The Mets head to Minnesota tonight to start a three game set against the Twins. The Mets are coming off of a week with two off-days and a split series against the Nationals. Currently the Mets are 1.5 games ahead of the Nationals for last in the division. The Twins are the first place team in the AL Central, six games above .500 and 6.5 games ahead of the Guardians.
Kodai Senga continues his fantastic rookie season tonight. Over 25 starts throwing 143 1/3 innings, Senga has a 3.08 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 1.228 WHIP and a 136 ERA+. In his last three starts he has allowed four runs from 11 hits and seven walks while striking out an astounding 27 batters over 20 2/3 innings. He has a 1.74 ERA over this stretch. Tonight will be Senga’s first start against the Twins and he has not faced anyone on the Twins in any other Major League games.
The Mets bats will get a look at Dallas Keuchel tonight who is pitching in his sixth game with the Twins. Over 21 1/3 innings he has a 5.06 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 1.500 WHIP and an 88 ERA+. Keuchel has either been terrific or terrible this season. He has three games where he allowed a combine one run over 16 1/3 innings. There are two games where he has allowed a combined 11 runs over five innings. Which version will the Mets see tonight? The Mets have the following career numbers against Keuchel:
- Francisco Lindor 3-16, HR, 2 BB
- Pete Alonso 1-7, HR, 2 K, BB
- Jeff McNeil 0-2
- Brandon Nimmo 1-3, K
Three Things To Watch For:
- Will Francisco Lindor make progress to a 30-30 season? On Tuesday night Lindor hit his 26th homer of the season. On Wednesday night he stole his 26th base of the season. He’s practically knocking on the door of this major milestone. His 26th stolen base on Wednesday night was a new career-best for Lindor (previous was 25 in 2018).
- It’s Ronny’s World. Ronny Mauricio went 2-for-4 at the plate on Wednesday night and stole his third base of the season. It was the third time in five games that Mauricio has recorded two hits and he continues his five game hitting streak. He is one of the key reasons to keep watching the Mets this September.
- Can Senga reach 200 strikeouts this season? This is going to be a tough milestone to hit, but it’s not an impossible milestone. Thanks to the tear that Senga has been on recently, he’s 24 strikeouts away from 200 on the season. If he has about three more starts this season, then he would need 8 a start to hit that milestone. It’s not probable at this point, but it is possible.
Let’s Go Mets!
