Tuesday, April 2, 2024 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Casey Mize (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Adrian Houser (0-0, -.–)
SNY

The Mets officially are having one of their roughest starts to the season ever after last night’s loss. They are now 0-4, which has happened only four other times (1962, 1963, 1964 and 2005). Last night, the Mets got amazing pitching for the first nine innings of the game but could not turn any of their hits into runs.

The real story of tonight’s game is the weather. It’s been raining for most of the day across the tri-state area and it rained yesterday morning as well. The ground saturation ultimately might be what makes tonight’s game difficult to play. Even if the rain is light enough to play through, can the ground drain it? As the night goes on the rain should get lighter, but then overnight the weather will pick up again. Tomorrow should be just as, if not more, rainy. Will the Mets get a day off tonight? A day off tomorrow?

Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Mets Lineup

  1. Brandon Nimmo – DH
  2. Francisco Lindor – SS
  3. Pete Alonso – 1B
  4. Francisco Alvarez – C
  5. Brett Baty – 3B
  6. Starling Marte – RF
  7. Jeff McNeil – 2B
  8. Tyrone Taylor – LF
  9. Harrison Bader – CF

Adrian Houser will make his Mets debut tonight. Over 23 games (21 starts) last season, he tossed 111 1/3 innings with a 4.12 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.392 WHIP and a 105 ERA+. According to Baseball Savant, while Houser left a lot to be desired last season in terms of missing bats (xBA 25th percentile, Chase % 20th percentile, Hard-Hit % 5th percentile), he produced a lot of ground balls (73rd percentile). If the defense is strong behind him he can be quite effective.

The Tigers have the following career numbers against him:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Parker Meadows – CF
  2. Spencer Torkelson – 1B
  3. Kerry Carpenter – DH
  4. Riley Greene – LF
  5. Matt Vierling – RF
  6. Colt Keith – 2B
  7. Carson Kelly – C
  8. Gio Urshela – 3B
  9. Zach McKinstry – SS

Casey Mize makes his return to the mound for his first start since Tommy John surgery, which has sidelined the former No. 1 overall pick since 2022 (where he made only two starts). In his only full season in 2021, he made 30 starts totaling 150 1/3 innings with a 3.71 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 1.137 WHIP and a 114 ERA+. If the Tigers are going to make a surprise run for the post-season this year, they need Casey Mize to make a triumphant return.

A few Mets players have seen Mize in previous games:

Game Notes

J.D. Martinez could join the Mets as early as Sunday, Carlos Mendoza said.

Mendoza also said the Mets intend to try and get the game in today. There looks to be a period from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. where the weather looks playable, he said.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. The top of the lineup sets the tone. In Monday night’s game, the top of the lineup (Nimmo, Lindor, Alonso) went 0-for-11 with two walks. Nimmo and Lindor are off to cold starts this season and Alonso had his first rough game of the season. When the top of the lineup fully turns around, the whole team will follow.
  2. Reed Garrett: Reed Garrett was recalled before the start of Monday’s game with Tylor Megill landing on the injured list. Over nine games last season, Garrett pitched 17 innings with a 5.82 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 1.235 WHIP and a 74 ERA+. In one game this season he pitched two innings for Syracuse allowing a hit and nothing else while striking out four batters. If there is an extended delay in the middle of today’s game or a doubleheader later this week, the Mets are going to need Garrett to eat some innings save the bullpen.
  3. Early Managerial Trends: Edwin Díaz has pitched in two games so far this season, neither of them being a save situation. In Edwin’s first game, he came in while the Mets were losing – this outing made sense because Edwin was overdue at that point to get into game. He came into last night’s game with the Mets tied 0-0 in the top of the ninth. He had two good outings so non-save situations hasn’t been an issue. The Mets haven’t given him a save situation yet. Once we get farther into the season, it will be interesting to see if Edwin is brought into tie games at home in the future.

Let’s go Mets!