Monday, August 17, 2026 • 7:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (8-8, 3.42)
SNY

The Mets swept the Nationals and have won nine of their last 12 games! Since the All-Star break, the Mets have won series against the Guardians and Pirates, both teams that were going for it at the deadline. The only series they lost was against the first-place Braves. Now the Mets welcome the surging Padres, winners of eight of their last ten. San Diego holds the second Wild Card spot in a tightening race.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

  1. A.J. Ewing, LF
  2. Francisco Lindor, SS
  3. Bo Bichette, 3B
  4. Carson Benge, RF
  5. Luis Robert Jr., CF
  6. Jared Young, 1B
  7. Marcus Semien, 2B
  8. Jorge Polanco, DH
  9. Francisco Alvarez, C

Starting Pitcher: Nolan McLean

Nolan McLean has made 24 starts, pitching 136 2/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.134 WHIP and a 119 ERA+. He’s coming off a strong start against the Braves, where he allowed one run on a solo homer over six innings while striking out three. He has a 2.28 ERA and 3.36 FIP in his last eight starts (47 1/3 innings), which includes a start against the Guardians where he allowed five runs over five innings. He faced the Padres back in June, holding them to one run over six innings. The Padres have the following stats against him:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
  2. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
  3. Manny Machado, 3B
  4. Ty France, 1B
  5. Jackson Merrill, CF
  6. Luis Campusano, C
  7. Gavin Sheets, DH
  8. Xander Bogaerts, SS
  9. Luis Rengifo, LF

Walker Buehler has made 24 starts this season, totaling 114 1/3 innings with a 4.88 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 1.426 WHIP and an 84 ERA+. He’s been on a roll in his last two starts, allowing only two runs over 10 innings from nine hits and three walks while striking out eight. Notably, he hasn’t allowed any home runs in his last two starts despite having a 1.1 HR/9. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

Game Notes

The Mets selected the contract of INF Cristopher Morel before Monday’s game and designated INF Gabriel Arias for assignment.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Luis Torrens. The Mets need to find ways to get Torrens into the lineup while he’s on this heater. Since the trade deadline, he has had 22 plate appearances spread over seven games. During this stretch, he is slashing .444/.545/1.111 with eight hits and four home runs. 10 of his 30 RBIs this season have come in his last seven games!
  2. Jared Young, hit machine. Young has at least two hits in four of his last six games. During this stretch, he has gone 11-for-25 at the plate with two doubles, a triple and a home run, while slashing .440/.423/.720. Similar to Luis Torrens, Young has seven of his 29 RBIs during this recent stretch.
  3. Bo Bichette. Bichette finally reached a .700 OPS for the season. Bichette went 3-for-3 on Sunday with a triple, pushing his OBP to .313 and SLG to .386. Since the start of July, Bichette has played a lot better, slashing .306/.354/.403 with 44 hits over 37 games. It’s been a long journey for Bichette to get back to a .700 OPS. Here’s hoping he continues to hit as he has for the last six weeks for the remainder of the season.

Let’s go Mets!