The nightmare season for the New York Mets (43-60) may turn for the worse. Next up is the Los Angeles Dodgers (65-38), who looked poised to make a run at a third-straight World Series title. After taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies to start the second half, the Mets were outplayed by the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week. What they do over the next few weeks won’t change much, as it has already been reported they will sell at the trade deadline. Still, playing competitive baseball as they turn their focus towards 2027 will be crucial.

Let’s take a look at some notes ahead of the three pitching matchups this weekend.

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PITCHING MATCHUPS

  • Friday: Roki Sasaki (3-5, 4.98 ERA) vs. Sean Manaea (2-5, 4.74 ERA): Sasaki’s time in MLB has been far from smooth-sailing. After an up-and-down rookie season in 2025, he has experienced similar inconsistencies this year. Sasaki has four quality starts across 19 outings, an improvement from his one quality start last season. The negative? He has three starts with at least six runs allowed. Sasaki is very hit or miss. While Manaea’s return to the Mets’ rotation has been positive overall, he is coming off a disappointing outing in which he gave up four runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings against the Phillies last Saturday. It was his shortest outing since June 24. Manaea last faced the Dodgers in Game 6 of the 2024 NLCS.
  • Saturday: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6, 2.78 ERA) vs. Nolan McLean (7-6, 3.34 ERA): Yamamoto has backed up his heroics from the 2025 World Series this year. Among qualified starters in the National League, he currently owns the ninth-best ERA. Yamamoto is coming off his first career complete game against the New York Yankees last Sunday, striking out seven. He has pitched to a 2.63 ERA in two career starts against the Mets. McLean has put a strong run together after a handful of poor outings earlier in the year. Over his last four starts, McLean is 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA. Back to his best. He has thrown six innings or more in six-straight starts.
  • Sunday: Emmet Sheehan (4-7, 5.13 ERA) vs. Freddy Peralta (5-9, 5.01 ERA): Sheehan has been a beneficiary of the injuries in the Dodgers’ rotation. He has been a part of the staff since Opening Day, yet he has failed to capitalize. Over his last five starts, Sheehan is 1-3 with a 6.17 ERA. He gave up a season-high six runs against the Phillies last Monday. Peralta’s time with the Mets is nearing the end. With him set to become a free agent in the offseason, it’s all but confirmed he will be dealt at the trade deadline. Peralta has had an underwhelming season, pitching to a 6.56 ERA over his last 60 1/3 innings. His last quality start came all the way back on June 3.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

Edwin Díaz‘s return to Queens would have been the headline, but it seems as if he won’t be activated until at least the start of next week. Instead, let’s focus on the other marquee player with ties to the Mets, Kyle Tucker. The outfielder has had a disappointing season, slashing .236/.329/.360 with seven home runs, 48 RBIs and a 92 OPS+. Tucker’s struggles would be getting more attention if he played for any other team. But since the Dodgers are as good as they are, it goes largely unnoticed. We will never know how things would have turned out if Tucker signed with the Mets. But, as of now, it seems as if they dodged a bullet by not signing him.

PREDICTIONS

The Dodgers are missing a fair amount of key players through injury, especially in the rotation. That won’t matter this weekend. They are the deepest team in baseball and that will be put on display. The Dodgers will take two of three at Citi Field.