The Rangers look to complete the three game sweep of the Mets tonight at Citi Field. The Mets have been competitive in both games this series but their bats have just not come through. The Mets are sole holders of last place and now have lost seven of their last ten games, putting that little run from two weeks ago deep in the rear view mirror.
Denyi Reyes will get the spot start for the Mets tonight. The start comes as the Mets begin to ramp down Kodai Senga’s work load for the 2023 season. Reyes has pitched seven games for the Mets season, totaling 12 innings with a 7.50 ERA, 5.43 FIP, 1.917 WHIP and a 57 ERA+. His two starts this season have come on double header days for the Mets. Back on May 1st he allowed five runs from five hits and a walk in one inning of work against Atlanta. A couple of weeks ago on August 12th he allowed five runs from eight hits and four walk over 4 2/3 innings. The Mets have received solid starts this week from Peterson, Megil and Quintana on back-to-back-to-back days. That with the off-day tomorrow means the Mets an absorb a rough start if it happens this evening.
Dane Dunning has pitched 136 2/3 innings over 28 games (20 starts) this season with a 3.36 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.207 WHIP and a 130 ERA+. The bulk of his work this season (116 1/3 innings) has come as a starter where he has a 3.64 ERA. In his last two starts he’s allowed seven runs from 12 hits and seven walks over nine innings (7.00 ERA, 6.60 FIP). The Mets have only three players on the roster who have seen Dunning before in an official game:
- Francisco Lindor 1-3, K
- DJ Stewart 0-3
- Jonathan Araúz 1-3
Three Things To Watch For:
- Mark Vientos. Mark Vientos returned from the injured list on August 27th. In his first two games he went 0-for-6 at the plate, but had a couple of hard hit outs. Last night he went 2-for-4 with his third homer of the season, his first since July 29th. The Mets offense is in desperate need for someone to get hot right now.
- Strikeouts. We’ve talked about this for a few days in a row now. The Mets at-bats as a collective haven’t been great since the start of last weekend. In their last five games they’ve struck out 11, 10, 11, 13 and 11 times. Last night Alonso, Álvarez, Vientos and Araúz each had two. You can have two strikeouts in a game and still have a good game (for example, Mark Vientos), but when so many players are mired in a slump it is difficult to get momentum going.
- Sean Reid-Foley. Sean last pitched on Monday night and he’s looked good since returning to the Mets. In 3 1/3 innings he has allowed a hit, a walk and nothing else while striking out five batters. You may have missed him on the mound because thanks to the pitchcom, he no longer has his signature, bird-of-prey style hunch over the mound before he pitches. He will be arbitration eligible for the first time next season.
Let’s Go Mets!
