Friday, August 9, 2019 • 7:10 p.m.
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Stephen Strasburg (14-5, 3.72) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (6-11, 3.07)
SNY • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050 AM
In 2015 the Mets went on an incredible run to take the division title that was started with an early August series with the Nationals and completed in an earlyish September series with the Nationals. It may be the Wild Card this time, but there are shades of the 2015 run here. The Mets, winners of 13 of their last 14 square off with the Nationals in a critical 3 game set.
Mets Lineup
- Jeff McNeil – RF
- Amed Rosario – SS
- Michael Conforto – CF
- Pete Alonso – 1B
- J.D. Davis – LF
- Wilson Ramos – C
- Todd Frazier – 3B
- Joe Panik – 2B
- Marcus Stroman – RHP
Nationals Lineup
- Trea Turner – SS
- Adam Eaton – RF
- Anthony Rendon – 3B
- Juan Soto – LF
- Matt Adams – 1B
- Kurt Suzuki – C
- Brian Dozier – 2B
- Victor Robles – CF
- Stephen Strasburg – RHP
Marcus Stroman makes his second Mets start tonight. He is 6-11 over 22 starts and 129.0 innings with a 3.07 ERA, 3.50 FIP, 1.256 WHIP and 147 ERA+. His debut wasn’t great with the Mets but he battled through 4.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. The Nationals now have quite a few AL hitters on their roster, so there are more players than I originally expected having a “significant” amount of PA’s against Stroman:
- Brian Dozier 3-13, 2B, K
- Yan Gomes 0-8, 2 BB, 4 K
- Adam Eaton 1-7, BB, K
- Kurt Suzuki 3-8
- Howie Kendrick 3-6, K
- Asdrubal Cabrera 3-5, 2B
- Gerardo Parra 1-3
The Mets bats will look to continue knocking those home runs over the wall against Stephen Strasburg who has allowed 16 so far this season. Stephen leads the league in wins (if you care about that) with a 14-5 record over 23 starts and 145.1 innings posting a 3.72 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 1.080 WHIP, and a 123 ERA+. He is coming off of his worst start of the season, allowing 9 runs over 4.2 innings, which raised his ERA from 3.26 to 3.72. Before that, in July, he had a 1.14 ERA over 5 starts and 31.2 innings (which was great considering he had a 5.70 ERA in 30.0 innings in June).
Against the Mets he has literally ran the gambit of below expectations, exceeding expectations and just meeting expectations. In his first start of the season he allowed 4 runs over 6.0 innings. Then, his very next start, he shut the Mets out over 6.2 innings. A month later he allowed 3 runs over 7.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Stephen:
- Adeiny Hechavarria 5-35, 3B, BB, 10 K
- Michael Conforto 4-24, 2 HR, 11 K
- Juan Lagares 2-20, 9 K
- Todd Frazier 3-9, 2 BB
- Wilson Ramos 5-12, 2B, 3 K
- Amed Rosario 3-12, 3 K
- Pete Alonso 2-8, 2B, 4 K
- J.D. Davis 1-6
- Jeff McNeil 3-6, 3B, K
Game Notes
Joe Panik will wear No. 2 with the Mets and recently signed reliever Brad Brach will wear No. 29. The Mets designated infielder Adeiny Hechavarria for assignment to make room for Panik on the 40-man roster.
The Mets starters have posted an 11-2 record with a 2.19 ERA (31 earned runs/127.2 innings) with 31 walks and 134 strikeouts over their last 20 outings.
The Mets are 32-20 at home. Their .615 winning percentage at home is the third-best in the NL and the sixth-best in the majors. The Mets will play 29 of their final 47 games this season at home.
Let’s Go Mets!
