Friday, April 28, 2026 • 1:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
LHP Connor Prielipp (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Clay Holmes (0-0, -.–)
SNY

Juan Soto, can you save the New York Mets?

The Mets losing streak stretched to an abysmal 12 games last night. Francisco Lindor gave the Mets a lead with a 3-run home run and Nolan McLean took a perfect game into the fifth inning but that wasn’t enough as the Mets fell apart late in the game. The game went past a tipping point when Devin Williams failed to record an out and allowed two runs to score in the ninth inning. Austin Warren came in and struck out the side, but that wasn’t enough as the Mets bats fell flat in the ninth.

Tonight Juan Soto returns from his calf injury. Things have been bleak without Soto. Soto is one of the greatest players in the game right now, and the Mets need him now more than ever.

Juan Soto by Roberto Carlo

Mets Lineup

  1. Bo Bichette – 3B
  2. Juan Soto – DH
  3. Luis Robert Jr. – CF
  4. Francisco Lindor – SS
  5. Francisco Alvarez – C
  6. Mark Vientos – 1B
  7. Marcus Semien – 2B
  8. Tommy Pham – LF
  9. Tyrone Taylor – RF

Starting Pitcher: Clay Holmes

Clay Holmes has been one of the bright spots on the Mets this year. Over four starts, 23 innings, Holmes has a 1.96 ERA, 4.18 FIP, 1.087 WHIP and a 200 ERA+. He allowed two runs over five innings in his last start against the Dodgers, a game the Mets eventually lost 8-2. He faced the Twins last April holding them to only one run from two hits over five innings. The Twins have the following career stats against Holmes:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Byron Buxton – CF
  2. Trevor Larnach – LF
  3. Josh Bell – DH
  4. Victor Caratini – C
  5. Kody Clemens – 1B
  6. Luke Keaschall – 2B
  7. Matt Wallner – RF
  8. Royce Lewis – 3B
  9. Brooks Lee – SS

The Twins are calling up the #5 prospect in their system Connor Prielipp to take on the Mets tonight. Prielipp was drafted by the Red Sox in 2019 out of high school and elected to go to college. The Twins drafted him in 2022 in the second round out of the University of Alabama. He has a 2.30 ERA over 15 2/3 innings this season with 22 strikeouts. Prielipp has struggled staying on the field in college and the minors, but last season he put together 82 2/3 innings between AAA (5.14 ERA) and AA (3.65 ERA). He has a mid-90’s fastball, a high-80’s slider and a high-80’s changeup.

Game Notes

The Syracuse Mets offense went off on Tuesday with Ronny Mauricio homering three times, Ryan Clifford homering for the third straight game and Nick Morabito picking up his fourth homer of the season.

And yeah, Elian Peña was on base three times. The 18-year-old has more walks than he does strikeouts to start his career stateside.

To make room for Juan Soto on the active roster, the Mets optioned catcher Hayden Senger to Triple-A Syracuse.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Juan Soto. Soto was off to a hot start when he landed on the injured list. Over eight games he amassed 0.5 bWAR hitting .355/.412/.516 with a 164 OPS+. He ended last season with a league leading .396 OBP and had a 160 OPS+. Soto’s 0.5 bWAR still leads all hitters on the Mets, ahead of Jared Young (0.3) and Francisco Lindor (0.2). Soto just makes everyone around him in the lineup better. Save us from this streak Soto!
  2. Kendry Rojas. The Twins bullpen has struggled this season (although they looked fine yesterday against the Mets), so the Twins are trying to mix things up with another top prospect, Kendry Rojas. Rojas was activated before yesterday’s game with Kody Funderburk on the paternity list. Rojas is the 10th ranked prospect in the Twins system and throws mid-90’s gas, a mid-80’s slider and a splitter. He hasn’t allowed any runs over 7 1/3 innings this season in the minors.
  3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor put the Mets on the scoreboard with a 3-run home run yesterday, bringing him to four RBI on the season. He also walked for the first time since April 3rd! Over the last eight games he has gone 9-for-31 at the plate with a double and two home runs, slashing .290/.313/.516. Lindor’s season OPS has gone from .546 to .642 during this stretch, and hopefully that continues to grow tonight.

Let’s go Mets!