Carlos Carrasco. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday, August 20, 2023 • 2:15 PM
Busch Stadium • St. Louis, Missouri
RHP Carlos Carrasco (3-6, 6.40) vs. RHP Dakota Hudson (4-0, 4.03)
WPIX

The New York Mets have a chance to complete a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon in St. Louis. Now, winners of six of their last seven games, the Mets are playing like a different team since they got routed in a doubleheader last week against the Atlanta Braves. After those games were complete, the Mets were nine games out of the Wild Card. Now, they are six.

There’s a lot for the Mets to overcome in the next couple of weeks, and their opponents have been on the weaker side this past week. That being said, the Mets have shown a willingness not to give up decent where their season appeared to be headed.

Mets Lineup

Carlos Carrasco has tossed 84 1/3 innings over 18 starts with a 6.40 ERA, 5.83 FIP, 1.625 WHIP, and a 65 ERA+. The good news is he’s allowed only two runs in each of his last two starts. The bad news is that in last start he threw 88 pitches over only three innings and the Mets’ bullpen had to bail him out the rest of the way.

Carrasco already faced the Cardinals this season and it wasn’t good. He allowed six runs (five earned) via five hits and three walks over three innings.

The Cardinals have the following career numbers against him:

Cardinals Lineup

The Mets’ bats will try to continue the roll they’ve been on facing off against Dakota Hudson today. Over 10 games (four starts) this season, Hudson has thrown 38 innings with a 4.03 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.316 WHIP, and a 108 ERA+. Hudson rejoined the rotation after the trade deadline and since then he has allowed eight runs over 18 2/3 innings (3.86 ERA, 6.05 FIP), via 14 hits and five walks.

The home run ball has been his weakness, he’s allowed four over this stretch, but has limited the overall damage those homers have done.

The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

Game Notes

The Mets have called up reliever Reed Garrett and sent down reliever Vinny Nittoli to Triple-A Syracuse ahead of Sunday’s game.

The Mets are looking for their fifth sweep of the season today. New York is looking for their first four-game sweep of the Cardinals since April 24-27, 1986 in St. Louis.

Francisco Lindor is on a six-game hitting streak, batting .423 (11-for-26) in that span with seven runs, three doubles, and five RBIs. Over his last 52 games, he is hitting .308 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, 26 walks, and 15 steals with a .394 OBP, a .538 SLG, and a .932 OPS.

Pete Alonso is third in the majors and second in the National League in home runs (38). Alonso has recorded 40 or more home runs twice in his career. He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Can the Mets fire on all cylinders again? The Mets are on a good run right now, but there have been games they’ve won, like Carrasco last start, where a major part of the team was off. Mainly it’s been difficult for them to get their offense and their starting pitching to both click on the same night. That has happened two nights in a row. The result has been stress-free bullpen use and games that haven’t been close. This was a key part of the 2022 Mets that was missing most of this season.
  2. What does Lindor do after his big night? Lindor was a table setter all night yesterday. He went 4-for-5 at the plate with a double, and scored three runs. Behind Lindor was Alonso going 2-for-4 and Jeff McNeil going 3-for-5. This resembles more the team several expected before the season began.
  3. DJ Stewart. Stewart had another massive night at the plate going 2-for-4 while hitting his fifth home run of the season. It was also his fourth homer in his last three games. How long can Stewart ride this streak?