The New York Mets are coming back home after a road trip in which they won each of their first two series, heading into the weekend with a record of 5-2. After struggling to hold late leads on both Sunday and Monday, the team bounced back with two straight victories over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pete Alonso was the star of the show on Wednesday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, going 3-for-5 with three extra base hits, a home run, and five runs batted in. Alonso currently owns a share of the lead for runs batted in at 10 in the National League, alongside Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs. Brandon Nimmo also played a critical role in the Mets taking two out of three in Philadelphia this week. The 29-year-old center fielder hit home runs in back to back games, showing his ability to drive the ball at the top of the lineup.
Eduardo Escobar continued to show why he is so valuable to this team in the series against the Phillies. Escobar may have only had two hits in three games, but the 33-year-old drew five walks, including three in a final game of the three-game set.
For a team this is looking to rebuild, the Arizona Diamondbacks are one that will be attempting to stay competitive throughout the first few months of the season. The Diamondbacks earned a 4-2 victory on Opening Day over the San Diego Padres, thanks to a three-run walk off home run from Seth Beer. The team would then go onto lose the next four games, before beating the Houston Astros 3-2 in extra innings on Wednesday.
Ketel Marte is the most notable name in the current Diamondbacks lineup. Marte is off to a rough start in 2022, hitting just .143 with an OPS at .460 in 26 plate appearances. As a team, Arizona ranks near or at the bottom in a lot of the major offensive categories. A team batting average at .140 and a OPS at .532 is the worst in Major League Baseball thus far. The Diamondbacks have scored just 15 runs in six games this season.
Friday, April 15, 2022: RHP Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Davies (0-0, 3.60 ERA)
Mets fans could not have asked for much more from Bassitt in first start with the team. The 33-year-old pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just three hits while only walking one in a 5-0 victory over the Nationals on Saturday night. Bassitt had command of all of his pitches, but the one that really fooled the Nationals hitters was his slider. Bassitt threw that pitch 23 times, getting four strikeouts while having a whiff rate of 53.8 percent with the slider. Bassitt will be looking to give himself a chance for another victory, as he gets the start in the first home game of the season for the Mets.
Davies made his first start of the season against the San Diego Padres on Saturday, earning a no decision after five innings of work. The right-handed pitcher gave up two runs on four hits, while walking three and striking out two. Davies is far from overpowering, as his average velocity on his sinker is right around 90 MPH. The 29-year-old likes to go to his sinker and his changeup, two pitches that he uses over 40 percent of the time. Davies is in his first season with the Diamondbacks after spending the 2021 season with the Chicago Cubs. He finished last season with a record of 6-12 with a 5.78 ERA in 32 starts.
Saturday, April 16, 2022: RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Carrasco showed a lot of promise in his first start of 2022, going 5 2/3 innings while only giving up one earned run. Carrasco’s only mistake came against Washington Nationals slugger Nelson Cruz, who put a 93 MPH four-seam fastball over the left field wall to give his team a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Carrasco was excellent after first inning, retiring 15 straight batters at one point. The 35-year-0ld used a lot of different pitches last Sunday, going to his slider, changeup, four-seam fastball and curveball at least 15 percent of the time. Avoiding trouble in the first inning will continue to be a point of emphasis for Carrasco, something that hindered him in all of his 12 starts last season.
Gallen will be making his season debut on Saturday afternoon against the Mets. The pitcher was scheduled to start on Tuesday against the Houston Astros, but was scratched due to a “freak accident” he suffered at his home. Gallen had an up and down 2021 season, owning a record of 4-10 with a 4.30 ERA in just 23 starts.
Home runs proved to be more off an issue for the 26-year-old, giving up 19 in just over 121 innings of work. Gallen goes to his four-seam fastball a lot, using it 52.7 percent of time last season. He also likes to mix in his changeup, curveball, slider and even his cutter. Gallen will look to keep the Mets offense off balance with his wide variety of pitches.
Sunday, April 17, 2022: TBD vs. LHP Caleb Smith (0-1, 36.00 ERA)