Thursday, April 9, 2026 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
LHP Eduardo Rodríguez (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (1-0, 2.61)
SNY • MLBN

The Mets and Diamondbacks play the rubber game this evening in Queens! The Mets had a comeback win on Tuesday to stretch their winning streak to four games, but just couldn’t put anything together yesterday in a 7-2 loss. David Peterson allowed five runs in the first two innings, and the Mets batters struggled early to get a runner to second base. Eventually, the Mets would score a couple of runs, but at that point, the game felt too far out of reach.

There’s nothing like a Nolan McLean day to get back on track! Tonight is a rematch of the WBC Finale with McLean facing off against Eduardo Rodríguez. Should be a fun one tonight!

Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

  1. Francisco Lindor – SS
  2. Bo Bichette – 3B
  3. Luis Robert Jr. – CF
  4. Mark Vientos – DH
  5. Marcus Semien – 2B
  6. Francisco Alvarez – DH
  7. Brett Baty – RF
  8. Luis Torrens – C
  9. Tyrone Taylor – LF

Starting Pitcher: Nolan McLean

Over two starts this season, Nolan McLean has allowed four runs (three earned) over 10 1/3 innings with five hits and four walks while striking out 12 batters. In his last start, he took a perfect game into the sixth inning, allowing two runs (one earned) over 5 1/3 innings. This will be his first major league start against the Diamondbacks, and no one on the Diamondbacks roster has faced him in a major league game previously.

Opposing Lineup

  1. Ketel Marte – 2B
  2. Ildemaro Vargas – 1B
  3. Geraldo Perdomo – SS
  4. Adrian Del Castillo – DH
  5. Jose Fernandez – 3B
  6. James McCann – C
  7. Alek Thomas – CF
  8. Tim Tawa – LF
  9. Jorge Barrosa – RF

Eduardo Rodríguez is off to a hot start this season, allowing one unearned run and nothing else with eight hits and three walks over 12 innings. Last season, he pitched 154 1/3 innings over 29 starts with a 5.02 ERA, 4.57 FIP, 1.542 WHIP and an 86 ERA+. The Mets really hit him hard last April, scoring eight runs with nine hits in four innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against Rodríguez:

  • Francisco Alvarez 1-6, K
  • Bo Bichette 5-13, 2B, 2 HR, BB, 4 K
  • Francisco Lindor 5-22, 2B, HR, BB, 2 K
  • Jorge Polanco 4-17, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
  • Luis Robert Jr. 2-11, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
  • Marcus Semien 6-25, 2B, 3 BB, 9 K
  • Tyrone Taylor 2-2, 2B
  • Luis Torrens 1-3, K
  • Mark Vientos 0-5, K

Game Notes

  • A.J. Minter made his first rehab appearance for St. Lucie today, pitching a scoreless inning with one strikeout. The lefty threw just nine pitches, six of which were strikes. His fastball topped out at 94 mph. Minter is expected to return to the Mets in early May. He has been sidelined since last April after getting surgery for a lat injury.
  • Christian Scott was dominant in his second start for Triple-A Syracuse, allowing just two hits and striking out seven over five scoreless innings.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Rodríguez has made adjustments. From 2015 to 2025, Rodríguez primarily tossed fastballs. From 2023 to 2025, over 40% of his pitches were fastballs. Last season, he threw them 46.6% of the time, the highest amount since 2017. He’s been different this year. Over two starts this season, he is primarily using his change-up (34.9% usage), and it has a .177 xBA. Let’s see if that trend continues this afternoon and if the Mets attack him differently than they did last season.
  2. Bo Bichette, at bat leader? Heading into games today, Bo Bichette (2-for-4 yesterday) is currently leading the league in at-bats (54). This is more of a reflection of how infrequently he walks (only twice so far this season, which isn’t that far off his normal pace). If you cut out the first three games of the season, Bichette is hitting .275/.310/.325 going 11-for-40 with two doubles. We are starting to see normal Bichette, and as he starts to hit for more power, we’ll see his OPS+ go from 47 to where it normally is (120’s).
  3. Getting a break from Corbin Carroll. Carroll had a great day at the plate yesterday, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, two RBIs, and a run scored. He was the engine of the Diamondbacks’ offense, either driving players home or getting in a position to score himself. He is out of the lineup today, though he will be the first bat off the bench if the opportunity presents itself.

Let’s go Mets!