Wednesday, July 29, 2026 • 1:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, -.–) vs. LHP Sean Manaea (2-5, 4.52)
SNY

Monday night was quite the night at Citi Field! The Mets racked up 19 hits and six walks in their 14-3 rout of the Braves. Five different Mets had at least three hits. The Mets slugged four home runs. It was a dominant performance for the Mets. The type of performance that makes you wonder what could have been for this team this year.

The Mets will play a split-doubleheader with the Braves today with the trade deadline hanging overhead of both games. This is the last time the Braves will be in New York this season, with no off-day tomorrow everyone would love to get both games in today. There are a chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and evening. We’ve been water logged the last few days, and the forecasted weather is a big reason why the Braves and Mets just played through the weather on Monday night.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

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

Starting Pitcher: Sean Manaea

Sean Manaea has pitched in 22 games including eight starts this season totaling 85 2/3 innings with a 4.52 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 1.354 WHIP and a 93 ERA+. Since joining the rotation he has a 4.01 ERA, 4.54 FIP over 42 2/3 innings. Manaea is coming off of a strong start against the Dodgers where he held them to one run over six innings. He has one good start and one start where a lot went wrong against the Braves this season. In his good start he allowed only two runs over six innings. On July 4th he allowed six runs, but only three earned over five innings against the Braves who have the following career stats against him:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Ronald Acuna Jr. – RF
  2. Drake Baldwin – DH
  3. Matt Olson – 1B
  4. Ozzie Albies – 2B
  5. Michael Harris II – CF
  6. Mauricio Dubón – SS
  7. Austin Riley – 3B
  8. Eli White – LF
  9. Joey Bart – C

AJ Smith-Shawver makes his 2026 debut today, returning to the mound for the first time since May 2025. Smith-Shawver tore his UCL last season and has been on the long road back from Tommy John surgery. Before his injury last season, he made nine starts totaling 44 1/3 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.421 WHIP and a 108 ERA+. The only Met who has seen him in a major league game is Eric Wagaman (1-for-2, BB).

Game Notes

Clay Holmes pitched four scoreless innings on Tuesday night in his rehab start for the St. Lucie Mets.

Multiple Mets 2026 draft picks made their pro debuts on Tuesday.

Check out our most recent podcast.

Right-hander Jonathan Pintaro will be the 27th man today for the doubleheader.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Francisco Lindor. The leader of the Mets reminded everyone Monday night why he is a super-star. First at-bat, triple. Next time up, home run. He would later hit another home run later in the game. It was the third time in his last nine games where he had three hits. Overall, in his last eight games he has gone 12-for-32 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 RBI’s (.375/.474/.781).
  2. A.J. Ewing. Ewing had back-to-back games against the Dodgers not getting on base at all, which is highly unusual for him. In the two games since he has gone 4-for-8 with four runs scored and two walks. He now has a 2.5 bWAR, just behind Juan Soto for the team lead. He’s only four stolen bases behind Carson Benge for the team lead, despite playing 35 fewer games.
  3. Tyrone Taylor. At some point the rest of the league is going to take notice to Tyrone Taylor. Monday night he went 3-for-5 with a home run. Since Independence Day, Tyrone Taylor has gone 13-for-32 with four doubles, six home runs, four walks, 12 RBI’s and 11 runs scored (.406/.486/1.094). He has raised his season OPS from .551 to .799 over this stretch!

Let’s go Mets!