Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 • 7:10 PM
Fenway Park • Boston, MA
RHP Marcus Stroman (9-12, 2.88) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (11-8, 5.00)
SNY • WCBS 880 AM • WQBU 92.7 FM

The season is quickly coming to an end. The Mets winning on Sunday helped them keep their hopes alive a bit longer.

With the Braves now winning two games in a row, the Mets’ chances are continuing to dwindle. Now the Mets have an almost impossible hurdle to jump, 6.0 games back in the division and 7.5 games back in the wild card. The Mets also own an elimination number of eight.

To stay on track the Mets will have to figure out a way to beat the Red Sox who are 86-65 and have a +1.5 game lead for the second wild card.

Mets Lineup

  1. Brandon Nimmo – CF
  2. Francisco Lindor – SS
  3. Javier Baez – 2B
  4. Pete Alonso – DH
  5. J.D. Davis – 3B
  6. Michael Conforto – RF
  7. Kevin Pillar – LF
  8. Dominic Smith – 1B
  9. Tomas Nido – C

Red Sox Lineup

  1. Enrique Hernandez – CF
  2. Kyle Schwarber – DH
  3. Xander Bogaerts – SS
  4. Rafael Devers – 3B
  5. J.D. Martinez – LF
  6. Alex Verdugo – CF
  7. Bobby Dalbec – 1B
  8. Christian Vazquez – C
  9. Jose Iglesias – 2B

Marcus Stroman will get the start for the Mets tonight. Over 31 starts and 169.0 innings this year, Stroman has a 2.88 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.118 WHIP, and a 138 ERA+. In his last two starts, he has allowed three earned runs over 12.1 innings from eight hits and a walk.

Stroman has seen an uptick in strikeouts too – 15 in his last two starts. That is his most strikeouts in back-to-back starts since mid-August. He’s had a 3.07 ERA over his last five starts.

The Red Sox have the following numbers against him:

  • Kevin Plawecki 2-6, 2 2B, BB, K
  • Hunter Renfroe 1-2, K
  • Travis Shaw 5-17, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
  • Xander Bogaerts 11-36, 2 2B, 2 HE, 2 BB, 8 K
  • Christian Vazquez 7-19, 2B, BB, 3 K
  • Kyle Schwarber 2-5, 2 K
  • Rafael Devers 1-5, BB, K
  • J.D. Martinez 2-11, 2B, BB, 3 K

The Mets bats will get a look at Eduardo Rodriguez tonight. Eduardo has made 28 starts, pitching 142.1 innings, with a 5.00 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.377 WHIP, and a 95 ERA+. Eduardo has made three starts in September. In two of them, he’s allowed a combined two runs, one earned, over 12.0 innings from ten hits and two walks.

In the other start, he allowed six runs over 3.2 innings from eight hits. The three starts represent a season trend for Eduardo – he’s struggled at home. He has a 4.22 ERA over 17 starts on the road and a 6.32 ERA over 11 starts at home.

The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Game Notes

Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom successfully threw another 20 pitch bullpen session off the mound at Fenway Park on Tuesday afternoon. He is expected to throw another similar session later this week.

Additionally, Noah Syndergaard is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday night with Triple-A Syracuse. The right-hander will likely make two appearances before returning to the big league team.

Righty Drew Smith (right shoulder inflammation) will also begin a rehab assignment either sometime this weekend or early next week.

Let’s Go Mets!