Tuesday, September 27, 2023 • 4:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
LHP Braxton Garrett (9-6, 3.53) vs. LHP Joey Lucchesi (3-0, 2.88)
SNY

After a rainout on Tuesday night, the Mets will face the Marlins in a doubleheader on Wednesday, with the first game set for first pitch at 4:10 P.M. EST. The Mets’ collapse in 2007 was punctuated by a Marlins team that beat the Mets on the last day of the season. For me personally, it’s a demon that has never been fully exorcised, despite the collapse being more about the Mets than anything else. The Mets have the chance to return the favor all of these years later as the Marlins chase a playoff berth with one week to go in the season. The Marlins are one game out of the third wild card spot. The Mets, despite losing four games in a row, are somehow two losses out of a protected pick in the draft.

Last night’s game couldn’t happen due to the last four days of rain we’ve in in the New York area. The reports are that the Mets didn’t have the field covered on Saturday, and by the time they got it covered there was just too much water on the infield to properly dry out. In general, it’s just been a real mess weather wise the last four days and absent of any definitive proof, I don’t think this is the Mets messing with the Marlins on purpose. That being said, in the context of exorcising demons, maybe there’s part of me still recovering from the 2007 season that’s okay with the impact of the weather.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Mets Lineup

Joey Lucchesi has made eight starts for the Mets this season, totaling 40 2/3 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.279 WHIP and a 148 ERA+. His first start since rejoining the rotation was brilliant. He allowed one run, none earned, over seven innings from five hits. Last time out, he allowed three runs, two earned, over 5 2/3 against the Marlins in a game the Mets eventually lost 4-3. The Marlins have the following career numbers against Lucchesi:

Marlins Lineup

Braxton Garrett may make another start after today’s game. If he doesn’t, though, his season will have started with two game straight against the Mets and ended with two straight games against the Mets.

Garrett has made 29 starts and pitched in 30 games this season totaling 155 2/3 innings with a 3.53 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 1.143 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. In his last four starts, he has allowed only three runs, two earned, over 21 2/3 innings (0.83 ERA, 2.61 FIP). This includes a start against the Mets last week where he allowed one unearned run from five hits over six innings in a game the Marlins eventually won 4-3. Earlier in the year, the Mets scored four runs from 15 hits over 7 2/3 innings against him across two starts. The Mets have the following career numbers against Garrett:

Game Notes

The Marlins were reportedly “furious” about Tuesday’s game being postponed due to rain, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The reasoning is that the Marlins were hoping to get one more start out of Braxton Garrett before the end of the season, but would now be forced to pitch him on only three days’ rest on Sunday. On Wednesday, Steve Cohen apologized to the Marlins for having to postpone the game.

Starling Marte‘s season is officially over. Despite indications that Marte would return on the Mets’ final homestand, Buck Showalter announced on Wednesday that the outfielder is officially done for the season.

With six games left to go in their season, the Mets have a three-game lead over the Washington Nationals for fourth place in the NL East. While finishing last would certainly be an embarrassment for a team that had championship aspirations going into the season, they do need to finish in the top six selections to guarantee a protected pick in the next MLB draft. Otherwise, it will drop ten spots due to penalties for spending above the maximum luxury tax threshold.

On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal theorized that the signing of Shohei Ohtani would ultimately come down to a battle between the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies’ season ended on Tuesday after a loss in Game 2 of the Eastern League Championship Series to the Erie SeaWolves. With the loss, the Mets’ minor league season is officially over.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Joey Lucchesi: Tonight is probably Joey Lucchesi’s last start of the year for the Mets. Potentially, he could see some work out of the bullpen or make a short start in one of the very last games of the season. He’s been impressive this year in the opportunities he has been given, and the Mets have plenty of rotation holes going into next season. Could next season be the year the Mets finally give Lucchesi a consistent chance? Tonight is effectively his last audition before spring training.
  2. Strikeouts. The Mets bats collectively looked lost on Sunday night, racking up 13 strikeouts in the game compared to only one walk and three hits. The Mets’ bats are at their best when they are patient at the plate. Four players struck out multiple times with Ronny Mauricio and Pete Alonso each striking out three times. (Mauricio also hit a laser for his second career homer). When this happened a few weeks ago, before the Mets offense had a mini-resurgence, the first signs that the Mets’ bats were coming back was the K/BB ratio dropped to about 2/1 after being 4+/1 for several straight games. We’ll be looking at strikeouts and walks tonight to get a sense of what this last week will feel like.
  3. Milestone Tracker: There aren’t many games left to reach these milestones! Lindor is three home runs away from a 30-30 season. Nimmo is still looking for one more home run to reach 25, Álvarez is looking for two more to get to 25 and Pete Alonso needs five more home runs for 50 on the year.

Let’s go Mets!