After losing their first two games against the Colorado Rockies, the Mets will try to regroup on Saturday night when they send 24-year old Jenrry Mejia (3-0, 3.49 ERA) to the mound. He will be opposed by left-hander Franklin Morales (3-1, 4.40) for the Rockies in the 8:10 PM matchup at Coors Field.
Mejia is 3-0 in four starts this season. Since 1990, the only other Mets pitcher under 25 to win his first three decisions of a season was Matt Harvey, who started last season 5-0. The Mets are 4-1 in his five starts. Mejia is averaging 9.85 strikeouts per nine innings, the seventh-best rate in the National League.
Travis d’Arnaud is hitting .303 (10-33) with five RBI and a home run over his last 10 games.
Curtis Granderson hit his second home run of the season last night, a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Granderson finished 2-for-4 and has hit in three straight games and has also scored a run in five straight games.
Juan Lagares has 14 assists from centerfield over the last two seasons, tying Carlos Gomez for the most in the majors from that position, although Gomez has played 557 more innings than Lagares. At the plate, Lagares extended his hitting streak to 11 games after going 2-5 last night and is batting .333 (15-45) during that stretch. Lagares has at least one hit in 14 of the 15 games he’s played this season.
Eric Young Jr. is on the bench for the third straight game, while Anthony Recker gets the start behind the dish.
Starting Lineup
- Juan Lagares – CF
- Daniel Murphy – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Chris Young – LF
- Curtis Granderson – RF
- Anthony Recker – C
- Lucas Duda – 1B
- Ruben Tejada – SS
- Jenrry Mejia – RHP
Game Preview
The Mets had their second straight rough night against the Rockies last night and put themselves in a position that in order to split the 4 game set, they need to win tonight. Last night Wheeler also had problems in the Mile High City which is understandable, the Rockies not only play in an offense minded ballpark but have a great lineup. Tonight Jenrry Mejia, who insisted to Kevin Burkhardt last night, will try his moving fastball, not cutter, to slash through this Rockies line up who is throwing out Franklin Morales.
Jenrry Mejia is 3-0 this season over 5 starts and a 3.49 ERA over 28.1 innings of work and 31 strikeouts. His last outing was his worst of the season going 5.2 innings allowing 6 earned runs, although that’s tricky because the Mets bullpen did not help him with the runners he left on base. Last year he pitched 5.1 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs and one earned against the Rockies. The Rockies have the following numbers against Mejia:
- Tulo 1-4, 3 K
- Dickerson 1-3
- Arenado 0-1
- LeMahieu 0-2
- Rosario 1-2
- Blackmon 1-1, HR
The Mets bats will try to get hot against Franklin Morales who is 3-1 on the season with a 4.40 ERA over 6 games and 5 starts logging 30.2 innings and striking out 23 batters. He had a strong set of back to back games with 13.0 innings and 2 ER but in his last outing he allowed 4 ER and 7 hits over 5 innings. In his career he has faced the Mets in 7 games over 4.1 innings allowing 4 runs, 3 earned. The Mets have the following numbers against Morales:
- C Young 3-12, 2B, HR
- Granderson 3-5, HR
- Wright 0-2
Lets Go Mets!
