Amidst all the trade rumors, reaction to the Marcus Stroman and Jason Vargas trades, and hoopla surrounding the July 31 trade deadline, there is still the matter of baseball to be played on the field. And for the Mets, who appear to be making a run at the wildcard, instead of selling assets and obtaining young pieces for the future, this upcoming trip against the Chicago White Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates is important.
The trip involves playing two teams that are a combined 24 games under .500, with one of the teams the Mets having just swept at Citi Field. A decent road trip here would set things up nicely for the subsequent stretch where the Mets play 16 of 22 games at home, starting with the last-place Miami Marlins.
The New York Mets (50-55) are 10-5 since the All-Star break. Their pitching, both starting and relief, has been the best in baseball during that stretch with an ERA of under three. They are coming off a 5-1 home stand against the San Diego Padres and the Pittsburgh Pirates. And though no one will mistake the Bucs or Padres with the ’27 Yankees, the Mets still had to beat the opponents that are on their schedule. That schedule is easing up a bit as the Mets don’t play another team above .500 until August 9 when they open a weekend series at home against the Washington Nationals.
To make the Nationals series a meaningful one, the Mets have to take care of business in their next 10 games: three against the White Sox, three against the Pirates and four at home against the Marlins.
The White Sox are a somewhat unfamiliar foe to the Mets as the two team have played each other only 10 times since 2002. Chicago has a 6-4 edge on the Mets in those games. They played last in 2016 at Citi Field with the Sox taking two out of three.
The Chicago White Sox (46-57) are struggling. They are 4-13 since the All-Star break, losers of seven straight right after the break, winning only one series, against Tamps Bay, this month. During their current home stand, they are 2-5, losing sets to the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins.
Part of the problem with the Sox is their run differential which, at -113, is the third worst in the American League. Only the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers have a greater differential than Chicago. They seem to hit well when their pitching is poor, and when they get a well-pitched game, the bats fall silent.
It should come as no surprise that the White Sox are 14th in the AL in team batting. They have scored 429 runs in 103 games, averaging just about 4.2 runs per game. Third baseman Yoan Moncada leads the team in hitting with a .301 BA. Leury Garcia, the center fielder, has scored 65 runs to lead the team while first baseman Jose Abreu leads the way in both home runs with 22 and RBIs with 72. In their 13 losses since the All-Star break, the White Sox have scored only 26 runs, a paltry two runs per game.
Chicago is 12th in the AL in team pitching with a .266 BAA and a 5.06 team ERA. Staff ace Lucas Giolito leads the Sox in most pitching stats with 11 wins, 141 strikeouts, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Giolito, an All-Star, is tentatively scheduled to pitch Wednesday’s game against fellow All-Star Jacob deGrom which should make for a compelling match-up. Alex Colome has 21 saves for the White Sox which is fifth most in the AL.
The White Sox are 13th in the AL in team defense having committed 76 errors. Only the Yankees and the Mariners have more errors on the season. The Sox have a .979 fielding percentage.
Chicago is managed by 57 year-old Rick Renteria. He has the distinction of being one of only two men to have managed both Chicago franchises with Johnny Evers being the other. Renteria managed the Cubs for one year (in 2014) before he was terminated and replaced by Joe Maddon. He became the White Sox bench coach for the 2016 season and in 2017 replaced Robin Ventura as the team’s manager. He is a fiery sort, having led the league in ejections in his first season as Sox skipper.
The probable pitchers below are ‘very’ probable based on the trade deadline which bisects this three game set.
Tuesday, July 30: RHP Noah Syndergaard vs RHP Reynaldo Lopez
2019 stats: Syndergaard 7-5 record, 4,33 ERA (3.65 FIP), 1.263 WHIP, 9.0 Ks/9, 2.6 BBs/9; Lopez 5-9 record, 5.52 ERA (5,17 FIP), 1.445 WHIP, 8.4 Ks/9, 3.2 BBs/9.
Could this be the last time we see Noah Syndergaard take the mound in a Mets uniform? Some reports have stated the Mets executives say he “definitely” be traded. And how will the Stroman and Vargas trades affect things?
