Series Preview: Mets Look to Rebound in Tampa Bay

The 2026 MLB season is coming to a close for the Mets.

Entering the last month of the season, New York is all but out of the playoff picture. All that matters now is evaluating players for 2027 and ensuring the team is as complete as possible.

The first series in September is a three-game set against the first-place Rays. Let’s dive into another series preview.

Robert Stock Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Monday: Robert Stock (0-3, 7.40 ERA) vs. Ian Seymour (9-5, 4.21 ERA)

Robert Stock, after a nice stretch of starts over the past month, got rocked by the Brewers in his last start. In four innings, Stock gave up ten hits and seven earned runs. Stock issued two walks and struck out two batters. The right-handed pitcher’s hard-hit rate is in a very good place (29.9%), but he is not striking out batters at a high rate (20.2%) and needs to find a bit more command (12.5% rate). To stick in the rotation, Stock needs to find the strike zone and generate swings and misses.
While he has a tendency to give up runs, Ian Seymour is a strikeout artist for the Rays. In August alone, the lefty had 38 punchouts in 28.2 innings pitched. He is great at attacking the zone, as Seymour has walked four batters this month and 32 total batters this season. Facing the Mets on Monday, the lefty will be a very tough matchup for this lineup.

Tuesday: Sean Manaea (4-6, 4.55 ERA) vs. Freddy Peralta (6-11, 5.11 ERA)

Manaea, against the Brewers, got tagged once again. Over 5.2 innings pitched, the lefty allowed eight hits and six runs. He issued only one walk, but recorded just three strikeouts. The lefty has still given the Mets at least five innings in his past three starts, but he has generated fewer strikeouts and is giving up more hard contact. Manaea will look to rebound against the Rays on the road this week.
An old friend faces the Mets! Freddy Peralta, who the Mets traded at the deadline, is coming off one of his best starts as a member of the Rays this season. He went six innings and did not give up a run, striking out four batters.It will be fascinating to not only see how Peralta builds upon his recent success, but also how he deals with his former teammates on the mound.

Wednesday: Christian Scott (4-4, 3.80 ERA) vs. TBD

Scott has struggled in August, including his most recent start against the Astros. The right-hander walked five batters and allowed three runs in 5.1 innings pitched, while striking out two. On the season as a whole, Scott has shown plenty of upside and talent as a pitcher for the Mets. However, when his command is not there, the righty struggles to keep runs off the board and does not last long into games. He will look to rebound in the last game of this series against the Rays.
As of the writing of this article, the Mets have not announced a starter for the final game of the series on Wednesday.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Main Storyline/Player to Watch

Ahead of this series, my main storyline to watch and my main player to watch is A.J. Ewing.

While going through plenty of struggles in August, Ewing finally notched an extra-base hit in Sunday’s game andgenerated a walk. The center fielder has also started hitting the ball much harder as of late, but has simply not found the open grass.

Ewing is one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball; he owns an OAA (Outs Above Average) of six. He is also impressive on the basepaths, using top-flight speed to steal 22 bases.

Every rookie has their struggles at the plate at one point or another, and Ewing has been no different. How he continues to progress, though, is the most important thing for his development. In this series against the Rays, Ewing is both the main storyline and the player to watch.