José Quintana. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Monday, August 6, 2023 • 1:35 PM
Oriole Park at Camden Yards • Baltimore, Maryland
LHP José Quintana (0-2, 3.57) vs. RHP Kyle Bradish (7-6, 3.32)
SNY

The New York Mets are on the brink of being swept for the second-straight series this afternoon as they take on the Baltimore Orioles. After a terrible showing in Kansas City, the Mets have struggled to find footing in Baltimore the last two days in front of sellout crowds. Can the Mets make a little magic today?

Mets Lineup

The Mets’ rotation turns over for the first time since the trade deadline with José Quintana returning to the mound today. Over his first three starts of the season, he has allowed seven earned runs over 17 2/3 innings which has translated to a 3.57 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 1.302 WHIP, and a 118 ERA+.

Each of his three starts have been quality starts. He’s also given up exactly six hits and zero homers in each start.

The Orioles have the following career numbers against Quintana:

  • James McCann 3-18, 3B, 4 K, 2 BB
  • Adam Frazier 3-16, 2 K
  • Ramón Urías 1-2
  • Anthony Santander 0-1, K
  • Austin Hays 1-1, 2B
  • Ryan Mountcastle 1-1, 2B

Orioles Lineup

The Mets’ bats will try to get something going today against Kyle Bradish, who has really stepped up in his second year. Over 20 starts and 111 innings, he has a 3.32 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.117 WHIP, and a 126 ERA+. He’s coming off of a start where he allowed three runs over seven innings and, in total, he’s allowed eight runs over 13 2/3 in his last two starts.

Before his last two starts, he allowed eight runs total in his previous seven starts (44 1/3 innings), a 1.62 ERA. The only Met on the roster who has seen Bradish in an official game is Rafael Ortega. He is 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

Game Notes

The Mets are 0-5 since the trade deadline.

Of the 198 pitchers to make at least 10 starts since August 6, 2022, only seven have a lower ERA than Quintana’s 2.42.

Francisco Lindor has safely hit in seven of his last eight games, batting .400 (12-30) with a .471 SLG and an .800 OPS. Francisco Lindor ranks 12th in the majors with a 4.0 fWAR. That is seventh-best in the National League.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Can Quintana give the bullpen a bit of a rest today? All of the relief pitching yesterday was handled by Phil Bickford and Grant Hartwig, the latter working for two-consecutive days. Everyone in the Mets’ bullpen, outside of Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley, has pitched this weekend. Quintana could help the bullpen and the overall morale of the team if he can pitch deep and get the Mets in a position where they need Ottavino and Raley.
  2. Score runs and avoid striking out. The Mets’ bats have done the pitching no favors this week. The Mets had seven hits last night and a walk but turned that into only three runs. They had 11 strikeouts with Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, and Brett Baty all having multiple strikeouts.
  3. Jeff McNeil. Jeff McNeil had a strong start to the week where he went 5-for-14 scoring three runs and hitting a triple. He then went silent for back to back games going 0-for-8 at the plate. Last night, he was the Mets’ offense going 2-for-4 with a homer, finally ticking over 100 hits on the season.