Sunday, June 16, 2019 • 1:10 p.m.
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Dakota Hudson (5-3, 3.47) vs. LHP Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.68)
PIX 11 • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050 AM

The Mets jumped out to an 8-1 lead last night and then the Cardinals started to slowly work their way back into the game. The last play of the game, with two outs, they hit the ball into moderately deep right field. Jeff McNeil went way back for it, Conforto dove for it but had to hold up to avoid a collision and the end result was they both missed the ball. The tying run turned third, McNeil hit the cut-off man who hit got the ball to home plate way before the runner and thanks to that base path running blunder, the Mets won 8-7. If they win today, they end up splitting with the Cardinals before they head off to playing NL East rivals.

Mets Lineup

  1. Dominic Smith  LF
  2. J.D. Davis  3B
  3. Michael Conforto  RF
  4. Pete Alonso  1B
  5. Robinson Cano  2B
  6. Adeiny Hechavarria  SS
  7. Juan Lagares  CF
  8. Tomas Nido  C
  9. Jason Vargas  P

Cardinals Lineup

  1. Matt Carpenter  3B
  2. Paul DeJong  SS
  3. Paul Goldschmidt  1B
  4. Jose Martinez  LF
  5. Dexter Fowler  RF
  6. Yadier Molina  C
  7. Harrison Bader  CF
  8. Kolten Wong  2B
  9. Dakota Hudson  P

Jason Vargas looks to get the Mets there today. He is 3-3 over 11 games and 10 starts with 51.1 innings of work posting a 3.68 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.364 WHIP, and 110 ERA+. He was a bit more human in his last start, allowing three runs but he still pitched six innings meaning he’s gone at least six innings in each of his last three starts, a streak he has never had as a Met. Since April 19, he has started eight games with a 2.20 ERA in those 45 innings of work. The Cardinals have the following numbers against him:

The Mets bats will get a look at Dakota Hudson today who has pitched in 14 games making 13 starts in 2019. He has logged 72.2 innings posting a 3.47 ERA, 4.82 FIP, 1.500 WHIP, and 121 ERA+. He was in the pen all of last year and he was struggling with the transition to the rotation in April, ending the month with a 5.62 ERA over six games. Since then he has really turned it on. In his last three games, he has pitched 19.1 innings allowing only three runs from 13 hits and nine walks leading to a 1.40 ERA. He faced the Mets earlier this season allowing three runs over five innings from five hits and two walks, the Mets have the following numbers against him:

Game Notes

The Mets have homered in 19-straight home games, which is the longest streak in franchise history. The team has
hit 37 home runs in that span. It is tied with the Brewers (March 28 – May 3) and the Twins (May 1 – present) for the longest homer streak at home in the majors this season.

Overall, the team has homered in a season-high 13 straight games since June 1, hitting 23 homers in that span. It’s tied for the fourth-longest streak in team history. It’s the longest streak since they team homered in 13 consecutive games from October 3, 2012 – April 16, 2013. The last time the Mets had a longer streak was 14 games from August 20 – September 3, 2008.

J.D. Davis tallied a career-high four hits and scored a career-high-tying three runs in last night’s win. He is hitting .352 (25-71) with 14 runs, four doubles, a triple, four home runs, eight RBI, nine walks and a 1.038 OPS at Citi Field this season. Only Michael Conforto (1.052) has a higher OPS at home this season.

Wilson Ramos is batting .348 (24-69) with 14 runs, two doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI, 10 walks and a 1.025 OPS over his last 21 games. Ramos is batting .344 (21-61) with three extra-base hits and 29 RBI with runners in scoring position.

The Mets were hit by a pitch three times last night. The Mets have been hit by a pitch 40 times this season, which leads the major leagues.

Let’s Go Mets!