Friday, June 12, 2026 • 7:15 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Spencer Strider (4-1, 4.00) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (3-4, 3.98)
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It is June 12, and the Mets will finally play the Braves for the first time this season. The Mets had a heavy West Coast-favored schedule for the first portion of the season and welcomed a lot of AL and NL Central teams to Queens in April. As a weird scheduling quirk, it’s mid-June and the Mets still haven’t faced the Braves as well as the Phillies. All of that changes over the next week-and-a-half, though.

The Braves have been surging this year. The Mets have been struggling this year, but avoided the sweep at the hands of the Cardinals yesterday. They enter play today eight games below .500 and desperately need to close that gap.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

  1. Carson Benge – RF
  2. Bo Bichette – SS
  3. Juan Soto – LF
  4. Jared Young – 1B
  5. A.J Ewing – CF
  6. Marcus Semien – 2B
  7. Brett Baty – 3B
  8. MJ Melendez – DH
  9. Luis Torrens – C

Starting Pitcher: Nolan McLean

McLean has made 13 starts this season totaling 72 1/3 innings with a 3.98 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.106 WHIP and a 103 ERA+. In late May, he had two rough starts, allowing 16 runs over that span. Since then, he has allowed two runs over 11 innings in two outings. McLean had a terrific start against the Braves last season, holding them to two runs over seven innings, scattering four hits while striking out seven.

The Braves have the following stats against McLean:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Mauricio Dubón – LF
  2. Michael Harris II – CF
  3. Matt Olson – 1B
  4. Ozzie Albies – 2B
  5. Dominic Smith – DH
  6. Austin Riley – 3B
  7. Mike Yastrzemski – RF
  8. Ha-Seong Kim – SS
  9. Austin Wynns – C

Strider has made seven starts this season totaling 36 innings with a 4.00 ERA, 4.46 FIP, 1.278 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. He is still trying to find a groove since returning to the mound this season. From May 9 to May 15, against the Dodgers and Red Sox, Strider allowed only one run over 11 1/3 innings. Since then, he has made four starts with a 5.06 ERA and 5.07 FIP. He’s allowed exactly three earned runs in each of those four starts.

The Mets have the following career stats against him:

  • Francisco Alvarez 2-9, 2 HR, BB, 5 K
  • Brett Baty 3-8, K
  • Bo Bichette 1-6, 2B, 3 K
  • MJ Melendez 0-2, K
  • Marcus Semien 0-5
  • Juan Soto 3-13, 6 BB, K
  • Luis Torrens 0-1, BB, K
  • Mark Vientos 0-5, 2 K
  • Eric Wagaman 0-3, K

Game Notes

  • President of baseball operations David Stearns told reporters that the club expects Francisco Lindor to appear in games for them in June, and he’ll continue to participate in simulated contests before likely heading out on a short rehab assignment as he recovers from a left calf strain that landed him on the injured list on April 23.
  • Manager Carlos Mendoza noted that Kodai Senga will make another rehab start before the Mets consider activating him from the injured list. Senga, who was originally placed on the IL on April 28 with lumbar spine inflammation before dealing with ulnar nerve irritation, allowed one run over six innings for Double-A Binghamton on Thursday.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Potentially a Battle of Aces. If we were talking about pitching matchups to watch before the season started, Strider vs. McLean would be near the top of the list. McLean has ace potential for the Mets, and was insanely good at the end of last season and the start of this season. Strider had 281 strikeouts in 2023 and has struggled with injuries since. He should be the Braves’ ace, but has to figure out how to get and stay healthy. Tonight could be a pitchers duel! Or not! Baseball!
  2. Francisco Alvarez. Though he’s not starting tonight, Alvarez really is something else. He tore his meniscus on May 12 and had a recovery timeline of 6-8 weeks. He made it back to the lineup slightly less than a month later. In his first two games back, he went 2-for-7 with a two-run home run. Overall this season, he is slashing .246/.316/.410 with a 103 OPS+. Despite only playing in 40 games, his five home runs on the season is sixth on a Mets team that is struggling for power.
  3. Jared Young. Young went three games without an extra-base hit. He’s back on it now, hitting a double on Wednesday and a home run on Thursday. Young went 2-for-4 yesterday with RBIs in two different plate appearances. He now has nine RBIs over 25 games, good for No. 11 on the Mets, just slightly behind batters who have played in almost 20 more games. Young is hitting .288/.360/.530 on the year with a 147 OPS+.

Let’s go Mets!