Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday, June 24, 2023 • 4:05 PM
Citizens Bank Park • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
RHP Max Scherzer (6-2, 4.04) vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez (0-0, 3.24)
FS1 • WPIX

The Mets’ spiral continued last night as the offense could only muster three hits, falling to the Phillies 5-1. Defense plagued the Mets, making the night difficult for Kodai Senga as he got tagged for four runs, only two earned. The Mets also traded Eduardo Escobar for prospects in the middle of the game. Now the Mets look to refocus and force a rubber game against the Phillies tomorrow.

Mets Lineup

Max Scherzer had a tremendous start for the Mets his last time out, allowing one run from four hits while striking out eight over eight innings. The Mets need another start like that today. Over 12 starts and 64 2/3 innings this season, Max has a 4.04 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 1.160 WHIP, and a 103 ERA+. His amazing start last time out came on the heels of two terrible starts that saw him give up 11 runs over nine innings. Before those games, Max had a terrific start against the Phillies, holding them to two runs, one earned, over seven innings. The Phillies have the following career numbers against Scherzer:

Opposing Lineup

The Mets bats draw Cristopher Sánchez in just his third game of the season. His first start was back on April 22nd where he allowed three runs over 4 1/3 innings. He returned to the Phillies last week and pitched four innings of one hit, shutout baseball. He’s pitched in 10 games and 49 2/3 innings for Lehigh Valley this season with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.450 WHIP. The Mets have the following limited numbers against him:

Game Notes

Jeff McNeil is dealing with a sore left wrist after last night’s game. According to Anthony DiComo, the 2022 All-Star might not be available off the bench against the Phillies today.

Max Scherzer is set to make his sixth daytime start of the season. In 2023, Scherzer is 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA, eight walks, and 29 strikeouts.

The Mets are 21-8 when scoring first this season. On the other hand, the Mets are 13-33 when their opponent scores first, and have been outscored 56-21 in the first inning this year. New York has posted a 6.12 ERA (51 ER in 75 IP) in the first inning this season.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Brandon Nimmo’s power year? Brandon Nimmo hit his eighth homer of the season last night. In 2018 he hit a career-high 17 homers, he came close last year with 16 homers. This is now his 4th season with eight homers, and he’s on track right now to have more homers than he did in 2018. Further, last year he led the league with seven triples. He already has four triples this season, putting him on pace to break his career-high mark of eight, also set in 2018. His next triple will make him the sole holder of #7 on the Mets’ all-time leaderboard.
  2. Jeff McNeil’s and Brandon Nimmo’s next double. Jeff McNeil has 129 doubles as a Met. If he hits a double today, he’ll tie Rusty Staub for #19 on the Mets’ all-time list. Brandon Nimmo is currently tied with Toddy Hundley with 118 (#22).
  3. Walks and strikeouts. During the Mets’ 10-8 loss on Wednesday, they walked an astounding eight times, but also struck out 14 times. Last night the Mets walked only three times and they struck out 10 times. There was only one player, Tommy Pham, during Wednesday’s game that recorded two walks and two strikeouts. That is to say, even though the Mets offense scored eight runs on Wednesday night, the strikeouts piling up shows that players were struggling in the lineup. Six players had two strikeouts in that game. Can the Mets keep the strikeouts down today and get the walks back up?

Let’s go Mets!