Tuesday, July 7, 2026 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Seth Lugo (3-6, 4.20) vs. LHP Cionel Pérez (3-3, 5,50 ERA)
SNY

The Mets have somehow won two games in a row! Sunday afternoon, the Mets took a huge lead in the ninth inning but almost squandered it away in the bottom frame. Last night, the Mets took the lead in the ninth inning, only for the Braves to tie it in the ninth. The Mets scored two in the 10th and again were able to hold off another last-frame Atlanta rally for the win.

The Royals come to town also in last place in their division, but they are coming off two wins in a row against the Phillies. They beat the Phillies yesterday 15-1, racking up 22 hits. Here’s hoping they used up all of their offense for the next few days!

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

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

The Mets blew through their bullpen yesterday with the game going into extra innings and Freddy Peralta only giving the Mets 4 2/3 innings.

Cionel Pérez will start for the Mets, and new call-up Matt Seelinger will certainly play a role. Kodai Senga last pitched on Saturday, and if he pitches tonight, it will surely be the quickest turnaround between outings of his MLB career.

Opposing Lineup

  1. Carter Jensen – C
  2. Bobby Witt Jr. – SS
  3. Lane Thomas – CF
  4. Salvador Perez – DH
  5. Jac Caglianone – 1B
  6. Nick Loftin – 3B
  7. Isaac Collins – LF
  8. Michael Massey – 2B
  9. Tyler Tolbert – RF

The Mets will face an old friend tonight in Seth Lugo. Over 17 starts, Lugo has pitched 96 1/3 innings with a 4.20 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 1.381 WHIP and a 98 ERA+. In his last two starts, he has allowed 10 runs from 16 hits and five home runs over 11 innings while striking out 10 batters. In the two starts before that, he allowed only three runs, two earned, in 9 1/3 innings.

The Mets have the following career numbers against Lugo:

  • Bo Bichette 2-8, BB, K
  • Juan Soto 5-19, HR, 6 BB, 5 K
  • Tyrone Taylor 0-1, K
  • Luis Torrens 0-0, BB

Game Notes

Jorge Polanco was activated from the injured list after dealing with Achilles and wrist injuries for the last three months. He hasn’t played in a game with the Mets since April 14, but he’s had sporadic rehab assignments since then. In his latest, he hit two home runs across 12 at-bats. Ronny Mauricio was optioned to make room. Polanco will likely just DH for the time being.

Luis Robert Jr.‘s rehab has advanced to Double-A Binghamton. He may be a week or so away from returning.

The Mets on Tuesday designated Guillo Zuñiga for assignment after his scoreless inning the previous night to make 40-man roster room for Matt Seelinger, whom they acquired from the Tigers on Monday. They also designated reliever Alex Carillo for assignment. He had a 5.57 ERA with Syracuse across 21 innings.

New pitcher Matt Seelinger was added to the active roster, and we’ll surely see him pitch tonight.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Chasing Whiffs. Seth Lugo was with the Mets from 2016 through 2023. In 2020 and 2021, Lugo became a whiff machine, with his whiff percentage spiking to 30.1% and 31.1% of the time. Things dropped back down to the low 20s for Lugo his last two years with the Mets. This year, his whiff percentage has reached a career low of 18.2%.
  2. Carson Benge. Benge had a huge day at the plate in the last game of the Blue Jays series, going 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. He was super quiet in the first three games of the Braves series, going a combined 2-for-13 with two strikeouts. Last night, he hit behind Francisco Lindor and had a huge day, going 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and a walk. If the Mets want to start playing competitive baseball, they’ll need Carson’s bat.
  3. Luis Torrens. Torrens came in as a pinch hitter last night and hit a two-run double in the 10th inning. Over the last couple of days there have been reports by beat reporters that the Mets’ catching depth has been “catching” the eye of teams looking to make a playoff push. Luis Torrens may hold more value than we thought a couple of months ago in this market, but it would also leave the Mets in a tough position going forward. Whether Torrens starts or not, we’ve seen the Mets value his bat in high-leverage situations, even though he has a .605 OPS.

Let’s go Mets!