Monday, August 31, 2026 • 6:40 PM
Tropicana Field • St. Petersburg, FL
RHP Robert Stock (0-3, 7.40) vs. LHP Ian Seymour (9-5, 4.21)
SNY

The Mets head down to St. Petersburg today to face a first-place team again! In their last few series, the Mets played the first-place White Sox, then the first-place Brewers, and on Sunday, they wrapped up a series against the first-place Astros.

The AL East has been fascinating this year with the Red Sox surging since mid-May. The top three teams in the AL East are each at least 12 games above .500. The Rays are trying to continue their reign as the top American League team. The Mets are trying to climb out of the cellar. It’s baseball, back at the Trop!

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Mets Lineup

  1. Francisco Lindor, SS
  2. Bo Bichette, 3B
  3. Carson Benge, RF
  4. Mark Vientos, DH
  5. Jared Young, 1B
  6. Christopher Morel, LF
  7. Marcus Semien, 2B
  8. A.J. Ewing, CF
  9. Francisco Alvarez, C

Starting Pitcher: Robert Stock

Robert Stock has made five starts for the Mets this season, totaling 20 2/3 innings with a 7.40 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.935 WHIP and a 56 ERA+. His season stat line doesn’t tell the whole story. Stock has had two awful starts where he allowed a combined 15 runs on 19 hits over seven innings. This includes his last start where he allowed seven runs over four innings. In his other three starts, Stock has allowed three runs, only two earned over 13 2/3 innings. The only hitters on the Rays who have seen Stock in an official game before are Yandy Diaz (0-for-0, BB) and Liam Hicks (1-for-2).

Opposing Lineup

  1. Yandy Díaz, DH
  2. Jonathan Aranda, 1B
  3. Junior Caminero, 3B
  4. Liam Hicks, C
  5. Chandler Simpson, LF
  6. Cedric Mullins, CF
  7. Jonny DeLuca, RF
  8. Richie Palacios, 2B
  9. Taylor Walls, SS

Ian Seymour has pitched in 41 games this season, making 11 starts totaling 107 innings. He has a 4.21 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.150 WHIP and a 101 ERA+. In his last three outings, he has pitched 16 2/3 innings with a 4.86 ERA and 5.48 FIP. In those 16 2/3 innings, he struck out 22 batters and allowed six home runs. The only Met who has seen Seymour in a major league game is Christopher Morel (0-for-1).

Game Notes

  • Before the game, Baltimore claimed Luis Robert Jr. off waivers from the Mets. Per Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets will recall OF Nick Morabito. Read MMO’s coverage here.
  • The Mets activated Mark Vientos from the 10-day IL on Monday. The DH landed on the injured list after suffering a fractured hand from a hit by pitch.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. What Could Have Been. This weekend, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette played two games together, making 28 on the season where all three were in the lineup at the same time. In the first inning, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto hit back-to-back solo shots. It’s hard not to wonder what could have been for the 2026 Mets if their two superstars were healthy for the entire season.
  2. A.J. Ewing. It’s time for Ewing to catch fire. Ewing hasn’t had a multi-hit game in his last 20 games played, where he’s slashing .118/.212/.145. Sunday was just the fourth game in that 20-game stretch where Ewing was on base twice, and he had his first extra-base hit since August 10. Hopefully he can put together another good game tonight and start to break out of this slump.
  3. Tropicana Rules. Earlier this week, Xander Bogaerts hit a ball that left his bat at 108 mph with a 46-degree launch angle. This would have been a home run in 29 of 30 parks. It would have been a home run at Tropicana too if it wasn’t for the roof. Tropicana Field has four rings of catwalks, and this ball hit off of one of the two inner rings because it went so high. Balls off the inner rings can be caught for an out, which is exactly what happened. You’ll never know what will happen in a domed environment like the Trop!

Let’s go Mets!