Wednesday, August 16, 2023 • 1:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, New York
RHP Johan Oviedo (6-12, 4.42) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (6-6, 5.64)
SNY

The Mets and Pirates play the rubber game of their series this afternoon at Citi Field. After winning the first game fairly convincingly, the Mets struggled last night in a 7-4 loss. Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a homer, but the Pirates responded right away with a run of their own and then the bats fell silent after that until the seventh inning. The Pirates tagged the Mets’ struggling and overworked bullpen for six runs. The Mets responded with three of their own, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. Now, the Mets and Pirates have identical records heading into the last game of the series.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Mets Lineup

The Mets’ bullpen needs a respectable start from Tylor Megill today. Over 17 starts (81 1/3 innings), Megill has a 5.64 ERA, 5.08 FIP, 1.697 WHIP and a 74 ERA+. In his first two starts back with the Mets after being called-up, he has allowed 11 runs, 10 earned, over 10 innings of work (9.00 ERA, 4.97 FIP). The good news is his arm is stretched out. He’s tossed 102 and 84 pitches in both starts, so if he can limit the hits (exactly nine in each start so far), he can give the bullpen the break it needs. Megill had a disastrous start against the Pirates back when they were in first place in June, where he allowed nine runs, seven earned from eight hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings. The Pirates have the following career numbers against him:

Pirates Lineup

Johan Oviedo has pitched 136 1/3 innings this year over 24 starts with a 4.42 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 1.306 WHIP and a 102 ERA+. He’s coming off of a rough start against the Reds where he allowed six runs over five innings from five hits and two walks. Before that start, he had a stretch of three starts in a row where he posted a 0.90 ERA, 3.02 FIP in 20 innings of work. He was effective against the Mets back in June, holding the Mets to two runs from four hits over 6 1/3 innings. The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

Game Notes

Taking a look at #tankwatch, the Mets enter Wednesday with the exact same record as both the Pirates and the Cardinals, leading only the Nationals and Rockies in winning percentage in the national league, and putting them tied for the seventh-worst record in the majors. As a reminder, if the Mets finish with a top-six pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, they will have their second-round pick move down ten spots as a payroll tax, instead of their first-round pick.

Mark Vientos is not in the Mets’ lineup on Wednesday as he is dealing with wrist inflammation. He is considered day-to-day.

Ahead of Wednesday’s game, the Mets selected Dennis Santana from Triple-A and optioned José Butto. The team also designated Edwin Uceta for assignment.

After hitting four home runs in a three-game series against the Cubs, Pete Alonso has gone six straight games without a homer. With 42 games to go, Alonso would need to homer once every 2.8 games from here on out to reach 50 dingers, and once every 2.3 games to break his single-season franchise record of 53.

In Tuesday’s loss, the Mets got back-to-back homers from the unlikely duo of DJ Stewart and Jonathan Araúz in the 7th inning, each hitting their second homers of the year. They both are in the lineup again on Wednesday, where they will look to stay hot.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Mets bullpen use. We talked yesterday about the fact that the Mets would probably need to make a move before the game to get a fresh arm into the pen. Before yesterday’s game Tyson Miller was sent down, and José Butto was brought up. Butto had to put in serious work on Tuesday, tossing 63 pitches. At least Adam Ottavino, Trevor Gott,and Phil Bickford were all avoided yesterday, but they each have pitched twice since Saturday. If the Mets don’t make another move before gametime on Wednesday, they are really going to need Megill to go deep into the game.
  2. Jonathan Araúz. Jonathan Araúz has gone deep two days in a row now. This season, he has gone 4-for-27 at the plate, scoring two runs with five RBI. That means in his last two days, he has had 50% of the hits he’s had this season, scored all of the runs he’s scored this season, and recorded 60% of his season total of RBI’s. Is this the start of an Araúz hot streak?
  3. Brandon Nimmo. Brandon Nimmo lead of the game yesterday with his 17th homer of the season, tying his career-high. He is now one homer away from a personal record, and has a very good chance of recording at least 20 on the season. Furthermore, Nimmo has now had four games in a row where he has recorded at least two hits. In his last five games he has gone 9-for-18 with a double, two homers and four walks leading to a .500/.591/.889 slash line.

Let’s go Mets!