Monday, July 2, 2019 • 7:10 p.m.
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
LHP James Paxton (5-3, 4.34) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (6-5, 4.51)
PIX11 • MLBN • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050 AM
It’s the subway series and a week to go to the All-Star game and it seems like there are a ton of different things to follow. The Mets finally snapped their 7 game losing streak on Sunday thanks to some late inning hitting. Is it a start of things to come? Who knows! At least it wasn’t another game where the Mets lost after having the lead at some point.
Mets Lineup
- Jeff McNeil – RF
- Pete Alonso – 1B
- J.D. Davis – LF
- Todd Frazier – 3B
- Robinson Cano – 2B
- Wilson Ramos – C
- Michael Conforto – CF
- Amed Rosario – SS
- Zack Wheeler – RHP
Yankees Lineup
- DJ LeMahieu – 3B
- Aaron Judge – RF
- Aaron Hicks – CF
- Gary Sanchez – C
- Didi Gregorius – SS
- Edwin Encarnacion – 1B
- Gleyber Torres – 2B
- Brett Gardner – LF
- James Paxton – LHP
Meanwhile the Yankees, injury burdened, come to town as the dominate team in the AL East. They are also coming off an off-day but unlike the Mets, the Yankees had to travel from London. Will that impact them? Who knows! Will playing back to back four hour plus games in a sandbox stadium where the ball was flying out impact them? Who knows! (Actually – that sounds a lot like Yankee Stadium).
Zack Wheeler gets the start tonight. He is 6-5 over 17 games and 107.2 innings with a 4.51 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.263 WHIP and 90 ERA+. Barring a month long winning streak – the Mets are probably going to tear down in July and Wheeler could be on the move. His starts now are essentially try-outs. He’s been great in his last two starts! After allowing 14 runs over 10.2 innings, he has allowed 2 runs over 13.0 innings, lowering his ERA from 4.94 to 4.51. One of those bad starts was against the Yankees, allowing 9 runs, 5 earned in 4.2 innings. The Yankees have the following numbers against him:
- Giancarlo Stanton 3-17, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
- Cameron Maybin 1-7, BB, 3 K
- Brett Gardner 4-6, 3B, K
- Luke Voit 3-6, 2B, HR, 2 K
- DJ LeMahieu 0-4, BB, K
- Clint Frazier 0-3, 2 K
- Didi Gregorius 1-3, 2B
The Mets bats draw the Yankee trade acquisition from the off-season: James Paxton. Paxton is 5-3 over 13 games and 64.1 innings with a 4.34 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.430 WHIP, and 103 ERA+. He’s coming off a rough start where he allowed 6 runs over 4.1 innings against Toronto. In the month of June he was either great (11.0 innings, 3 runs) or terrible (11.2 innings, 16 runs), as such his ERA has ballooned. One of those poor starts was against the Mets where he allowed 6 runs over 2.2 innings form 7 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against him:
- Todd Frazier 0-7, BB, 5 K
- J.D. Davis 1-7, 3 K
- Michael Conforto 2-5
- Wilson Ramos 1-5
- Adeiny Hechavarria 2-4
- Pete Alonso 1-1, HR, BB
- Jeff McNeil 1-2, 2B
- Amed Rosario 0-2
Game Notes
The Mets are 4-3 vs. the American League this year. New York went 8-12 during Interleague play last year. The Mets own the third-best winning percentage (.506, 197-192) among NL teams since Interleague play began in 1997.
J.D. Davis is batting .370 (30-81) with 15 runs, four doubles, a triple, four home runs, 10 RBI, 10 walks and a 1.038 OPS in 31 games at Citi Field this season.
Let’s Go Mets!
