Wednesday, July 26, 2023 • 7:05 PM
Yankee Stadium • The Bronx, New York
LHP José Quintana (0-1, 3.60) vs. LHP Carlos Rodón (0-3, 7.36)
SNY

The Mets got the job done last night and frankly looked like the team they were projected to be at the start of the season. Justin Verlander looked Justin Verlander Returning to Form, Wants to Stay With Mets” href=”https://metsmerizedonline.com/justin-verlander-returning-to-form-wants-to-stay-with-mets/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>great and gave the Mets six strong innings. Pete Alonso hit Pete Alonso Breaking Out of Slump” href=”https://metsmerizedonline.com/pete-alonso-breaking-out-of-slump/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>two homers. The bullpen made things interesting but held it together. Even with the win, the Mets are six games below .500 and still seven games out of the wild card.

The Mets got a big scare late in the game last night as Francisco Álvarez took a pitch to his hand. Buck Showalter said after the game, there was “some concern,” but X-rays came back negative. Álvarez, later in the evening, said there was no concern and basically said he was fine. And he’s in the lineup!

Mets Lineup

  1. Brandon Nimmo – CF
  2. Mark Viento – 3B
  3. Francisco Lindor – SS
  4. Pete Alonso – 1B
  5. Tommy Pham – DH
  6. Jeff McNeil – RF
  7. Mark Canha – LF
  8. Francisco Álvarez – C
  9. Danny Mendick – 2B

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

José Quintana looks to build on his positive Mets debut as the Mets look to sweep the two-game series from the Yankees. In his first start, he pitched five innings, allowing two runs from six hits and no walks. He was able to toss 77 pitches, 53 of them for strikes. He held the Yankees to one run from six hits and no walks over five innings last season. The Yankees have the following career numbers against Quintana:

Opposing Lineup

  1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – LF
  2. Gleyber Torres – DH
  3. Giancarlo Stanton – RF
  4. Anthony Rizzo – 1B
  5. DJ LeMahieu – 3B
  6. Harrison Bader – CF
  7. Anthony Volpe – SS
  8. Kyle Higashioka – C
  9. Oswaldo Peraza – 2B

The Mets bats look to continue their offensive outbreak tonight against Carlos Rodón, who has had a tough start to his Yankee career. Over his first three starts as a Yankee, he’s allowed 12 earned runs over 14 2/3 innings, leading to a 7.36 ERA, 7.17 FIP. The damage has come from hits (12), walks (9), and homers (4). Rodón had a solid start against the Mets last season, where he held the Mets to three hits and no runs over five innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

Game Notes

The upcoming series hosting the Nationals has the following matchups:

Tommy Pham and Francisco Álvarez are in the lineup for the Mets on Wednesday against the Yankees.

Ronny Mauricio was ranked as the Mets’ top prospect per Baseball America.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Tommy Pham. Originally Tommy Pham was supposed to get the start yesterday. That was the announced plan on Sunday. But Pham didn’t feel fully ready to go yet before the game and wanted one more day to rest his groin. Pham, one of the Mets’ top trade chips, is back in the lineup on Wednesday.
  2. Pete Alonso. Alonso hit his 27th and 28th homer of the season last night. He had been in the midst of one of the deepest slumps of his career but has shown a lot of life in his last four games. He’s gone 8-for-15 in that stretch with two doubles, a triple and two homers. In his last four, he’s hitting .533/.588/1.200. If the Mets are going to make a miracle run for the Wild Card, they’re going to need Pete Alonso.
  3. Francisco Lindor. It’s going to take more than Pete Alonso on a hot streak to save the Mets. The Mets need Francisco Lindor to get hot too. Lindor went 3-for-5 last night with a double, scored three runs, and stole two bases. He has now stolen four bases in his last four games and has a hit in his last three games.

Let’s go Mets!