The New York Mets completed a 3-6 homestand with a loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, but maintain their 6,5 game lead atop the National League East and watched their magic number dip to five.
Tonight, the Mets take on the Cincinnati Reds for the start of a four game series at Great American Ball Park. Steven Matz (4-0, 1.80) goes for the Mets and opposes Reds right-hander Josh Smith (0-2, 7.71) in Thursday’s 7:10 PM series opener.
Mets Starting Lineup
- Curtis Granderson – RF
- David Wright – 3B
- Daniel Murphy – 2B
- Yoenis Cespedes – CF
- Lucas Duda – 1B
- Travis d’Arnaud – C
- Michael Conforto – LF
- Ruben Tejada – SS
- Steven Matz – LHP
The Mets weren’t able to hold off the Braves last night and they dropped the series in New York. After having the lead for the vast majority of the game, Freddie Freeman (who the WOR booth talked about earlier in the game as “not as much of a Met killer this year) came off the bench and hit a two-run double and later a three-run homer) to put the Braves ahead. Luckily, the Nationals fell apart so the magic number is now 5 with 10 games remaining as the Mets head to Cincy.
Steven Matz is 4-0 over 5 starts and 30.0 innings with 26 K’s and a 1.80 ERA. In his last start he allowed 1 ER over 6.0 innings against the Yankees and overall since returning to the Mets he is 2-0 over 3 starts and 16.1 innings with a 2.20 ERA while striking out 12. His major league debut was against the Reds where he pitched 7.2 innings allowing 2 ER with 6 K’s. The Reds have the following numbers against Matz:
- Votto 0-3
- Bruce 0-1, 2 BB
- Frazier 1-3, HR
- Hamilton 0-3
- Pena 1-3
- Phillips 1-3, HR
Josh Smith is 0-2 over 6 games, 4 starts in his rookie season pitching 18.2 innings with a 7.71 ERA. He faced the Mets back in June and then left the league in his following start before returning this month. Against the Mets he allowed 3 runs, 1 earned over 5.0 innings. His last outing was his first start since returning and he allowed 4 ER over 4.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Smith:
- Duda 0-1
- Flores 0-3
- Granderson 1-3, 2B
- Tejada 0-3
- Matz 2-2, 2B
Let’s Go Mets!
