MMO Game Thread: Mets vs Dodgers, 4:05 PM

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday, August 21, 2021 • 4:05 P.M. EST
Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, CA
LHP Rich Hill (6-4, 4.08) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.69)
WPIX • FS1 • WCBS 880 AM • WQBU 92.7 FM

A win this afternoon will mean the Mets will have at least a shot of splitting the series tomorrow. A loss means the Dodgers will go for the rare season sweep tomorrow.

Mets took a tough loss yesterday 3-2 against the Dodgers and they look to bounce back today. The game was punctuated by a terrible strikeout call in the 8th inning, the first inning the Mets got anything going, when McNeil was called out on an inside pitch with two runners on. He lost his cool and was tossed. The Mets could only scratch one run in that inning. Hopefully the Mets come back angry today.

Mets Lineup

Brandon Nimmo – CF
Jeff McNeil – 2B
Pete Alonso – 1B
Michael Conforto – RF
J.D. Davis – 3B
Dominic Smith – LF
Jonathan Villar – SS
Chance Sisco – C
Rich Hill – LHP

Dodgers Lineup

Trea Turner – 2B
Max Muncy – 3B
Albert Pujols – 1B
AJ Pollock – LF
Corey Seager – SS
Chris Taylor – RF
Will Smith – C
Cody Bellinger – CF
Max Scherzer – RHP

Rich Hill will pitch in his 6th game for the Mets today. Over 21.2 innings he has a 4.98 ERA, 4.60 FIP, 1.385 WHIP and an 81 ERA+. He had a short outing his last time out, allowing 2 runs from 6 hits over 3.2 innings against the Giants, in a game the Mets ultimately lost 7-5. Not too many members of the current Dodgers roster have seen Hill in a major league, which is surprising given how long Hill has been pitching:

AJ Pollock 3-18, 3 HR, 2 K
Albert Pujols 2-11, HR, BB, K
Chris Taylor 1-3, 2 K
Trea Turner 1-5, 2 K

I remember being very excited the day before the trade deadline when it looked like Max Scherzer was going to the Padres. I naively thought that was it for facing him this season – the Mets are already done with the Padres! When it got announced he was heading to the Dodgers I thought, fine, we’ll face him most one more time, not realizing how the Dodgers games were placed in the Mets schedule.

Anyway that’s all to say the Mets are facing Max Scherzer again. Suprisingly they have only faced him this year since the deadline. On the season he has pitched 22 games and 127.1 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 0.895 WHIP (league leading) and a 145 ERA+. In three starts as a Dodger he has pitched 16.1 innings with a 2.20 ERA, 1.70 FIP, 0.918 WHIP and a 181 ERA+. His last start was against the Mets and he allowed 2 runs from 4 hits and 2 walks over 6.0 innings while striking out 6. The Mets have the following numbers against Max: