Friday, August 31, 2018 • 10:15 p.m. (ET)
AT&T Park • San Francisco, CA
RHP Zack Wheeler (9-6, 3.46) vs. LHP Andrew Suarez (5-9, 4.42)
SNY • WOR 710 AM • 104.3 WAXQ-FM HD 2 • ESPN 1050 AM
The Mets return to action tonight after a day off! On Wednesday the Mets finished a game which they lost and then beat the Cubs in a full 9 innings which included Vargy’s third good start in a row. The off day was a nice change of pace for the Mets who have played a lot this month but it wasn’t free of stress. It’s the end of August and there are several players who had to wonder if they played their last game as a Met as the rush of waiver trades get made across the league.
Mets Lineup
- Todd Frazier – 3B
- Jeff McNeil – 2B
- Austin Jackson – CF
- Wilmer Flores – 1B
- Jay Bruce – RF
- Devin Mesoraco – C
- Brandon Nimmo – LF
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Zack Wheeler – RHP
Giants Lineup
- Joe Panik – 2B
- Alen Hanson – SS
- Evan Longoria – 3B
- Brandon Belt – 1B
- Austin Slater – RF
- Chris Shaw – LF
- Gorkys Hernandez – CF
- Aramis Garcia – C
- Andrew Suarez – LHP
In the midst of that, there’s baseball! Zack Wheeler baseball! Wheeler is 9-6 over 25 games and 153.1 innings with a 3.46 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.213 WHIP and a 107 ERA+. Wheeler is 5-0 in his last 6 games and 39.0 innings where he has posted a 0.92 ERA! He’s also struck out 41 batters to 9 walks. The only no decision in that stretch was against the Giants where he allowed 1 run over 7.0 innings with 5 hits and a walk and 10 K’s. The Giants have the following numbers against Wheeler:
- Belt 3-9, 3 BB
- Pence 0-9, 2 BB
- Crawford 3-8, 2 BB
- Blanco 1-7, 2B
- McCutchen 2-5, 2B, HR, BB
- Panik 0-6
- Longoria 1-3, 2B
The Mets bats will get a shot at Andrew Suarez who is 5-9 over 23 games and 126.1 innings while posting a 4.42 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 1.322 WHIP and a 91 ERA+. His month of August is almost funny to look at. In five starts and 25.5 innings he has a 5.61 ERA. This includes a 5.0 inning, 8 run game, a 2.2 inning, 7 run game and two games where he allowed no runs over 6.0 and 7.0 innings. This will be the rookie’s first start against the Mets!
Game Notes
Amed Rosario is out of the lineup because he had an emergency root canal though he will be available off the bench.
Zack Wheeler had won seven straight decisions dating to July 14, the longest streak of his career. He is 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA (10 earned runs/53.2 innings) during that span. Wheeler has the lowest ERA in the majors since July 14 (min. 50 innings) and is the only pitcher in the majors with seven wins during that span.
Mets starting pitchers have posted a 1.74 ERA (15 earned runs/77.2 innings) in their last 12 games dating to August 18, leading the majors during that span. New York starters have hurled eight quality starts during that stretch.
Brandon Nimmo is second in the NL with a .429 OBP since the All-Star break, 12th with a .312 batting average, 11th with a .527 slugging percentage.
Let’s Go Mets!
