The Mets is likely to be examined this week with a rematch of the 2022 NL Wild Card sequence on faucet.
To date this season, the Mets have carried out seven of their 10 video video games in direction of the lowly Miami Marlins, a employees that has some good starting pitching nevertheless not loads else. The solely completely different employees the Mets have confronted in 2023 was the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Mets in a three-game sequence ultimate week and is prone to be greater than some thought at 7-2 on the season.
So now the 6-4 Padres come to metropolis. One other employees with World Collection aspirations and a deep-pocketed proprietor who’s sparing no expense for his membership, working in loads the similar pattern as a result of the Mets. Since they ultimate observed the Mets, they’ve added Xander Bogaerts and Nelson Cruz. The Mets have added pitchers Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and a bevy of various relievers.
The 2 teams have had comparable begins to the season, with accidents to pitchers and some inconsistent play. The Padres misplaced their first two video video games to the Colorado Rockies — the Marlins of the NL West — and can almost definitely use one different pitcher. The Mets couldn’t full the sweep of Miami over the weekend and can almost definitely use one different bat.
Nonetheless, the Padres are coming into New York having gained three of 4 in Atlanta in direction of the Braves. Former Mets’ right-hander Seth Lugo acquired the win in Sunday’’s 10-2 walloping of the Braves, going six sturdy and limiting them to just one earned run.
Bogaerts enters the sequence slashing .324/.422/.649 with 190 OPS+. The Padres private the sixth-best slugging proportion in baseball correct now (.448).
For the Mets, Pete Alonso has been the engine that drives the offense, most important the league with 5 home runs and slashing .237/.326/.658 with a 153 OPS+ in 10 video video games.
The sequence will start with right-hander Max Scherzer going via right-hander Yu Darvish. The marquee matchup is must-watch baseball, nonetheless it should get quite much less thrilling inside the second and third video video games of the sequence, with lefties Ryan Weathers and David Peterson starting Tuesday and Tylor Megill going for the Mets inside the finale. San Diego hasn’t named a starter for the third recreation.
Megill and Peterson can have their very personal storylines for the Mets this week as a result of the membership that tried to assemble a deep rotation is straight away pitching inside the shallow end. Carlos Carrasco was shelled as quickly as as soon as extra Sunday and whereas his subsequent flip by means of the rotation gained’t come until the Mets are in Oakland subsequent weekend, Peterson and Megill have had administration factors they’ll should work by means of to make sure that the 5-5 Mets to get once more into the win column.
However the largest storyline is prone to be the coping with of catcher Francisco Alvarez. The membership’s excessive prospect is with the Main League employees as Omar Narvaez is sidelined with a left calf stress. The 21-year-old had some good at-bats over the weekend nevertheless Sunday he allowed 5 stolen bases in 5 makes an try. Groups are solely going to proceed to capitalize on that weak level if he can’t get it beneath administration.
The Mets will end the week in Oakland and though the A’s aren’t exactly a juggernaut, a 10-game, three-city California swing with no days off will pose a extreme downside, significantly for the pitching employees. Verlander is hopeful he may make his Mets debut on that journey nevertheless the membership nonetheless hasn’t chosen a plan of movement for his return.
Two weeks from now, we’ll know way more regarding the Mets and their capability to beat adversity.
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