Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY
In this weekly feature for MMO, I’m going to look back at the previous week’s games and share some interesting data and information that I’ve collected through various websites such as Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, and Baseball Savant. It’ll be a mixture of facts, stats, and analytics.
Let’s get into the seven days between July 17 and July 23 (with only three regular season games played due to the All-Star break).
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Mets vs. Cubs
David Peterson tossed five innings of one-run ball (unearned) with three walks and eight strikeouts in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on the road. It was Peterson’s sixth consecutive start with at least seven strikeouts. In Mets history, only two left-handed pitchers have a longer such streak: Johan Santana (nine games from 2008-2009) and Sid Fernandez (seven games in 1990).
In David Peterson’s first nine games of the 2022 season (seven starts), he posted a whiff rate of 25.6 percent. Over his last six starts dating back to June 20th, Peterson’s whiff rate has risen to 32.7 percent.
Francisco Lindor stole his 10th base of the season. He became the first Met with double-digit doubles, home runs, and stolen bases by the All-Star break since David Wright in 2013.
David Peterson finished the first half of the 2022 season with 72.1 innings pitched and a 3.24 ERA. Peterson’s 3.24 ERA is the lowest first-half mark by a left-handed Mets pitcher since Jon Niese in 2014 with a 2.96 ERA (min. 70 IP).
Friday, July 22, 2022
Padres vs. Mets
Max Scherzer went six innings in the first game of a three-game set against the San Diego Padres at home, allowing just two runs while striking out eight. Since coming off the IL, Scherzer has 39 strikeouts to just two walks over four starts (25.1 innings pitched). Scherzer joined Jacob deGrom in 2021 (April 10 – April 28) as the only two Mets pitchers with any four-game span of 39+ strikeouts and no more than two walks allowed.
With eight strikeouts in his start, Max Scherzer moved past both Curt Schilling and Bob Gibson for the most career strikeouts. Scherzer is now 15th on the all-time leaderboard with 3,118.
In Max Scherzer’s first 12 starts with the Mets, he has struck out 98 batters and posted a 2.28 ERA. Scherzer became just the second Met to strike out 98+ batters while posting a sub-2.50 ERA in his first 12 games with the club, joining Pedro Martínez in 2005 (104 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA).
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Padres vs. Mets
Chris Bassitt tossed seven innings of two-run ball with no walks and 11 strikeouts in the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Padres. Bassitt’s 11 strikeouts tied a career high, which he last accomplished on September 7, 2019, against the Detroit Tigers.
Bassitt recorded 25 called strikes over his seven innings of work. That’s the highest number of called strikes by a Mets pitcher in a game this season.
Since pitch counts have been tracked (1988) only four Mets have tossed at least seven innings while striking out double-digit batters, walking none, and throwing fewer than 90 pitches: R.A. Dickey (May 22, 2012); Dillon Gee (May 30, 2013); Jacob deGrom (July 7, 2021); Chris Bassitt (July 23, 2022).
The Mets combined to strike out 15 batters and did not allow a walk. It was the first time that the Mets struck out 15+ batters without issuing a walk and lost the game since October 3, 2015, against the Washington Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader.
