Sunday, April 6, 2025 • 1:40 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, FL
LHP Bowden Francis (1-0, 3.00) vs. LHP David Peterson (1-0, 3.00)
WPIX

“We really believe it every time,” said Francisco Lindor after Saturday night’s walk-off win.

The New York Mets had traffic on the base paths most innings in last night’s game, consistently getting runners on and in scoring position. They just couldn’t get runners home. Then, Jesse Winker hit his second triple of the game, bringing in two runs. Lindor would hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to win it.

The confidence that Lindor talked about after the game (that Will Sammon credits to Pete Alonso in linked article) is what made the Mets a force in June of last year. Hopefully, it can carry the Mets to a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

Mets Lineup

  1. Francisco Lindor, SS
  2. Juan Soto, RF
  3. Pete Alonso, 1B
  4. Brandon Nimmo, LF
  5. Jesse Winker, DH
  6. Mark Vientos, 3B
  7. Brett Baty, 2B
  8. Jose Siri, CF
  9. Hayden Senger, C

David Peterson allowed only two runs off of five hits and three walks in his first start while striking out nine batters. Obviously, it’s early, but so far this season his 36% whiff rate is good for the league’s 85th percentile. Peterson had a rough start against the Blue Jays last September where he allowed five runs (four earned) over 4 1/3 innings via eight hits and two walks while only striking out two.

The Blue Jays have the following career numbers against Peterson:

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Blue Jays Lineup

  1. Bo Bichette, SS
  2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
  3. Anthony Santander, RF
  4. Andrés Giménez, 2B
  5. Alejandro Kirk, DH
  6. Ernie Clement, 3B
  7. Davis Scheider, LF
  8. Tyler Heineman, C
  9. Myles Straw, CF

Bowden Francis had a very similar final line to David Peterson in his first start of the season. Francis allowed two runs from two hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.

Last season, Francis split time between the bullpen and the rotation totaling 103 2/3 innings over 27 games with a 3.30 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 0.926 WHIP, and a 121 ERA+. He was much more effective as a starter, posting a 2.92 ERA, 0.753 WHIP, over 77 innings. This includes a stellar start against the Mets where he held the Mets to a solo home run and nothing else over eight innings.

The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

  • Pete Alonso 0-2
  • Francisco Lindor 1-4, HR
  • Starling Marte 0-2, BB
  • Brandon Nimmo 0-3
  • Juan Soto 1-2, K
  • Mark Vientos 0-3, K
  • Jesse Winker 0-1

Game Notes

According to manager Carlos Mendoza, pitcher Dedniel Núñez is scheduled to pitch Sunday for Triple-A Syracuse.

According to manager Carlos Mendoza, starting pitcher Frankie Montas has begun throwing from 75 feet.

Pete Alonso is only one run short of No. 500 in his career and four RBIs short of No. 600 in his career.

Brandon Sproat was strong Saturday in his second start of the season for Triple-A Syracuse. He posted a final line of 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Seeing Double. Friday afternoon, the Mets had three doubles (Lindor, Soto and Nimmo). On Saturday night, the Mets had two doubles (Lindor, Winker). The Mets have hit five of their 16 total doubles this season in the first two games of this series, good for sixth in the league. For context, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs lead the league with 22 doubles and the Mariners are in 30th with only five.
  2. Ryne Stanek. It’ll be likely that Ryne Stanek gets the nod at some point Sunday afternoon. Stanek has only pitched 1 1/3 innings this season, last pitching on Wednesday. Over his two games he has allowed a hit, two walks, and struck out one batter. His fastball has averaged 98.7 mph so far this season, which is almost a full mile per hour faster than 2024 (averaged 97.8). Though, the sample size is small, as he has only thrown 16 fastballs this season.
  3. Francisco Lindor. Friday was the first game this season where Lindor got on base twice by hits or walks. He did it again Saturday. In his last two games, he is 2-for-5 with three walks, two doubles, and three runs scored. He also had the walk-off sacrifice fly last night.