Saturday, August 5, 2017 • 4:05 p.m.
Citi Field • Flushing, N.Y.
LHP Rich Hill (8-4, 3.35) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (5-3, 4.53)
SNY • FS1 • WOR 710 AM • 104.3 WAXQ-FM HD 2 • ESPN 1050 AM
The Mets will try again against the Dodgers since yesterday’s game didn’t go so well. Yu Darvish held the Mets down through seven innings and the Dodgers offense was just a little much for the Mets to handle. End result: Mets got shut out. Now Seth Lugo will take the mound to see if he can get the Mets back on the right track.
METS LINEUP
- Michael Conforto – CF
- Asdrubal Cabrera – 3B
- Yoenis Cespedes – LF
- Wilmer Flores – 1B
- Curtis Granderson – RF
- Neil Walker – 2B
- Amed Rosario – SS
- Rene Rivera – C
- Seth Lugo – RHP
DODGERS LINEUP
- Chris Taylor – LF
- Corey Seager – SS
- Justin Turner – 3B
- Cody Bellinger – 1B
- Joc Pederson – CF
- Logan Forsythe – 2B
- Yasmani Grandal – C
- Yasiel Puig – RF
- Rich Hill – LHP
Seth Lugo is 5-3 over 10 games and nine starts pitching 57 2/3 innings with a 4.53 ERA, 4.43 FIP and 1.370 WHIP. His last two starts haven’t been great as he allowed nine runs (eight earned) over 11.0 innings with 16 hits and no walks. Lugo has never faced the Dodgers before and has never faced a batter on Dodgers while they were with other teams.
The Mets bats will try to get through Rich Hill who is 8-4 over 15 games and 78.0 innings with a 3.35 ERA, 3.71 FIP and 1.179 WHIP. Hill had a filthy July where he went 5-0 in five games and 31.0 innings striking out 40 and walking only five. His ERA through the month was 1.45 and opponents hit only .171 against him and got on base at a .220 clip. In June he held the Mets to one run over five innings while walking three and striking out eight. The Mets have the following numbers against Hill:
- Reyes 3-for-8
- Granderson 2-for-5, HR
- Cespedes 0-for-3, BB
- Bruce 0-for-1, 2 BB
- d’Arnaud 1-for-3
- Flores 1-for-3, 2B
NOTES:
Amed Rosario has a hit in all four games he’s played in the majors, going 4-for-15 (.267). The last Met to have a hit in his first four or more major league games was Daniel Murphy, who hit in his first seven games in 2008. Rosario became the first player in team history with two triples in his first three career games. He is the sixth-youngest active player in the majors.
Michael Conforto has tied his career-high with his current eight-game hitting streak. It’s Conforto’s third streak of eight games, last done, July 17-24, earlier this year. Conforto is hitting .361 (13-for-36) during this current stretch. He has multi-hit games in five of his last eight games. Conforto is tied for the sixth most homers in the majors with seven homers after the All-Star break. His 21 home runs extend his career-best. Conforto is hitting .326 (28-for-86) with five doubles, seven homers, 15 RBI and 15 runs scored since the All-Star break (21 games). Overall, he is 10th in the majors with a .399 on-base percentage, 11th in the NL with a .566 slugging percentage and ninth in the NL with a .965 OPS.
The Mets have won 13 of Lugo’s last 16 starts dating to August 25, 2016. Lugo is 10-3 with a 3.69 ERA (39 earned runs/95.0 innings pitched) over that 16-start span. Lugo has pitched at least five innings in each of his 17 starts in the major leagues. The only other Mets pitchers to go five innings or longer in each of the first 17 starts of their career were Matt Harvey (first 44 starts) and Bill Pulsipher (first 17 starts).
Asdrubal Cabrera is hitting .305 (25-for-82) with nine RBI since the All-Star break and over his last 11 contests, he’s batting .356 (16-for-45).
Let’s Go Mets!
