Sunday, September 16, 2018 • 1:05 p.m.
Fenway Park • Boston, MA
RHP Jacob deGrom (8-9, 1.71) vs. LHP Chris Sale (12-4, 1.96)
SNY • WOR 710 AM • 104.3 WAXQ-FM HD 2 • ESPN 1050 AM

The Mets close out their series with the Red Sox today with a marquee matchup. Jacob deGrom vs Chris Sale. Jacob deGrom is still trying to prove people who believe in wins as a stat that he should be the Cy Young. Chris Sale is about to get the bump that is “pitcher facing Jacob deGrom”. Yesterday the Red Sox were able to snap the Mets winning streak after the Mets went up 3-0 early. Let’s hope the Mets can get back on the winning track today.

Mets Lineup

  1. Amed Rosario  SS
  2. Jeff McNeil  2B
  3. Wilmer Flores  1B
  4. Michael Conforto  LF
  5. Todd Frazier  3B
  6. Jay Bruce  DH
  7. Brandon Nimmo  RF
  8. Kevin Plawecki  C
  9. Austin Jackson  CF

Red Sox Lineup

  1. Mookie Betts  RF
  2. Brock Holt  SS
  3. Andrew Benintendi  LF
  4. Steve Pearce  DH
  5. Mitch Moreland  1B
  6. Ian Kinsler  2B
  7. Jackie Bradley Jr.  CF
  8. Rafael Devers  3B
  9. Christian Vazquez  C

Jacob deGrom is 8-9 over 29 starts and 195 innings with a 1.71 ERA, 2.06 FIP, 0.954 WHIP and a 216 ERA+. Since the start of August, deGrom has pitched eight games going 3-3 over 56.2 innings with an even smaller ERA at 1.43. He has struck out 75 during this stretch. The Red Sox have the following numbers against him:

  • Nunez 3-for-6, 3B
  • Phillips 0-for-5
  • Betts 1-for-3
  • Bogaerts 0-for-3
  • Bradley Jr 0-for-3, 2K
  • Holt 1-for-3
  • Martinez 1-for-3

Chris Sale has been as advertised this year going 12-4 over 24 starts and 147 innings with a 1.96 ERA, 1.95 FIP, 0.850 WHIP and a 222 ERA+. Now he’s coming back from a stint on the DL for the second time in the last two months. Last time he pitched one inning allowing a hit and two strikeouts. On August 12th he allowed one hit over five innings while striking out 12. The Mets strategy today, and it’s a tough one against a strikeout master like Sale, is to work counts and get him out of the game quickly. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

  • Jackson 2-for-37, 2B, 2 BB, 17 K
  • Frazier 3-f0r-10, 3 HR, 3 K
  • Reyes 2-for-8
  • Bruce 1-for-2

Game Notes

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last major league game that featured two starting pitchers who each had at least 100 innings and an ERA under 2.00 was September 11, 1985, when the Mets’ Dwight Gooden (1.74) faced the Cardinals’ John Tudor (1.95) at Shea Stadium.

New York is 9-1-2 in its last 12 series.

The Mets have 19 home runs in their last nine games and 48 home runs in their last 34 contests since August 12, the third-most in the majors, behind the Dodgers (49) and Yankees (50).

Amed Rosario is 11th in the NL with a .315 (17-54) batting average and tied for 10th with seven extra-base hits in
September. He is hitting .331 (46-139) with a .361 OBP and seven doubles, five homers, 19 RBI and 26 runs scored in his last 32 games. Rosario is tied for third in the NL with 12 stolen bases since the All-Star break and tied for 12th overall with 18.

Jacob deGrom has a 1.34 ERA (eight earned runs/53.2 innings) and 66 strikeouts in nine starts during the day this season. DeGrom’s 1.88 career daytime ERA (63 earned runs/302 innings) in 47 starts is the lowest in the majors since at least 1913 (min 200 innings).

Let’s Go Mets!