The Mets have a critical rubber game this afternoon against the San Diego Padres. On Friday night the Mets won a back-and-forth, extra-inning affair. Yesterday the Padres were able to score three runs early and the Mets could only muster one run in response. Now both the Padres and the Mets sit at 42-47 records. A win means going into the All-Star break only four games below .500. A win means a chance to be buyers at the deadline. A loss makes that door close ever so slightly more on the season.
Max Scherzer has pitched 82 2/3 innings over 15 games this season with a 4.03 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.198 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. He’s coming off of a start where he allowed three homers, leading to four runs over six innings. Before that he allowed only five runs over 20 innings (three starts). Max had a solid start against the Padres earlier this year where he held them to one hit and no runs over five innings. The Padres have the following career numbers against Scherzer:
- Manny Machado 8-52, 2 2B, 2 HR, 21 K
- Matt Carpenter 8-33, 3 2B, BB, 12 K
- Trent Grisham 2-15, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
- Jake Cronenworth 0-15, BB, 4 K
- Fernando Tatis Jr. 1-14, HR, 7 K
- Xander Bogaerts 2-13, 5 K
- Preston Tucker 2-8, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
- Juan Soto 1-4, 4 BB
- Rougned Odor 1-4, BB, K
- Ha-Seong Kim 1-5, 3 K
- Gary Sánchez 0-3, 3 K
The Mets bats will try to pick themselves back up tonight against Joe Musgrove. Over 13 starts, 73 1/3 innings, Musgrove has a 3.56 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 1.200 WHIP, 115 ERA+. In his last three games he has allowed only four runs over 20 innings from 16 hits while striking out 24 batters. This is the Mets first time facing him since the Wild Card last year where Musgrove allowed one hit and one walk, no runs, over seven innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Francisco Lindor 6-17, 2 2B, 2 HR, BB, 8 K
- Omar Narváez 1-11, 2B, BB, 4 K
- Daniel Vogelbach 1-9, 2 BB, 5 K
- Pete Alonso 3-8, HR, BB, 2 K
- Starling Marte 3-9, K
- Jeff McNeil1-8, 2B, K
- Tommy Pham 2-9, HR, 2 K
- Luis Guillorme 2-7, K
- Brandon Nimmo 0-6
- Mark Canha 1-3, 2B, BB, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Musgrove’s ear. This is mostly a joke but the last time the Mets faced Musgrove in the Wild Card series, his ear looked pretty shiny. So shiny that Buck Showalter had the umpires check his ear for an illegal substance. Both teams today are playing a game with huge implications, emotions will be high. There’s a good chance that this whole moment may be referred to on the field tonight.
- Do the Mets act like tonight is a playoff game? Today is must win game for the Mets. A loss can crush all the positive momentum they built up in the last week. Further, they are about to go several days without playing. Do they play tonight like it’s a playoff game? Do they make tons of quick changes when things go awry?
- How does Francisco Álvarez close out his monster first half? Over seven games this month Álvarez has hit five homers. he’s gone 11-for-26 at the plate, with seven runs scored. He’s hitting .423/.464/1.000. He’s shown us that he’s the real deal and one of the most exciting parts of this Mets team!
Let’s Go Mets!
