We are only a few days into the new season and I’m going to offer my controversial Hot Take from yesterday: I think Díaz threw a good pitch, and sometimes you get beat. It’s hard saying that in the backdrop of what happened last year and his performance this spring/summer. As you know by now, Díaz allowed the tying run in the ninth and the Mets went into extras with Hunter Strickland who performed exactly like his numbers suggested he would and the Mets couldn’t recover. Heartbreaking losses are now 2.7x more heartbreaking in 2020, and I don’t know about you but I forgot how to lose so it was a rough night.
But now we’re back. The Mets have one of the Sunday night games as they finish off their series with the Braves. Since teams are essentially playing in geographic divisions, Sunday night baseball is now a double header, moving the Mets to a much more normal 7 PM start rather than 8 PM start.
And Rick Porcello will make his Mets debut tonight! Porcello is coming off an awful year, pitching 174.1 innings over 32 starts with a 5.52 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 87 ERA+ and 1.394 WHIP. The only time his FIP has ever been higher was in rookie year where he posted a much better 114 ERA+ (his ERA+ has been above 100 four times in eleven seasons). The last time he faced the Braves was in 2018 and it was a good start, allowing only 1 run on 2 hits over 5.0 innings. The Braves have the following numbers against him:
- Freddie Freeman 5-11, BB, K
- Adam Duvall 3-4
- Matt Adams 1-3, K
- Adeiny Hechavarria 4-22, 2B, HR, 2 K
- Charlie Culberson 1-4, 2 K
- Ender Inciarte 0-3
- Ozzie Albies 0-2, K
- Ronald Acuna Jr. 0-3, K
- Johan Camargo 0-2, K
Sean Newcomb returns to the rotation for the Atlanta Braves. He made his debut in 2017 at 24 years old and made 19 starts over 100 innings with a 4.32 ERA. The following year he made 30 starts and pitched 164.0 innings with a 3.90 ERA. Last year the Braves moved him mostly to the bullpen and pitched in 55 games with 4 starts totaling 68.1 innings with a 3.16 ERA, 4.24 FIP, 1.317 WHIP and 144 ERA+. Last year was his best in ERA+, ERA and WHIP and his worst in FIP. His numbers against the Mets were not good last year. He logged only 6.1 innings despite pitching in relief for 6 games and starting 1, allowing 8 runs from 9 hits and 3 walks. Despite that stat line, for the most part, the Mets numbers against him are not that scary:
- Robinson Cano 1-2
- Pete Alonso 1-2, 2B, K
- Amed Rosario 5-10, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
- Rene Rivera 4-6, 2 2B, 2 BB,2 K
- J.D. Davis 0-2, 2 BB
- Jeff McNeil 2-6, 2B, K
- Dominic Smith 1-5, 2B, BB, 3 K
- Yoenis Cespedes 1-8, 2B, BB, 3 K
- Michael Conforto 0-7, 3 BB, 3 K
- Brandon Nimmo 0-7, 2 BB, 3 K
Let’s Go Mets!
