Friday, July 21, 2023 • 7:10 PM
Fenway Park • Boston, Massachusetts
RHP Kodai Senga (7-5, 3.20) vs. RHP Kutter Crawford (4-4, 3.74)
SNY

The Mets couldn’t complete the sweep of the White Sox but at least head into their weekend series with the Red Sox with some positive momentum, winning three of their last four games. The Red Sox are trying to snap a two-game losing streak tonight. Overall they’ve been good recently, going 7 and 3 in their last ten games. The Mets need a good weekend to stay relevant. The Red Sox need a good weekend to keep pace in the insane AL East.

Kodai Senga. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Mets Lineup

Kodai Senga has pitched 95 2/3 innings over 17 starts with a 3.20 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.265 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. He’s coming off of a solid start against the Dodgers, where he held them to one run and four hits over six innings while striking out nine. Over his two starts in July, he has allowed only two earned runs and only three walks. Earlier this season walks were crushing him, and he now has five consecutive starts issuing three walks or less. Further, his strikeout numbers haven’t diminished (11.5 K/9 on the season).

Opposing Lineup

Kutter Crawford will make his 11th start of the season today. Over 67 1/3 innings, he has a 3.47 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.129 WHIP and a 125 ERA+. As a starter, he has a 4.73 ERA and 1.336 WHIP over 45 2/3 innings. He’s coming off of one of his best starts of the season, where he one-hit the Cubs over six innings while striking out nine. This will be the first time Kutter Crawford has faced anyone on the Mets in a major league game.

Game Notes

The Mets officially recalled Mark Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse to take Starling Marte’s roster spot.

Tommy Pham is out of the lineup after leaving the game on Thursday in the fourth inning with a stiffened groin.

Make sure to check out our Series Preview.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Mark Vientos. With Starling Marte landing on the 10-day injured list, Mark Vientos is back with the major league club. The Mets botched his playing time the first time he was called up, sitting him for long stretches of time in favor of other more veteran players getting playing time. Between Marte’s injury and Pham’s injury during the game yesterday, Vientos should see more consistent playing time. Vientos hit .178/.224/.244 with a 31 OPS+ in the majors this season. In the minors, he’s hitting .307/.386/.614 over 60 games.
  2. Mets trade candidates. Mark Canha and Omar Narváez could be moved over the next nine days. Yesterday Canha went 0-for-3 at the plate with a strikeout. Omar Narváez had the best day yesterday of any Mets hitter, possibly his best day as a Met, going 2-for-3 with a homerun.
  3. Old Friends! With the Mets playing the Red Sox for the first time this season, we’ll get to see a couple of familiar faces tonight. Justin Turner is playing his first season in Boston after many years in LA. He’s hitting .289/.358/.478 with a 122 OPS+ over 93 games. Joely Rodríguez is continuing his tour of eastern, I-95-based baseball teams with the Red Sox this season. The Red Sox activated him from the injured list right around the All-Star break. Since returning, he has pitched four innings over four games, allowing two hits and nothing else.

Let’s go Mets!