Although inconsistent, Syndergaard has given up more than three earned runs in only four of his last 14 starts. He has a 3.51 ERA during that stretch. Noah is coming off a loss to the Padres in which he gave up three ER on eight hits in seven innings.
Jon Jay is three for three against Syndergaard with one RBI, while James McCann is 1-3 with one RBI.
This will mark Syndergaard’s first time pitching on the South Side.
Reynaldo Lopez has been pitching better of late. Since the All-Star break, Lopez has a 1.71 ERA in three starts. Last out, he pitched in hard luck, losing to the Marlins 2-0, despite striking out ten and only giving up four hits. Lopez is in his third year with the White Sox. He started his Major League career with the Nationals in 2016. He’ll be making his 22nd start of the year against the Mets.
No Met player on the current roster has a hit against Lopez.
Wednesday, July 31: RHP Jacob deGrom vs RHP Lucas Giolito
2019 Stats: deGrom 6-7 record, 2.86 ERA (2.95 FIP), 1.085 WHIP, 11.4 Ks/9, 2.2 BBs/9; Giolito 11-5 record, 3.52 ERA (3.53 FIP), 1.122 WHIP, 10.8 Ks/9, 3.2 BBs/9
Jacob deGrom lowered his ERA below three for the first time since April after having given up no earned runs in his last two starts. For the month, he has surrendered only three ER in four starts. Over his last 12 starts, Jake has pitched to a 2.10 ERA with 96 punch outs and 18 walks. He is among the league leaders in ERA, pitcher WAR and strikeouts. Is he making a late run to defend his 2018 Cy Young award?
DeGrom has made one start in his career versus the White Sox. It was in 2016 where, as per usual, he pitched brilliantly allowing only one run in seven innings but getting a no-decision for his efforts.
Lucas Giolito has had his problems of late. He is winless in July and has seen his ERA go up from a low of 2.22 on June 14 to 3.52 where it is now. Over his last six starts, Giolito has a 6.38 ERA. In his last start, he gave up four home runs and seven runs total in a loss to Minnesota. He has given up 18 runs in four starts in July, whereas in June he only gave up 10 runs in six starts. Like his team, he has been having his share of difficulties recently.
Adeiny Hechavarria is two for two lifetime against Giolito.
Thursday, August 1: RHP Zach Wheeler vs RHP Dylan Cease
2019 Stats: Wheeler 7-6 record, 4.71 ERA (3.65 FIP), 1.271 WHIP, 9.9 Ks/9, 2.5 BBs/9; Cease 1-3 record, 6.86 ERA (5.56 FIP), 1.619 WHIP, 9.0 Ks/9, 5.1 BBs/9
When discussing ‘probable’ pitchers, the question becomes what is the ‘probability’ that Zack Wheeler will be a Met and pitch this game? He has been the subject of trade talks as of others, but as of now he wears a New York uniform and is scheduled to pitch on Thursday.
Wheeler is making his second start after coming off the IL due to right shoulder fatigue. He pitched a nice game last out in his comeback against the Bucs allowing 3 runs on six hits in 5.1 innings. He was on a pitch count and only tossed 73 pitches.
Zack has faced the White Sox once in his career, in 2013 and got a no-decision. Only Welington Castillo has gotten a hit off of Wheeler going one for two when the teams played six years ago.
Rookie Dylan Cease will be making his fifth lifetime start on Thursday. After winning his debut against the Detroit Tigers on July 3, he has lost three straight starts. The 23 year-old Georgia native has pitched to a 7.31 ERA in those three losses. His problem has been wildness as he averages a little over five walks per nine innings.
None of the current Mets have faced Cease to date.
Prediction: A conundrum here in terms of prognosticating. We have an ice cold team in the White Sox against a fairly hot team in the Mets. But picking the Mets to win a series on the road is risky business no matter who they’re playing.
But let’s hope their 10-5 record since the break is not a mirage (or a function of playing lousy teams) and go with the Mets to win two out of three against a team with talent, but has really hit the skids. The idea here is to at least make the National series that starts in less than two weeks at Citi-Field meaningful. Beating up on the Sox (and Pirates and Marlins) will help that cause a lot.
