There are many teams playing 1 p.m. games today. Traditionally, today is getaway day and teams playing tomorrow in a different city play at 1 p.m. today to have enough time to travel, there are also a large group of teams (Mets included) who have their home openers tomorrow, so they’ll be playing during the day on Thursday.
The Mets are not one of the teams playing at 1 p.m., they are playing one hour earlier at 6 p.m. It’s going to be a tight turnaround tonight to get ready for the home opener in New York, but it’s ok, they’ll figure it out. The team’s bullpen has also tossed a ton of pitches over the last couple of days, so Friday’s off-day is much needed. Just gotta get to Friday.
Before the Mets race back up north, they have a chance to sweep the Marlins! Last night’s win put the Mets at 4-2 on the season, guaranteeing that they’ll at least come home to New York with a winning record. The Mets scored 5 runs in the first inning and went pretty quiet after that. There were few moments were the bullpen looked like it was going to fall apart last night (the team as a whole game up 16 hits) and then there was the scare with Brandon Nimmo getting hit by the pitch.
Mets Lineup
- Brandon Nimmo LF
- Pete Alonso 1B
- Robinson Cano 2B
- Michael Conforto RF
- J.D. Davis 3B
- Keon Broxton CF
- Amed Rosario SS
- Tomas Nido C
- Jacob deGrom P
Marlins Lineup
- Curtis Granderson LF
- Brian Anderson 3B
- Neil Walker 1B
- Starlin Castro 2B
- JT Riddle SS
- Lewis Brinson CF
- Chad Wallach C
- Rosell Herrera RF
- Trevor Richards P
Jacob deGrom looks to soothe everything over tonight. In his first start of the season, he tossed six innings allowing five hits and a walk with no runs and 10 strikeouts. You already know the drill about last year but it’s fun to say anyway. In 217 innings last year, he had a 1.70 ERA (league-leading), 1.99 FIP (league-leading), 0.912 WHIP and 216 ERA+ (league-leading). One of the teams he seemed mortal against last year was the Marlins, as he posted a 3.12 ERA over four games and 26 innings from nine runs and 20 hits while striking out 31. The Marlins have the following numbers against Jacob:
- Starlin Castro 8-for-23, 2 BB, 3 K
- Miguel Rojas 4-for-20, 3 BB, 2 K
- Martin Prado 3-for-13, 2B, BB, 5 K
- Brian Anderson 4-for-10, HR, BB, K
- Lewis Brinson 3-for-12, 2B, 4 K
- Neil Walker 2-for-9, BB, 2 K
The Mets will get their first look of 2019 at Trevor Richards who is making his second start of 2019. Last year he went 4-9 over 25 games and 126.1 innings posting a 4.42 ERA, 4.05 FIP, 1.385 WHIP, and 82 ERA+ in his first season of major league ball. In his first start of this season against the Rockies, he allowed one run from four hits and two walks over six innings while striking out four. He made two starts against the Mets last year allowing six runs, four earned, from 13 hits and three walks in 11.2 innings while striking out 10. The Mets have the following numbers against Richard:
- Michael Conforto 1-for-6
- Jeff McNeil 3-for-5, 3B
- Brandon Nimmo 1-for-6, 2 K
- Wilson Ramos 2-for-3, HR, 2 BB, K
- Amed Rosario 1-for-4, HR, K
- Dominic Smith 1-for-3, 2B, K
- Tomas Nido 0-for-2
Game Notes
Brandon Nimmo returns tonight after getting hit in the hand on Tuesday night. He passed a grip-strength test and is fine now.
The Mets have started 4-1 or better 11 times in team history (including this year). New York has been 5-1 after six games four times (2018, 2006, 1985 and 1984).
New York has scored 15 runs in the eighth inning or later this season, the most in the majors
The Mets lead the majors with nine first-inning runs this year…Last night, New York scored five first-inning runs. The last time the club plated five or more first-inning runs on the road was September 30, 2015, at Philadelphia.
Jacob deGrom has allowed three runs or fewer in 30 straight starts dating to April 16, 2018…It is the longest overall streak in major league history, surpassing Jake Arrieta (29 starts, June 21, 2015- May 20, 2016), minimum 50 combined innings in those starts.
DeGrom has tossed 25 straight quality starts dating to May 18, 2018. The streak is tied for the second-longest streak in major league history. He is tied with Eddie Cicotte (1916-1917). Bob Gibson had a streak of 26 quality starts from 1967-1968.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Mets home opener, the Empire State Building will be lit up blue and orange tonight.
Let’s Go Mets!
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