Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, April 18, 2023 • 10:10 PM
Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, California
RHP Tylor Megill (3-0, 2.25) vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 3.50)
SNY

Late last night while New York was sleeping, the Mets and Dodgers played an action-packed back-and-forth affair with the Mets coming out on top and securing their fifth win in a row. Baty made his 2023 debut and made an impact with an RBI. Vogelbach had three RBI’s including a two-run homer.

Now the Mets have a chance tonight to take the series and win their sixth game in a row with Tylor Megill taking on longstanding Dodgers ace, Clayton Kershaw.

Mets Lineup

Wins are imperfect stat in baseball, however Tylor Megill could make me a believer again. He is 3-0 over his first three starts of the year. He’s allowed four runs from 12 hits in 16 innings leading to a 2.25 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 1.188 WHIP and a 188 ERA+. Megill has only pitched one quality start in those three starts (six shutout innings against the Marlins on April 7). The next step for Megill will be to consistently make it through the sixth inning.

The Dodgers have the following career numbers against Megill:

Opposing Lineup

Clayton Kershaw stands between the Mets and a series victory tonight. Over his first three starts and 18 innings this season, he has a 3.50 ERA, 4.44 FIP, 1.111 WHIP and a 129 ERA+. His first start this season was his best, allowing one run over six innings. Since then he has allowed seven runs (six earned) over 12 innings of work. In his one start against the Mets last season, he allowed only one run on one hit and three walks over five innings while striking out six Mets.

The Mets have the following career numbers against Kershaw:

Game Notes

The Mets placed Carlos Carrasco on the 15-day injured list ahead of Tuesday’s game. They recalled reliever Jeff Brigham in his place.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Brandon Nimmo’s Glove! Brandon Nimmo has played hero in the last two games for the Mets. On Sunday he made multiple, game-saving catches to keep the Mets in the game. Yesterday he ran down a ball in the gap in the ninth inning. It feels like centuries ago that Mets fans were having debates about whether the Mets could really trust Nimmo in center. Conveniently, he is playing DH tonight.
  2. The bats are heating up! Yesterday the Mets collected 14 hits, including three players getting three hits each. Nimmo, Alonso and McNeil each went 3-for-5 at the plate. (McNeil even collected three doubles!) Similar to this past weekend with walks, the goal is to actually score runs. Yesterday the Mets were able to convert 14 hits and three walks into eight runs. This is the way!
  3. It had to be Freddie Freeman. Freddie Freeman gave the Dodgers the early lead last night with a solo homer. In 195 games against the Mets, Freeman has slashed .302/.386/.492 with 28 homers. Surprisingly, this matches his career OBP exactly and is slightly less than his career slugging (.508). That being said, it always feels like Freeman is the greatest hitter on Earth when he plays the Mets.

Let’s go Mets!