Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, June 6, 2023 • 7:20 PM
Truist Park • Atlanta, Georgia
RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 5.74) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (3-0, 1.92)
SNY • TBS (National)

The Mets head into Atlanta for a very important three-game series. Last week the Mets swept the Phillies then got swept by the Blue Jays. Now the Mets sit exactly at .500 in third place in the NL East, 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are 11 games above .500 and like the Mets they have also gone 5-5 in their last 10 games. A series win could prove to be vital for the Mets, and that starts with picking up the first game tonight.

Mets Lineup

Carlos Carrasco takes the mound for the Amazin’s tonight. Over six starts (31 1/3 innings) this season he has a 5.74 ERA, 6.09 FIP, 1.372 WHIP and a 72 ERA+.

He has been much better in his last two games, allowing only two earned runs over 12 2/3 innings, scattering 11 hits and three walks. Both runs in each game were from solo homers, which is still his weak point this season. He had a 3.38 ERA over 16 innings and three games against the Braves last season, allowing 14 hits and four walks over those games. Three of those 14 hits were homers.

The Braves have the following career numbers against him:

Opposing Lineup

The Mets bats will get a look at Bryce Elder today. The 24-year old is in his second big league season and is currently leading the league in ERA (1.92) and ERA+ (231) over 11 starts and 65 2/3 innings.

In the month of May, Elder made five starts allowing only seven runs over 36 2/3 innings (1.72 ERA, 2.98 FIP) while allowing 31 hits and 10 walks. You would expect someone with a 1.92 ERA to have a WHIP lower than 1.157 (although that is still a good WHIP). The reason Elder’s ERA is so low is he keeps the ball in the ballpark. He allows 0.5 HR/9 which is even better than his 0.7 rate last season. Elder faced the Mets once last season in Atlanta, and he allowed three runs from five hits over 2 1/3 innings.

The Mets have the following career numbers against him:

Game Notes

Omar Narváez will play in his first game since April 5. He’s been on the injured list for two months with a calf strain.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Homers weren’t enough on Sunday. Can the offense come through today? The Mets bats this weekend were pretty much silent, which is why they got swept by the Blue Jays. On Sunday the bats woke up with four solo homers leading to the four runs the Mets scored (two from Pham, one from Alonso and Marte). But in the end the Blue Jays were able to score two more runs late and seal the Mets fate. Tonight the Mets go against a pitcher who hasn’t allowed a lot of homers this year. Can the Mets get the offense going again?
  2. A new catching and DH situation for the Mets. Omar Narváez returns to the Mets tonight, which led to Tomás Nido being DFA’d yesterday. Francisco Álvarez was called up to the major league squad to replace Narváez after his injury. Now the Mets will need to balance Narváez and Álvarez getting playing time, while the DH spot is already being split between Vogelbach/Pham/Vientos. It feels like another roster move is looming.
  3. Strikeouts galore. The Mets bats did not have a fun time at the plate this weekend – you already knew this. They struck out a combined 32 times over three games. On Friday night they struck out 10 total times, with Nimmo, Lindor, Baty, and Vientos each having multiple strikeouts. On Saturday they struck out 11 total times with Nimmo, Lindor and Baty each having multiple strikeouts for a second consecutive day. On Sunday Lindor had his third consecutive day with multiple strikeouts as the Mets struck out 11 more times as a team.

Let’s go Mets!