB, 2 K
- Pete Alonso 1-5, 2B, K
- Brandon Nimmo 0-4, 2 K
- Daniel Vogelbach 1-3, BB
- Luis Guillorme 1-3, K
- Francisco Lindor 1-3, 2B
- Danny Mendick 2-3, K
- Francisco Álvarez 0-2, K
- Brett Baty 1-2
- Jeff McNeil 2-2
- Mark Canha 0-1
- Omar Narváez 0-1
Three Things To Watch For:
- Giants bullpen usage questions. DeSclafani lasted only three innings yesterday, giving up three solo homers. Manaea came in after him and pitched three innings. Between Friday and Saturday Manaea has tossed 71 pitches, Taylor Rogers 21, Tyler Rogers 19 and Jakob Junis 17 (but over two innings). Ross Stripling has five innings only three times this year, and was effective in only one of those starts. The Mets can do themselves a lot of favors tonight if they work counts early in the game and put the Giants in a pitching conundrum.
- The return of the homer-happy offense. Three of the Mets runs yesterday came on solo homers (Álvarez, Nimmo, Lindor). For Álvarez it was his first homer since June 10th. Nimmo and Lindor were continuing their power-hitting summer. It would be nice if the Mets can get runners on before they hit a blast, but after the way the offense has been the last week, it’s just nice to see them hitting blasts.
- Another day, another notable stat for Pham. After going 8-for-11 in his last three games, a 1-for-3 day at the plate seems a bit like a let down. The hottest hitter in the Mets lineup hit a double and drove in a run yesterday. Pham’s RBI was the only RBI not from solo homer!
Let’s Go Mets!
