The good news was the Mets kept the Dodgers hitless through the first four innings yesterday. Then everything fell off the rails. The Dodgers would score three runs off Verlander in the fifth inning and would eventually beat the Mets 6-0. Brandon Nimmo had the only the hit for the Mets as their losing streak extended to three games. The Mets look to bounce back tonight to force a rubber game on Sunday.
Kodai Senga returns to the mound tonight. Selected as a replacement in the All-Star game, Senga declined to pitch so he would be well rested and ready to go tonight. Senga had his last game pushed back before the All-Star break so he could get extra rest. Tonight he was pushed forward a game so Scherzer could get extra rest.
On the season Senga has made 16 starts totaling 89 2/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.283 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. Over his last three starts he has pitched 18 1/3 innings allowing seven runs, five earned. During this stretch he has struck out an outstanding 26 batters while only walking six, his early season weakness. His last start was the best of the season where he pitched eight innings, holding the Diamondbacks to only one run while striking out 12 batters. This will be the first time he has faced the Dodgers this season.
Tony Gonsolin makes his 14th start of the season tonight. Over 67 2/3 innings he has a 3.86 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 1.123 WHIP and a 113 ERA+. Things have not been great for Tony over his last four starts where he has allowed four earned runs in three of them, and seven earned runs in the other. This totals up to 19 runs over 21 innings (8.14 ERA, 5.47 FIP). The Mets have the following career numbers against him:
- Starling Marte 0-7
- Tommy Pham 1-6, 2B, 3 K
- Daniel Vogelbach 0-3, BB, 2 K
- Luis Guillorme 1-3, K
- Brandon Nimmo 0-3, K
- Pete Alonso 0-2, K
- Mark Canha 0-2
- Jeff McNeil 0-1, BB
- Omar Narváez 0-1, BB, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Bullpen usage – already. The Mets had to use four arms last night to finish out the game (Peterson, Gott, Leone, and Smith). The Mets didn’t need to use their two big arms in Ottavino and Robertson, but it stinks to be one game into the second half of the season, already use a chunk of the bullpen, and for three of those four pitches to have rough-ish outings.
- Can the Mets rack up some hits tonight? The last time the Mets faced Gonsolin was June 2022 and Gonsolin was able to hold the Mets to just two hits and a walk in a game the Dodgers won 6-0. One of those two hits was by a plyer who isn’t even on the Mets anymore (J.D. Davis).
- Kodai Senga’s advanced stats reflect his improvement. If you go to Kodai’s Baseball Savant page, you’ll see that his xwOBA has improved over his last 100 PA’s. This has been true since mid-to-late June. After last night, the Mets are really going to need Senga to be at his best to help jump start the club.
Let’s Go Mets
