Friday, August 23, 2019 • 7:10 p.m.
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Mike Foltynewicz (4-5, 6.09) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (8-7, 2.61)
SNY • MLBN • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050 AM
The Mets completed the sweep of the Indians last night! Several days ago the Mets kicked off a tough 9-game home stand featuring the Indians, Braves and Cubs. The Mets battled each night and yesterday, the Mets scratched out two runs against a strong rookie pitcher while Noah Syndergaard flirted with a perfect game up until the rain came pouring down. Unfortunately for the Mets, the Cubs, Nationals, Cardinals, Phillies and Brewers also all won yesterday so no change to the wild card race.
Mets Lineup
- Amed Rosario – SS
- Joe Panik – 2B
- Pete Alonso – 1B
- Michael Conforto – RF
- J.D. Davis – LF
- Luis Guillorme – 3B
- Juan Lagares – CF
- Tomas Nido – C
- Jacob deGrom – RHP
Braves Lineup
- Ronald Acuna Jr. CF
- Ozzie Albies – 2B
- Freddie Freeman – 1B
- Josh Donaldson – 3B
- Matt Joyce – RF
- Adeiny Hechavarria – SS
- Rafael Ortega – LF
- Alex Jackson – C
- Mike Foltynewicz – RHP
Now the Mets welcome the Braves to town. Last week they dropped 2 of 3 in Atlanta, and the Mets probably need to do the opposite this weekend to keep in step with the rest of the National League. The Mets have been doing this over their last two series thanks to some unsung offensive heroes. Joe Panik hit in his 8th consecutive game last night and Wilson Ramos hit in his 16th consecutive game, tying Carlos Beltran‘s 2009 stretch.
Jacob deGrom will look to do his part in the series opener. Jacob is 8-7 over 25 starts and 155.0 innings with a 2.61 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 1.052 WHIP and 159 ERA+ (second best in his career). He’s currently leading the league in strikeouts at 194. In his last 16 games (103.0 innings) deGrom has had a 1.92 ERA and in his last 6 games he has pitched 40.0 innings with a 0.90 ERA while opponents are slashing .171/.230/.229 against him. Jacob missed the Braves last week and in 3 starts against them this year he has allowed 8 runs off 16 hits and 6 walks over 19.1 innings (3.72 ERA). The Braves have the following numbers against him:
- Freddie Freeman 14-51, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 13 K
- Ender Inciarte 7-37, 2 2B, 2 BB, 9 K
- Ozzie Albies 4-29, 2B, BB, 7 K
- Johan Camargo 7-24, 2B, HR, 2 BB, 8 K
- Ronald Acuna Jr. 5-18, 2B, BB, 4 K
- Adeiny Hechavarria 4-17, 2 2B, BB, 3 K
- Josh Donaldson 3-8, 2 HR, BB, 3 K
The Mets bats draw Mike Foltynewicz who is 4-5 over 14 starts and 75.1 innings with a 6.09 ERA, 5.81 FIP, 1.473 WHIP and 76 ERA+. Since returning to the rotation Mike has pitched 3 games totaling 16.0 innings with a 5.06 ERA while opponents slash a .299/.365/.493 against him. This will be his first start against the Mets in 2019, last year he held the Mets to 2 runs over 11.0 innings across two starts from 7 hits and a walk while striking out 11. The Mets have the following batting lines against Folty:
- Todd Frazier 1-13, HR, BB, 7 K
- Joe Panik 2-12, 2 K
- Wilson Ramos 1-8, 2B, BB, K
- Michael Conforto 1-6, BB, 3 K
- Juan Lagares 1-3
- Amed Rosario 0-2
Game Notes
Michael Conforto is batting .290 (340-138) with 23 runs, four doubles, 11 home runs, 32 RBI, 17 walks, a .381 OBP, a .558 SLG and a .939 OPS in 36 games since the All-Star break.
New York’s .730 (27-10) second-half winning percentage is the best in the majors. The pitching staff has a 3.08 ERA since the All-Star break, the lowest mark
in the majors. The staff has surrendered 35 homers in the second half, the second fewest in the majors.
Jacob deGrom has gone 16 straight starts allowing three earned runs or less, tied with Max Scherzer for the longest active streak.
Jeff McNeil is playing for Brooklyn tonight while Brandon Nimmo is in the Syracuse Mets lineup.
Let’s Go Mets!
