As good as the Mets pitching staff has been of late, they have their work cut out for them this weekend and early next week against the Dodgers and the White Sox.
On Friday, the Mets will face baseball’s top pitching prospect — left-hander Julio Urias. Just 19 years old, Urias has pitched only 263.1 minor league innings over four seasons. He owns a 1.10 ERA in 41 Triple-A innings this year, striking out 9.7 per nine while walking just 1.8.
Another Dodgers rookie will toe the rubber on Sunday, as Kenta Maeda matches up against Noah Syndergaard. Maeda allowed four earned runs in five innings in his last outing against the Mets, but owns a 3.07 ERA and 1.077 WHIP on the year.
On Sunday and Monday, the Mets have to face two of the best pitchers in baseball — Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. Kershaw is having another fantastic season, leading baseball in ERA (1.48), innings pitched (79), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (19). He pitched a three-hit shutout against the Mets on May 12.
Sale is having a great year in his own right. He’s got a 2.26 ERA on the year in an AL-leading 71.2 innings pitched. He and Kershaw have already tossed three complete games each this year.
The headline for Monday’s game, however, will be Matt Harvey, who will make his regularly-scheduled start despite recent struggles. Harvey has a 6.10 ERA in ten starts and has given up a league-leading 73 hits so far this year. Over his last three starts, he’s allowed 19 runs (16 earned) over 13.1 innings.
