Saturday, August 17, 2019 • 7:15 p.m. ET
Kauffman Stadium • Kansas City, MO
RHP Jacob deGrom (7-7, 2.68) vs. RHP Jakob Junis (8-10, 4.80)
PIX11 • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050 AM

The Mets fell to the Royals last night 4-1 as KC was able to scatter the eight hits the Mets had in such a way to prevent runners from scoring. Thor was still effective, Brach for the first time was not effective, Diaz was Diaz, and Rosario had two hits, bringing his total to seven in the last two games. Now the Mets look to move beyond last night in the battle of Jacob vs Jakob tonight.

Mets Lineup

  1. Amed Rosario  DH
  2. Joe Panik  2B
  3. Pete Alonso  1B
  4. Michael Conforto  RF
  5. Wilson Ramos  C
  6. Todd Frazier  3B
  7. Luis Guillorme  SS
  8. Juan Lagares  CF
  9. Aaron Altherr  LF

Royals Lineup

  1. Whit Merrifield  2B
  2. Alex Gordon  LF
  3. Hunter Dozier  RF
  4. Jorge Soler  DH
  5. Cheslor Cuthbert  3B
  6. Brett Phillips  CF
  7. Ryan O’Hearn  1B
  8. Meibrys Viloria  C
  9. Nicky Lopez  SS

Jacob deGrom is 7-7 over 24 starts and 148 innings with a 2.68 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 1.068 WHIP, and 155 ERA+. His ERA+ now is his second-best in his career (last year he had that insane 221) and he now leads the leagues in strikeouts at 189, translating into 11.5 K/9.

Last time out was a weird one for Jacob. He allowed three runs over five innings, none of them earned and threw a ton of pitches in a first-inning that was filled with some defensive miscues, the largest one coming from deGrom (although charged to Alonso) where he missed a throw covering first leading to three runs coming across the plate. In deGrom’s last 5 starts he has allowed six runs, three earned, over 33 innings which is a 0.82 ERA and opponents are posting a paltry .484 OPS. The Royals have the following numbers against deGrom:

Jakob Junis is 8-10 over 25 starts and 144.1 innings with a 4.80 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 1.386 WHIP, and 99 ERA+. Throughout his three seasons, Junis has been pretty consistent on season results, posting a 104, 99, 99 ERA+ in consecutive seasons. That being said, he’s on a bit of a hot streak his last two starts, allowing three runs from 13 hits and a walk in 12 innings. In his two starts and 13 innings before that, he allowed 10 earned runs from 16 hits and four walks.

There are only two Mets on the active roster who have seen Junis in a game. Todd Frazier is 0-3 with a strikeout and Wilson Ramos is 0-2 with a strikeout.

Game Notes

Wilson Ramos is on an 11-game hitting streak (tied for longest active in the majors), batting .452 (19-412 with five runs, two doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, three walks, a .489 OBP, a .714 SLG and a 1.203 OPS in that span. Ramos is second in MLB among catchers with 57 RBI and ranks sixth with a .349 OBP.

Pete Alonso has 91 RBI this season. That is the highest total by a Mets player since Lucas Duda recorded 92 in 153 games in 2014. The last Mets player to record 100 or more RBI season was David Wright (103) in 2010.

The Mets are 11-8 on the road in the second half. The Mets have won six of their last nine contests on the road. Overall, the team is 28-39 on the road this year. This compares to 34-21 at Citi Field. The Mets pitching staff has struck out 572 on the road, which tops the NL and ranks fourth in the majors.

Luis Avilan as not allowed a run over 11.1 innings (16 outings) since he returned from the Injured List on July 3. He’s allowed eight hits, issued four walks and struck out 10. Avilan’s scoreless streak dates back to May 3 just prior to going on the IL. His 12-inning scoreless streak is tied for the ninth-longest current streak in MLB.

The Mets are 10-5 vs. the American League this year. Their .667 winning percentage is tied for the fourth-highest in the majors. New York went 8-12 during Interleague play last year. The Mets own the best winning percentage (.511, 203-194) among NL teams since Interleague play began in 1997.

Let’s Go Mets!