Wednesday, August 19, 2026 • 1:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Michael King (8-8, 3.41) vs. RHP Robert Stock (0-2, 6.57)
SNY

Fielding has been the story of this series. On Monday night Carson Benge tossed out two runners at the plate in the same inning. Later in the game A.J. Ewing nailed a runner out oat the plate. The Mets ended up winning 2-1. Tuesday night the Padres beat the Mets 5-2 with Fernando Tatís Jr. robbing Francisco Lindor of a grand slam. It’s been an exciting series so far and the Mets have a chance to take the series today!

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Mets Lineup

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

Starting Pitcher: Robert Stock

Robert Stock makes his fourth start of the season today. Over his first three starts he has allowed 10 runs, nine earned, over 12 1/3 innings. His second start is skewing his season data. In that start he allowed eight runs over three innings against the Pirates. In his other two starts he allowed only one earned run over 9 1/3 innings. The only batter on the Padres who has faced Robert Stock before is Manny Machado (0-for-2).

Opposing Lineup

  1. Fernando Tatis Jr. – RF
  2. Jake Cronenworth – 2B
  3. Manny Machado – DH
  4. Ty France – 1B
  5. Jackson Merrill – CF
  6. Luis Rengifo – LF
  7. Luis Campusano – C
  8. Xander Bogaerts – SS
  9. Sung-Mun Song – 3B

Michael King has made 25 starts totaling 142 1/3 innings this season with a 3.41 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 1.187 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. In his last four starts he has allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, over 23 innings (4.30 ERA, 5.56 FIP). The Mets tagged him for four runs over six innings with two home runs earlier this season. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

  • Francisco Alvarez 0-5, K
  • Brett Baty 2-5, HR, K
  • Carson Benge 0-3, K
  • Bo Bichette 7-24, 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 8 K
  • A.J. Ewing 0-3, K
  • Francisco Lindor 3-8, 2 HR, 2 K
  • Christopher Morel 0-1, BB, K
  • Cristian Pache 0-1, BB
  • Jorge Polanco 1-6, 2 K
  • Luis Robert Jr. 1-3, 2B
  • Marcus Semien 3-11, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
  • Luis Torrens 2-2, 2B, HR
  • Jared Young 2-3, HR

Game Notes

Before the game, the Mets placed Jorge Polanco back on the injured list. They also optioned right-hander Jack Weisenburger to Triple-A Syracuse. In the corresponding moves, the Mets recalled both Eric Wagaman and Chayce McDermott.

Jefferson Rojas and Gary Gill Hill were among the recently acquired prospects who had great games on Tuesday night. Read more about it here.

Luis Torrens continues to be one of the best back-up catchers in baseball.

Three Things to Watch For

  1. All or Nothing. Both of the runs the Mets scored last night came on solo home runs. The Mets ended up going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine runners on base. The Padres scored five runs and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position leaving eight runners on base. They hit three home runs last night.
  2. Bo Bichette. Bichette racked up two more hits Tuesday night. In his last 15 games he has gone 21-for-59 slashing .356/.415/.576. Earlier this week his OPS finally crossed over .700 and is now sitting at .704. In his last three games he has six hits and a walk. In that same stretch he hasn’t scored any runs and has only one RBI. The Mets offense, except for the long ball, has cooled a bit, squandering this recent Bichette hot streak.
  3. Nate Lavender. Lavender pitched 2/3 of an inning in the first game of the series, facing two batters, recording two outs in only two pitches. Over six games this season he has pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six batters (0.00 ERA, 1.96 FIP). He has a 1.42 xERA with a .091 xBA and an astounding (small-sample size) 33.3% K rate.

Let’s go Mets!