The Mets are on the brink of being swept for two consecutive series this afternoon as they take on the Orioles. After a terrible showing in Kansas City, the Mets have struggled to find footing in Baltimore the last two days in front of sellout crowds. The Orioles have acted like the 2023 Orioles so far this weekend – they’ve racked up hits, drove in runners and their bullpen has shut the door behind them. Can the Mets make a little magic today?
The Mets rotation turns over for the first time since the trade deadline with José Quintana returning to the mound today. Over his first three starts of the season he has allowed seven runs, eight earned, over 17 2/3 innings which has translated to a 3.57 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 1.302 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Each of his three starts have been quality starts. He’s also given up exactly six hits and zero homers in each start. The Orioles have the following career numbers against Quintana:
- James McCann 3-18, 3B, 4 K, 2 BB
- Adam Frazier 3-16, 2 K
- Ramón Urías 1-2
- Anthony Santander 0-1, K
- Austin Hays 1-1, 2B
- Ryan Mountcastle 1-1, 2B
The Mets bats will try to get something going today against Kyle Bradish who has really stepped up in his second year. Over 20 starts and 111 innings he has a 3.32 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.117 WHIP and a 126 ERA+. He’s coming off of a start where he allowed three runs over seven innings and he’s allowed eight runs over 13 2/3 in his last two starts. Before his last two starts he allowed eight runs total in his previous seven starts (44 1/3 innings), a 1.62 ERA. The only Met on the roster who has seen Bradish in an official game is Rafael Ortega, who is 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Can Quintana give the bullpen a bit of a rest today. All of the relief pitching yesterday was handled by Bickford and Hartwig, the latter working for two consecutive days. Everyone in the Mets bullpen outside of Adam Ottavino and Raley has pitched this weekend. Quintana could help the pen and the overall morale of the team if he can pitch deep and get the Mets in a position where they need Ottavino and Raley. This of course means the Mets need to…
- Score runs and avoid striking out. The Mets bats have done the pitching no favors this week. The Mets had seven hits last night and a walk but turned that into only three runs. They had 11 strikeouts with Nimmo, Marte and Baty all having multiple strikeouts.
- Jeff McNeil. Jeff McNeil had a strong start to the week where he went 5-for-14 scoring three runs and hitting a triple. He then went silent for back to back games going 0-for-8 at the plate. Last night he was the Mets offense going 2-for-4 with a homer, finally ticking over 100 hits on the season.
Let’s Go Mets!
